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News for December 2002

30 December 2002

Counting on the Internet
	In Counting on the Internet, the Pew Internet Project documents what has become quite obvious recently: "Most expect to find key information online, most find the information they seek, many now turn to the Internet first." In 2003 the message is clear: Nonprofits must make the internet a centerpiece of their communication strategy. Posted: 12/30/02; 10:47:02 AM #

Mr Chips or Microchips?
	In Mr Chips or Microchips? the BBC reveals disturbing evidence that "computers may harm, rather than help, educational progress". Very sobering. Posted: 12/30/02; 10:46:48 AM #

29 December 2002

The Biggest IP Cases of 2002
	Lewis Clayton looks at the Biggest Intellectual Property Cases of 2002. Worth paying attention to! (Law.com seems to have moved or removed this article. We will update as soon as learn more.) Posted: 12/29/02; 11:49:41 AM #

27 December 2002

Prelinger Archives
	The Prelinger Archives is a collection of over 45,000 short films (ads, educational movies, etc) by corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions. The films are all freely available for download and use. What an extraordinary resource! Posted: 12/27/02; 11:01:43 AM #

26 December 2002

Public Library of Science
	The Public Library of Science is a "non-profit organization of scientists committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource". To this end they are starting scientific journals whose content is meant to be free and accesible to other scientists and the public. Posted: 12/26/02; 12:10:41 PM #

eXchangeable Faceted Metadata Language

Pardon a very geeky moment, but I want to point out the importance of eXchangeable Faceted Metadata Language, a standard for describing your way of organizing data in terms that can be translated into other ways of organizing it. After many years of working on knowledge management projects and seeing the trap that people get into when they rigidly categorize their content, this is an intriguingly simple technology. Posted: 12/26/02; 12:10:32 PM #

22 December 2002

Electronic surveillance of nonprofits: the Denver example

From time to time I have raised the alarm about the potential impact on nonprofits of the emergence of a massive domestic surveillance system in the United States. In Denver, we have a frightening example of what I fear. It turns out the Denver police have been tracking nonprofit workers, including people working in soup kitchens, for decades, and sharing those dossiers with other agencies. They label many of the groups "criminal extremists", including the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization. I truly believe this is a future we could all be facing if we don't act on our collective interest in opposition, but I worry that nonprofit leaders believe the new police state has nothing to do with them. Posted: 12/22/02; 10:53:01 AM #

20 December 2002

The Politics of Code
	The Politics of Code: Shaping the Future of the Next Internet is a conference being held on February 6, 2003 by the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy and the Oxford Internet Institute. Posted: 12/20/02; 10:02:49 AM #

17 December 2002

Creative Commons Licensing Project
	The Creative Commons Licensing Project has formally been launched. It's an elegant system for helping you determine how to retain copyright of your content but still share it's use with others. We'll be considering it for our own online content and I hope you'll consider it for yours. The use of such licenses will enrich us all. Posted: 12/17/02; 10:18:11 AM #

Planet 501c3 on Email
	The Dec. 13th, 2002 edition of the wonderful Planet 501c3 comic strip is about email! Posted: 12/17/02; 10:17:58 AM #

Jan Masaoka: Nonprofit Executive of the Year
	I am a long time admirer of Jan Masaoka, the Executive Director of Compasspoint. It pleases me enormously to see her selected Nonprofit Executive of the Year by the NonProfit Times. Posted: 12/17/02; 10:17:46 AM #

Software Training Workshops
	In preparation for some major revision of Social Ecology's workshops, I have been reading what I can on nonprofit software training. Holly Ross' piece on Software Training Workshops is part of a good series on the subject at TechSoup. Posted: 12/17/02; 10:17:14 AM #

13 December 2002

Use Online Audio and Video to Say Thanks
	In Use Online Audio and Video to Say Thanks Jayne Cravens makes a case for the simple use of rich media for certain types of communication. Even I, a curmudgeonly advocate of text, am pretty convinced. Posted: 12/13/02; 10:55:17 AM #

Why Copyright Today Threatens Intellectual Freedom
	In The Progress of Science and Useful Arts, the Free Expression Project has documented in superb detail "why copyright today threatens intellectual freedom". Posted: 12/13/02; 10:55:07 AM #

Web site Content Management Systems for Nonprofits
	From time to time I will blithely refer to "content management systems", assuming all along that my readers know what those are. As usual, Michael Stein and Marc Osten know better. They have written a good introductory piece on Web site Content Management Systems for Nonprofits. Posted: 12/13/02; 10:54:56 AM #

Making the Most of Email Marketing
	One of my guilty pleasures in publishing Nonprofit Online News is the joy of seeing other people say things that I've been saying for months or even years. In Making the Most of E-Mail Marketing Karen Klein extols the power of email newsletters. Posted: 12/13/02; 10:54:43 AM #

Discussion Forum for Civil Society
	The Discussion Forum for Civil Society is a short term invitation for input into the agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society. Posted: 12/13/02; 10:54:24 AM #

12 December 2002

Register for NTEN Roundup 2003
	Registration is now open for the 2003 NTEN Roundup, a conference of, by, and for nonprofit technology practitioners. Posted: 12/12/02; 10:38:22 AM #

10 December 2002

Empirical Analysis of Internet Filtering in China
	The Berkmann Center has published an Empirical Analysis of Internet Filtering in China. Turns out as much as 10% of the web is blocked by Chinese authorities. The report includes a complete list of 18,931 blocked sites. You can check and see if your organization, or those you work with, are included. Posted: 12/10/02; 10:32:17 AM #

9 December 2002

Email at Work Research Results
	The Pew Internet Project has released a new report on Email at Work. The researchers were fully prepared to learn that people were frustrated by spam, but the findings are far more promising than that! "Few feel overwhelmed and most are pleased with the way email helps them do their jobs." Posted: 12/9/02; 12:54:52 PM #

4 December 2002

High Speed Access for Grassroots Organizers
	The LINC project has been publishing some good introductory level articles on nonprofit technology recently. Their latest is on high speed access for grassroots organizations. Posted: 12/4/02; 10:26:43 AM #

Nepali Women Rising
	Changemakers Studio has published a lovely and moving photo essay entitled Nepali Women Rising on the changing justice and development issues affecting women in Nepal. It's a great use of the visual power of this medium. Posted: 12/4/02; 10:26:14 AM #

The Paradox of ROI
	In The Paradox of ROI, Joshua Greenbaum looks at some of the common flaws of return on investment analyses. Posted: 12/4/02; 10:26:04 AM #

3 December 2002

Voluntary Sector Skills
	The Voluntary Sector Skills web site is a great new resource for work force skills development for volunteers and staff in the nonprofit community. Posted: 12/3/02; 11:10:44 AM #

Winter 2002 Community Technology Review
	The Winter 2002 issue of Community Technology Review is a solid collection of articles on a wide range of subjects, including online fundraising and open source software. Posted: 12/3/02; 11:10:25 AM #

Web doesn't affect print readership
	Nonprofits that make money off of paper publications will be pleased to learn the lessons of newspaper publishing: web sites do not reduce demand for the print version. Posted: 12/3/02; 11:09:44 AM #