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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!

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:

• Read the New Privacy Policy
• Read Alma Whitten Blog Post
• Check Out the Data Liberation Manual

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

“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!

To Learn More

• Read more about and register for the #tsdigs webinars
• Read more about the #tsdigs tweetchats
• Watch the #tsdigs promo video

 

 

We are very excited to announce the members of the 2012 Global Leadership Council:

• April Kyle, San Francisco, California, USA
• Aysegul Guzel, Istanbul, Turkey
• Eduardo Bejar, Guayaquil, Eduador
• Eli van der Giessen, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Ivan Boothe, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• John Wells, Sydney, Australia
• Maria Zaghi, Guatemala City, Guatemala
• Moorthi PV, Silicon Valley, California, USA
• Steven Flower, Manchester, United Kingdom
• Tierney Smith, Toronto, Canada
• Yudi Emmanuel, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Congratulations and welcome! This inspiring group of NetSquared Local leaders will work together to help us improve NetSquared programs and services. We cannot wait to see what ideas and solutions surface over this coming year.

Meet the 2012 Global Leadership Council members, say welcome, and connect with those in your location.

As mentioned in our previous posts (here and here), Global Leadership Council members will share their experiences and expertise in ways that help to foster programing, events, and growth associated with the NetSquared Local groups. The Council will also help to identify current capabilities of Local groups, what works and where there are hurdles to improve support, program design, and other desired capabilities of the Local groups and community.

To ensure that the Global Leadership Council is appropriately supported and that all information is communicated to the NetSquared community at-large, the following members of the NetSquared team will part of the support team:

• Billy Bicket, Senior Director, Meet Billy
• Marc Manashil, Community Evangelist, Meet Marc
• Claire Sale, Community Curator, Meet Claire
• Anka Kuliberda, Global Community Builder, Meet Anka
• Vanessa Rhinesmith, GLC Organizer, Meet Vanessa

We held our inaugural meeting on Friday, January 20, 2012 with a discussion that centered around participation norms, member and NetSquared expecatations, and a conversation about challenges and opportunities of NetSquared. Stay tuned for a complete wrap up of the call later this week.

In the meantime, stay connected by:
    •    Following and participate the conversation on Twitter using #net2glc
    •    Reading the NetSquared blog for reflections from the GLC members
    •    Sending me, Vanessa, NetSquared Local topics for the GLC to address

 

This last blog in the Net2 2012 Look Ahead blog series focuses on the mobile world, and how it is revolutionizing the way we think about social change. I talked it through with Dale Zak, a mobile software developer passionate about helping people in need.

Over the past three years, Dale has contributed to Ushahidi's crowdsourced crisis mapping platform (to learn more about Ushahidi in the context of Net2 watch this net2allstar video), helped The Extraordinaries build their micro-volunteer system, as well as developed open source plugins for FrontlineSMS. He also coordinated several social good initiatives including organizing Mobile Tech 4 Social Change conference in Halifax, formed Apps4Good to bring together software developers to build apps for charity, established Repurposed Labs to re-purpose used computers into public internet terminals for low income communities, and deployed I Vote Because map to spark a pro-democracy movement why voting is important in Canada. This past December Dale travelled to Lusaka to teach Zambia’s first mobile development workshop at the BongoHive.

Dale’s interests and experience intersect with these of NetSquared on many levels -- the technology one, the social change one, as well as the international reach one. Dale has lived and traveled to different countries; he understands the diversity of social problems, and has worked his way through global projects. 

Read this short interview with Dale to learn more about how mobiles can change the world, and what they will be changing in the technology world in 2012. I also strongly encourage you to check out Dale’s blog, especially the articles on Building Technology vs. Solving Problems and Harnessing The Power Of Mobile, as well as the blog post from the iHub Nairobi in which he shares his thoughts on mobile design.

 

Q: What would be your favourite mobile “apps for good” examples?

To understand the true power of mobile, one must appreciate the full spectrum of device capabilities. Even low-end devices with basic SMS, MMS and USSD can be a powerful platform for collaboration. On the high-end side, smartphones with accelerators, touch screens, NFC, GPS capabilities can be an incredibly powerful suite of tools. My favorite mobile apps are the ones that combine these individual device features in an unique way to help solve a problem.

One of my favorites is Safety Siren, an iPhone and Blackberry app developed by YWCA Canada that turns your smartphone into an emergency SOS system. Shaking the device or touching the safety button activates a loud siren which automatically shares your location with an emergency contact. The brilliance behind the app comes by combining the touch-screen, accelerometer, audio, GPS and internet capabilities into an emergency SOS system helping protect the user in an unsafe situation.

