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The data shows more smartphones shipped than PCs in the most recent quarter.  For nonprofit orgs -- and government -- this is important to notice, because it mean strategies previously focused on DESKTOP / LAPTOP devices or apps may need to be revised.  A mobile strategy will be increasing important for fundraising, for communication, for collaboration, and for advocacy.

If a nonprofit dabbles in web design this is more specific to design choice for the web creator but it was worth the inquiry for myself. Drupal has been proven to better the better choice for a larger organization that wants more features. Wordpress has held an advantage for the smaller startups for ease of use. There is a convergence between the two that is occurring but Drupal still maintains a lead. The problem with the more complex applications in a site is that it will require more maintenance which a very small nonprofit or company would seek to avoid. I generally consider it very difficult to maintain a mobile web solution and keep a good selection of applications running without some expert support. The old standard of a simple website appears to be waning quickly. The choice now appears to be how much work you want to pay your website manager to do rather than determining if you need one.

This site has at Top 10 list for paid social media monitoring services specifically designed for nonprofits. I found it to be very helpful because it had descriptions of each type of service along with costs, and what size nonprofit it would be most beneficial for. This could be useful for a nonprofit trying to organize contacts while also receiving feedback on how they are progressing through social media.

There is a Tech for Good contest for nonprofits to show how they are using Microsoft software to do good and Microsoft is donating $5000 in cash/up to $100,000 in new software to the winner.

Microsoft hosts a conference called Tech for Good Contest, where eligable nonprofits prove why they deserve the donated money anywhere from 5 to 100 thousand dollars worth of Microsoft software. Along with it they will receive consulting from the organization teaming up with Microsoft, NPower Seattle.

Microsoft is holding a contest for nonprofits to win money through use of technology and holding a technology seminar for non profits next month

How Does Your Nonprofit Measure Up? This was the opening question Jocelyn Harmon (Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2.com) and I posed during our presentation on "The Art and Science of Fundraising Online" for the Association Foundation Group. If your organization's average online gift is lower than you would like or your organization has not developed a well thought out year-end online fundraising campaign in the past, then you need to make changes to your online fundraising program ASAP. > see our Seven Online Fundraising Strategies You Can Do Right Now.

New Year resolutions are often easy to make and even easier to break, but this year PDF users worldwide can make resolutions worth sticking to. As tech enthusiasts try to follow better computing practices for 2011, Nitro PDF Software (www.nitropdf.com) provides easy-to-follow, helpful tips and products for a pain-free year of PDF usage.

The Cellebrite UFED Physical Pro is a high-end, all-in-one solution for logical and physical extraction. The UFED Physical Pro expands your current device capabilities to extract deleted mobile device data, user passwords, file system dumps, and physical extraction from GPS devices.

From the company product brochure for "UFED Physical Pro": 'THE COMPLETE MOBILE FORENSICS SOLUTION Cellebrite's UFED addresses the growing need for fast, comprehensive mobile forensic capabilities. An add-on module for advanced extraction and analysis of evidence Physical Pro enables the basic UFED system with physical data extraction, file system dump and reconstruction, and password extraction. UFED Physical Pro enables recovery of invaluable evidential information that isn't accessible by logical extraction methods alone. In use by military, law enforcement, governments, and intelligence agencies across the world, UFED Physical Pro allows users to rapidly extract a wide variety of data types in a forensically sound process from both phone and SIM memory. Extracting data in a forensic manner and presenting it with the integrity of the data intact ensures that the evidence will be admissible in court.

Online .pdf Brochure Description of 'extraction device' continued (notice the GPS and mapping capability also): AT A GLANCE * Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags * Powerful search, reconstruction, and analysis of the phone hex dump that can be used for intelligence gathering, investigative research, and as legal evidence in court * Expanded coverage for GPS devices, with mapping of GPS locations on Google Maps and visualization of GPS locations on Google Earth * Unrivaled phone coverage and compatibility * Fast, intuitive extraction process source: http://www.cellebrite.com/images/stories/brochures/UFED%20Physical%20Pro%20Brochure%20%20ENGLISH.pdf

Open APIs (application programming interfaces) are VERY important to look for when considering cloud-based solutions. Think about the implications for nonprofits selecting an online solution... would you want one with an API or not? (BTW... take a look at the APIs for both Google Apps online and Microsoft Office365 online. Let me know what you find.)

