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Amy Sample Wardβs Version of NPTech
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<h1 class='blog-title'> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/" accesskey="1">Amy Sample Wardâs Version of NPTech</a>
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<div id="post-1415" class="post-1415 post hentry category-challenge category-events tag-case-studies tag-competition tag-computer tag-contest tag-giveaway tag-social-change tag-technology p1 y2010 m02 d09 h11">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/09/technology-for-change-contest-win-a-new-computer-from-hp/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Technology for Change Contest: Win a new computer from HP!">Technology for Change Contest: Win a new computer from HP!</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/challenge/" title="View all posts in challenge">challenge</a> and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/events/" title="View all posts in events">events</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/09/technology-for-change-contest-win-a-new-computer-from-hp/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Technology for Change Contest: Win a new computer from HP!">4 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/case-studies/" rel="tag">case studies</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/competition/" rel="tag">competition</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/computer/" rel="tag">computer</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/contest/" rel="tag">contest</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/giveaway/" rel="tag">giveaway</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/social-change/" rel="tag">social change</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/technology/" rel="tag">technology</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F02%2F09%2Ftechnology-for-change-contest-win-a-new-computer-from-hp%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p><strong>Technology for Change</strong></p>
<p>What’s your favorite example of technology helping people create positive change in the world? I think there are too many to count, really. For example, simply review the hundreds of ideas listed in <a href="http://netsquared.org">NetSquared</a>’s <a href="http://www.netsquared.org/projectgallery">Project Gallery</a> and you’ll quickly see that people from around the world are hard at work leveraging all kinds of technologies to create positive change for communities tackling many different issues.</p>
<p>One example that I’ve blogged about before is the annual project from EpicChange: <a href="http://tweetsgiving.epicchange.org/">Tweetsgiving</a>. During the US Thanksgiving holiday, Tweetsgiving asked people around the world to use Twitter to share something they were grateful for and include the link to the Tweetsgiving site (where people could donate to help build a library, classroom and more for the benefiting school in Tanzania). This year, the Tweetsgiving campaign also asked people to gather in person, offline and have gratitude parties, where people could also donate in person to the project. You can see the numbers (from tweets, to dollars, to videos and more) on the <a href="http://epicchangeblog.org/2009/12/09/tweetsgiving-2009-gratitude-by-the-numbers/">EpicChange blog here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Enter the Contest</strong></p>
<p><!--[if IE]><br />
<![endif]--><!--[if !IE]><!-->As part of <a href="http://h30484.www3.hp.com/CreateChange/index.html?jumpid=ex_r602_go/createchange/amy">HPâs Create Change initiative</a>, they want to initiate a dialogue on how technology and individuals create social change – and to do that, they <a href="http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/thechangingfaceofmedia/archive/2010/02/05/lt-strong-gt-create-change-in-2010-blogger-contests-with-hp-lt-strong-gt.aspx">have partnered with bloggers</a> like me that think we know a few folks with ideas on that subject! (Looking at all of you readers, hint hint!)</p>
<p>HP is <a href="http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/thechangingfaceofmedia/archive/2010/02/05/lt-strong-gt-create-change-in-2010-blogger-contests-with-hp-lt-strong-gt.aspx">giving away</a> a new computer and printer bundle to the winner selected in the contest – and we all have the added bonus of learning about ways others have leveraged technology and finding case studies that can help us in our work. I’m really looking forward to hearing about the projects you find inspiring!</p>
<p><em>To participate in the contest, follow these easy steps:</em></p>
<p>1. Answer the same question that I discussed above:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>What’s your favorite example of technology helping people create positive change in the world?</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>2. Provide your answer in the comments below (if you’d like to blog your answer on your own site, simply leave a comment here with a link to your site to be sure it’s included)</p>
<p>3. You have until February 28th to submit a response to the question</p>
<p>On March 1, I will select a winner at random (all commenters who answer the question will be put into a hat and I’ll draw one at random). The winner will be announced here in an update at the bottom of the blog post that day.</p>
<p><strong>So, get your submission in and be in the running for a new computer and printer!</strong></p>
<p><em>(To find out more about HP’s Create Change initiative, visit <a href="http://h30484.www3.hp.com/CreateChange/index.html?jumpid=ex_r602_go/createchange/amy">their website</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HPhome">Facebook page</a>.)</em></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-02-09T10:48:54+0000">February 9, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/09/technology-for-change-contest-win-a-new-computer-from-hp/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Technology for Change Contest: Win a new computer from HP!">4 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1404" class="post-1404 post hentry category-issues category-otherblogs category-socialmedia tag-adoption tag-conversation tag-report tag-research tag-social-media tag-ssir p2 alt y2010 m02 d05 h00">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/04/new-on-ssir-effects-of-joining-the-conversation/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to New on SSIR: Effects of Joining the Conversation">New on SSIR: Effects of Joining the Conversation</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/issues/" title="View all posts in issues">issues</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/otherblogs/" title="View all posts in otherblogs">otherblogs</a> and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/socialmedia/" title="View all posts in socialmedia">socialmedia</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/04/new-on-ssir-effects-of-joining-the-conversation/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on New on SSIR: Effects of Joining the Conversation">1 <span>Comment</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/adoption/" rel="tag">adoption</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/conversation/" rel="tag">conversation</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/report/" rel="tag">report</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/research/" rel="tag">research</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/social-media/" rel="tag">social media</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/ssir/" rel="tag">ssir</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F02%2F04%2Fnew-on-ssir-effects-of-joining-the-conversation%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p><em><a href="http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/the_effects_of_joining_the_conversation/">My latest post is up on the Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion blog.</a> You can read the post and join the conversation over <a href="http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/the_effects_of_joining_the_conversation/">there</a> – it’s also copied below.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">—–</p>
<p>It’s not a surprise to any of us that social media is changing the way our organizations work, not just communicate. The lessons in social media are especially important for organizations working with the public, whether it’s public service or opinion. <a href="http://www.thehatchergroup.com/">The Hatcher Group</a>, a Maryland-based public affairs and communications firm, released a great report this past Fall called <a href="http://www.thehatchergroup.com/doc/Social_Media_091009.pdf">New Media & Social Change: How Nonprofits are Using Web-based Technologies to Reach Their Goals</a> (PDF). Despite the generic title, this is a report chock full of examples, best practices and data about the effects of joining the conversation online.</p>
