Archive for the 'networking' Category

Huddle featured in LinkedIn Applications

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on October 29, 2008
in networking and storytelling
. 0 Comments

Originally posted on the NetSquared blog.

Many individuals and organizations are testing and exploring new ways to collaborate on projects and connect work virtually.  LinkedIn, an online network of more than 30 million experienced professionals from around the world, serves as a networking space for business professionals and the job posting service is seeing more and more activity.  Today is the launch of LinkedIn Applications and Huddle is a featured app!

What are LinkedIn Applications

Much like adding applications to your profile on other social networking sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn Applications let you pull in content you are creating across the web —blog posts, presentations, and even travel plans—and display it on your LinkedIn profile to share with your network.

LinkedIn Applications enable you to enrich your profile, share and collaborate with your network, and get the key insights that help you be more effective.

You can determine who can view your application content and even contribute content via the application in LinkedIn without visiting the other site, like with the SlideShare app. Check it out!

What is Huddle

Huddle is an online collaboration tool providing secure online workspaces with powerful project and collaboration tools.  Connecting your online workspace with your business contacts can be a powerful combination for your work or business.

The Huddle Workspaces application for LinkedIn includes all key functionality of Huddle.net and you can easily sync it with your existing Huddle account. Simply log into LinkedIn and you can immediately set up workspaces to use with as many of your LinkedIn connections as you like.

You can try out Huddle for free; learn more.

Check out the LinkedIn Application directory to add applications to your profile, or learn more about using LinkedIn as a social networking tool.

A new Change.org

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on October 9, 2008
in networking and socialchange
. 0 Comments

Previously posted on the NetSquared blog.

Change.org has just relaunched its website - an online hub and media network for social issues and collective action.

The new version of the site focuses on the question: what can I do? “If I want to end homelessness, what can I do? If I support gay rights, what can I do?”

The Answer

In Josh Levy’s words (Josh is the new Managing Editor):

To make the answer to this urgent question clearer than ever, we’ve left behind the social networking model of engagement and headed straight for the land of the blogs. Our idea was simple: while the old version of the site was good at helping people connect to each other, it didn’t do enough to help them get meaningfully involved in the issues they cared about. The experience was too fleeting, and too shallow.

How Change Works

There are over a dozen different issue portals ranging from homelessness to genocide to global warming. Each portal has its own issue-focused blog prividing editorial and news content around the issue or issues you care most about. That news is coming from the portal’s dedicated editor who is blogging “throughout the day, reacting to the news, profiling people and organizations, and highlighting concrete actions you can take.”

If you’ve used Change.org in the past, you are probably wondering how things are different and where all the actions have gone. Not to worry! They are all still there, just organized into the portals they relate to. Actions are now connected to the related issue area; you can see all cause areas here.

Nonprofit organizations are still a major part of Change.org, too. Like actions, nonprofits are now affilitated with the cause area that reflects their focus and mission. This will help individuals find nonprofits to support and connect nonprofits to actions and stories in the same cause. You can see all nonprofits here.

And, they’re hiring!

In order to continue expanding the cause portals for the site, Change.org is hiring dedicated editors to manage the issue blog and activity. To learn more about the causes of focus and how to apply, click here.

Building Community with NetSquared!

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on September 18, 2008
in networking
. 4 Comments

Below is Britt Bravo’s post to the NetSquared community announcing my new post as the NetSquared Community Builder.  If you don’t already know Britt, you should!  Her blog and website are below - check them out!

Welcome New Net2 Community Builder Amy Sample Ward!

I’m thrilled to announce that Amy Sample Ward is the new NetSquared Community Builder! You can contact her at award@techsoup.org.

Many of you are familiar with Amy’s great work through her NetSquared Blog, her personal blog, Amy Sample Ward’s Version of NPTech, and as the Organizer of the Portland, OR Net Tuesday. Amy recently moved to the UK, where she will be starting a Net Tuesday London.

Here’s a little more about the fabulous Amy:

Amy Sample Ward is dedicated to supporting and educating nonprofits and the progressive social change sector about evolving technologies that cultivate and engage communities. Her passion is in connecting nonprofits with new media technologies, watching the field of nptech evolve, and having conversations about where we can go next while still getting everyone on board with what we have already.