This is the video I showed during the 1/31 class re: APIs. (Cards vs. Candyland)

Great timing!  Google just launched two-factor authentication for every Google account. Absolutely something administrators should use for organizations; and something worth enabling for all users, as well. Nice! Andy

This article covers donor database implementation for a non-profit. Giftworks was endorsed for ease of use. Administrators are happier with a more customized solution when its possible. Microsoft Access was criticized because it seems less directed toward the non-profit sector. It was interesting to note that the competition for donor dollars is increasing. A highly integrated database clearly outperforms segmented data. The online database with a trained rep might be the best choice of all.

This article discusses why government is moving away from providing IT directly to its employees in exchange for identifying the proper services to empower employees. The government realizes that owning the equipment personally isn't paying off for them. This may be more true for the government than other sectors. The same changeover seems to be occurring in the nonprofit sector.

A website, www.protectyourtexasborder.com, launched March 3rd, which was originally intended to be a forum for farmers, ranchers, and other border dwellers to discuss border violence spawned by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, has "turned into a political hot potato". It has spawned some senators to call for its removal because it "exaggerates the problem" faced on the borders. U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, has spearheaded the campaign for its removal, citing it as a waste of tax payer dollars as well as breeding hate speech and other such things.

Clearly, social media has emerged as a powerful mobilizing tool, particularly for issues like labor disputes, where political passions run high. Whichever side you're on, labor or management, experiences like the one the DSO and its musicians have faced for the past six months tell us that social media is here to stay and nonprofits have to understand how to manage - no, embrace - the now-dominant form of communication for more and more of their community members.

This site is all about Yugma, signup and use for virtual net meetings... I am still unclear how this integrates with Skype for instance... It is multiple platform capable .... Linux,Mac,Windows and that might prove important.... I was disappointed by a 3 person use maximum however.... This service is a bit more revenue driven than some other cloud services which are easier to get for free

In getting ready to fully utilize social media and online tools for his upcoming campaign, Obama is holding a town hall meeting at Silicon Valley. Facebook users have been sending in their questions for the President and more than 36,000 users have said they will virtually attend the meeting held today that will include Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerburg. Obama will surely utilize social media tools alike Facebook and twitter to get his message out there for next years campaign. This is a great example of participatory government in the context of online social media.

By Amy Potthast, Director, Service and Graduate Programs at Idealist "As a non-techie, I think I can safely say that a hiring nonprofit's current staff may have so little technical knowledge, they don't even know what skills are needed to do a job they want done. This lack of clarity on the employer's part can translate into some confusion and challenges on your part when you apply for a nonprofit job. I chatted with my colleagues on Idealist's web team for pointers to pass along."

Only 16% of nonprofits expect to be ready for mobile devices in 2011 so there is tremendous opportunity in 84% of nonprofits. Mobile web use increased 230% from 2008 to 2009 which indicates that many more people are impressed with mobile computing devices and it is here to stay for a while. Websites without mobile connectivity are essentially going to be out-of-date now.

This is supplementary to our first reading assignment which outlines where we are are and where we are going in nonprofit technology

This is a secondary post to accompany one of my earlier ones on public education and administration strategies. Related to previous post about Obama wanting to create an Ed-Tech agency. This official White House website posts a complete outline of Obama's broader plan for American Innovation to build the economy of the 21st century (in the form of an executive summary).      Interesting pyramid figure conceptually charting the projeced impact on innovation for "Sustainable Growth" and quality jobs.

If you setup a file server at non profit this article outlines a good strategy for your files structure. The use of outside backup and a partition of disk drives should be done from the start. It is a good idea to determine what the activities will be and make the structure match to avoid over searching... Some seemingly simple structures can be a nightmare for maintenance.. A good file server setup promotes sharing which can produce efficiencies..

This is really server basics for some of the less technical but it's good advice