<p>The 30 participating organizations in the report are members of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a group of independent, nonprofits with a shared commitment to responsible budget and tax policies. As such, it’s easy to identify some of the goals these organizations have for using social media, including: engaging with and even influencing the general [voting] public, influencing news, engaging with and influencing politicians and legislation, and sharing data, information or viewpoints. Social media is a prominent social gathering place where these goals can definitely be met. Joining the conversation is incredibly important if these organizations expect to change policy and change minds.</p>
<p><strong>Joining the conversation really means conversations.</strong></p>
<p>It’s not just a phrase or some insider lingo, when I recommend organizations join the conversation, I mean just that! People are talking online and the best way to influence what they are saying or how they are thinking about issues is to talk with them. The survey found that blogging and blog outreach was the most popular social media choice.</p>
<ul>
<li>83 percent currently reach out to bloggers and the remaining 17 percent plan to in the future</li>
<li>more than 93 percent now monitor citations of their organization in the blogosphere</li>
</ul>
<p>Many groups included in the report maintained blogs (either on their own site or elsewhere), but what the numbers above (and the effects listed below) indicate is that you don’t necessarily have to create your own blog to join the conversation. It’s already happening, so go there!</p>
<p><strong>Being an active member of the conversation pays off.</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>88 per-cent of the organizations said they had been cited in blogs as a result of their outreach efforts</li>
<li>64 percent felt that they had successfully affected blog coverage of an issue.</li>
<li>16 percent of the organizations were subsequently invited to submit guest-posts</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Real-time is just as important.</strong></p>
<p>Over half of the organizations surveyed reported that they do not use Twitter and do not intend to, with only 24% reporting use of the tool. This is a huge missed opportunity to influence public opinion, participate in the conversation, attract attention from journalists and policy makers, and more. Twitter is part of the real-time Web, meaning it enables people to communicate, share information, spread news, and distribute links in “real-time” as it happens. As more and more people join the micro-blogging platform Twitter, it becomes an even more relevant tool for organizations working on impacting legislation and connecting with voters. It’s true that with blogs, there’s a bit more time for responses to be prepared (and even approved internally) before posting. But, that should not stop organizations joining Twitter and empowering staff to leverage organizational talking points, resources and research to better information the conversations there.</p>
<blockquote><p>One organization had particular success using Twitter to facilitate its state policy work. As the legislative session in the groupâs state was winding down, things began moving at such a rapid pace that daily newspaper updates were not sufficient to inform and pro- mote its advocacy efforts.The organization found that following Twitter updates posted by reporters and advocates from the state- house was the fastest and easiest way to track legislative develop- ments.The groupâs representatives were also able to update their Twitter profile to provide rapid-response statements.These short and timely statements sent out on Twitter caught the attention of local reporters, who then contacted the organization to solicit quotes for stories.</p></blockquote>
<p><em><strong>What do you think?</strong></em></p>
<p>How has your organization joined the conversation online? Are there any tools or techniques in particular that have helped you find or contribute to the conversations taking place across the web?</p>
<p><em>(Download the full report in PDF: <a href="http://www.thehatchergroup.com/doc/Social_Media_091009.pdf">New Media & Social Change: How Nonprofits are Using Web-based Technologies to Reach Their Goals</a>)</em></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-02-04T23:17:13+0000">February 4, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/04/new-on-ssir-effects-of-joining-the-conversation/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on New on SSIR: Effects of Joining the Conversation">1 <span>Comment</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1412" class="post-1412 post hentry category-uncategorized p3 y2010 m02 d03 h19">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/why-does-nten-like-bohemian-rhapsody-for-you/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Why does NTEN like Bohemian Rhapsody? For you!">Why does NTEN like Bohemian Rhapsody? For you!</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/uncategorized/" title="View all posts in Uncategorized">Uncategorized</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/why-does-nten-like-bohemian-rhapsody-for-you/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Why does NTEN like Bohemian Rhapsody? For you!">2 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fwhy-does-nten-like-bohemian-rhapsody-for-you%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>Last year, NTEN created a scholarship fund program to help support many more people attend the Nonprofit Technology Conference. Donations were matched by Convio and with over $10,000 raised by the community, we had fun at the largest-attended NTC yet! There was even more value for the buck though: NTEN Executive Director put her pride on the line, saying that if the $10K mark was met, she’d perform <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdM80GPOU0I">Put a Ring on It</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdM80GPOU0I">…and boy, did she</a>!</p>
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<p>This year, the whole gang is getting roped in! NTEN is hoping to raise $10,000 from the nonprofit technology community again this year, and Convio is going to match those dollars to help get as many folks to #10NTC in Atlanta this April 8-10. And what’ll happen to the NTEN staff if we hit $10K? They’ll be doing their own rendition of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY">Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody</a>!</p>
<p>So, please join me in helping make the NTEN staff have some fun and support attendees who otherwise wouldn’t be able to make it to Atlanta. There are lots of ways to get involved:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=EGMOtC_XEP1JfxZveN_3JJzrmVJqXc7smkRuDcvZALUy8Nt3Kx87JSMM5pu&dispatch=50a222a57771920b6a3d7b606239e4d529b525e0b7e69bf0224adecfb0124e9b5eb2336391e7cbed125f6c5bdaf8a1cdeb9b6b1b7e42e65e">Donate</a> now!</li>
<li>Share the widget or this post on your blog, website, facebook or elsewhere</li>
<li>Tweet it! (Here’s a tweet you can use: Join me in hitting $10K for the #10NTC – the Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody may be involved <img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> http://nten.org/scholarships )</li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s the widget!</p>
<p><img style="visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjUyMTQ*NjUxNDkmcHQ9MTI2NTIxNDY5ODc4MiZwPTEyMDc*MSZkPWpRREZsbzY*SUlyYkJHRFEmZz*yJm89NGFl/YzA4NWM*ZWJhNGEyMDkzY2ZkZTM3NDUwNDFlYjEmb2Y9MA==.gif" border="0" alt="" width="0" height="0" /><object id="playerLoader" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="221" height="248" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="quality" value="best" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://farm.sproutbuilder.com/load/jQDFlo64IIrbBGDQ.swf" /><param name="name" value="playerLoader" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed id="playerLoader" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="221" height="248" src="http://farm.sproutbuilder.com/load/jQDFlo64IIrbBGDQ.swf" name="playerLoader" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="best" align="middle"></embed></object></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-02-03T18:00:37+0000">February 3, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/why-does-nten-like-bohemian-rhapsody-for-you/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Why does NTEN like Bohemian Rhapsody? For you!">2 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1408" class="post-1408 post hentry category-interview tag-communitys tag-interview tag-resources tag-seniors tag-social-media p4 alt y2010 m02 d03 