She has worked both in private philanthropy and advocacy nonprofit
organizations, with job responsibilities that include communications,
technology, information, organizational learning, and more—Amy has
felt firsthand the weight of too many hats on staff in small
nonprofits and is excited to help organizations leverage the social
web to make reaching goals and attaining visions more efficient.

After three years as NetSquared’s Community Builder, I’m thrilled to be passing the reins into Amy’s capable hands. I’ll be moving on to other projects, but will still be blogging once in a while for NetSquared. You can stay in touch in a number of ways:

britt@brittbravo.com
@Bbravo
Big Vision Consulting
Have Fun * Do Good
Big Vision Podcast
Changeblogger Network

Thanks for a life-changing 3 years!

I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role and excited for the learning opportunities, conversations, and connections I can both be a part of and help facilitate within the nptech community.  Let me know if you have any ideas, questions, requests or other comments!

NetSquared Blog - Guest posts this week

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on July 21, 2008
in networking
. 2 Comments

Many of you are familiar with the super star Britt Bravo, she is part of the Net Squared team, her blog is Have Fun * Do Good, and she represents Big Vision Consulting.  Well, Britt is on a much-deserved vacation and asked me to fill in for her daily blogging on the Net Squared community blog.

I just posted about CARE Connections, the new, free, online network bringing together those interested in and working to end global poverty.  It is an interesting network to check out, especially if you or your organization focus on women’s empowerment, anti-poverty, and/or world news. 

CARE is a humanitarian organization working to fight global poverty by serving individuals and families in the poorest communities of the world. CARE recently launched CARE Connections, a free, online community to connect you with others supporting global poverty work, women’s empowerment, world news and more. You can learn more about CARE Connections, here.

With CARE Connections, you can:

  • Connect with others who share your interests in global poverty and humanitarian aid news.
  • Join the conversation on the blog
  • Tap into the latest news from around the Web on global poverty, women’s empowerment and world events
  • Create your own profile, invite others and form groups and events

Read more about CARE Connections on the Net Squared blog.

To network, or not to network, is NOT the question!

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 21, 2007
in networking
. 3 Comments

As Elizabeth Dunn and others are discussing lately, the question to answer is not whether you and your organization should use new media networking tools or not, but which ones and for which purposes.

One major factor in deciding between the growing list of social networking sites, is the age group of your donors, supporters, or service members. Facebook and Myspace are the ones you probably hear the most about but many feel that these sites are only used by college-age and twenty-somethings. Actually, Facebook has seen a 98% increase in the last year of users 35 and older (click here for more metrics).

Elizabeth does an excellent job at facing this dilemma using the metaphor of learning a new language:

Of course most of your current donors aren’t on Facebook and MySpace - it’s still a pretty new thing for most of the population. However, most internet usage has historically been led by the young and the early adopters, followed - in time - by the rest of the general population.

When your constituency finally makes it to Facebook, MySpace, or whatever global site we are using in 5 to 8 years, don’t you want to be there when they go looking for you?

And don’t you want to be already quite good at it?

Of course you do! Getting started with networking and fundraising tools now will help you gain supporters, volunteers, fundraisers, and even partners both in the short term and the long term.

Has your organization made the dive into social networking yet? What was the most surprising part of the new tools?

Want your own social network?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 20, 2007
in networking
. 1 Comment

As TechCrunch and others are reporting, Change.org launched a service for nonprofits to create their own branded social networks.

These networks are built to include many of the features nonprofits want, including: pages for fundraising, news, events and project updates, fundraising widgets, posting photos and videos, blogs, forums, and even Facebook integration (if the Facebook application of Change.org is added).

Organizations like CARE, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and Humane Society of the United States have already established their networks in Change.org. As you can see by looking at one of these organization’s profiles, supporting the group by joining, spreading the word, or donating funds is visible and easy. Nonprofits can redesign the pages to fit with their existing logo, colors, branding, and website.

I really like that Change.org is evolving from a place where individuals can connect on issues, causes, and politics into an even more engaged user base directly involved with nonprofits in a more meaningful way. What do you think?

Does your organization have a network on Change.org? You can sign up here.