Thank you!

I am completely overwhelmed by the positive, kind, touching things that so many community members have shared about the work we have all done together during my time with NetSquared and TechSoup Global over the last two and a half years. A huge thank you to all those who participated in the #ThanksAmy meme (on the blog, on Twitter, or on facebook), and especially to my friend and NetSquared Local organizer Ivan Boothe for starting the meme after my departure was first announced, and to Claire and Laney for taking it to the next level.

I want to thank Daniel, Rebecca, and Marnie – the TSG co-CEOs. All of them bring such unique perspective to the organization and the sector. Their vision and leadership supported me in the belief that we can actually change the world.

A huge thank you goes to Billy. He brought me on board when our team was just a few people, spread around the world. We worked closely together for 6 months before we even met in person – and even then he kept me around! I am so thankful for the opportunity to have dreamed together and collaborated on community-driven projects around the world. I know we will continue inspiring each other and finding ways to bring our work together.

A thank you to Claire for all her hard work, passion, and dedication. It was really my pleasure to work with you and support you in your ever-expanding role on the team. I hope I never felt like your “boss” but only your teammate, friend, and co-conspirator!<

A thank you to so many others, too! Too many to list! All those on the CDI team; Laney, Anna, Sarah, Jim, Aletha, Alicja, and Ana. All those working on other TS community projects; Susan, Megan, Jessica, Evonne, Kristy and others. To those working on content and knowledge sharing with Lea, Shab, Elliot, Becky and many others. To all those that I had the distinct pleasure to work with in England (William, Richard, Sarah and others), Romania (Chris, Ruxandra, Zoltan and others) and Poland (Nick, Kris, Adam, Svetlana, Ellen, and others).

And a huge thank you to all those in the TechSoup Global office in SF and those in Partner organizations around the world. You are all part of a really amazing effort to equip this world with the technology and the knowledge needed to make transformation. Thank you for letting me be a part of it!

My Next Steps

Ever since Ivan started the #thanksamy meme a few weeks ago, I’ve had quite a few DMs or emails asking what exactly I’ll be doing next. I’m quite excited to share that I won’t be going far!

Starting tomorrow, I’ll join the team at NTEN as the Membership Director. I’m really excited that I will continue to be in a position to listen to and support the nonprofit technology sector and enthusiastic about the opportunities to co-design programs, services, and resources that deepen our collective capacity and push us forward to make lasting change.

You can still find me here on the NetSquared blog as well as my personal blog; and you can still find me on twitter at @amyrsward. I will also continue hosting the monthly Community Builder chats and hope you’ll join!

If you’re planning to attend the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference in DC this March, please get in touch as I’d love to connect with you in person!

Location: San Jose, CA

Topic: Technology and Social Impact

Description:  The TSG Contributors’ Summit is a chance for the partner organizations, funders, sponsors and community leaders to come together to discuss new ideas, new opportunities, and new ways of leveraging technology for social impact. I’ll be speaking, facilitating and assisting with the event.

Related Links:

• TechSoup Global
• Hashtag: #tsg2011
• Conference wiki: http://tsg-summit.wikispaces.com

Location: Portland, OR, USA

Topic: Strategic Communications

Description: I’m really excited to attend the Portland Camp as part of the NetSquared Camps Pilot!  I’ll be helping lead a discussion on social media and communications strategy.

Related Links:

• Portland Camp details
• Wiki and notes

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• NetSquared Local Reaches 70 Groups Worldwide! | NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoupGlobal.org – "In the last two months, we've had 5 new NetSquared Local groups join the scene, bringing the new official number to 70 groups worldwide! Below is a list of the new groups that have just gotten started. If you're interested in getting involved either as a co-organizer or a participant in one of these cities, go to the group website and give the organizer a shout!"
• Facebook | The Networked Nonprofit Virtual Launch Party – "After more than a year of anticipation, on June 21 Beth Kanter and Allison Fine will release the Networked Nonprofit, published by Jossey-Bass. At 4:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. PDT Beth and Allison will celebrate with a virtual book party on U-Stream and Twitter (#netnon). Our party goal: Make The Networked Nonprofit a top ten bestseller in Amazon.com's business book section before the book is issued (Official release date: July 9). Join us on the 21st at 4 eastern/1 pacific for questions and answers about the book The Networked Nonprofit. Whether you want to watch the dynamic duo live on your computer or just chat with them on Twitter, the party will be a blast."
• Amazon Patents Social Networking System, Winks at Facebook – "The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Amazon a patent for a “Social Networking System.” Amazingly enough, the description of the patent sounds, well, pretty much like any social network we’ve seen over the years, including Facebook."
• open data doesn't empower communities | internet.artizans – "Open data doesn't empower communities. I'm not saying open data is a bad thing, but we need to highlight the gap between the semantic web and social impact. Otherwise we'll continue to get swept along on a tide of technocratic enthusiasm where hope lies in 'a flood of data to create a data-literate citizenry'."
• The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving – "Economic conditions, natural disasters, and market fluctuations have made it extremely difficult for nonprofits to make fundraising decisions informed by the latest donor behavior. That is why we created the Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving — to provide fundraisers with up-to-date data on fundraising trends and to couple that information with valuable analysis by leaders in the sector." The trend is up 12.1%!