h17">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/interview-colin-rhinesmith-cctv-cambridge/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Interview: Colin Rhinesmith, CCTV Cambridge">Interview: Colin Rhinesmith, CCTV Cambridge</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/interview/" title="View all posts in interview">interview</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/interview-colin-rhinesmith-cctv-cambridge/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Interview: Colin Rhinesmith, CCTV Cambridge">7 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/communitys/" rel="tag">communitys</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/interview/" rel="tag">interview</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/resources/" rel="tag">resources</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/seniors/" rel="tag">seniors</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/social-media/" rel="tag">social media</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Finterview-colin-rhinesmith-cctv-cambridge%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p><em>Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to connect with <a id="fvww" title="Colin Rhinesmith" href="http://colinrhinesmith.com/">Colin Rhinesmith</a>, Community Media Coordinator at <a id="t4ew" title="Cambridge Community Television" href="http://www.cctvcambridge.org/">Cambridge Community Television</a> (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Adjunct Lecturer for the Media and Culture Program at Bentley University. Colin told me that they recently held a very popular social media workshop for seniors at Cambridge Community Television (<a href="http://twitter.com/cctvcambridge">@cctvcambridge</a>) but that it is a topic that would benefit from more coverage – so, I asked if I could interview him! You can learn more about the workshop and the issues seniors face with social media in the interview below.</em></p>
<p><strong>How did Cambridge Community Television get involved with social media and social media trainings?</strong></p>
<p>At CCTV we strongly believe that providing the tools to create media enhances citizens’ ability to participate in civic life. Since 1988, CCTV has provided Cambridge residents with access to media production equipment, training, facilities, and cable television channels to accomplish this goal. In 1996, CCTV opened <a id="jpfw" title="computerCENTRAL" href="http://www.cctvcambridge.org/computers">computerCENTRAL</a>, a state-of-the art community technology center, to extend our mission by providing our community with access to computers and the Internet.</p>
<p>Social media is a perfect compliment to our public access television channels. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other online tools extend our community into virtual spaces where our members can make and share media. The physical location of CCTV, as community media and technology center, provides Cambridge residents with additional opportunities to build community through face-to-face interaction; something social media can’t replicate in quite the same way.</p>
<p>CCTV first got involved with social media in 2005 when we switched our website’s content management system over to Drupal. Since then, CCTV members have used <a id="j_gn" title="Our website" href="http://www.cctvcambridge.org/">our website</a> to set-up accounts, start a blog, and share their community-based, non-commercial media with residents in Cambridge and beyond. As a result, we have grown a vibrant and diverse <a id="kibo" title="online community" href="http://cctvcambridge.org/connect">online community</a>.</p>
<p>In late 2005, <a id="rime" title="Steve Garfield" href="http://stevegarfield.com/">Steve Garfield</a> and <a id="d9u8" title="Ravi Jain" href="http://ravijain.org/">Ravi Jain</a> taught our first videoblogging workshop, <a id="qx4s" title="Blogosphere: Video Blogs 101" href="http://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/188">Blogosphere: Video Blogs 101</a>. Here is <a id="hz5v" title="video of their class" href="http://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/268">a fun video</a> from a class they taught here at CCTV the following year. The social media classes have been a great addition to our training program ever since. More recently, we have expanded our offerings to include specialized workshops for seniors, nonprofit organizations, city departments and agencies. The response has been overwhelming. The extraordinary interest in social media training has allowed us to use our mission to serve a new information need in our community.</p>
<p><strong>How did the social media training for seniors program develop?</strong></p>
<p>CCTV has offered computer and Internet access to seniors in Cambridge for many years. As an example, we offer special hours for seniors in computerCENTRAL every Monday from 10AM – 12PM. We are also located up the street from the Cambridge Senior Center. The social media training for seniors program began late last year through a partnership with the <a id="jrfv" title="Agassiz Baldwin Community" href="http://agassiz.org/">Agassiz Baldwin Community</a>. Members of the organization asked us to provide a workshop for their seniors. We saw this as a great opportunity for us to expand our social media trainings to an underserved population of our community.</p>
<p><strong>When it comes to seniors using social media, at least in your experience, what are their goals? </strong></p>
<p>Seniors want to know what’s going on. They hear about Twitter and Facebook, but many seniors don’t know what these tools are and how they work. They know their families are using them, and they see social media as a chance to connect more with their friends and families. Seniors also see social media as a way to connect more to the world around them.</p>
<p><strong>What are their struggles?</strong></p>
<p>Many of the seniors I’ve worked with are not sure how to get started with social media. It’s important for seniors to trust and feel comfortable with the tools before using them. Many seniors also prefer to use social media with people they already know. Some seniors don’t understand why a person would use social media to connect to people they don’t know. Lack of experience using computers and the Internet is also another struggle for many seniors.</p>
<p><strong>Have you found, or has Cambridge Community Television developed, any valuable resources targeted directly at seniors moving online?</strong></p>
<p>We had a difficult time finding social media training materials that were relevant to seniors in our community. Through Twitter, we connected to David Wilcox of <a id="mcc5" title="Social Reporter" href="http://socialreporter.com/">Social Reporter</a> who recommended that we take a look at the UK-based <a id="u1go" title="Digital Unite" href="http://digitalunite.com/">Digital Unite</a> to find social media training materials for the “Over 50s”. David’s recommendation turned out to be an incredibly useful resource (Thanks, David!).</p>
<p>DU’s <a id="wbai" title="Learning Zone" href="http://learning.digitalunite.com/">Learning Zone</a> offers guides with PDF downloads on a wide range of social media topics, including information about how seniors can share <a id="vz4v" title="photos and video" href="http://learning.digitalunite.com/category/photos-and-videos/">photos and video</a>, get started with <a id="kh8y" title="social networks and blogs" href="http://learning.digitalunite.com/category/social-networks-and-blogs/">social networks and blogs</a> and learn more about <a id="z_f2" title="web tools and security" href="http://learning.digitalunite.com/category/web-tools-and-security/">web tools and security</a>.</p>
<p>As we continue to offer more social media trainings for seniors, we hope to contribute our own Creative Commons licensed materials that other community-based individuals and nonprofit organizations can use in their work. People who are interested in getting involved can join our <a id="z5mc" title="Technology Resources for Nonprofits" href="http://cctvcambridge.org/npotech">Technology Resources for Nonprofits</a> group on our website.</p>
<p><strong>How can interested readers contribute to your work and that of others assisting seniors in moving online (and doing so in a way that meets their goals and recognizes their fears)?</strong></p>
<p>CCTV is excited to join other community-based organizations that provide social media training to seniors. However, we are still looking for successful training program examples that other individuals and organizations have offered to seniors that we can use and learn from here in Cambridge. Creative Commons licensed training materials would be particularly beneficial.</p>
<p><strong>How can people follow you and Cambridge Community Television?</strong></p>
