Resources / Ripples & Wipeouts

Hello World
Though I’ve been with MAKE WAVES for 10 months, this is my first blog post.  Sad, but true.  My negligence has been due mainly to my desire for things to have a beginning, middle and end.

What’s a linear person like me doing in online communications for nonprofit organizations, a decidedly nonlinear enterprise?  “Opposites attract” probably sums it up; a topic for another post?

I like C to follow B to follow A.  So, stubbornly, I wanted my first post to be “Point A.”

A summary of e-mail newsletter best practices for nonprofits, perhaps?  Or possibly a guide to content management systems for small organization websites?  Maybe an introduction to social media and how to engage new people in your mission.

The problem, though, is that all of these are moving targets.  E-newletters morph to keep up with changes in e-mail software, spam filtering, and reader behavior (iPhone, anyone?).  New CMSs are released regularly, and what’s best for one organization might be a terrible fit for another ; one size does not fit all.  Social media? Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the rest grow and change every day, and the next big thing is just days away.  There is no Point A.

I attended two great conferences recently.  NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco was fantastic.  The more recent Women Who Tech Online TeleSummit was also great.  They didn’t start at Point A, though.  Instead, they offered a myriad of choices in no particular order, just like the internet.

I’m putting my stake in the ground here.  It’s not Point A, but I can pretend it is, and go from here.

--Leah Kopperman