Tag Archive for 'london'

What is NPTech?

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Amy Sample Ward
on December 12, 2008
in community and events
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Yesterday I had a very fun opportunity to be one of the speakers for Mark Your Mark’s Social Media Afternoon, a casual event for staff members to come together to learn about and discuss ideas, trends, tools and more relating to social media.  I answered, very briefly, the question, “What is NPTech?”

Here are my slides:

MakeYourMark-NPTech

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: change media)

To share or not to share

The main conversation focused on publicly sharing information vs trying to keep information private (whether it’s reports, data, strategy or even success/failure of projects/campaigns).  Some conversations point include:

  • The culture of sharing in the NPTech community is what creates the most value
  • Everyone wins when you share, discuss, create opportunities to learn
  • Mistakes are the most important part of charting new territory, need to talk about them
  • Sharing takes place formally and informally: presentations at conferences or in reports, online in blogs, in collaborative spaces like wiki, webinars, and so on
  • Keeping information private means lots of groups reinvent the wheel without knowing it
  • Not talking about mistakes mean more and more time, capacity, and money wasted with groups doing the same things wrong

Why social change fits with social media

Social change relies on communities coming together (whether they are geographic, issue, cause, or characteristic based) to make a profound difference on our world.  Social media allows people to come together online in new ways; the tools are only useful, fun, and successful when used as part of a community (how fun is it to use Facebook without any friends?).  Thus, tools that create community are great for communities making change.

Twitter

During the presentation, I was asked about Twitter; specifically what tools I like to use.  I get this question a lot.  My two main Twitter tools are:

  • Twhirl:  I like Twhirl because I can launch a window for both my personal and organizational accounts at the same time, let it run and update constantly whether I am reading it or not (unlike having to visit and then refresh a browser over and over), and let it alert me to replies, direct messages, etc. so I can be as much a part of the conversation as I want throughout the day.
  • Tweetscan:  Sometimes I’m just too busy to give Twitter all the attention it may want :) That’s why I like Tweetscan.  I can set up alerts for different words, like Google Alerts, and have it email me a round up so I can reply when I need to and not miss important opportunities to connect other users to information I may have.

Would have loved to have you all there for Social Media Afternoon!

Let’s keep the conversation going here - what do you think about the world of NPTech (the community that has made a tag a self-identifier) or about social media and social change?

Net Tuesday London: December is a Social Media Exchange!

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Amy Sample Ward
on November 20, 2008
in events
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Join us for Net Tuesday London, this month: Social Media Exchange!

Details:

  • Tuesday, 2 December
  • 5:30 pm doors open, 6 pm event starts
  • Charity Technology Trust, 1 London Bridge
  • Topic: Social Media Exchange
  • RSVP: Net Tuesday London group

* How it works:

  • The room has designated topic areas throughout, marked by labels on the wall (including: blogs/micro-blogging; photos/videos; voting/contests/edemocracy; tagging/information sharing; social networks/lists/communities)
  • Everyone is given a game board of sorts to fill in while filtering throughout the room
  • When in a designated topic area, talk with others about 1. a project you/your organization has done in that area 2. success stories or unsuccess stories & lessons learned 4. questions you have for working in that area 5. how to evaluate success

* What you’ll get from participating:

  • examples of social media in use
  • ideas and contacts
  • opportunity to share your story, lessons, and ideas
  • have fun!

We’ll also have a time at the end, as a big happy family, to discuss some of the best stories or lessons learned that came up in the exchange to make sure we all have a chance to hear it and can create a list of brilliant tid bits for the group to refer to.

Join the Net Tuesday London group to connect with others, see photos and notes from the last meeting, and more.

You can learn more about Net Tuesdays and see if there is one in your city on the NetSquared website. (Don’t see one in your area?  Let me know if you’d like to start one!)

Gordon Brown at Chain Reaction 2008

Published
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Amy Sample Ward
on November 18, 2008
in events and interview
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To close off day 1 of the 2-day Chain Reaction event taking place on the Southbank of London, Gordon Brown spoke to participants about the economic situation, entrepreneurship and the opportunities at hand.  With David Wilcox’s camera in hand, I had a front row seat to record the speech.  Watch it below!