<p>Connect to CCTV on <a id="q:bx" title="Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/cctvcambridge">Twitter</a>, <a id="i0hg" title="Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-MA/Cambridge-Community-Television/5703319563">Facebook</a>, <a id="ww1r" title="YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/cctvcambridge">YouTube</a> and <a id="qdnx" title="LinkedIn" href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1880423&trk=anet_ug_hm">LinkedIn</a>. You can also follow us on <a id="h6g5" title="Friendfeed" href="http://friendfeed.com/cctvcambridge">Friendfeed</a>.</p>
<p>If you are interested in supporting community voices in media, please consider connecting to CCTV in person or through our social media platforms listed above. If you live in Cambridge, please stop by our community media and technology center at 675 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square to say hello and learn how you can make media for your community.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">—–</p>
<p><em>I’m happy to share this interview with Colin on the blog and hope to hear from you about issues, case studies, or resources you’ve found in working with seniors in social media. </em></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-02-03T16:34:48+0000">February 3, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/interview-colin-rhinesmith-cctv-cambridge/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Interview: Colin Rhinesmith, CCTV Cambridge">7 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1405" class="post-1405 post hentry category-roundup tag-bookmarks tag-business tag-casestudies tag-climatechange tag-collaboration tag-corporations tag-facebook tag-gardeningbook tag-innovation tag-list tag-lists tag-marketing tag-nptech tag-organizing tag-postalicious tag-resources tag-socialmedia tag-sustainability p5 y2010 m02 d03 h16">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-february-3rd/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Great reads from around the web on February 3rd">Great reads from around the web on February 3rd</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/roundup/" title="View all posts in roundup">roundup</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-february-3rd/#respond" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Great reads from around the web on February 3rd">0 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/bookmarks/" rel="tag">bookmarks</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/business/" rel="tag">business</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/casestudies/" rel="tag">casestudies</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/climatechange/" rel="tag">climatechange</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/collaboration/" rel="tag">collaboration</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/corporations/" rel="tag">corporations</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/facebook/" rel="tag">facebook</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/gardeningbook/" rel="tag">gardeningbook</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/innovation/" rel="tag">innovation</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/list/" rel="tag">list</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/lists/" rel="tag">lists</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/marketing/" rel="tag">marketing</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/nptech/" rel="tag">nptech</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/organizing/" rel="tag">organizing</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/postalicious/" rel="tag">postalicious</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/resources/" rel="tag">resources</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/socialmedia/" rel="tag">socialmedia</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/sustainability/" rel="tag">sustainability</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fgreat-reads-from-around-the-web-on-february-3rd%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of February 3rd). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.</p>
<p>To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow <a href="http://twitter.com/amysampleward">@amysampleward</a> on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on <a href="http://delicious.com/amy5rene5/" target="_blank">Delicious</a> (for all kinds of bookmarks).</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.netsquared.org/blog/amy-sample-ward/net2-think-tank-online-fundraising-lessons-learned?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NetsquaredBlogFeed+%28NetSquared+blogs%29">Net2 Think Tank: Online Fundraising Lessons Learned | NetSquared</a> – "The Facebook application Causes recently announced it hit the $20 Million mark in donations. The America's Giving Challenge from Case Foundation spurred $2.1 Million in donations for charities this past winter. But, despite these numbers, for most organizations and causes raising money via social media is still a hard thing to do. There are different rules and new opportunities with online fundraising and every platform or application comes with a different community and varying functionality. So, what have you learned from trying your hand at online fundraising? This month's Net2 Think Tank asks you to share a lesson learned from online fundraising."</li>
<li><a href="http://jm.ly/UEnQek">Social Enterprise | GreenXchange: Crowdsourcing Social Innovation</a> – Marcia Stepanek discusses the newly launched collaborative effort amongst diverse companies to create an open area for innovators and innovation. "Launched last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, GreenXchange (GX) is a new Web-based knowledge exchange that is being spearheaded by 10 companies and social enterprises, including Nike, Best Buy, and Creative Commons, the San Francisco nonprofit that works to expand the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. Its seven other backers include Yahoo!, IDEO, Mountain Equipment Co-op, salesforce.com, 2degrees, the Outdoor Industry Association, and nGenera, a corporate strategy think tank."</li>
<li><a href="http://www.rossmcculloch.com/10-must-read-facebook-resources-for-non-profi">10 must-read Facebook resources for non-profits – Ross McCulloch</a> – Ross has a great collection of resources about using Facebook, including Pages vs Groups, adding paypal, examples and case studies. Whether you are already using Facebook for your organization or not, this is a good place to go to learn more about how to use the social networking platform to it's fullest.</li>
<li><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/random-rules-for-ideas-worth-spreading.html">Seth's Blog: Random rules for ideas worth spreading</a> – Seth Godin shares a list of rules for those times you develop an idea worth spreading. My favorite rule: "Seek out apostles, not partners. People who benefit from spreading your idea, not people who need to own it." Have you found any of these to be true in your own idea sharing and development? Which are best/worst?</li>
<li><a href="http://workingwikily.net/?p=1098">350.org: giving new meaning to “new organizing” | Working Wikily</a> – This is a great case study about community organizing from the 350.org campaign. "A lightbulb went on in my head while I was listening to the PdF webinar last week that laid bare the machinery that made it possible for 350.org to achieve the most widespread day of political action in history back on October 24th. We’re still in the midst of examining the various threats that traditional “membership organizations” are facing and the story of 350’s success is one of the best illustrations I’ve seen yet of the new model. In the words of 350 organizer Phil Aroneanu, “It’s about concerned citizens who are looking for a meaningful way to engage. It doesn’t make sense to ask them to click once and that’s it. That’s not a believable theory of change. Building those [local] leaders is the secret to the way that we organize.”"</li>
</ul>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-02-03T15:30:44+0000">February 3, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/02/03/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-february-3rd/#respond" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Great reads from around the web on February 3rd">0 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1397" class="post-1397 post hentry category-fundraising category-issues tag-causes tag-data tag-facebook tag-fundraising tag-myspace p6 alt y2010 m01 d29 h17">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/the-other-side-of-the-figures-causes-reaches-20-million-in-donations/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to The other side of the figures: Causes reaches $20 Million in Donations">The other side of the figures: Causes reaches $20 Million in Donations</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/fundraising/" title="View all posts in fundraising">fundraising</a> and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/issues/" title="View all posts in issues">issues</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/the-other-side-of-the-figures-causes-reaches-20-million-in-donations/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on The other side of the figures: Causes reaches $20 Million in Donations">14 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/causes/" rel="tag">causes</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/data/" rel="tag">data</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/facebook/" rel="tag">facebook</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/fundraising/" rel="tag">fundraising</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/myspace/" rel="tag">myspace</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="entry-content">
