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News for August 2006
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 28 August 2006 |
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| Strategic Communications Audits |
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Julia Coffman's Strategic Communications Audits (10 page PDF) is a superb tool. It is solidly grounded in high-level concepts about communication practice, but at the same time presents usable tools for assessment. You would get more out of this through having it implemented by an experienced strategic communication consultant, but it's a good starting point even if it's self-administered.
Posted: 8/28/06; 11:54:34 AM # |
| Flash FreeMind Browser |
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If you like concept mapping as much as I do, you'll be pleased with the progress that's been made on the Flash FreeMind Browser. This allows very smart and snappy web-based interaction with mind-maps created by the open-source Freemind tool. Of course, it's essential to use this for it's intended purpose -- conceptual mapping and exploration -- rather than for unnecessarily elaborate website design.
Posted: 8/28/06; 11:45:13 AM # |
| A Taxonomy of Public Communication Campaigns |
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Back in 2002, the Berkley Media Studies Group published a Taxonomy of Public Communication Campaigns (40 page PDF). Occasionally I think of writing a new, Internet-savvy edition of the Campaign Cookbook (a public communication manual I wrote back in the nineties) and I would probably draw upon this taxonomy to provide a frame of reference. But I would go further and recommend this sharp analysis to anyone doing campaign planning. The case studies and planning methods related to the purpose, scope, and maturity of a campaign are all very valuable.
Posted: 8/28/06; 11:26:56 AM # |
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24 August 2006 |
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21 August 2006 |
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| Liberating Voices! A Pattern Language for Social Change |
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I've had the pleasure recently of serving as an advisor to a student who's conducting an independent survey course of social change strategies. It's a revitalizing endeavor. If you're interested in taking a step back from your own change models to see where they fit in the broader scheme of ideas, you might want to look at Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Social Change. It's far from complete and still very much a creature of this moment in history, but it's a good jumping off point for a broader exploration.
Posted: 8/21/06; 8:54:06 AM # |
| The Physics of Friendship |
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As you probably know, I have an interest in the visualization of social systems and networks. As it turns out, the field of visualization has inspired a bridge between social scientists and physicists. The empirical data about community structures, clustering and evolution of social connections can to a large degree be modeled as though individuals were physical particles. Take a look at this short article on The Physics of Friendship for an overview.
Posted: 8/21/06; 8:41:42 AM # |
| Collaborative Learning Environments Sourcebook |
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The Collaborative Learning Environments Sourcebook is a great collection of resources for those who want to build online communities of practice. I can't tell for sure if it's being maintained, but I'd be surprised if you didn't find something new here nevertheless. The sourcebook is organized into resource categories including: Links & Portals, Concepts & Models, Assessment, Tools & Technologies, and Institutional Repositories.
Posted: 8/21/06; 8:37:02 AM # |
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15 August 2006 |
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| Co-operatives in South Africa |
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Twenty years ago, I laid out a series of reasons why the corporate model is not appropriate for civil society work and I'm thrilled to see some very constructive conversations in the last few months about the available alternatives. Diane Babak of SANGONeT writes about Co-operatives in South Africa and offers a number of resources for using that model for community based work. It's great to see such an alternative reaching the level of promotion and implementation.
Posted: 8/15/06; 1:06:47 PM # |
| The Nonprofit Capacity Conundrum |
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Jonathan Peizer is leading an excellent conversation over at Social Edge on the subject of The Nonprofit Capacity Conundrum. He's asking five questions: (1) What viable ways exist to provide support to nonprofits so they can use technology effectively in this type of support environment? (2) Are technology support organizations like NPower, Compumentor, etc. the answer and can they meet the needs of nonprofits of all sizes and issue areas? (3) Are there technologies like ASP's that can allow nonprofits to leverage technology without as significant a need for technology support? (4) Are there different ways nonprofits can invest in their technology capacity in the early stages and maintain that investment? (5) Is mission-based support using technology best done through other institutional or networked arrangements and not nonprofits?
Posted: 8/15/06; 1:05:30 PM # |
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14 August 2006 |
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| Murray Bookchin, 85, Writer, Activist and Ecology Theorist, Dies |
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Murray Bookchin, a man I regard as my intellectual grandfather, died last month at his home in Burlington. He brought together a rigorous synthesis of ecological, economic, and social theory, which rejected authoritarianism in all its forms, whether found on the right or the left of the political spectrum. He continued to write into his eighties and, while I will never match his output or his acuity, I hope to at least match his longevity. His ideas are more relevant now than ever and I encourage you to read his work.
Posted: 8/14/06; 11:52:27 AM # |
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7 August 2006 |
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| The Blackboard Patent |
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The patent disaster is closing in on the nonprofit sector. Stephen Downes is documenting the issues related to The Blackboard Patent, wherein one company has been awarded patents that cover most of the field of elearning. I'm wondering when major nonprofits and funders are going to notice how this affects the sector, let alone the fact that something similar has been quietly happening for several years in the field of online fundraising.
Posted: 8/7/06; 10:15:23 AM # |
| Given Enough Minds...: Bridging the Ingenuity Gap |
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Hassan Masum and Mark Tovey examine two case studies in their First Monday paper entitled Given Enough Minds...: Bridging the Ingenuity Gap. I don't share the common belief that more people automatically lead to smarter outcomes, but I support any effort that helps us make it so. The authors are looking specifically at how to make a problem solving architecture so much fun that it draws a quality of participation that elevates the collective result above that produced by experts who are in the employ of interested parties.
Posted: 8/7/06; 9:54:57 AM # |
| Hiroshima and the WWW |
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Yesterday was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the creation of the World Wide Web. For many years, my hope has been that the latter will help us better learn the lessons of the former. Now I'm not so hopeful, but I do observe them both.
Posted: 8/7/06; 9:48:40 AM # |
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3 August 2006 |
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| All Day Seminar on Email Newsletter Marketing |
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I'm very excited to announce an all-day (well, five hours or so) Online Seminar on Email Newsletter Marketing. This seminar is timed to be accessible to people in about half the world's time zones. It covers all the core strategies and tactics that we've been teaching in these sessions, but delivers them in a new form. In addition, we're offering two other innovations: (1) Logistical changes on our end will make me, as the instructor, far more available for questions and answers throughout the seminar. (2) Transcripts of the sessions will be available soon after the seminar.
Posted: 8/3/06; 7:19:04 PM # |
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