Web Finds: Summer Reads, N.T. Wright and Don Miller

Time for another roundup of assorted links!


Doris Nhan from the SmartBlog on Social Media writes about how Discovery's Gayle Weiswasser manages multiple social media accounts. The key point here - and also from my professional work experience - is that each account is unique and must be managed accordingly.


If God told you everything was going to turn out awesome, do you think you'll have to go through a lot of hard times? That's how Don Miller starts his talk at Catalyst.


Rob Bell earned a whole lot of press back in March with the release of his latest book, "Love Wins". Everyone - from pastors to atheists - seemed to be talking about it. Out of all the coverage, N.T. Wright makes a solid point: why focus so much on Hell, when we should be more focused on Heaven? If we're going to "cause a stir," let's do it in a way that glorifies God.


This came out of left field -- I had no idea that Butler Basketball Coach Stevens attended St. Luke's UMC in Indianapolis. (It's the same church that runs The Bluevine Collective blog). The Indianapolis Star wrote a really wonderful profile of Stevens that talks about his quiet faith. 


I've been cleaning up my Google Reader, and in the process found two neat nonprofit association blogs, The Glamorous Life and The Hourglass Blog.


I think Beth Kanter posted this - it's the Security In-a-Box, a website to help you clean up your digital files (a really great resource for NGOs).


NPR Books has come out with a red-hot list for some cool summer reading. I've already added a few to my GoodReads. 


Commencement addresses are wrapping up. I found an intriguing speech from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg ("The Women Of My Generation Blew It, So Equality Is Up To You"). She spoke to the women of Barnard College on May 17. 


Related:
Web Finds: Dirty makeup 
Web Finds: iPhone's big announcement

One Year Anniversary of Fighting Crime

One year ago today, I started my first day at Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. In some ways, I know this is just the beginning. The world of nonprofit communications has been quite the adventure. Reflecting on the past year, here are a few lessons learned while “Fighting Crime”:

• Take risks, even ones that take you thousands of miles from home. It is as scary as it is rewarding - and that makes it worth the risk.

• You don’t know the meaning of “flooded inbox” until you receive 50+ daily Google Alerts.

• Office culture is a balancing act.

• It IS possible to do much with few resources. Thanks to social media, this is more possible for nonprofits than ever before.

• Working for a small organization allows for greater opportunities - hiring interns, leading workshops -- but it also allows more opportunities to be humbled.

• Mistakes happen. Forgiving and flexible supervisors create employees who will be forgiving and flexible in their careers.

• Working with passionate people may mean longer hours; but at the end of the day, you’re working with passionate people - not robots.

Related:

Fighting Crime With (My) Words (April 18, 2010) via Digital Disciple

A Speedy Return (May 25, 2010) via Capital Comment

Non-Profit Tweetup

I attended my first #nptweet – up. If you don’t know, a tweetup is an event organized solely via Twitter. This one, labeled with the hashtag “#nptweet” focused on social media strategies in the non-profit setting.

I’ve attended others like the Online News Association (#onadc) and the D.C. Media Makers (#dcmm), but this one made me feel at home since my new job is in the non-profit setting.

If there are any takeaways, it’s these (you should also look at the conversation stream by checking #nptweet on Twitter):

• Sometimes, instead of focusing on social media ROI, you need to measure actions taken.

• Great tools for measuring social media are: backtweet, topsy, tweetmeme, whatthehashtag and twazzup. (I won't link them all; look 'em up).

• If you have some IT assistance at your non-profit, you should work with APIs, which help replicate information cross-platform. For example, if you want to develop a “donate” tab on your org’s Facebook page, you can use an API to assist.

• In the future, the genesis of profile information will be such that volunteers/funders/etc. will be able to customize which platforms they want to hear certain information from. For example, a volunteer could arrange settings to follow the Red Cross Twitter page, but not the Facebook page – all within one aggregated platform.

• Our fellow employees are going to be our best advocates for implementing social media strategy. If they’re not on board, how will you encourage the members, volunteers, donors?

• Don’t get caught up in the “shiny tools” – focus on value, ethics, brand.

Super-glad to meet Wendy Harman, who developed one of the best examples of a social media policy for her org – none other than the American Red Cross. Frank Gruber, from #DCweek, moderated the amazing panel.

In the future, I would love to see a panel that incorporates social media pioneers at smaller non-profits, and learn from folks who have had difficulty getting buy-in from senior management.

I would also love to gather opinions on this question: How do you approach social media at a member-based org? I’d argue that you need to employ different tactics from the grassroots, volunteer orgs. Leave a comment…

After tonight's discussion, I don't want to ever see a headline like this again.