M-Farm is another one of my favorites, SMS-based solution that helps empower farmers with accurate market information. The tool utilizes SMS as a platform allowing any SMS-capable phone to obtain accurate market prices. For example, a farmer in Kenya can simply send a text message ‘price tomatoes nairobi' to 3535 and receive the suggested market price. M-Farm is a great example of using an appropriate technology and that even the low-end devices can be a powerful tool for collaboration.

Another one of my favorites is Good Guide, a mobile app that helps empower consumers to buy safe, healthy, and green products. The app utilizes the devices camera as a barcode scanner to provide ratings and personal recommendations for over 120,000 products. Good Guide is a great example of mobile being used a decision making tool, providing valuable information on the demand.

 

 

Q: You have worked in many places and environments -- how would you say that social innovation in North American and Europe differ from the one developed Africa?

 

Last summer I spent four months living in Nairobi and working from the iHub. While there, I noticed a sharp contrast to North America where developers are ‘building technology’ rather than ‘solving problems’. At home, companies are focusing on creating another social network, building another photo sharing app or developing another groupon clone, none of which are solving real problems. In Nairobi, most developers were trying to solve local problems, and in the process finding creative ways to make money. A good example was Pivot25, a mobile development competition in Nairobi where every startup at the event pitched an innovation solution that was aiming at solving a local problem.

There was a great article in The Next Web on The Problem With Silicon Valley Is Itself which really highlighted this issue, “one of the reasons for lack of innovation in the Valley is that entrepreneurs are not exposed to enough real-world problems.” Innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines by identifying a real problem, defining a practical solution, finding an appropriate technology and targeting a local market. Software by itself isn’t very interesting, but applying that technology is where real innovation happens.

A good example is here in Saskatchewan where we have an agriculture based economy, one of the best agriculture colleges in the country and a strong tech community. My question is, why isn’t Saskatchewan a world leader in agriculture software? I believe, one of the reasons is that developers are not having a conversation with farmers about the challenges they are facing. We are missing a huge opportunity because we are focusing on building technology without asking what problem we are trying to solve.

 

Q: What do you think will 2012 bring into the mobile driven world of social efforts?

 

We are going to continue to see explosion in mobile driven by the ‘perfect storm’ of connectivity, availability, speed, power, features, and price. The processing power and capabilities of devices and network coverage and data transfer speeds to these devices is continuing to increase, while the overall cost of handsets is decreasing.

A good example is Huawei's IDEOS Android phone which sells for 8000KSH (~$80USD), saw massive adoption in Kenya this year. The upcoming release of the Datawind’s $35 tablet and OLPC $100 XO-3 will lead to an explosion of tablet devices for the bottom of the pyramid. The trend of faster devices in the hands of more people with increased connectivity will also drive demand for more mobile apps. This creates new opportunities for developers to build innovative tools for this emerging market. We will also see more initiatives like Orange providing Wikipedia free in the Middle East and Africa. The smartphone and mobile apps will begin to challenge SMS as the appropriate technology for the bottom of the pyramid, many already predicting the decline of SMS as a result.

 

Q: What are the challenges that mobiles will have to face in order to solve even more social problems?

 

Accessibility is one challenge often overlooked, how can we develop solutions that are accessible to all groups of society? 

In December I had an opportunity to meet with Hendrik Knoche, a professor from EPFL in Lausanne specializing in accessible mobile interface design. Hendrik is developing a mobile application for illiterate farmers in India and also helped create EasySMS which empowers illiterate people to read, compose and send text messages through text-to-speech. The question he posed to me was, how do you design a mobile app for a person who can not read? Our conversation really challenged my notions on mobile design, and exposed a lot of misconceptions on design strategy. 

Multilingual is another aspect of accessibly often overlooked. So many mobile applications are English-only, making them useless for non-English speakers. Translating apps to other languages as well as local dialects will need to become the norm, rather than the exception. As mobile expands into more aspects of our lives, it is important that we strive to ensure the tools we develop are accessible to all, especially vulnerable populations whom can often benefit the most.

 

 

 

Due to the technical issues connected to recording a skype interview with Dale, I have been forced to push the publishing date to next Monday. It will still be January, so it totally makes it as a perfect closure for the series (let me remind you, that so far you read about SOPA & ACTA, the  Green Tech trends, as well as the future of Web Design). Dale Zak is a mobile developer passionate for social change, with plenty of experience in running and supporting social projects. Stay tuned, and trust me -- it will be worth it!