Check out other videos from the conference at Qik and YouTube!

Chain Reaction: Social change conference in London

Published
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Amy Sample Ward
on November 5, 2008
in events
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Originally posted on the NetSquared blog.

chain reaction conference logo“None of us on our own can change the world, not governments, not businesses, not charities. We succeed when we work together.” That’s the premise of Chain Reaction, an event that brings together social leaders, community activists, policy makers, business leaders, young people and people like you from around the globe to share learning and to generate new ideas for social change, locally, nationally and globally.

What’s Chain Reaction?

Chain reaction, taking place in London, UK, promises to be a unique experience, convening space for a multitude of potential collaboration and creativity. How do you want to change the world?

At Chain Reaction you will meet people from all walks of life, who are saying “we can build a better world”, shaping new ways of living and working and inspiring others through their ideas and their actions. Chain Reaction is the place to learn about HOW social change happens, and to get involved in developing new and exciting projects.

The two-day event will include key note speeches, workshop sessions, and open spaces to ensure everyone has a chance to connect and to be inspried (not to mention to inspire others)! You can check out the program to see what sessions interest you.

Details:

I will be at Chain Reaction and will be posting about the event throughout the two days right here on the NetSquared blog. Want to join me?

London Net Tuesday November: Such a success!

Published
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Amy Sample Ward
on November 5, 2008
in net tuesday
. 7 Comments

Last night was the inqugural London Net Tuesday.  With 45 people in attendance, we filled the space and more than our scheduled time slot with lively conversation, quality knowledge sharing, business cards exchanging, and even some drinks.

Our first event focused on blogging with a head-to-head competition of sorts and the building of a blogging strategy.

Head-to-Head Blogging

Brave and beautiful participants volunteered to represent some of the main blogging platforms including Community Server, Movable Type, Typepad and Wordpress.  We had a cheat sheet with pros, cons and comparisons (if you weren’t there, you can download the cheat sheet here) that was created via crowdsourcing before the event.  I posted the structure and basic content in a Google Document and then published it for others to contribute to - sending them the link via email and Twitter.

Our platform reps fielded questions from the crowd and shared stories from their personal experience using the blogging tools.  Questions included:

  • How much do you cost?
  • How tech-savvy do I need to be?
  • Can I monitor comments?
  • Can I control who sees my posts?
  • How quick can I get set up?

A winner?  Well, there wasn’t an official vote (though a very important vote was happening back in the US!), but the majority of bloggers in attendance used Wordpress.

Blogging Strategy

After our lively ‘debate’ of platforms, we took a step back to discuss what is most important for organizations to consider when just starting out with blogging.  We came up with lots of great things to keep in mind, questions to ask, items to identify, and so on.  After the big brainstorm, we picked out the five most important aspects of starting a blog:

  • Identify your goals (goals for content, goals for relationships, goals for measurement, etc.)
  • Write about what you are passionate about and know about
  • Practice writing blog posts for a month or so without actually posting (you’ll be surprised how much your posts change just in that first month, and you can identify if you are ready to go live or not)
  • Use your community (invite staff, volunteers, donors and email subscribers to read and comment)
  • Integrate your blog (link and content) with everything you do (email newsletters, handouts, business cards, other social media presences like Facebook)

What would you add?

London Net Tuesday

If you missed last night’s event, that’s okay.  Connect online to be sure you make the next one! If you were there last night, what would you add to this run down?

  • What was your favorite conversation?
  • Who did you meet?
  • What questions did you not get to ask?
  • What ideas do you have for future events?

UPDATE:

Miko has posted her terrific run down of the platform comparison.  And here is her post about our strategy conversation.

UPDATE:

Farhan has a great post about the event and blogging here.

29-Day Giving Challenge: Here we go!