Find us!

Here’s a listing of sessions and spaces hosted by NetSquared and TechSoup:

Community-Driven Social Impact Session

Amy Sample Ward from NetSquared
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010; 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Room: 1471
This session focuses on strategies and case studies for creating successful community-driven media, events and campaigns. Participants will learn about best practices and work in small groups to put learning into practice.

Technology Planning for Nonprofits Session

Catherine Hurd and Elliot Harmon
 from TechSoup Global
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Room: 1374
This session will help participants to assess their organization’s technology needs and capacity; work with technical volunteers; and understand the role of technology planning as the foundation for an effective operating environment.

Mixed Reality Learning Lab

Susan Tenby from TechSoup Global along with Interactive Producers Evonne Heyning from and Josephine Dorado
Dates: All conference long!
Location: In the lounge near the ballroom entrance corridor between the conference host exhibit spaces
The team at TechSoup has brewed up a select menu of tools and strategies to provide a social media curriculum to conference attendees on how to explore Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and applications for engaging volunteers and supporters around the world.  Attendees can join a tour of the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life or learn how to use digital storytelling and Facebook for quick and easy updates to keep connected to supporters. Quick tips and tools will be provided on how to get started as well as support for more advanced users.  Also, engage in a mixed reality event as avatars and representatives from nonprofits around the world discuss their work both virtually and in their communities.

Get in Touch Via Twitter

Will you be at the NCVS? We’d love to hear from you: @NetSquared or @TechSoup.  Or connect with us directly:

• Amy Sample Ward: @AmyRSWard
• Elliot Harmon: @ElliotHarmon
• Susan Tenby: @Suzboop

I love community organizing. It’s true! It’s something that I am energized by, passionate about, and take so much pleasure in helping others do well, too. I’ve had experience organizing communities offline in local communities, and organizing community online – but the kind of organizing that inspires me the most is combining online and offline. Social media tools work because they are powered by people, and people are social. And when we get connected, and can connect our networks with other networks, we get even more social and have huge potential to make great things happen.  My work with NetSquared and with Social by Social has helped shape so many of my beliefs about community organizing and has offered the opportunity to meet so many others doing it well.

Lots of organizations, campaigns, and even individuals are now using social media tools to organize online and offline – bringing local communities together in new and powerful ways.

This month’s #4Change chat takes on the topic of using social media tools for community organizing – and I hope you’ll join us!

Details:

Date: June 10th
Time: 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK
Location: Twitter! #4Change
Topic: Community Organizing

June #4Change Chat Questions:

To keep the two-hour chat on topic, I’ll be helping guide conversation by using some of the questions below to drive us to share ideas, examples and resources. If you want to take a peak at where we may go in the conversation, review the questions below.

1. What kind of communities do you currently work with and what kinds of social media tools do they use?
2. What’s the point in using “global” tools (social media) for local organizing?
3. What strategies are important to keep in mind when using social media in local organizing?
4. What tools have you or your communities found useful for growing or organizing, hosting or distributing?
5. What tools have been most unsuccessful?
6. What are the online community organizing best practices from your experience?
7. What roles are important in online community organizing?
8. What are your favorite examples or case studies where this is really working?
9. What metrics are valuable in measuring success of social media tools for organizing?

You can also suggest questions or topic areas to be included by leaving a comment on this post!

How to Participate

1. If you want to contribute to the conversation, you’ll need to have a twitter account (it’s free).
2. To follow the conversation (whether you are planning to contribute or not), use http://search.twitter.com or another application to search on Twitter for #4Change
3. Jump in to the conversation by adding #4Change to your Twitter message
4. Feeling brave? Check out TweetChat – it’s a great application that integrates with your Twitter account and makes chats more fun! You can turn it off after the chat.

