NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoupGlobal.org blogs

TechSoup Webinar: You Have the Footage, Now What?

Alicja Peszkowska — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:15:34 +0000

This webinar to happen on Feb 16 is the third one in the TechSoup Digital Storytelling series. It will provide you with great tips for shooting your video, and will be run by Aaron Bramley. You'll learn how to edit and distribute your video. We'll show you:

Recommendations for editing software
The basics of creating a more professional video
How to upload, tag and describe your video in order to get it seen.

Aaron Bramley is the Co-founder and Director of Communication/Education for Lights. Camera. Help. In this role, he's responsible conceptualizing the organization’s vision and working to see it through. He focuses on communication, collaboration, nonprofits, video, social media and the bleeding edge technology behind these things. He learns, he teaches, he shares and he works to make the world, or at least a small part of it, a better place. @aaronMSB

Be sure to check out the TS Digs page for more information: http://www.tsdigs.org

Details:

Date: Thursday, February 16
Time: 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
You Have the Footage, Now What?
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/422165233

ACTA -- European Protests + Poland's Update

Alicja Peszkowska — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:08:40 +0000

Two weeks ago, after the first hactivists’ attacks hit the Polish government website and the first protests spread through the country, I blogged about how Polish people opposed the ACTA bill. I’d love to provide you with an update now, since I am happy to say -- things are happening.

On 3 February 2012, Poland announced it halted the ratification process as it "had made insufficient consultations before signing the agreement in late January, and it was necessary to ensure it was entirely safe for Polish citizens." Last Saturday a meeting with the Ombudsman re ACTA in the historical venue of the Gdańsk Shipyard took place. At the same time, a weekend “improvised” congress for the ACTA opponents started in Warsaw -- it was organized by the Polish NGO community at the Polytechnics University. Polish Minister for Digitalization, Michał Boni who has recently become a very busy man, was present at both of these meetings, as well as at the third, most important one, that took place last Monday, in the chancellery of the Polish Prime Minister, Daniel Tusk. The latter meeting took 7 hours, and was video streamed as well as live-tweeted and commented in the real time (#debataACTA). The meeting hosted by the Polish MP was the closest we got to a public consultation that were so far overlooked in the entire ACTA process timeline. Some, especially the participants of the last weekend congress, who officially chose not to attend the meeting, are not satisfied though.

The primary demand of the protesters is for the prime minister to rescind ACTA, which is an action permissible by the law, they would also like to see ACTA being voted for in the general referendum. The Prime Minister on the other hand, declares that the signature will not be removed. However, the parliament voting over ACTA (in place to ratify -- or not -- the bill) will be on hold until the doubts surrounding this bill-to-be would not be cleared out.

Everyone seems to be surprised: the Polish prime minister has never seen such a quick, mass and well-organized resistance movement against any of the previous controversial political steps he took. “The people” united in the anti-ACTA movement (that could be easily called the Polish occupy/indignants movement supporters) on the other hand, feel unexpectedly empowered -- their voices have been heard.

Nevertheless, to hear one another and acknowledge the existence of another point of view is not enough. The yesterday’s seven hours debate showed very clearly that even though we pretend to listen, there is no real communication involved. I am very much looking forward to the further developments, as the general European protests against ACTA are coming up this weekend. What I hope for is for Poland as well as other 22 European Union countries to unsign the document, and for the remaining members Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands and Slovakia to block their internal signing procedures after completion of their respective domestic procedures. I hope that European Union will not sign ACTA in its current form. I hope for the real public consultations to take place, and to become an obligatory (and logical!) step on a way to ratify this and every bill.

Stay tuned!

Connect with other Community Builders at Weekly #CommBuild Chats!

Claire Sale — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:35:59 +0000

I've recently been involved with community building around community building via weekly #commbuild Twitter chats. This concept is a bit meta, I know, but I've found it to be a really great way to connect with other people in my position. Since there are so many community builders involved with the Net2 network in various ways, I wanted to be sure to let you all know about this new opportunity.

What is #CommBuild?

#CommBuild focuses on issues and topics relevant to those working on community building or in community management roles. These chats originated out of the #4Change network and are open to anyone interested in learning and sharing about building community, on and offline, with the use of social media or other technology tools.

Anyone interested in community building, whether you are formally in a Community Management job or not, is welcome to join the group and participate in the weekly chats.

How to Participate

Join the group to participate in discussions, share resources, and more
Participate in the Twitter chats weekly, on Tuesdays, from 1-2 pm EST at #CommBuild

Today's #CommBuild Chat is a more informal one and does not have a specific topic planned. I encourage you to stop by and introduce yourself, and suggest a topic if you have something on your mind!