Published
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Amy Sample Ward
on October 31, 2008
in challenge
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I’m really excited to participate in the 29-Day Giving Challenge with Britt Bravo and many other changebloggers.  Britt is always a great insiprer for do-good-er-ness and I hope you’ll join me in 29 days of giving, leading up to the US Thanksgiving holiday!  I think this will be a great way to feel the giving spirit of Thanksgiving, as our new location in London, UK, isn’t naturally lending itself to celebrate this year.

DAY 1 (Oct. 30th)

The London Underground, or tube, has recently put up ads that ask when you last smiled at another passenger.  As a ‘foreigner’ I quickly noticed how many people here become quite steely on public transportation, there isn’t much conversation, let alone eye contact or smiles.  The ads suggest that you can change someone’s day by smiling at them on the tube.  So, I started doing it yesterday as my first day of giving: giving away smiles!

The results?  Well, as I’m sure you can imagine.  Some people were very confused, others just ignored it, but some smiled back and passed it on!  A smile can go a long way, start one today! :)

Day 2 (Oct. 31st)

Today, I guess I didn’t technically give anything away, but I put myself out there.  I joined School of Everything and created my teaching (and learning) profile.  This way, I can connect to people right here in Camden or around the world to share skills and knowledge that I have.  This is what the site says:

School of Everything connects people who want to learn with passionate teachers in their local area. The award-wining site is free to join for both people who want to learn and people who want to teach.

Teachers register online and create a personal page giving information on their lessons, the qualifications offered and the format in which they teach - for example workshops or one-to-one sessions. Potential pupils find a tutor who’s right for them simply searching by subject, learning category and location. They can then send them a message, arrange to meet and begin learning their new subject.

I met the co-founder, Andy Gibson earlier this week so School of Everything was on my list of things to investigate.  Once I visited the site, I just had to participate!  Try it out for yourself, or connect with me!  I’m looking forward to the connections, friendships, and all the shared learning to come!

Join in with the 29-Day Giving Challenge!

Net Tuesdays arrive in London!

Published
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Amy Sample Ward
on October 16, 2008
in events
. 0 Comments

I’m thrilled to announce that the London Net Tuesday is officially here! The community in London and around the UK is ready for a solid, monthly event that brings together social changemakers (whether a nonprofit organization in the traditional sense, a group of interested citizens, social venture capitalists or an individual with an idea) and technological forerunners together to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate on new projects.

Join the fun!

Details for the first event:

  • Date: 4 November, 2008
  • Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
  • Topic: Head-to-head Blogging (see below)
  • Location: CTT, 1 London Bridge
  • Provided: Snacks and coffee/tea
  • Bring: Your brain, your energy, your business cards
  • RSVP: London NetSquared Group

The 4 Nov. event topic is blogging. But not just some folks talking about blogging who already use it, or only want to talk about their own blog. This is going to be a bit more fun: we will have a select group ‘representing’ their preferred blogging platform go head-to-head over the capabilities, functionality, and general goodness of their chosen platform. This way we can hear the ins and outs of platforms in a way we may not usually experience. This discussion will be followed by a conversation with questions and answers about the various ways nonprofit organizations can introduce and utilize blogs to connect with communities.

We hope to kick these monthly events off right with a great group of people, some lively presentations/conversation, and lots of networking - come join us on the 4th!

What is Net Tuesday?

Every month, social changemakers and Web innovators come together at Net Tuesday events to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and reinforce the online NetSquared community. Net Tuesdays take place in 22 cities around the world with more cities joining in every month. Find out more and check out other Net Tuesdays here.

Join in!

Here are some simple steps to participating in London Net Tuesday:

  1. Join the Meetup.com group for free, to stay up to date, network with other participants, and more!
  2. Mark 4 Nov on your calendar for our first event!
  3. Spread the word and invite your friends and colleagues along!

I’m so excited to be part of the London Net Tuesday and think it is really going to be something special. Nonprofits and social changemakers, see you on the 4th!

NetSquared welcomed in the UK!