Conversations and Presentations

For some recent thoughts and best practices on community building, check out:

• How our tools define “Community”
• Sustainable Community Building
• Return on Engagement for your Community
• Bringing Community Organizing into Online Campaigns
• Building Stronger Online Communities without Losing Your Sanity
• Crowdsourcing: Community vs Crowd
• Online Community Building: Gardening vs Landscaping

New to #4Change? Learn More:

To learn more about #4Change monthly twitter chat go to the #4Change Blog, read about #4Change and search twitter for #4Change. To participate just join in twitter conversation from anywhere in the world.

Location: Atlanta, GA, USA – at the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference

Topic: Open Data and APIs in your Organization

Description: The NetSquared team will be facilitating an open spaces or “unconference” style event from 9 am – 1 pm focused on open data and APIs; we hope to bring together projects who have built successful tools using open data or API technology with others looking to learn more and discuss ideas for helping their organization better tell stories, reach communities, and serve their audiences.

Related Links: 

• 10NTC
• Open Data wiki

Using the hashtag #crowdx, we had an enormous conversation via Twitter during the session – you can see the recap captured from that time here: http://twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/crowdx

You can listen to the audio recording of the session or watch the video, thanks both to David Wells at Socialize Your Cause:

Crowd Sourcing Innovative Social Change from Socialize Your Cause on Vimeo.

It’s that time again: time to meet up at the Nonprofit Technology Conference!  This year it’s taking place in Atlanta, GA and I’ve got such a long list of people to meet, talk to, and learn from. This year’s event will have me quite busy so I’m hoping that by putting out some of my plans, we can find time to connect so I can learn more about your work!

These are the sessions I’m participating in and other sessions by TechSoup Global staff that I may be supporting or checking out as well.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

NetSquared Open Space (NOS): APIs and Open Data

• Who: Facilitating: Amy Sample Ward | NetSquared; Billy Bicket | NetSquared
• When: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• What: Learn how your organization could use open data and APIs to show your impact, coordinate volunteers, or inspire supporters to take action. The NOS session is a chance for anyone interested in open data and APIs to connect and collaborate. Even if you’ve never participated in an ‘unconference’ event like this, no worries! The NetSquared team will be working the room to activate and facilitate conversations so everyone can enjoy the ride.

Social Media Veterans (#smvets)

• Who: Speaker: Rachel Weidinger | TechSoup Global
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: This meeting is for for people at orgs who have been using social media for several years and will be a forum to exchange advanced level tips and stories, as well as share what’s worked and what hasn’t.

Local Community Organizers (#localco)

• Who: NetSquared and other Community Organizers
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: This is a chance for local organizers to share stories and lessons learned and network with those considering starting a group.

Science Fair: The NTC Exhibit Hall

• Who: TechSoup Global staff
• When: 3:00 – 8:00 pm
• What: Booth #4 – The Science Fair is an opportunity for companies and organizations that provide technology services to the nonprofit sector to show off their latest and greatest offerings to everyone attending the Nonprofit Technology Conference. This marketplace of ideas will be filled with simultaneous presentations and hands-on demos, and includes the conference’s Opening Reception. It’s open to the public so invite your local Atlanta friends to meet you there!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Member Lounge Hosted by TechSoup Global Redwood Room

• When: All Day
• What:  Relax, or join the fun – it’s up to you! In the lounge you’ll be able to do both with snacks and wi-fi in addition to smart activities that’ll promote engagement with other do-gooders. Activities include:
  – Human Bingo: A fun and easy way to network with other attendees
  – Event Space Hacks: Two great ideas, unlimited open dialogue with peers
  – Open Data Storytelling: Learn how to best tell your organization’s story
  – East-West Technology, Culture & Food Exchange: Innovation and culture sharing with NGO counterparts in India

Listen First! Finding Networks and Connections in Social Media – [Juniper] (#netconx)

• Who: Speakers: Susan Tenby | TechSoup Global; Janet Fouts; Kira Marchenese
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: An important part of your social media strategy should be listening for people and organizations who are talking about the issues you want to discuss.How do you know which networks will be most effective to reach your goals? Listen first and discover where the conversations are!

Bringing Community Organizing Into Online Campaigns – [International Ballroom C] (#co2oc)

• Who: Speakers: Amy Sample Ward | Netsquared; Debra Askanase; Ivan Boothe
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: What is the basis of community organizing and why is it important to online campaigns? Traditional community organizing informs a successful online campaign and lays the groundwork for a sustainable, effective movement for social change. In this session, participants will get their hands dirty planning a social media campaign that integrates traditional organizing theory and practice. During the workshop, we will present traditional community organizing principles and methods of campaign mapping. We will also ask up to three attending organizations to present an idea for an upcoming campaign and goals. Attendees will divide into break-out groups to design the online campaign. The groups will use both community organizing principles and social media tools to create an online social media campaign. Each group will present its campaign strategy and tactics to the entire workshop. Workshop leaders will offer feedback and evaluation. Come to the session with your online campaign ideas, and get ready to have fun mapping out a campaign!

