January 2007

New articles: Evaluating Vendors, and Selecting CMSs

By Laura Quinn, January 19, 2007
With all this acquisition excitement, I neglected to post our new articles. But it's not for the lack of interesting new stuff!

We have a great new article by Steve Heye, of the YMCA, and Steve Lancman, who works with JCC, about evaluating vendor intangibles: Vendors as Allies: How to Evaluate Viability, Service, and Commitment. It's not the sexiest of topics, but a really important one for organizations that are looking at big investments in vendor managed enterprise software. Steve and Steve take on the topic in a approachable and tactical way.

And we take a close look at selecting content management systems - always one of your favorite topics - in James Robertson's 10 Mistakes When Selecting a CMS

Convio Acquires GetActive, Blackbaud Acquires Target

By Laura Quinn, January 18, 2007
Some major software company acquisitions this week: Blackbaud (the major nonprofit software company organization that makes Raisers Edge) acquired Target (a donor database/CRM software company that generally targets larger organizations than Raisers Edge). Read the press release.

This was big news, until Convio announced yesterday that it plans to acquire GetActive. As these two software companies are two of the “big three” online integrated packages, this is a major shift in that marketplace. Convio says it plans to integrate GetActive’s advocacy and content management functionality into their own platform, and migrate both sets of clients to the new platform. GetActive’s management will take key roles in the Convio organization.

The listserves are hopping with this news. In general, GetActive clients are interested in adding some of the Convio functionality to their toolset, but are nervous about migrating to a different platform and learning a different tool. There’s also concern about the consolidation in general – that having fewer big players in the space will cause a decrease in competitive pressures and an increase in price.

Read the Convio/ GetActive press release

Click Here for Change

By Laura Quinn, January 13, 2007
Check out the new, detailed eAdvocacy guide from PolicyLink - Click Here for Change: Your Guide to the E-Advocacy Revolution

It's meaty, and I'm still working my way through it, but it seems like a fabulous, practical guide to how advocacy organizations can use internet tools to promote real social change - concentrating on the basics like websites and email. It's chock full of useful case studies.

Selecting Donor Management Software Toolkit

By Laura Quinn, January 10, 2007
NPower Seattle has released an impressive Selecting Donor Management Software Toolkit. It has a recommended selection process, and overview of some of the available tools, and a bunch of useful worksheets - a feature checklist, process map templates, a functional requirement worksheet, and more.

Check it out - if you're thinking about a donor database, it's well worth your time.

Resource Roundup 1/10

By Laura Quinn, January 10, 2007
Technological Solutions for Progressive Organizations (Development Seed Blog)
A detailed overview of an interesting open source project - the infrastructure (in Drupal) to allow groups to jointly aggregate news and articles of common interest, organize them, and push forward the most popular ones.

Ten Web 2.0 APIs you can really use (LinuxWorld)
10 mashup-ready public APIs that the programmer types will find useful - including GoogleMaps, MediaWiki, and one that allows you to easily insert comments into any webpage.

Nonprofit Networks Part Three: Using Technology to Build Connectivity (Bamboo Project)
A great, although Web 2.0 heavy, overview of the types of technologies that can be used to build connectivity networks, from information gathering to sharing to community building

2007 Web Predictions (Read/Write Web)
Some very detailed predictions on trends and evolution of the internet space, from a bunch of folks who know what they're talking about.

Recommended Web, Email and Domain Name Hosting Providers (ONE/Northwest)
A great overview of providers of internet hosting services - both what you should look for and specific recommendations.

Open Source Backend Database Solutions (Zen and the art of Nonprofit Technology)
A roundup of open source backend databases used by programmers to build applications - like MySQL, PostgreSQL and more.

Fundraising Widgets = Possible Phishing Attack (Confessions of a Nonprofit IT Director)
Some important considerations about the ease of hijacking a number of the new fundraising widgets.

Homeless Avatar Outreach in Second Life (Beth's Blog)
An interview with the organization Mensajeros de la Paz about their lessons learned and the results of their Second Life campaign featuring a homeless kid

Fewer Excuses for Not Doing a PC Backup (NY Times)
Good roundup of online and automated tools for PC backup

Open Source Myths (Prescient Digital Media)
A nice overview and debunking of both pro- and anti- open source myths (tip of the hat to Jon Stahl)

Using Microsoft SharePoint Services to Create an Intranet (ICT Hub Knowledgebase)
Useful and detailed overview of what an Intranet is, why you might want one, and the steps required to create one in SharePoint.

Top 10 External Articles of 2006

By Laura Quinn, January 5, 2007
Each month in our eNewsletter, we round up what we think are the most interesting articles and news stories related to choosing software. Through the magic of click-through-tracking, we can see what you clicked on.

What were the most popular non-Idealware articles of 2006 (by the percentage of those who opened who clicked on the article)? It's an interesting list. Can I get another drumroll...

Google Launches Online Calendar (Google)
In their continuing effort to win a record for releasing the highest number of useful tools in the shortest amount of time, Google just launched an online calendar. It includes RSVP functionality and looks like an interesting option for both individual schedules and organizational event calendars.

10 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Blogs (NetSquared)
Great lists – with tons of examples – that cut through the hype and explain how blogs are actually useful to nonprofits

PR 2.0 Essentials (Shift Communications)
I know, I know, it's another one - but a good one. How you can use RSS, Blogs, tagging, podcasts, wikis, and social bookmarking and more to promote your organization.

No Charity Cases: Forbes on the big nonprofit software companies (Forbes)
Forbes covers the profitability and business model of Blackbaud, Convio, and Kintera.

Online Interaction Tool Tour (Full Circle Associates)
A terrific, detailed look at the different types of online interaction and collaboration tools available, why you’d want to use them, tool providers, and examples.

Resources and Tips for Conducting Online Surveys (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
A detailed look at online survey tools in two parts, with an overview of available tools, tips on how to choose, and case studies.

Skype launches free conference calling for up to 100 people (Skype)
Skype, the VOIP phone service, has launched a “Skypecasting” service, which allows free public conference calls for groups of up to 100 people.

Content Management Problems and Open Source Solutions (Optaros)
This extensive whitepaper gives an overview of 15 open source content management systems (CMSs) categorized by business need. It assumes a strong knowledge of the CMS area, but is a useful starting point even if you don't have a lot of background.

Managing the Complexity of Content Management (Boxes and Arrows)
A great article from the business world about the steps involved in implementing a content management system.

Examples of Nonprofits Using Emerging Technology (NetSquared)
CompuMentor’s NetSquared project is collecting case studies and examples of nonprofits making interesting uses of internet technology. There are more than 150 posted so far.

Integration Proclamation

By Laura Quinn, January 5, 2007
It’s a story all too familiar to most of us: constituent data in a bunch of different applications. It takes way too long to get a clean list. And go forbid someone asks to be removed. Your applications kind of work for you, but don’t work together. What to do? It’s not clear.

There’s no great solutions. Wouldn’t it be great if there were?

The folks at The Integration Proclamation are sponsoring a petition, to presumably try to raise money and support for a solution – some kind of data standards or middle layer or new tools.
We, the undersigned progressive leaders, have together identified technology integration as a top priority infrastructure need in 2007. We urge progressive funders, vendors and technologists to support a collaborative effort dedicated to ensuring that our tools integrate effectively, so that we can move forward with innovative, powerful platforms that will help us win.

Sound interesting? Go and sign.

While it’s certainly not a progressive-specific problem, I’d be happy with a progressive-specific start.