Rob Cottingham

Tag: nptech

  • Join me at The Digital Nonprofit — Vancouver, June 11

    Join me at The Digital Nonprofit — Vancouver, June 11

    tl;dr — Come join me at this day-long digital strategy event for nonprofit leaders on June 11 in Vancouver, Canada! I’ll be speaking about how digital transformation often means surprising disruption for nonprofits.

    One of my very first projects with Social Signal (the company I co-founded with my wife, Alexandra Samuel) was NetSquared: a ground-breaking melding of a face-to-face conference with online community. That first conference in 2006, convened by TechSoup (then known as CompuMentor) brought together nonprofit changemakers and technologists to talk about “remixing the web for social change.”

    A dozen years later, NetSquared has become a worldwide network of groups hosting events in more than 60 cities from Nairobi to San Salvador, still with that same focus of harnessing technology and community for social change.

    And supporting that network is Vancouver’s own Elijah van der Giessen, who also happens to be pulling together The Digital Nonprofit, an annual one-day online-strategy conference for nonprofit leaders.

    I’m delighted to be speaking in the afternoon, with a presentation titled “Crash report, or ‘Sorry for breaking your nonprofit’”:

    Digital transformation sure sounds like fun… the same way bathroom renovations do. Then you start finding black mold and structural damage, and before you know it your place is stripped down to the studs and you’re booking a three-month stay in a Motel 6. Rob kicks off the afternoon with a bracing look at what we’ve let ourselves in for — as well as the surprising upsides of disruption.

    I’m part of a terrific program with a great lineup of leading nonprofit digital strategy experts from the Pacific Northwest, including:

    I hope you’ll join us! You can find more information about the speakers and agenda here, and get your tickets here.

  • Measuring the Networked Nonprofit has arrived

    A few weeks ago, I let you know that Measuring the Networked Nonprofit was on its way, bringing with it the combined wisdom of Beth Kanter and Katie Paine on how nonprofits can measure their impact in an era of free agents and networked activism.

    It’s a momentous book. Organizations from governments to businesses to community groups to nonprofits have all struggled with whether and how to engage with the networked social world, especially when resources are scarce and stakeholders are feeling skittish. Measuring the Networked Nonprofit opens up new possibilities for accountability, learning, innovation and greater impact.

    Today, Beth officially announced the book’s availability. It’s already been topping Amazon’s best-selling book on nonprofits for days because of advance purchases, which speaks to the hunger out there for this kind of practical information, framed in a hope-filled vision for the future of the nonprofit sector. (Beth and co-author Allison Fine articulated that vision in their previous book, The Networked Nonprofit.)

    As Beth puts it, “The book is about how nonprofits can measure and improve results from leveraging their networks.” The advice you’ll find there has been “field tested in real-time as part of my work as Visiting Scholar at the Packard Foundation with 60 of their grantees who participated in a peer learning/focus group and contributed many of the case studies.”

    And Beth will help you do a little extra good when you buy your copy:

    I am donating my royalties to support the Sharing Foundation‘s college education program for young people in Cambodia. My family is sponsoring Keo Savon, who we met this summer in Cambodia. She is second year engineering student and by supporting her education she will have better economic opportunities.

    In the interests of full disclosure (by which I mean deliriously excited bragging) here’s one more excerpt from Beth’s post:

    To help those who need to learn to laugh at measurement, not fear it, I commissioned Rob Cottingham to create cartoons that capture the essence of each chapter’s advice. (There were numerous times when I snorted my latte from laughing so hard!).

    (Which is why that waiver I have clients sign has such explicit language about burns and scalding.)

    Beth and Katie have lined up a slew of events, but they’re also eager to hear from folks who’d like on in their community. In the meantime, if you’d like to support the book’s launch, Beth suggests four things you can do:

    Buy a Copy of the Measuring the Networked Nonprofit

    Attend a Book Event this month as part of our book tour

    Share of photo of yourself with the book on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and use the hashtag #netnon

    Stay tuned to our blogs as we share more stories about how nonprofits apply the advice in the book and I’ll keep you posted on Keo Savon’s studies

    And what do you want to bet they’ll be measuring all of it?

  • Measuring the Networked Nonprofit has arrived

    A few weeks ago, I let you know that Measuring the Networked Nonprofit was on its way, bringing with it the combined wisdom of Beth Kanter and Katie Paine on how nonprofits can measure their impact in an era of free agents and networked activism.

    It’s a momentous book. Organizations from governments to businesses to community groups to nonprofits have all struggled with whether and how to engage with the networked social world, especially when resources are scarce and stakeholders are feeling skittish. Measuring the Networked Nonprofit opens up new possibilities for accountability, learning, innovation and greater impact.