Unleashing Technology to Advance Social & Economic Development – [International Ballroom A] (#tech2adv)

• Who: Speakers: Marnie Webb | TechSoup Global; Michael Best; Edward Granger-Happ; Jane Meseck
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: Technology can be an amazing tool for social and economic development. It can help people get a better education, learn new skills to earn a living wage, or start a business. It also can enable organizations to meet community needs by broadening access to healthcare, education, micro-banking and other essential services. One of the most significant advances in information technology (IT) today is the growing connectivity among devices— computers, mobile phones and even televisions. With the widespread penetration of mobile phones and other handheld devices that connect to the Web, nearly 4 billion people worldwide now have some level of access to computing. Increasingly powerful and feature-rich software applications are emerging to run these intelligent and interconnected mobile computing devices. At the same time, the Internet continues to mature as a gateway for “cloud computing,” in which remote datacenters host data and serve applications over the Web for use across a broad spectrum of devices and IT systems. The convergence of device connectivity, software innovation and cloud-based services offers great potential to improve how we all work, but even more significant promise for NGOs to manage their operations more effectively, deliver a broader array of services and achieve a greater impact in the communities they serve. This Leadership session will bring together a panel of top NGO IT experts and CIOs for an interactive and forward thinking discussion of technology’s potential as a disruptive force o better achieve their missions and accelerate social and economic development.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Member Lounge Hosted by TechSoup Global Redwood Room

• When: All Day
• What:  Relax, or join the fun – it’s up to you! In the lounge you’ll be able to do both with snacks and wi-fi in addition to smart activities that’ll promote engagement with other do-gooders. Activities include:
  – Human Bingo: A fun and easy way to network with other attendees
  – Event Space Hacks: Two great ideas, unlimited open dialogue with peers
  – Open Data Storytelling: Learn how to best tell your organization’s story
  – East-West Technology, Culture & Food Exchange: Innovation and culture sharing with NGO counterparts in India

Building Stronger Online Communities Without Losing Your Sanity – [International Ballroom B] (#strongoc)

• Who: Speakers: Amy Sample Ward | Netsquared; Mrs. Peggy Duvette; Christine Egger; Manny Hernandez
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: If you want to build a strong online community, getting the right platform in place is only half the battle, and it’s the easy half. In this peer-led discussion, we’ll share our experiences of online community building and build lists of best practices around recruiting new members and retaining them, increasing participation and moderating your community.

Cross Platform Events that Rock – [International Ballroom A] (#cperock)

• Who: Speakers: Susan Tenby & Megan E. Keene | TechSoup Global; Evonne Heyning
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: Online events aren’t only about having a conversation on your own website. How can you get more people involved by meeting them where they’re at? We’ll use the TSdigs event in October 2009 as a case study. The event took place on forums, webinars, Tweetchat, Second Life, flickr and YouTube. This cross-platform event allowed for multiple levels of interaction with the single goal of teaching nonprofits how to tell stories digitally. The panel will take place across a mixed-reality framework, to illustrate the process and feeling of a cross-platform/mixed reality event.

Greening Your Technology – [Cottonwood B] (#greentech)

• Who: Speakers: Anna S. Jaeger | TechSoup Global; Robin Billings; David Deal; Steve Lippman
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: Learn how to reduce the environmental impact of your information technology and how to effectively use IT to improve your organizations’ efficiency. In this session, we will explain how to green your IT infrastructure and effectively use software and hardware to reduce the environmental impact of your operations. We invite audience participation, so bring and share your ideas. We will start out with a panel of nonprofit technology and vendor product experts and then break out into smaller groups to discuss best practices and real-world solutions. Often going green does not necessitate spending more money; in fact, it frequently can help you reduce energy, resource usage and costs. Whether you are thinking about cloud computing, power management, hardware procurement or travel reduction come join our workshop to discuss tools and practices that can help you go green.

Follow the Conference Live

There are various ways you can follow the NTC online from wherever you are, as select sessions and key note speakers will be live-streamed, various people will be live-blogging, and the Twitter stream for sessions will be active.

• Live-streamed events
• Sessions as webinars
• Follow in social media

I will also be using Twitter and blogs during the event: Twitter @amyrsward and @NetSquared as well as this blog and the NetSquared Blog.

Can’t wait to see you there!