<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fthe-other-side-of-the-figures-causes-reaches-20-million-in-donations%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>Earlier this week, an <a href="http://exchange.causes.com/2010/01/20-million-donated/">announcement on the Causes Application blog</a> broke the news that over $20 Million has been donated since May 2007 via donors using the social networking application.</p>
<p>There’s been quite a lot of talk in the last year about the opportunities for fundraising online, generally, as well as the best practices for organizations leveraging social media for campaigns (as well as the idea to use free tools to raise money in hard economic times). There’s also been a bit of controversy around the Causes application specifically, due to it’s decision to abandon the MySpace platform and offer it’s application/services only to the Facebook community. (You can read more about the MySpace/Facebook move <a href="http://amysampleward.org/2009/11/06/new-on-ssir-letting-technology-lead/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/causes_on_myspace.php">here</a>, and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/2009/11/16/guest-post-on-tactical-philanthropy-causes-myspace-and-ideablob/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Here is the graph of donations on Causes since it launched in May 2007:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="causes application donations" src="http://exchange.causes.com/assets/2010/01/20-million-graph.png" alt="" width="425" height="195" /></p>
<p>Some of the additional data provided from Causes in their <a href="http://exchange.causes.com/2010/01/20-million-donated/">announcement</a>, includes:</p>
<ul>
<li>400,000 people have made at least one donation</li>
<li>$25 median donation amount</li>
<li>35,000 causes have received at least one donation</li>
<li>$2.1 million raised by 2009 Americaâs Giving Challenge participants</li>
<li>$4.5 million raised through the Birthday Wish feature</li>
</ul>
<p>Despite the initial awe and excitement around a number like $20 Million, I want to take a moment to think about the other side of the data. There certainly is more to the story and I hope you’ll share your perspectives as well.</p>
<p><strong>Social networks are still for engagement, not money</strong></p>
<p><strong>Fact</strong>: Of the hundreds of thousands of organizations registered as possible beneficiaries in the Causes application (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/21/AR2009042103786.html">Washington Post data</a>), only 20 organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, Doctors Without Borders and St. Judeâs Childrenâs Hospital, have raised over $100,000 using Causes.</p>
<p><strong>Context</strong>: Organizations can’t assume that applications like Causes or simply the use of social networking sites like Facebook will translate into new revenue streams supporting the organization. Yes, of course, I would advocate that organizations who are eligible ensure that they can be listed as beneficiaries of causes on Facebook (visit the <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/causes/help">FAQ here</a>) but doing so is an enough of an action to replace your other funding work.</p>
<p><strong>Fact</strong>: Causes Birthday Wishes (make a donation campaign for a charity of your choice tied to your birthday) accounted for a third of all donations in the past 6 months.</p>
<p><strong>Context</strong>: Birthday Wishes are campaigns started by enthusiastic supporters. You may not know them, and you may have never heard of them. But you need to get to know them fast! Be sure that you are connecting with the passionate volunteers going out and raising money for you: thank them, support them, encourage them. And be sure to share invitations for the fundraiser and those that donate to his or her campaign to join your organization outside of facebook (on your enewsletter, your action alerts, an offline event, or something else to keep them on your list).</p>
<p><strong>Fact</strong>: 400,000 users have contributed to a cause at least once.</p>
<p><strong>Context</strong>: That’s a lot of people. How many fans does your organization’s Fan Page have, or how many members are in your facebook Group? Probably not 400,000. How many of your fans or group members are in your database, though? The most difficult part to applications like Causes is that you don’t get the data. With so many people donating to causes, maybe only once, it’s crucial for the benefiting organizations to reach out and encourage donors to connect with the organization directly – that way they may find out more about your work, help you and take action, or even donate again.</p>
<p><strong>Skewing the numbers?</strong></p>
<p>Lastly, I can’t find any data to shed light on my question but I would love to understand if the numbers Causes is touting reflect only the funds raised on facebook, since they stopped allowing the users on MySpace to access the service. I think it would be unethical and obviously skewing their own data. I’m incredibly frustrated at the lack of transparency from Causes, especially around this issue.</p>
<p><strong>What do you think?</strong></p>
<p><em>Would love to hear your experiences, any lessons learned or best practices, and ideas.</em></p>
<p>—–<br />
<strong>Update:</strong></p>
<p>Luise asked to see the comparison of growth of facebook users during the same growth period of Causes donations so I whipped up a simple chart:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/of_facebook_users1.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-1402 aligncenter" title="#_of_facebook_users" src="http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/of_facebook_users1.png" alt="" width="305" height="285" /></a></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-01-29T16:35:00+0000">January 29, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/the-other-side-of-the-figures-causes-reaches-20-million-in-donations/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on The other side of the figures: Causes reaches $20 Million in Donations">14 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/wordpress-extras-my-favorites/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Wordpress Extras: My Favorites">Wordpress Extras: My Favorites</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/blogging/" title="View all posts in blogging">blogging</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/wordpress-extras-my-favorites/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Wordpress Extras: My Favorites">4 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/howto/" rel="tag">howto</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/plugins/" rel="tag">plugins</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/twitter/" rel="tag">twitter</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/wordpress/" rel="tag">wordpress</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fwordpress-extras-my-favorites%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>A recent <a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/25/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-january-25th/comment-page-1/#comment-13093">comment</a> from Ichi (working on social media for good in Japan w/ <a href="http://socialcompany.org">SocialCompany.org</a>) asked after the tools I was using on this blog to bring in comments via Twitter. He suggested I post about the plugins I use so others could check them out – and that’s just what I’m doing!</p>
<p><strong>There are my three most-used <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/">Wordpress plugins</a>:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Postalicious (<a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postalicious/">Get this plugin</a>)<br />
</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Postalicious is a WordPress plugin that automatically posts your delicious, ma.gnolia, Google Reader, Reddit or Yahoo Pipes bookmarks to your blog. The exact details of how your bookmarks are posted are very customizable and are designed to meet your specific needs.</p></blockquote>
