The Blogoclump

A quick and easy way to experiment with “user-generated content” is to use a basic wiki page to solicit ideas from members for a specific conference workshop or other kind of seminar. Last spring, we asked our members to add their best ideas for “customer retention” to a page and we used their submissions to […]

Read & discuss at Kevin Holland's blog.

Just a few random cool things to do with Twitter, should you be bored on this beautiful Sunday (unlikely, I know) - or more likely, in the mood to procrastinate a bit on Monday…

There are many apps that create visualizations of how we are connected to others on Twitter. These are some of my favorites - there’s not a huge amount of point to them, but sometimes, in this world of words, it’s refreshing to see some cool imagery showing our interconnectedness. These visualizations are mostly mine, unless it reverts to a login page when someone else clicks on the link; if you are on Twitter, plug in your own username to see yours!

• Tweetwheel - click on a name to see the friends we have in common
• Twitter blocks - click on a block to see what happens!
• Gridjit - see your Twitter friends’ tweets in a grid, if you prefer that than scrolling.
• Twittearth - realtime tweets across the globe

And also, back to words…:

• Twemes - conversations tagged by keyword. Here, check out Jeff’s tweeting the ASAE Social Responsibility Global Summit last week.
• Self-explanatory Twictionary wiki of Twitter words.

Enjoy!

Read & discuss at Maddie Grant's blog.

Check out this list, courtesy TwitterPacks. Are you using Twitter on behalf of your association but not on the list? Go add yourself. Easy-peasy- lemon-squeezy.

Non-Profit Pack

http://twitter.com/08ntc (home of the 2008 NTEN conference!)

http://twitter.com/abenamer

http://twitter.com/adamgn (online and offline organizing; advocacy; healthcare4every1.org)

http://twitter.com/ahutson (immigrant & refugee rights, GLBT rights, open-source CMS, CiviCRM, grants)

http://twitter.com/aidg

http://twitter.com/acarvin

http://twitter.com/agenthandy

http://twitter.com/ahoppin (online organizing, grassroots, web 2.0 for government, social networks, open-source CMS, etc.)

http://twitter.com/amnesty

http://twitter.com/amoration

http://twitter.com/amyrsward

http://twitter.com/andrewjcohen

http://twitter.com/annaliese_h

http://twitter.com/antigenocide

http://twitter.com/audrieschaller (consultant to nonprofits; board development, communications, web 2.0 adoption for nonprofits)

http://twitter.com/awsamuel

http://twitter.com/Bbravo

http://twitter.com/bethdunn

http://twitter.com/blogdiva

http://twitter.com/brooklynmuseum

http://twitter.com/cat_laine

http://twitter.com/ckreutz (crisscrossed.net)

http://twitter.com/CoreyPud

http://twitter.com/creativesage (mgmt. consultant for nonprofits, social entrepreneurship, arts and environmental issues)

http://twitter.com/cyrusbryan

http://twitter.com/DaveWebb

http://twitter.com/deborah909

http://twitter.com/drewbernard (ONE/Northwest Program Manager)

http://twitter.com/edjez

http://twitter.com/edobejar

http://twitter.com/eschipul

http://twitter.com/gandhilover (personal, professional and fun - life shouldn’t be too serious!)

http://twitter.com/geodog

http://twitter.com/gillo

http://twitter.com/glendam

http://twitter.com/gpuk

http://twitter.com/grist

http://twitter.com/hannab

http://twitter.com/IdentityWoman

http://twitter.com/internationale - content to be different

http://twitter.com/iwilker

http://twitter.com/jcolman - web marketing evangelista at The Nature Conservancy

http://twitter.com/jonl

http://twitter.com/jonstahl

http://twitter.com/littlelaura

http://twitter.com/kanter

http://twitter.com/kariapeterson

http://twitter.com/Katrinskaya

http://twitter.com/kivilm (nonprofit marketing/communications trainer, consultant, and blogger)

http://twitter.com/Mlsif

http://twitter.com/mstein63

http://twitter.com/mufan96

http://twitter.com/nancywhite (fullcirc.com)

http://twitter.com/nateritter

http://twitter.com/nedra

http://twitter.com/NetSquared

http://twitter.com/noneck

http://twitter.com/ntenhross

http://twitter.com/NurtureGirl

http://twitter.com/NWF

http://twitter.com/onevoicewalk - One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk

http://twitter.com/osocio

http://twitter.com/pce (mission-based technology consulting for non-profits, foundations, schools - but this is for playing!)

http://twitter.com/pearlbear

http://twitter.com/penguinasana

http://twitter.com/quixoticlife

http://twitter.com/rachelannyes (nonprofit tech, arts & culture, sustainability, marketing)

http://twitter.com/RobCottingham

http://twitter.com/rogercarr

http://twitter.com/rosiedefremery

http://twitter.com/ruby (lotusmedia.org, OrangePolitics.org, Fellowship of Reconciliation, network-centric advocacy, social networks, etc.)