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on October 15, 2008
in community
. 5 Comments

I have been busy since we moved to London last month, meeting with leaders of the local nonprofit technology community to hear what the biggest obstacles are facing consultants and staff working to help nonprofits adopt strategic technologies, biggest needs are for a group that brings the community together (Net Tuesday London!), and what I can do help.  The conversations have been affirming, enlightening and enthusiastic.  I’m ready to go!

Net Tuesday London is officially in the works!  Put the evening of November 4th on your calendars folks - it should be a wonderful first event bringing together social changemakers of all kinds to discuss social media.  More details will be announced soon.

Two great movers-and-shakers that I’ve had the opportunity to talk with include David Wilcox and Dave Briggs.  David wrote up a fantastic intorduction for me on the SocialReporter blog.  Here’s a bit:

A year ago a group of enthusiasts for web-enabled social innovation and change met in London committed to setting up Netsquared in the UK, loosely based on the Netsquared conference and community started in the US.

It didn’t happen like that, and although the social innovation landscape is now more highly populated, a bit more joining-up would be helpful.

Fortunately Netsquared has come to us, because community builder Amy Sample Ward has moved to London to start up Net Tuesdays like those common in the US and elsewhere. As you’ll see from the video, Amy is already networking furiously, and would like to partner up with others in the field for events and other activities.  Read more…

Dave gave a wonderful shout out as well!

I also got the chance to catch up with Amy Sample Ward, who works with NetSquared helping non-profits get the most out of technology. She’s now based in London and will be doing her best to help UK NFPs catch up.  Read more…

Thanks so much to all the people I’ve talked with so far about supporting the nonprofit technology community here in London and in the UK!  I’m just thrilled to be working with you.

Here’s the interview David recorded with me yesterday:


Amy Sample Ward from David Wilcox on Vimeo.

Net Tuesday London in the works!

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on October 3, 2008
in community and events
. 1 Comment

As most of you know, I’m now located in London, UK and the community builder at NetSquared.  I’m really excited to be here and to connect with the nonprofit technology community on the ground in the UK.

As part of my offline community building for NetSquared here, I’m laying the ground work for the first Net Tuesday London!  I’m hoping we can hold our first monthly event this November, and want it to really be something that fills a niche, connects nptechers, technologists, consultants, nonprofits and social changemakers.

If you are here in London or the UK, below is a link to a survey to help gauge what your goals and preferences are for Net Tuesday London.  I’d really love to hear your thoughts, and to see you there in November!

Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out the short survey; it should only take 5 minutes or so.

Here’s the survey!

Let me know if you have any questions about NetSquared, Net Tuesdays, the survey or anything else!

Breaking the news: I’m moving to London!

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on August 11, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 8 Comments

Today is the one-month-left mark for our time in the US, so I figured it was a perfect moment to stop and let everyone in on the plans: London, here we come!

Why London?
Max, that cute guy in the picture with the dog, (also known as my partner/husband/corroborator) is headed back to school in London this Fall, and I’m super excited about the opportunity to become part of the UK nptech community. We move in one month and are pretty excited. We are surrounded by lists and reminder notes scribbled on scraps of paper, all in anticipation of forgetting many things. :)

What changes?
I don’t plan on too much changing, well, aside from a boom in Indian food consumption! This blog will keep on going, pretty much the way it does now (though I apologize for the decrease in posts lately, blame it on the list-making). There will be more commentary on UK-organizations, tools, or case studies, but I think it will provide a great opportunity to have a conversation about what is the same/different and how organizations are making social media work for them across borders. I’m really looking forward to learning a great deal, and sharing it all with you!

What to do?
I am still investigating options for where to work. I am very excited to be part of an effort to build out the nptech community on and offline in the UK and am very excited to put my community building experiences to work over there. I will be speaking on Sept 25th at the London Fundraising Summit about online fundraising, so if you are going to be there (or are a Londoner), please let me know!

That’s the story! We have visited London before, and have a few friends who live there now. I’d certainly love any recommendations you have, whether they are for restaurants, events, insider-knowledge, or even jobs! :)

Photo by 13bobby