Fundacja TechSoup, which I’m working at (Fundacja is a European hub for the TechSoup Global Network), is running a project that is to be developed in 10 new Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The Project is funded by the Mott Foundation and serves as a great and challenging opportunity. The project’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of non-governmental organizations in the CEE region to access modern information and communication technologies and facilitate their use to increase the impact of their work. This project, designed to kick off TechSoup’s work in these countries, is complex and based on three pilars of TechSoup Global: product donation, community-driven innovation and data. 

No matter from which TechSoup perspective (products, community or data) we look at the countries of focus, we need to learn more about each of them to run the project effectively. As a community builder, my specific role in this project is to work with communities of technology oriented social activists and non-profits to offer them support and expertise. That is why I wanted to learn more about those countries.

Here I would like to share my experience of working remotely with people whom I’ve mostly never met to create the foundation for a strong social project in 10 different countries. This post covers my assessment after the research in 5 countries – Russia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Serbia and Belarus .

The Beginning

So we started by asking what information we needed and how much detail was really necessary. It took a lot of time to find the right balance, and we ended up with about 90 questions from which we would describe the situation in these countries. We called our assessments “landscapes,” and to build them, we defined six broad categories:

• IT/new media market
• tech initiatives for social change
• intersection of non-profits and technology
• situation of civil society
• social problems
• basic information about the countries

Lessons learned

We started to look for researchers in each country, which led to our first lesson: the human factor is always the most challenging. (I’m sure your experience, dear blog readers, is similar).  For the same question we got 5 different styles of answers. Even though I like diversity, it showed us to what extent we need to be specific about what kind of information we want to get. And it turned out that this must be articulated in great detail while highlighting the goal to which we aspire.

We also learned that taxonomy matters. It really does. What do you call a “non-profit” or a civil society organization in every country? What is a foundation? What is an association, and can we call them non-governmental? Take Russia as an example where they have public organizations, foundations, institutions, non-profit partnerships, and autonomous non-governmental organizations. At the same time, Russia’s neighboring country, Belarus, identifies several other types of public associations: public and religious organizations (associations); unions of legal entities (associations); funds and institutions; and consumers’ cooperatives.  And although it is obvious from the legal or political point of view that every country is independent, undertaking any project activities in these conditions poses a whole lot of difficulties that we have to deal with.

No matter how silly it sounds, we had big problems with finding reliable, up-to-date data on many questions, particularly about technology for social change. For readers of the NetSquared blog, it’s neither difficult nor exceptional to say something on the blogosphere about citizenship 2.0 or even to name some successes of virtual civil society. However, outside our community this expertise is rather rare. Our researchers had to be quite omniscient to know a lot about so many topics, especially when some phenomena are not yet well examined and most are not at all described.

This problem was also visible when we asked the researchers about new trends. Sometimes while creating a question, we didn’t even think about clarifying what we meant by terms like “open data.” Sitting in our nice nptech bubble, we forgot to explain what open data is.

What does it mean for community work?

Those lessons were important because of the diversity of answers we got as well as personal feedback from our researchers. From the community point of view it leaves us no doubts that we need to be respectful of the conditions in each country as well as the culture when proposing any activities. Historic disputes, cultural differences, variety of languages – the region is built on very rich foundations. It all matters when creating sustainable actions even in one country, but it grows to be major issue when working in a region consisting of 10 countries (and some of them being very large).

It was also interesting get so much information from non-English countries. The atmosphere is vivid and a lot is going on, but because of the lack of translation, usually we underestimate the power of non-English societies and their development. We could see it during the Arab Spring, but I can assure you, the CEE region is as strong as the Arab world in terms of citizenship 2.0. One source is especially worth mentioning – Global Voices platform is the unique source of this information that is otherwise difficult to find. I recommend it to anybody who wants to learn more about what one won’t find in the mainstream traditional or internet media.

Finally, we learned how important it is to ask questions and actively listen to the answers. We need to take taxonomy and language differences into account. To avoid cultural misunderstanding and because we’re just starting to work with different CEE partners, we need to meet more face-to-face and then start partnerships in online mode. Most of the countries rely on offline relations rather than on building trust via the internet.

Next steps…

It would be premature for this post to include formal conclusions because the project will last for a year more. There will only be a promise to all our CEE countries – Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo that we won’t give up, and we will use all the information we receive to empower civil society there.

However, the lessons we learned will have a big impact on planning our undertakings when it comes to community building and are our points of reference when shaping these activities. Values of respect and trust can’t be artificially rushed, so first we’re going to focus on building our credibility in the partnerships, hoping that the effort put there will enable common endeavors to empower CEE civil society organizations.

