Re: [DDN] The future of DDN
We see this often with our clients; technology shouldn't be implemented for technology's sake. If people are comfortable with a mailing list, then that's what they'll use, even if the client just spent a hideous amount of money on their shiny new online communications center that the marketing / branding guys are drooling over. 1. Perhaps we should take a step back and think about what DDN actually *needs*? Speaking as a project manager, I'd like to know what this project's must-have, nice-to-have, and pie-in-the-sky wishlist features are. What is actually being used on the site, other than the mailing list? Are there online denizens of the forums or blogs who we're leaving out of this conversation? 2. I noticed the site now carries this message: This is a static archive of the Digital Divide Network content. Due to the extraordinary amount of spam being posted and traffic to the site from robots overwhelming the site with inappropriate content, TakingITGlobal can no longer afford to maintain and manage the site content. However, you are welcome to browse the wealth of content on the site. Blogs can still be contributed to the site via RSS syndication, and member profiles are still active! In other words, the site has been killed off, or will remain as a hub of syndicated content from other sources. How much traffic was DDN receiving, and how much content was posted daily? Was TIG able to try various captcha / moderation / spam filtering solutions? If so, what impact did they have? 3. DDN seems to be suffering from a lack of clear direction, which makes it very difficult to select a path forward. TIG has done an awesome job of supporting DDN for a long time now, but it's clear that the community will need to create a more sustainable solution. Is it time for DDN to form a board to address some of this? Once we have an idea of what needs to be done, and a group of folks willing to commit to that discussion, it'd be interesting to see if crowdsourcing a solution is indeed possible. If we had a wishlist of prioritized features, how hard would it be to rebuild this in something like Drupal and for one person to donate some time every day to prune / maintain, till a fundraising mechanism is in place? Lots of questions to answer before we can answer that one, but the project will die if we don't start answering them soon. And Taran, I definitely understand your tone, given the background. The vast majority of technology projects run out of steam and falter, even in paid for-profit consulting engagements, much like the case with DDN. But this *can* be done, if it's organized correctly. If DDN can't crowdsource a technology solution effectively, who can? Dave. -- Dave Chakrabarti Project Manager Chicago Technology Cooperative www.chicagotech.org On Dec 30, 2008, at 6:21 PM, Taran Rampersad wrote: Let's simplify. Ismael Peña-López wrote: I'd second Andy's proposal to recruit some volunteers and let the list run (smoothly) for a while. i. Forgive me. That was Andy's proposal when DDN left Benton, and there was a sincere attempt to do that to some degree. It didn't work then, it hasn't worked since, and I am wondering how it will work now. Sure, back in 1999 we had less tech. We also had less distractive technology. This may seem somewhat counter to the context of the list itself, but just because we have technology doesn't mean we have to use it all the time. Fired are good for cooking, but people who use them too much are called arsonists... if you take my point. -- -- Taran Rampersad taran.a.ramper...@gmail.com http://www.knowprose.com http://www.your2ndplace.com http://www.opendepth.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/ Criticize by Creating - Michelangelo The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine. - Nikola Tesla ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Homeless.org and Crime.org
Hey DDN, One of the projects I'm working on for Grassroots.org is the development of two top-level internet portals, namely homeless.org and crime.org A quick visit reveals that the existing content does, for want of a better word, suck. Badly. We'll scrap it all. So, in other words, we've got these two awesome domain names that we can do some good with. What do you guys think? We need help with: 1. Finding partners for development. Know any awesome homeless shelters, or orgs working on police brutality? Any relevant mailing lists I should know about? 2. Development strategies. Would it make sense to build out chicago.crime.org as a local portal? 3. Functionality. What's portal mean anyway? Should we focus on social networking tools, projects to let the homeless blog, etc, or should we just aggregate a ton of good content? Do crime researchers prefer a mailing list or a forum, or both? Who should we recruit to write content, or promote their existing content / research through either of these sites? Is there value in building organic groups (a la Yahoo groups) for visitors to organize around? Technologically, these sites will probably live on a Drupal multisite platform, with functionality being added gradually as we identify needs and match them with relevant Drupal coolness. We're geeks, not experts on crime or homelessness. What do you guys think? How should these projects grow into something useful? I'd like to see at least part of the discussion develop on this list, since I think building these resources transparently is the best long- term strategy. Thanks! Dave. P.S. I swear I haven't abandoned the can of nonprofit sustainability worms I opened earlier; just need some time to play catchup on DDN. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
Greetings, list folk, At the NetSquared conference recently, there was a comment made by a venture capitalist that Some nonprofits just suck. This was partially attached to a discussion of nonprofit sustainability models, with a very large portion of participants taking it for granted that sustainability meant charging for services. There is an entrenched view that foundation grant funding and other donations can never be sustainable, and that there must be a return on services offered that eventually sustains the organization financially. I responded to much of this. There's a synopsis on the Nonprofiteer: http://nonprofiteer.typepad.com/the_nonprofiteer/2007/06/ dear_nonprofite.html#comment-72142198 (thanks, Nonprofiteer, for the kind words). The continuing debate lives here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/ 2007/05/some_nonprofits.html#comment-71226258 and here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/06/ philanthropic_c.html#comment-72140764 ...and other comment threads on the Tactical Philanthropy site and elsewhere. Coming under fire for offering services for free, by nonprofit funders who do not seem to understand the difference between mission- driven and profit-driven, forces me to suggest that we, as a sector, need to develop stronger language regarding these issues. Most of all, we need to work towards a different model of sustainability, so that we can pose alternate definitions when a potential funder equates sustainability with a system based on marginal returns for services offered. So my question is: How do we measure sustainability if we're mission- focused (nonprofit) instead of profit-focused (for profit)?. And related: How do we communicate the difference to the venture capitalist, foundation, and other donor communities who we're hoping will support our work?. In both cases, by we I mean all of us mailing list denizens, not our organization in particular. Responses appreciated. Backup on Tactical Phil would be awesome (I think I'm outnumbered). Dave. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Free Salsa?
Hi Chris, Salsa is free and open source, but it's written in Java; this means that it requires a significant investment in infrastructure to run. The hosted Salsa service offered by Democracy in Action will also be offered free to orgs with under 3,000 contacts; I'd suggest contacting Democracy in Action directly for more information on this (it might still be in beta). Hope this helps! Dave. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org On Apr 13, 2007, at 4:51 PM, Chris Ward wrote: Quick question, you wrote that the Salsa platform is free, is this true? I see that it is available only at a price. Please inform me of where I could retrieve a copy. Thanks. -Chris Dave Chakrabarti wrote: Hi fellow DDNers, It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you guys to host on your own? Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along with a couple of for-profits. Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more organizations using them? We think that if offer them to organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on how to create a Drupal page or how to name your new page intelligently ...not how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful tech platform. And I mean really hosted by the way...not as a subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. And I really meant the anywhere in the world bit, too...this isn't a US-only venture. We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the community votes for projects they like. If you think this project pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due this Saturday, April 14th. And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- list otherwise. Thanks! Dave. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide- [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide- [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Free Drupal CMS (and other tools) for nonprofits
Hi fellow DDNers, It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you guys to host on your own? Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along with a couple of for-profits. Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more organizations using them? We think that if offer them to organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on how to create a Drupal page or how to name your new page intelligently ...not how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful tech platform. And I mean really hosted by the way...not as a subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. And I really meant the anywhere in the world bit, too...this isn't a US-only venture. We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the community votes for projects they like. If you think this project pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due this Saturday, April 14th. And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- list otherwise. Thanks! Dave. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