Image courtesy: whizchickenonabun on Flickr

TechSoup Geeks: Speedgeeking at USRio+2.0

laneytest — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:34:11 +0000

For three days last week, the US State Department hosted the USRio+2.0 Conference, an infusion of entrepreneurial spirit into a conversation that could use it: the Rio+20 discussion on sustainable development ideas and solutions. The event was all about highlighting innovative ideas and technologies through some nontraditional conference events including, among other things, speedgeeking.

Speedgeeking, modelled off speed dating, is a quick-hit way to introduce and demonstrate technology projects. Although it’s been used in tech circles for a few years now, my guess is that it was new for the State Department in this kind of context. They even referred to it as “demo alley”, with the “speedgeeking” language relegated to the parenthetical. They set it up like experienced pros, though, with good-sized groups, well-spaced tables, and a religious adherence to the 5-minute time limit.

From what I heard, the speedgeek session came off pretty well -- but my perspective here was that of a presenter, co-speedgeeking alongside TechSoup Global founder and co-CEO Daniel Ben-Horin.

Speedgeeking N00b

I’ve been on the listening side of the geek table plenty of times before, but never have I been on the talking side. The closest I’ve come to presenting this way comes from scientific poster sessions -- similar to speedgeeking, but many years older and not nearly as sexy.

So going in, I tried to take into account both advice -- of Daniel and another TSG CEO in attendance, Marnie Webb -- as well as my own experience on the other side of the table. Here’s what I tried to keep in mind:

Get to the point. Lead with the highlight and then fill in the details. If you save the punchline till the end, no one will be listening any more.
Be specific. You might be doing many amazing things, but you’ll never cover them all in five minutes, so don’t even try. Pick one story to tell that demonstrates a single, compelling piece of your work or mission.
Leave time for questions. You’ll get a one-minute warning, but it’s even better if you ask for questions before then. If no one has questions, then you can talk some more, but give them the chance to ask.
Act like the first time. It might be your 7th time giving the same speech, but it’s your audience’s first time hearing it, so bear that in mind and try to keep it fresh.

Taking the Advice

I tried to balance all these pieces of advice while also being mindful of my speaking style. I’m already prone to talking too fast (sometimes referred to as “speaking in binary”, as if a stream of 0s and 1s bursts from my head into the ether, leaving the listener to decipher them), and I’m also a bit excitable when sharing what I’m working on. Knowing a 5-minute clock is ticking away makes both those problems worse. But in the end we told the story we wanted to tell, and -- in the only quantifiable way to measure success at conferences -- I ran out of business cards.

Daniel and I swapped primary/secondary speaking roles each of the 10 rotations. We both changed our pitch just a bit in each session to help keep it fresh; I don’t think any two groups got exactly the same speech. You can check out a Daniel session in the video below.

Have you ever speedgeeked before? What advice would you give a newbie?

Greening the Ghettos and Rebirth to Local Communities Ignored

KennethFax — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:03:12 +0000

Majora Carter contributed greatly to leading efforts to make ghettos, green, clean and sustainable in New York. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html

We have an opportunity to apply the same principle in San Francisco. What would you do to fight for environmental justice in areas such as Bayview Hunters Point, Visitation Valley, Mission District and other under-served areas with low income and forgotten?

As an examples...in an emotionally charged talk, MacArthur-winning activist Majora Carter details her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx -- and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flaw...

Credits
"Greening the ghetto | Video on TED.com

NetSquared Camp Vancouver: April 28 2012

elijah — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:52:40 +0000

Net Tuesday Vancouver is excited to announce NetSquared Camp 2012, an intimate gathering of Vancouver’s online campaigners. This unconference will be a chance for our community to gather and share our hard-won best practices, war stories, and victories!

The event will be held at The Hive on Saturday, April 28 and admission is $20.

There are just 80 spots available, so please RSVP soon to ensure you get a ticket.

Tickets and more information: http://netsquared2012.eventbrite.ca/

Hope to see you there!

Google Privacy Policy And What It Means For The Nptech World

Alicja Peszkowska — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:10:01 +0000

Last week Google announced their new privacy policy to the world. The changes in the way that Google combines and uses information one shares with its services is effective in less than a month, on March the 1st. There is a few absolutely basic facts that every Internet user (be it a Google ID user or not) should be aware of in the context of the change, and I will try to brief them here. I would love to learn and understand how exactly non-profit organizations will be affected by the new policy -- I understand that this is a very complex issue, and it is still hard to distill how this situation will be different and unique for the civil sector in particular. It doesn’t make the questions any less important or urging for an answer though. The new Google Privacy Policy run about 10,000 words, and I strongly recommend the read.