If you have any tips on what to look closely for when doing a project on social change in these countries, please leave a comment, or just drop me a line @adrebiluka or akuliberda@techsoupglobal.org.

 

The following post, third in the Net2 2012 Look Ahead series, focuses on protips for making the way you run your office more environmentally friendly. The article is authored by Jim Lynch who is TechSoup Global's Co-Director of the GreenTech program, as well as the Community Driven Innovation team member. Jim has been involved in creating all of TechSoup’s environmental programs. He has written extensively on electronics recycling and reuse, cloud computing, greening offices, and many other green IT subjects. Over the years he has been interviewed on computer recycling and related issues by the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Voice of America, PC World Magazine, and many other news outlets. 

 

Most NGOs and libraries work out of small- and medium-sized offices – and it’s not just the social sector. In fact, the vast majority of people everywhere work out of offices with fewer than 250 people. That’s actually good news for those of us interested in greening up (i.e. making more environmentally friendly) our workplaces -- using less paper, electricity, and other resources as well as exposing ourselves to fewer toxins. It’s much easier to do that in smaller workspaces.

 

The Basics:

Office greening strategies are tried-and-true: recycle, use less paper, use less electricity, and use fewer toxins. Those 4 recommendations have been offered for years. What’s new are the types of products that are always coming out to save energy and resources. Conservation in the office most often saves money as well.

 

Tip 1. Recycle More and More 

Paper is getting easier to recycle in most places. Harder are electronics -- not only computers, but also mobile phones, batteries of all types, old CDs and DVDs, lights, and sundry cables and cords. In 2012, lots of offices are also finding ways to begin collecting food waste and composting it either industrially or arranging for it to be picked up by a community garden.

 

Tip 2. Use Less Paper.

Of course it’s great to recycle paper of all types, but it’s even better to buy recycled content paper, and better yet to use as little paper as possible.  Tools for using less paper have been making major progress recently. 

In 2012, new cloud services are arriving to make using and sharing electronic documents ever easier. Online faxing services are now available in most places, as well as a much broader use of free online document sharing services like Google Docs or Microsoft Office Web Apps. You can even sign contracts online with services such as Docusign. 

 

Tip 3. Use Less Electricity

It’s easy and free to set all computers, monitors, copy machines, and printers to go to sleep after a few minutes of non-use -- and newer IT equipment now wakes in almost no time. Doing just this one things saves a good deal of energy and money each year. 

Energy efficient lighting is also a big topic in office greening. We’re now in the era of energy efficient compact fluorescent or conventional fluorescent lighting, but in 2012 look for even more energy efficient LED lighting to become more affordable.

In 2012, buying energy efficient IT equipment is now about the same cost as non-energy efficient IT equipment, and there’s a great new NGO online registry for environmental IT equipment now available in many countries. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a project of the NGO, Green Electronics Council. The EPEAT Web site offers easy-to-use search tools in many languages to find new computers, monitors, and printers that use less electricity and also have fewer toxics in them. This noncommercial free service rates IT equipment on a bronze, silver, and gold scale. It’s a great international resource for 2012.

 

Tip 4. Use Fewer Toxins

Finally, office greening also means using less toxic janitorial and cleaning supplies. It’s a blast from the past: the cleaning products people used in 1912 still work well in 2012. Check out the roster of green cleaning products at GreenDepot that are now available. For cost-conscious greeners, it’s pretty easy to make your own non-toxic cleaning supplies out of common materials like baking soda, vinegar, borax, etc. 

 

Of course there’s a good deal more to greening up offices than just these four things, but at TechSoup I’ll be very pleased if we can do more recycling, composting, and energy and paper conservation. There’s always more we can do.

 

 

This TechSoup webinar run by Rich Vazquez will cover what you need to know before you record your video. Topics include: 

 

• The importance of storytelling 
• Creating a script and production Guide 
• Finding free music, stock video and photography 

 

Rich Vazquez is the co-founder and current Board President of Lights. Camera. Help. His current causes include promoting open source software, creative commons and computer security. He alsos serve on the board for the Austin Time Exchange Network, Single Parent Resource Network and EFF-Austin. Rich attended Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, majoring in Dramatic Writing and serve as webmaster for the Cine Las Americas film festival. @drapetomaniac 

Be sure to check out the TS Digs page (TechSoup Digital Storytelling) for more information

Details

• Date: Thursday, February 2
• Time: 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
• