When you look at a web page, most of what you see isn't actually in the page with all the graphics and buttons and flashing lights, it sits in a database and when you ask for that page by clicking on a link, the web server loads the content into the structure of a page and presents it to you. There are many advantages to doing things this way, one of which is that the information in the database doesn't have to be viewed in a web page.

Which is where RSS feeds come in, they are a kind of side door to the content in the database. They enable you to view the content without all the fancy bells and whistles of a web page but still provide a link back to the original URL of the page so that you can link to it from your own site if you like.

RSS feeds are now an essential transport system for moving information around the Internet and its great for making information available to different people in different places. [Read more →]

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It seems that New Zealand is not going to be isolated from a possible flu pandemic courtesy of our massive water barriers, mostly because we cross those barriers so frequently.

As the Rangitoto students are confirmed as having the swine flu direct from the source in Mexico, the question is what the rest of us need to do and naturally there are some good resources on the net. Please add any you know about in the comments.

• Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health site was last updated on April 23 so there is nothing new there at the moment. However, the pandemic plan home page is here. (Update) the site is now updated with the new code yellow details.
  Sadly, the site is full of pdf files so access to the information is difficult. Our MoH is definitely not 2.0
• The Herald has an RSS feed for swine flu news here
• For other news and actions, try the FluWiki
• For household preparations Get Pandemic Ready has some useful ideas. The one time having .pdf files is a good idea; download them now because if there really is a pandemic, the internet itself may not last more than a few days.
• Google maps has an outbreak mashup
• More authoritative information at Effect measure

Meanwhile, does your organisation have a pandemic response plan? Where is it? What role does your ICT play in it?

In a bit of shameless self promotion, I've been doing some work on pandemics and ICT over the last few years and you can find some of the material here. I did a Pandemic presentation to a health information management systems conference on the role and conditions for ICT in pandemic response about 18 months ago and most of it still applies.

Comments open, add your resources please.

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In 2009, any conference that doesn't run this way is seriously out of date but NTEN, the people who are running the 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference know how to maximise the potential of the technology they employ. via 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference Live | NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network.

At Groupings we also have Peter Davis who will be posting from the event floor with material specifically for us but you can add to his material by using 09NTC's Social Media tools

• [Read more →]

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Did you know the Companies Office have a podcast? I only just found out. They also use RSS feeds, so you can easily keep up to date with what they're doing, and it looks as though the New Societies and Trusts website live from 7 October will have RSS feeds too:

The Ministry of Economic Development is pleased to announce that a new look website for Incorporated Societies and Trusts will be launched on 7 October this year.

The revamped website will continue to be the place to search for Incorporated Societies and Trusts, upload financial statements and maintain details. There will be no change to the online services available on the website.

The revised site will contain a host of new improvements including:

• improved information
• improved site navigation
• better website searching
• a wider range of customer support services
• helpful links to other sites containing relevant and specialised information.

The website will add value to the New Zealand business community by better serving the voluntary sector and providing clear and up-to-date information to all.

[Via : Simon Young on Twitter.]

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According to a DMNews article, Nonprofits adopt social media:

Nonprofits have discovered the appeal of social networking applications, especially their ability to offer constituents better ways to communicate with one another and the organization.

For example, AARP, an advocacy and community group for people age 50 and older, will debut its new Web site to the public this month as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. In a first for the organization, the new site will include social networking capability.

…The Arthritis Foundation is also using social media to enhance its online pres­ence. In August, the organization for arthritis sufferers added a social media platform from Web 2.0 services company ThePort Network. Additions include the ability for users to create RSS feeds, pro­file pages and blogs. According to Delia Carter, group VP of strategic communications at the Arthritis Foundation, the non­profit felt that social networking might offer something useful to its members after discovering that discussion boards received the most traffic of any area on the site. In fact, many have adopted the blogs as a way to help them keep track of their progress, meet personal goals and get support from the community.

[Via : Marie Young, Twitter.]

It's not entirely clear, but I'm guessing this refers to organisations in the US.

Meanwhile, last week at the Engage your Community conference Nathan Donaldson gave a very interesting talk about how The Quit Group use blogs to allow smokers to support one another in their journey to give up smoking.

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