Starting March 1st any information that Google engines tracked so far, and used for customizing a specific tool of your use (e.g. you must have noted the search results being differently positioned based on how you used the engine before) will be now available almost across the entire spectrum of Google products: “If you're signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services (...). In short, we'll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.”-- Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, Alma Whitten wrote in a blog post.

Intuitive Experience vs. Privacy Violation

Whitten’s creativity goes further and can be very specific: “Google will be able to provide reminders that you’re going to be late for a meeting based on your location, your calendar and an understanding of what traffic is like that day” -- she wrote. The policy will obviously apply to mobile Internet use, particularly in case of any Android phones, and e.g. a new Kindle Fire. Because you have to sign in to your Google account to do anything except for browse the Web and make phone calls, Google will be able to track practically anything you do on your phone using Google services.

For many life might become simpler with all the data as well as big data being processed and customized for them by Google -- there is an upside of the change that will add to a Google user experience. However, the levels of your somewhat enthusiastic attitude towards the changes differ according to how much you are willing to share with Google, and how strongly you are inclined to believe in their “don’t be evil” motto. Google pointed out that cookies and 'identifiers' will not be tagged to sensitive categories, such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation or health. Google has done a great job explaining the change through articles, blog posts and various following the announcement.

Coming This March -- Steady?

The policy will come to life starting March 1. If you already are a Google ID user you can’t really opt -out. Google can only integrate your information if you are signed in. For example, if you’re signed in to your Gmail account on one tab, and then decide to look up a clip on YouTube on another tab without signing out of your e-mail, the data will be integrated. If you sign out or look up a YouTube clip on a different browser, the data won’t be integrated.

Another thing, that I would strongly encourage you to do is to take a closer look at your Google privacy settings. As the policy itself advices you can:

Review and control certain types of information tied to your Google Account by using Google Dashboard.
View and edit your ads preferences, such as which categories might interest you, using the Ads Preferences Manager.
Use Google editor to see and adjust how your Google Profile appears to particular individuals.
Control who you share information with.
Take information out of many of Google services.

In the end, last but not least, you can always pull out your data from the Google Services. To learn more about liberating your data check out the Data Liberation Front manual.

What Does It Mean For NGOs?

For these who have been observing Google development, and their struggle to monopolize the Internet, the policy change shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nevertheless, it does come as a statement, and should be re-thought by these who wish to be informed Internet users. Apart from asking ourselves questions about how to navigate through the Google changes, we should also take time to decide what should be a stand of a non-profit organization we represent -- work or collaborate with. How will the organizations stakeholders be affected by us using Google tools? How to avoid Google when working on a cloud? Is there a way back?

For these who fear the changes there are always, admitteddly less user-friendly but privacy sensitive, open source collaboration tools and platforms such as Etherpads, Zoho (commercial solutions) andalternative social media tools like Diaspora or Identica. In addition, in the shadow of the policy change Microsoft sensed an opportunity to fish for new clients, and claims their products are safer and treat your data with more respect. To see how subtly Microsoft wants to convince you to leave Google for them check this, ironically, youtube video.

What Is Next?

It is probably too early to know how Google privacy policy will drive the change in how we use the Internet, and probably the majority of the users will stay with Google nevertheless.

What will you do? Will this change affect you? Were you heavily relying on Google product.

Share your thoughts, emotions and questions in the comments or poke us via our social media channels.

Learn More:

TechSoup Webinar: Capturing Your Story on Camera

Alicja Peszkowska — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:54:19 +0000

This webinar to happen on Feb 9 is the second one in the TechSoup Digital Storytelling series. It will provide you with great tips for shooting your video, and will be run by David J. Neff. You'll learn:

• What equipment is right for your organization
• How to set up a good shot
• Considerations for capturing indoor, outdoor and event footage

David J. Neff is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lights. Camera. Help. He would say that he is a author, teacher, speaker, blogger, network weaver, and social media scientist. For over 10 years he has been helping people and nonprofits focus on doing good all across the world. He did this through 9 years at the American Cancer Society as the Director of Web, Film and Interactive Strategy. While there he started their film and documentary department. David also shot a full-length documentary and owned and operated a film production company here in Austin, TX. @daveiam

Be sure to check out the TS Digs page for more information: http://www.tsdigs.org

Details:

Date: Thursday, February 9
Time: 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
Capturing Your Story on Camera
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/179411545

Reflections on the Global Leadership Council Kick-off Meeting

vanessa rhinesmith — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:24:13 +0000

As mentioned earlier this week, we held the Global Leadership Council kick-off meeting on Friday, January 20, 2012. It was awesome to get the members on the phone for introductions as well as a discussion about expectations for the year and to jump into a conversation about the recent NetSquared surveys. Marc Manashil, NetSquared’s Community Evangelist, moderated the conversation while several others from the NetSquared team observed.