<p>I use this plugin to create my Great Reads posts – it lets me find blog posts, stories, news and anything else online that I think is interesting to the readers of this blog and tag it with Delicious, adding my notes about the link in the field in the Delicious bookmark. It checks for my saved items, and once I have five things it posts it for me! I really love it <img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><strong>Twitoaster (<a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/twitoaster/">Get this plugin</a>)</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Automatically retrieve Twitter Replies and/or Twitter Retweets to your Blog’s Posts. These Twitter mentions are handled like Posts Comments, using WP built-in comment system.</p></blockquote>
<p>I like this tool because it brings in conversation from Twitter to the comment stream for the relating posts. What I wish was improved was the tracking to pull in the full conversation, and not just retweets, etc.</p>
<p><strong>Tweetmeme (<a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tweetmeme/">Get this plugin</a>)</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>The TweetMeme retweet button easily allows your blog to be retweeted. The button also provides a current count of how many times your story has been retweeted throughout twitter.</p></blockquote>
<p>I like this plugin because it puts an easy-to use button at the top of posts for people to tweet out a link to the post if they want to share – it even pre-writes the tweet for you with the link!</p>
<p><em>What are your favorite add-ons, extensions, or plugins for blogs?</em></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-01-29T14:42:08+0000">January 29, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/wordpress-extras-my-favorites/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Wordpress Extras: My Favorites">4 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1391" class="post-1391 post hentry category-roundup tag-activism tag-book tag-bookmarks tag-casestudies tag-citizenphilanthropy tag-communication tag-community tag-communitymanagement tag-economy tag-fundraising tag-gardeningbook tag-guide tag-individual tag-list tag-lists tag-london tag-marketing tag-nonprofits tag-nptech tag-philanthropy tag-postalicious tag-resources tag-software tag-uk p8 alt y2010 m01 d29 h14">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-january-29th/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Great reads from around the web on January 29th">Great reads from around the web on January 29th</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/roundup/" title="View all posts in roundup">roundup</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-january-29th/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Great reads from around the web on January 29th">2 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/activism/" rel="tag">activism</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/book/" rel="tag">book</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/bookmarks/" rel="tag">bookmarks</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/casestudies/" rel="tag">casestudies</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/citizenphilanthropy/" rel="tag">citizenphilanthropy</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/communication/" rel="tag">communication</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/community/" rel="tag">community</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/communitymanagement/" rel="tag">communitymanagement</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/economy/" rel="tag">economy</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/fundraising/" rel="tag">fundraising</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/gardeningbook/" rel="tag">gardeningbook</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/guide/" rel="tag">guide</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/individual/" rel="tag">individual</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/list/" rel="tag">list</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/lists/" rel="tag">lists</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/london/" rel="tag">london</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/marketing/" rel="tag">marketing</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/nonprofits/" rel="tag">nonprofits</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/nptech/" rel="tag">nptech</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/philanthropy/" rel="tag">philanthropy</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/postalicious/" rel="tag">postalicious</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/resources/" rel="tag">resources</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/software/" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/uk/" rel="tag">uk</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fgreat-reads-from-around-the-web-on-january-29th%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of January 29th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.</p>
<p>To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow <a href="http://twitter.com/amysampleward">@amysampleward</a> on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on <a href="http://delicious.com/amy5rene5/" target="_blank">Delicious</a> (for all kinds of bookmarks).</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://blog.justgiving.com/2010/01/25/inspiration-for-fundraisers/seven-year-old-charlie-raises-more-than-100000-for-haiti/">JustGiving blog: Seven-year-old Charlie raises more than £100,000 for Haiti!</a> – Read this great case study from JustGiving about Charlie's bike ride to raise money for Haiti relief support. "Charlie was really upset by the television footage of the Haiti disaster, so, in conversation with his mum, he came up with idea of cycling around South Park near his home in Fulham, London as many times as possible. As Charlie puts on his JG page, ‘at least 10 laps, I hope!’. Charlie set himself a fundraising target of £500 for UNICEF – not an insubstantial amount for a seven-year-old."</li>
<li><a href="http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/citizen-philanthropist/">Why We're In the Age of the Citizen Philanthropist</a> – There's a great post up on Mashable with quotes from Britt Bravo (Have Fun Do Good), Kari Dunn Saratovsky (Case Foundation), and Peter Panepento (Chronicle of Philanthropy). "Our new communications technologies have empowered the individual, and caused a disruptive effect on the non-profit sector. Here are five examples of the citizen philanthropist’s immediate impact."</li>
<li><a href="http://issuelabfootnotes.blogspot.com/2010/01/online-outreach-on-budget-january.html">Footnotes: Online Outreach on a Budget – January Nonprofit Blog Carnival</a> – "This month we spent some time collecting posts about nonprofit communications on a budget. Below you'll find a combination of great resources that were submitted, and information I've found useful in my own research on online outreach. So bookmark this post and take the time to apply this knowledge to marketing and communications at your organization – it's cheap (or free) and has worked for others!"</li>
<li><a href="http://www.marketingpower2.com/blog/marketingnews/2010/01/online_branded_communities_mis.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+marketingpower/marketingnews+%28Marketing+News%29&utm_content=Google+UK">Online Branded Communities: Misguided and Missing the Point – Marketing News Blog</a> – This is an excellent review of best practices and case studies for online community management. Even though the authors (Kathy Baughman and Steve Hershberger) are focused on for-profit brands, the lessons ring true across sectors. "If you ask brand managers the purpose of online communities, the reply you’ll most often hear is “customer engagement.” Among marketers, this term is more prevalent than Frisbees at a dog beach. But the real question is this: Are brands providing meaningful and engaging experiences to their customers through their online communities? Our research on 135 online communities representing 45 major brands indicates that, with few exceptions, the answer is no."</li>
<li><a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/idealware-field-guide-to-software-for-nonprofits/7974642">Idealware Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits by Laura Quinn in Computers & Internet</a> – "What types of software should your nonprofit be using? It’s hard to even know even what types exist, let alone what might work for you. Through a friendly, easy-reference format, this book helps you pinpoint the types of software that can help your organization based on your needs and your level of technology savvy, and provides user-friendly summaries to demystify all the possible options.
