Posts from — January 2008
Facebook - replacing or enhancing the real world?
Camden Kiwi (Cathryn Symons) has a well-thought out post about Facebook. Some people these days have the opinion that Facebook is evil — a cynical capitalist tool for controlling consumers. Cathryn puts forward a more reasonable view in Is Facebook Evil?:
The fear is that sites like Facebook are somehow replacing the ‘real’ world with a virtual world in which mega-capitalism controls everything.
Do they replace the real world, or do they enhance it? Surely, that depends on how you use them. If all your friends are on Facebook, and your main way of interacting with them is via Facebook then you would have a big problem. But if you use it, as most people seem to, as just another tool, then it is hardly such an issue.
The whole post deserves a read: Is Facebook Evil?.
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January 18, 2008 No Comments
Social Networking: Fruitful or Disappointing? - TechSoup
“… the success stories [about nonprofits using social networks] can be a bit thin compared to the number of nonprofits experimenting with these sites, and the investment in the staff time required to build and maintain an online social network can be substantial. Each nonprofit has its own set of priorities, and it’s unlikely that social networking will top the list for every organization.
Who is likely to get the most value out of social networking sites?”
Brett Bonfield, Idealware, 8 January 2008
TechSoup provide a gourmet selection of articles on everything to do with using computers in not-for-profit organisations.
Find responses to Todd’s question in his article “Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites? Signs that a social networking site might work — or not work — for you”. You can view and/ or join in the discussion as well as read the article.
January 14, 2008 1 Comment
Connecting Up 08 conference, Brisbane
Connecting Up 08 is an Australian national conference focused on the use of information and communications technologies in charity and nonprofit settings. This year is the fifth time Community Information Strategies Australia (CISA) have hosted the event.
The conference is being held in Brisbane (it’s only been held in Adelaide in previous years) on Monday May 12 and Tuesday May 13. The theme is ‘Online and Off to the Future’. There will be an emphasis on practical and hands-on workshops, more opportunities to network, with a few plenary keynotes.
The call for papers for presenters is open until 29 February 2008.
To get a taste of the contents of previous events check out the Connecting Up 07 conference videos, podcasts and speakers.
I’m vowing to blog on the event, as I’ll be attending in person. Of course, I’ll be planting lots of trees to make up for my climate change guilt.
January 14, 2008 1 Comment
No pizza, but a talk on social networks from Seattle
We’ve missed out on the pizza, but we can still see what some folk in Seattle involved in environmental campaigning think about new online tools.
Last November OneNW, an organisation that promotes online networking for the environment, ran an evening session where people conversed about “online social networks, trends in the business and non-profit arenas related to those networks, and examples of what’s currently possible”.
To find out what happened:
- take a look at John Stahl’s notes which he wrote up ‘live’, see Online Social Networks: Can They Power Social Change?
- watch a video of the event on You Tube, see Online Social Networks: Can They Power Social Change?
January 14, 2008 No Comments
Non-profits and social networking
Priscilla Brice-Weller asks:
I can’t quite believe I have to ask the question, but there it is: “Should non-profits get involved in social networking?”
… Having used MySpace as an advocacy tool for a year for ANTaR, I’ve decided to stick with it for now. The relationships we’re building are worth the time I spend on MySpace. As for Facebook, we’ve been on there for about six months and I’m a bit disappointed with the results, but we’ll continue with our investment because I feel that it is too soon to tell whether it’s going to be worthwhile in the long term.
[Via Solidariti: Should non-profits get involved in social networking?.]
January 12, 2008 No Comments
