NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoup.org - CompuMentor

Nonprofit Technology Events, Courtesy of TechSoup

Deborah Elizabeth Finn — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 13:01:55 -0400

Have I mentioned lately how much I love TechSoup?

The latest reason why I love it is that you can now go to TechSoup to see a list of upcoming nonprofit technology events.

I'm a little disappointed that there isn't a TechSoup RSS feed exclusively devoted to these nonprofit technology events. If one becomes available, I will certainly add it to my blog. And of course it would make a perfectly splendid addition to the NPtech Meta Feed.

Disclaimer: Although I have been a consultant to TechSoup on its NetSquared project, this effusion was not solicited, approved, or subsidized by TechSoup. I am merely writing as a humble fan.

This article was originally published in my blog, "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector," under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.

Getting started with blogging software

mstein63 — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 14:41:59 -0400

I enthusiastically recommend Idealware's new in-depth blog report which reviews and compares the seven tools most frequently used to create a blog. Which are easiest to get up and running, or to tailor to match your site? Which has the best comment moderation features? Reporting functionality? This report will give you all the details and recommend a tool for you. This report wa

Hip to be 'Squared'

Bennett Grassano — Tue, 30 May 2006 01:27:59 -0400

Hi I'm Bennett Grassano, CompuMentor's Director of Insitutional Development. I've been on the inside of Netsquared from time to time, but I've somehow managed to avoid it's blogospheric vortex until now. Since my title often confuses people much smarter than me, I should tell you that, although I've punched the clock as a Web Developer in the past, most of the "Development" I do these days is program and fundraising development for CompuMentor and TechSoup. The "Institutions" I work with are primarily foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. At a certain point I realized that I'm much more fluent in the English language than I'll ever be in PHP or Ruby--hence the slight change in title over the years.

How do people with disabilities use Web 2.0?

Sharron Rush — Tue, 16 May 2006 17:51:23 -0400

OK, I know, I should have been paying attention earlier. If I wanted accessibility sessions I had my chance to suggest themes, questions and topics...right? But as I look through the sessions for the latest in accessible blogging tools, content management systems, fundraising software, do I really find....nothing?! absolutely nothing about accessibility?

Nothing on accessibility at the coolest nonprofit tech conference ever?

How could that be? I admit that I am a bit cocooned. I spend 90% of my time with people who know tons about accessibility...people like John Slatin, Jim Thatcher, Molly Holzschlag, Kelsey Ruger, Glenda Sims... or with people who want to know more about accessibility, like the participants in AIR programs, Access-U and CalWAC. But am I really so sheltered? so deluded? Does the rest of the world really care about access to the web for 55 million Americans and 750 million people worldwide...not at all?!

Video Profile: Danel Ben-Horin

Eddie Codel — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 03:48:08 -0500

Daniel Ben-Horin, President of CompuMentor and TechSoup describes what TechSoup is about and how it relates to NetSquared.

This video is part of NetSquared's video profile series. You can subscribe to this RSS feed with your favorite video catcher, such as iTunes, Democracy or FireAnt.

NetSquared: Reinventing Nonprofit Technology Online

Deborah Elizabeth Finn — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 22:58:07 -0400

"Net² is an invitation into the marvelous, messy world of the Internet as a participatory, interactive community: a community created by its users....We don't know exactly what the Net² community will look like, or how it will change the face of the non-profit web. What we do know is that both the online and offline work of every non-profit can be enhanced by a dynamic online community in which organizations and users support one another. And we know that the creativity and commitment of the non-profit world is crucial to achieving the creative and community potential of the Internet itself."

This is the NetSquared call to action from the good folks at CompuMentor. They have brought us wonderful resources such as TechSoup, TechSoup Stock, TechCommons, and ConsultantCommons - and are now counting the days until the NetSquared conference in April 2006.

I was particularly pleased when Marnie Webb of CompuMentor commissioned me to come up with a collection of case studies for the NetSquared project. Since I already spend a fair amount of time blogging about internet-based communities, tools, and projects that are of interest to nonprofit organizations, this seems like a consulting assignment that is almost too good to be true.