    Today, Beth officially announced the book’s availability. It’s already been topping Amazon’s best-selling book on nonprofits for days because of advance purchases, which speaks to the hunger out there for this kind of practical information, framed in a hope-filled vision for the future of the nonprofit sector. (Beth and co-author Allison Fine articulated that vision in their previous book, The Networked Nonprofit.)

    As Beth puts it, “The book is about how nonprofits can measure and improve results from leveraging their networks.” The advice you’ll find there has been “field tested in real-time as part of my work as Visiting Scholar at the Packard Foundation with 60 of their grantees who participated in a peer learning/focus group and contributed many of the case studies.”

    And Beth will help you do a little extra good when you buy your copy:

    I am donating my royalties to support the Sharing Foundation‘s college education program for young people in Cambodia. My family is sponsoring Keo Savon, who we met this summer in Cambodia. She is second year engineering student and by supporting her education she will have better economic opportunities.

    In the interests of full disclosure (by which I mean deliriously excited bragging) here’s one more excerpt from Beth’s post:

    To help those who need to learn to laugh at measurement, not fear it, I commissioned Rob Cottingham to create cartoons that capture the essence of each chapter’s advice. (There were numerous times when I snorted my latte from laughing so hard!).

    (Which is why that waiver I have clients sign has such explicit language about burns and scalding.)

    Beth and Katie have lined up a slew of events, but they’re also eager to hear from folks who’d like on in their community. In the meantime, if you’d like to support the book’s launch, Beth suggests four things you can do:

    Buy a Copy of the Measuring the Networked Nonprofit

    Attend a Book Event this month as part of our book tour

    Share of photo of yourself with the book on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and use the hashtag #netnon

    Stay tuned to our blogs as we share more stories about how nonprofits apply the advice in the book and I’ll keep you posted on Keo Savon’s studies

    And what do you want to bet they’ll be measuring all of it?

  • Measuring the Networked Nonprofit has arrived

    A few weeks ago, I let you know that Measuring the Networked Nonprofit was on its way, bringing with it the combined wisdom of Beth Kanter and Katie Paine on how nonprofits can measure their impact in an era of free agents and networked activism.

    It’s a momentous book. Organizations from governments to businesses to community groups to nonprofits have all struggled with whether and how to engage with the networked social world, especially when resources are scarce and stakeholders are feeling skittish. Measuring the Networked Nonprofit opens up new possibilities for accountability, learning, innovation and greater impact.

    Today, Beth officially announced the book’s availability. It’s already been topping Amazon’s best-selling book on nonprofits for days because of advance purchases, which speaks to the hunger out there for this kind of practical information, framed in a hope-filled vision for the future of the nonprofit sector. (Beth and co-author Allison Fine articulated that vision in their previous book, The Networked Nonprofit.)

    As Beth puts it, “The book is about how nonprofits can measure and improve results from leveraging their networks.” The advice you’ll find there has been “field tested in real-time as part of my work as Visiting Scholar at the Packard Foundation with 60 of their grantees who participated in a peer learning/focus group and contributed many of the case studies.”

    And Beth will help you do a little extra good when you buy your copy:

    I am donating my royalties to support the Sharing Foundation‘s college education program for young people in Cambodia. My family is sponsoring Keo Savon, who we met this summer in Cambodia. She is second year engineering student and by supporting her education she will have better economic opportunities.

    In the interests of full disclosure (by which I mean deliriously excited bragging) here’s one more excerpt from Beth’s post:

    To help those who need to learn to laugh at measurement, not fear it, I commissioned Rob Cottingham to create cartoons that capture the essence of each chapter’s advice. (There were numerous times when I snorted my latte from laughing so hard!).

    (Which is why that waiver I have clients sign has such explicit language about burns and scalding.)

    Beth and Katie have lined up a slew of events, but they’re also eager to hear from folks who’d like on in their community. In the meantime, if you’d like to support the book’s launch, Beth suggests four things you can do:

    Buy a Copy of the Measuring the Networked Nonprofit

    Attend a Book Event this month as part of our book tour

    Share of photo of yourself with the book on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and use the hashtag #netnon

    Stay tuned to our blogs as we share more stories about how nonprofits apply the advice in the book and I’ll keep you posted on Keo Savon’s studies

    And what do you want to bet they’ll be measuring all of it?

  • Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot on the science of Facebook for non-profits

    After reviewing 1,000 Facebook posts and updates from 20 non-profits with large followings on the site, Capulet‘s Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot can report

    1. a) that it’s a really good idea to get other people to tally the metrics for 1,000 separate posts – something they achieved through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk; and
    2. people seem to just love simple, evocative text on top of a compelling image.