<p>The 84-page Field Guide includes an overview of 35 different types of software, helping you to understand what each is, how it fits in with your needs, how much you might expect to pay, and some of the most common vendors in the area."</li>
</ul>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-01-29T13:56:36+0000">January 29, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/29/great-reads-from-around-the-web-on-january-29th/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Great reads from around the web on January 29th">2 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1386" class="post-1386 post hentry category-interview category-maps tag-data tag-interview tag-maps tag-openaction tag-opensource tag-philanthropy tag-socialactions p9 y2010 m01 d27 h19">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/27/interview-john-brennan-of-openaction/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Interview: John Brennan of OpenAction">Interview: John Brennan of OpenAction</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/interview/" title="View all posts in interview">interview</a> and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/maps/" title="View all posts in maps">maps</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/27/interview-john-brennan-of-openaction/#respond" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Interview: John Brennan of OpenAction">0 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/data/" rel="tag">data</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/interview/" rel="tag">interview</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/maps/" rel="tag">maps</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/openaction/" rel="tag">openaction</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/opensource/" rel="tag">opensource</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/philanthropy/" rel="tag">philanthropy</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/socialactions/" rel="tag">socialactions</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F01%2F27%2Finterview-john-brennan-of-openaction%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p><em>I recently had the opportunity to connect with <a href="http://twitter.com/worldlyjohn">John Brennan</a>, the driving force behind <a href="http://OpenAction.org">OpenAction.org</a>, which empowers individuals and organizations by helping them tell the world about the positive impact their actions have. You can learn more about John and OpenAction in the interview below.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>——<br />
</em></p>
<p>John has spent time working for Microsoft, doing R&D for the defense industry and was part of a few past startups that didn’t quite reach “critical mass.” In June 2009, John decided to sell nearly everything he owned and set out for New York City (via San Diego). With over a decade of web development experience, John channeled his skills into building something with social value. John is currently working on OpenAction, a platform that connects people to the projects they care about. It’s a sustainable solution to help create and strengthen the emotional connection between organizations and donors. The team also hopes to incentivize organizations to share knowledge and give beneficiaries a direct voice.</p>
<p><strong>Where did the idea for OpenAction begin?</strong><br />
That’s a funny story actually, but I suppose many entrepreneurs have similar stories. Last March I met <a href="http://twitter.com/engagejoe">Joe Solomon</a> and the <a href="http://socialactions.com">Social Actions</a> team through twitter. I remember leaving for Vegas and making a promise to Joe that I would submit a mashup to the <a href="http://netsquared.org/challenges/change-the-web">2009 Change the Web Challenge</a>. The mashup was a map showing where people were volunteering in near-real-time. It ended up winning the competition, $5,000 and lots of exposure.</p>
<p>I’ve always done side projects part time, but never had the courage or funds to go at it full time. The community showed me a need for what I built, so I used this momentum as an opportunity to take what I built to the next level.</p>
<p>I left my 9-5 in San Diego on June 4, set out on a month long road trip with my brother across the United States to New York. On July 5 the real fun began.</p>
<p><strong>How was the project developed?</strong><br />
Some of the foundation was built in April 2009, but the majority of the product development started in August 2009. I spent the first few months asking questions and listening to what NGOs had to say about how they did their job and what could make it easier.</p>
<p>I’ve spent the past few years working with the semantic web, referred to as “web 3.0″, that focuses on open standards and linking data. Many of us are aware of open source software and open architecture, but open philanthropy doesn’t exist yet. Once NGOs standardize the way they publish project data on the web, “apps” can be built on top of this data. Much like Apple did with the iPhone.</p>
<p>I also knew it needed to be both top-down and bottom-up. The problem with developing a standard is that it is only as useful as those adopting it. So that’s where OpenAction comes into play. Essentially, we give organizations a simple tool to manage project information, like photos and videos. The real value to organizations is that they now have a dynamically updated map they can embed on their web site. Instead of paying a web developer to add new project data, they can do it using a few simple form fields. This might put my developer friends out of a job (laughs), but it’s all about becoming more efficient.</p>
<p>Our application also automatically generates RSS feeds for their supporters to stay engaged throughout the life of the project. It’s similar to how one subscribes to a blog. The project updates themselves can displayed in a timeline, so people can easily follow the project’s progress as it unfolds before their eyes.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://openaction.org/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1389 aligncenter" title="OpenAction" src="http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/OpenAction-300x214.jpg" alt="" width="350" /></a></p>
<p><strong>What’s next for OpenAction?</strong><br />
Our organization helps people find and connect with projects they care about. It makes sense to let these people connect to others working in the same space. So we are starting to map social entrepreneurs with the hopes that they might be able to make more of an impact working together than apart. This is actually how my partner and I connected several months ago. We were both doing similar, but separate mapping initiatives. We decided we’d be stronger together — and we were right.</p>
<p>So if any of your readers work with social entrepreneurs, or are such, I would love to connect with them as well. After all, while we might see different paths to the same goal, the goal is usually the same: positive impact on the people and the planet.</p>
<p><strong>What else are you working on?</strong><br />
Working on trying to find time to sleep.</p>
<p><strong>Do you have any lessons learned or stories you can share with other social entrepreneurs?</strong><br />
This is probably my sixth startup, but first as a “social” entrepreneur. So for brevity I will keep to the last year, and maybe save the rest for a separate blog post one of these days.</p>
<p>I would say, don’t go at it alone. This is so important. You really need to have someone that is as involved in the idea as you are. Not only to give more proof that the idea has legs, but it gives you someone to bounce ideas off all the time. And unlike friends, this person will understand the problem space. Simply put, startups will inevitably have ups and downs, and having someone else in it with you is just good for morale.</p>
<p>Tapping into the (right) community is also an important lesson I learned this time around. In past startups I would use friends and family to measure early success. Sometimes they were the target audience, but that was often due to the lack of product focus. I love thinking about the famous stories of Davy Crockett here. Not the tales itself, but the method used. He claimed to have killed that infamous bear, and all the towns people believed it as if he went to each and every person to spread the word face-to-face. Having a conversation with every townsperson would be a nearly impossible feat. Davy Crockett was, however, an expert story teller and community builder. Instead, he spent his time talking to the heads of each village. The key here, I believe, is to empower your community and let them be your biggest advocates.</p>
<p>A third, and final lesson is often used by web developers, but can easily be applied to social entrepreneurs. It’s the KISS principle. “Keep it simple stupid” — enough said. Don’t over engineer or over think a problem, let the market and your audience dictate your next move.</p>