The Discussion:
The main focus of the discussion was to review lessons learned from the NetSquared surveys that had been distributed to Local organizers and the community at-large. Members reflected and shared insights on the following questions:

What do you see as the biggest challenge Net2 is facing this year?
What is the greatest opportunity that we need to seize during 2012?
What topic or theme would like us to devote a meeting discussion to this year?

The Challenges:
Communication and community where consistent themes in regards to the challenges faced by Local organizers. There is a feeling among organizers that it is not always easy to explain “what NetSquared is.” It is difficult to communicate the message of NetSquared when that message and the values and goals are unknown or vague.

The other challenge that grows out of this communication need is the transfer of knowledge to the NetSquared Local groups. Not only do Local groups require clear communication to build awareness, participants and differentiate themselves, but to enhance program offerings and meet localized needs.

Growing from the individual organizer challenge and those faced by the Local groups, there is also an overarching challenge centered on the relationship between the Local and the Global NetSquared. Organizers are eager to connect with other organizers globally to enable them to enhance value locally.

The Opportunities:
The Global Leadership Council members were full of amazing insights. They noted many opportunities for NetSquared and offered thoughts on how to best to maximize on the opportunities that they are observing:

The development of a clear and concise definition of NetSquared that Local groups could modify as appropriate to their own local purpose. This would provide a shared understanding that supports localism as well.

Greater promotion of the fact that NetSquared Locals are are part of a global network. Make more points of connection between NetSquared Locals, the global NetSquared network, and TechSoup as a point of unique value.

The creation of a feedback loop that would enable NetSquared Locals to share, problem-solve, and collaborate more effectively with one another. This would serve as a means of sharing resources, lessons learned and capacity needs.

What’s next for the Global Leadership Council?
In preparation for future Global Leadership Council meetings, we asked the members to wrap-up the call by brainstorming topics that they would like to discuss over the coming year. These topics included a review of the event programs that could be used by a variety of Local groups, the development of an annual project collectively tackled by Local groups, the identification of risk and the necessary steps to sustain a Local group, among others.

If you have a specific topic you’d like to see the GLC members discuss please share it in the comments section or via @vrhinesmith.

Our next meeting will be held in mid-February. In the meantime, if you’d like to listen to the full Global Leadership Council kick-off call, we welcome you to do so here. Please note that if you do not have Flash installed, you will be prompted to install Flash before viewing. For additional instructions on playback, click here for more information.

Don’t forget that you can stay connected by:

Following and participate the conversation on Twitter using #net2glc
Learning more about the GLC and it’s members on our GLC wiki
Reading the NetSquared blog for reflections from the GLC members
Sending me, Vanessa, NetSquared Local topics for the GLC to address

Participate In The 2012 TechSoup Digital Storytelling Challenge -- Learn And/Or Submit

Alicja Peszkowska — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:22:36 +0000

“While the barrier to video production and distribution tools has lowered greatly in recent years, many organizations miss the opportunity to present their stories, lacking the skills to use the tools effectively” -- says TechSoup Global Online Community Manager Michael DeLong -- “That is why we want to provide trainings, resources, and inspiration for NGOs to create and tell their compelling stories.

The project I just described is the TechSoup annual Digital Storytelling Challenge (also known as #TSDigs), powered by Lights. Camera. Help. It combines professional instruction and friendly competition into a hands-on media-making project. Organizations participate in a series of short, interactive online trainings, apply that knowledge to create their digital story, then submit a one-minute video or five-picture slideshow to the #TSDigs Challenge. A panel of expert judges selects the very best entries to win terrific prizes consisting of tools and resources to take their digital storytelling to the next level. The 2012 edition of #tsdigs challenge has just kicked off, and you should (so says I) consider participating. The timeline looks pretty much as follows:

Timeline

February 1: Challenge Launch: Submissions Open

Learning Opportunities:

All learning events are 11:00 a.m. US Pacific time

February 2: Webinar on Pre-production
February 7: Live Tweet Chat
February 8: Nonprofits Live on Collaborative Video
February 9: Webinar on Production
February 14: Live Tweet Chat
February 16: Webinar on Post-Production

February 29, Midnight Pacific time Submissions Close
March 1 – 11: Expert panel judging
March 5 – 9: Community voting

March 28, 7:00 p.m. Pacific time: Awards Screening Party at TechSoup HQ in San Francisco and Live-Streaming in Nonprofit Commons (Second Life)

We will keep updating you re the challenge, as well as reminding you about the #tsdigs webinars in case you don’t sign up for all of these immediately after reading the blog post. Don’t miss a chance to learn, and if you are considering submitting your video to the competition -- good luck!