    Actually, they can report a lot more than that… and they did, at last night’s NetTuesday meetup at downtown Vancouver’s W2 Media Cafe (a terrific space, by the way!)

    Here’s my cartoon-blog post from the night…

    Cartoon-blog notes from Darren and Theo's presentation

    And here, if you want to dive in (and you really do), is the presentation itself, as they first delivered it at NetSquared Camp in the spring:

  • Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot on the science of Facebook for non-profits

    After reviewing 1,000 Facebook posts and updates from 20 non-profits with large followings on the site, Capulet‘s Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot can report

    1. a) that it’s a really good idea to get other people to tally the metrics for 1,000 separate posts – something they achieved through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk; and
    2. people seem to just love simple, evocative text on top of a compelling image.

    Actually, they can report a lot more than that… and they did, at last night’s NetTuesday meetup at downtown Vancouver’s W2 Media Cafe (a terrific space, by the way!)

    Here’s my cartoon-blog post from the night…

    Cartoon-blog notes from Darren and Theo's presentation

    And here, if you want to dive in (and you really do), is the presentation itself, as they first delivered it at NetSquared Camp in the spring:

  • Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot on the science of Facebook for non-profits

    After reviewing 1,000 Facebook posts and updates from 20 non-profits with large followings on the site, Capulet‘s Theo Lamb and Darren Barefoot can report

    1. a) that it’s a really good idea to get other people to tally the metrics for 1,000 separate posts – something they achieved through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk; and
    2. people seem to just love simple, evocative text on top of a compelling image.

    Actually, they can report a lot more than that… and they did, at last night’s NetTuesday meetup at downtown Vancouver’s W2 Media Cafe (a terrific space, by the way!)

    Here’s my cartoon-blog post from the night…

    Cartoon-blog notes from Darren and Theo's presentation

    And here, if you want to dive in (and you really do), is the presentation itself, as they first delivered it at NetSquared Camp in the spring:

  • Social Speech Podcast, Episode 11: Maddie Grant

    Maddie Grant of DC-based SocialFish has done a lot of thinking about connecting online audiences with speeches, panels and presentations. More to the point, she’s done a lot of doing, including convening one of the most ambitious online conference approaches I’ve seen: NTC Online, the digital version of the Nonprofit Technology Conference held every year by NTEN.

    In our conversation, she offers some great advice for event organizers, speakers and anyone who wants to use digital tools to help online and offline audiences learn. And after you’ve heard our conversation, check out these links:

  • Social Speech Podcast, Episode 11: Maddie Grant

    Maddie Grant of DC-based SocialFish has done a lot of thinking about connecting online audiences with speeches, panels and presentations. More to the point, she’s done a lot of doing, including convening one of the most ambitious online conference approaches I’ve seen: NTC Online, the digital version of the Nonprofit Technology Conference held every year by NTEN.

    In our conversation, she offers some great advice for event organizers, speakers and anyone who wants to use digital tools to help online and offline audiences learn. And after you’ve heard our conversation, check out these links:

  • Social Speech Podcast, Episode 10: Holly Ross

    This episode features Holly Ross from NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network. She’s a great speaker in her own right – and every year, NTEN hosts the Nonprofit Technology Conference. It’s a huge gathering (but remarkably relaxed and collegial), and we talk about what it takes to connect that many people online at a conference – and how speakers can make the most of a connected audience.

    Some links and resources:

  • Social Speech Podcast, Episode 10: Holly Ross

    This episode features Holly Ross from NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network. She’s a great speaker in her own right – and every year, NTEN hosts the Nonprofit Technology Conference. It’s a huge gathering (but remarkably relaxed and collegial), and we talk about what it takes to connect that many people online at a conference – and how speakers can make the most of a connected audience.

    Some links and resources:

     

  • Cartoon-blogging at NTC 2012

    Session notes from Dr. Changelove at #12NTCIt was another great Nonprofit Technology Conference, my second in San Francisco… and my second cartoon-blogging outing for my friends at NTEN.

    This time around, the good folks at Rally – a social fundraising platform, and the folks behind a very cool workspace – sponsored the graphic recording effort.

    Which meant there were not one but two pens flying during various keynotes and breakout sessions. My colleague was the amazing Kate Rutter, who manages to combine detail, structure and composition in ways that amaze me. You can see the results of our work here.

    I’m pulling together the last of my cartoon-blog images, and I’ll post them here soon. But in the meantime, here are the cartoons I drew from the floor of the conference. They include my notes from the session on social media policy, led by Idealware’s Andrea Berry and Darim’s Lisa Colton and centered around their free social media policy workbook.