<p><strong>How can people follow your work and OpenAction?</strong><br />
We are actually going to be on OpenAction ourselves, to sort of practice what we preach. Things have just been super chaotic as of late. I would say the best way is to follow me <a href="http://twitter.com/worldlyjohn">@worldlyjohn</a> and my partner Mike <a href="http://twitter.com/wanderingwenger">@wanderingwenger</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>To learn more and check out OpenAction for yourself, visit:</strong></em><br />
<a href="http://OpenAction.org"><strong> http://openaction.org</strong></a></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-01-27T18:01:19+0000">January 27, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/27/interview-john-brennan-of-openaction/#respond" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Interview: John Brennan of OpenAction">0 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div id="post-1383" class="post-1383 post hentry category-marketing category-reports tag-communications tag-data tag-leadership tag-marketing tag-outreach tag-report tag-research p10 alt y2010 m01 d26 h10">
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<a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/26/nonprofit-marketing-report-organizations-failing-to-connect/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Nonprofit Marketing Report: Organizations Failing to Connect">Nonprofit Marketing Report: Organizations Failing to Connect</a>
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Published in <span class="entry-categories"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/marketing/" title="View all posts in marketing">marketing</a> and <a href="http://amysampleward.org/category/reports/" title="View all posts in reports">reports</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/26/nonprofit-marketing-report-organizations-failing-to-connect/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Nonprofit Marketing Report: Organizations Failing to Connect">7 <span>Comments</span></a></span> <span class="entry-tags"><span>Tags:</span> <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/communications/" rel="tag">communications</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/data/" rel="tag">data</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/leadership/" rel="tag">leadership</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/marketing/" rel="tag">marketing</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/outreach/" rel="tag">outreach</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/report/" rel="tag">report</a>, <a href="http://amysampleward.org/tag/research/" rel="tag">research</a>.</span> </div> <!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"><iframe src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A%2F%2Famysampleward.org%2F2010%2F01%2F26%2Fnonprofit-marketing-report-organizations-failing-to-connect%2F&source=amyrsward&style=normal&service=bit.ly&service_api=R_e95ba02e8bc9fd6d8ddc6a2fecda7216" height="61" width="50" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p>Nancy Schwartz, president of <a href="http://nancyschwartz.com">Nancy Schwartz & Company</a> and blogger at <a href="http://gettingattention.org"><em>Getting Attention</em></a>, has just finished analyzing data from a <a href="http://nancyschwartz.com/articles/index.php/messaging-crisis-for-nonprofits/">nonprofit marketing survey</a> of more than 900 nonprofit leaders, revealing that they are doing a poor job connecting with their audience and community. Nancy explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>âNonprofit marketers say their key messages are failing to connect with the people who need to hear them and that is a serious problem. The way nonprofits talk about themselves to the public is a core competency critical to any organizationâs success. The bad news is that most nonprofits admittedly are doing a very poor job, despite a great deal of effort. The good news is that fixing the problem is highly do-able and promises vastly greater success than they are experiencing now.â</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>The survey results included:</strong></p>
<p><em>Most Nonprofit Messages Donât Connect Strongly with Key Audiences</em>:<br />
Eighty-four percent of 915 nonprofit leaders who completed the survey last month said their messages connect with their target audiences only somewhat or not at all. Respondents represented organizations of all size, issue focus and geographical location.</p>
<p><em>Behind the Disconnectâ86% of Nonprofits Characterize Their Messages as Difficult to Remember: </em><br />
Most nonprofits report that their messaging suffers from lack of inspiration (73%) and poor targeting to audience wants and needs (70%), and is difficult to remember (86%). Few communicators laud their messaging for its strengths: Only 13% of organizations characterize messaging as cogent while 8% describe their messaging as potent.</p>
<p>Here are some comments from survey participants explaining why their messages fail to connect:</p>
<ul>
<li>âOur messages need to be more succinct to communicate how effective we really are.â</li>
<li>âWe donât move our base to action.â</li>
<li>âWe have individual elements that are OK solo, but no unified path.â</li>
<li>âOur messages arenât hard-hitting or targeted enough. So they fall flat.â</li>
<li>âWe need to shape messages that are simple enough for staff to remember and feel comfortable in repeating it to others.â</li>
<li>âToo much jargon. I canât even understand what weâre saying.â</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Inconsistency Reigns, Leaving Confusion and Annoyance in Its Path:</em><br />
Less than 50% of nonprofits report consistent use of their positioning (organizational tagline, positioning statement and talking points). That means that even though most organizations have taken the effort to craft messages, those messages arenât used consistently across channels (website, direct mail, email), audiences or programs.</p>
<p><strong>More information and complete survey results</strong>, plus specific recommendations on how nonprofits can start to immediately improve key messaging, are available at: <a href="http://nancyschwartz.com/articles/index.php/messaging-crisis-for-nonprofits/"></p>
<p>http://nancyschwartz.com/articles/index.php/messaging-crisis-for-nonprofits/</a></p>
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Published on <abbr class="published entry-date" title="2010-01-26T09:52:17+0000">January 26, 2010</abbr> by <span class="vcard author entry-author"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/author/amy/" class="url fn" title="View all posts by Amy Sample Ward">Amy Sample Ward</a></span>. <span class="entry-comments"><a href="http://amysampleward.org/2010/01/26/nonprofit-marketing-report-organizations-failing-to-connect/#comments" class="commentslink" title="Comment on Nonprofit Marketing Report: Organizations Failing to Connect">7 <span>Comments</span></a></span> </div><!-- .entry-meta -->
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<div class='rpx_comment_hint' id='rpx_comment_hint' style='display:none;'><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow' id='rpx_comment_hint_link'>Leave a verified comment using</a> <span id='rpx_provider_wrap'><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/aol.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/facebook.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/google.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/twitter.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/myspace.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/openid.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/live.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a><a href='http://amysampleward.org/wp-login.php' class='rpxnow'><img src='http://amysampleward.org/wp-content/plugins/rpx/images/yahoo.png' class='rpx_provider_image' style='padding:5px;padding-bottom:0;'/></a></span> </div><script src="https://rpxnow.com/openid/v2/widget" type="text/javascript"></script>
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RPXNOW.realm = "amysampleward.rpxnow.com";
RPXNOW.overlay = true;
RPXNOW.language_preference = 'en';
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K2.Animations = 1;
jQuery(document).ready(function(){
K2.LiveSearch = new LiveSearch(
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K2.RollingArchives = new RollingArchives(
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jQuery('body').addClass('rollingarchives');
jQuery('#dynamic-content').ajaxSuccess(function () {
// Lightbox v2.03.3 - Adds new images to lightbox
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// <![CDATA[
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