http://twitter.com/rolfkleef

http://twitter.com/sdohrn

http://twitter.com/sethschneider

http://twitter.com/shava23 (nonprofit consultant, grantwriter)

http://twitter.com/smartsculture

http://twitter.com/SocialBttrfly (social marketing believer, blogger, researcher, practitioner and enthusiast w/ a heart 4 social media)

http://twitter.com/sonnycloward

http://twitter.com/stevebridger (nfp 2.0)

http://twitter.com/sugarcube (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, JDRF)

http://twitter.com/surfriders (First Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation - grassroots environmental non-profit)

http://twitter.com/suzboop

http://twitter.com/TechSoup

http://twitter.com/tet3

http://twitter.com/webb

http://twitter.com/wmacphail (rabble.ca, Alzheimer Society of Ontario, w8nc inc.)

http://twitter.com/steveames Running a small arts organization in Northern Vermont: River Arts

http://twitter.com/kate_is_busy

http://twitter.com/watfordgap (Getting UK Non-profits / VCS Infrastructure to use existing and new technology to help them grow)

Read & discuss at Maddie Grant's blog.

Prizes for new and current subscribers alike!

Read & discuss at jeffpi1@gmail.com (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)'s blog.

The best way to neutralize extended families behaving badly, say at Thanksgiving Dinner, is to include friends–outsiders. Before your eyes, the usual bickering and role playing is put on hold and you experience something that feels more like a dinner…

Read & discuss at Ann's blog.

I just returned from a meeting in Cincinnati, where I was one of several speakers. I stayed at a very nice, downtown hotel. The rate was surprisingly low (the association doesn?t comp speakers) and the room was clean and well-designed ? except for the showerhead that was lower than eye level (unfortunately, that is common).

Either the meeting planner negotiated a good price or Cincinnati just doesn?t cost that much. Still, I always try to avoid buying anything when I stay at a hotel.

1. I drove to the conference. It was cheaper and far more convenient than flying. Depending on air traffic delays, it might have even been faster.

2. I carried my own bags into the hotel (laptop, briefcase, and duffle bag) ? no need to tip a bellhop.

3. After checking in around 10:00 p.m., I walked to a local drug store to buy milk and orange juice for the next morning. I always bring my own cereal for breakfast so I don?t have to spend money on room service.

4. I wasn?t speaking until the afternoon, so I worked in my room during the morning. I often attend sessions before mine to observe group behavior. I had been here before, so that wasn?t necessary.

5. Shortly before the lunch hour crowd hit the streets, I trotted down to a nearby sandwich shop, bought lunch, and brought it back to my room. Meeting attendees pay extra for meals at this conference and many opt for less expensive offerings outside the hotel. I chose to eat while working.

6. My only splurge was valet parking. For $5 more than self-parking I avoided carrying my gear through the rain when I left.

I did a bit of networking before and after my session, but this conference isn?t designed to make that easy. You really have to stay for the social sessions, and I didn?t.

At another conference, I might have gotten a free meal. Here, I didn?t even get a name tag. In any event, I avoided inflated hotel costs and that made the trip a lot more satisfying.

Read & discuss at AEM's blog.

Read & discuss at Hilary's blog.

@fsimmons that stinks. I was late to the whole Zappos game but my first purchase got me hooked. I couldn’t believe I got my order aft 1 day #
@lindydreyer That’s pretty funny. I think you could also call them Facehookers. But that is just me being sarcastic. #
@gfinecae crowds can definitely add flavor, but I prefer mobility. #
@gfinecae sounds like a blast…although with iffy weather it could be pretty wet too! #
@gfinecae what is Looptopia? #
Just figured out (after 18 months) that my community project, [read more]

Read & discuss at admin's blog.

A colleague received a letter from a Board member today resigning due to the rising cost of gas prices. Has to drive several hours monthly to Directors meetings. In theory each position should be so valuable that no one would object to personal expenses to participate; in reality we compete for member time and now also more member money as the costs to volunteer rise with gas prices (especially in geographically large states like mine).

Suggestions:

1. Consider alternate forms of meetings (webinars, calls) - although as much as I like technology I do find those to be really distant to live meetings in effectiveness for real conversations;

2. Reduce the number of meetings. Does any group (other than for social or legislative purposes) EVER need to meet monthly?

3. Provide partial or full reimbursement for gas costs for volunteers on key groups - or provide if past a certain distance (e.g. over 50 miles).

While not a fan of the “paid volunteer” approach, with gasoline costs what they are and the impact that the economy has on certain professions, I do believe it’s reasonable and timely to really look at potentially paying mileage or gas expenses to meetings right now.

In addition, if you’ve had too many meetings for too long, this is a great time to have the discussion about cutting back from monthly to quarterly meetings, or quarterly to three times a year. It’s also a great time to try social media options to reduce fees and provide alternate ways for involvement.

Separately, gas prices will surely impact conference and committee meeting attendance too. Might want to look at options to reduce costs anticipating higher travel costs to get there.

Read & discuss at CindyAE's blog.

   Or is it time to change?
Immersed in ASAE & the Center’s Summit on Social Responsibility for a few days, my mind is spinning with a motley mix of questions…
Have you ever really thought about box size?
A few years ago, I attended a product development program where I learned how to create CDs as products to […]

Read & discuss at Cynthia D'Amour's blog.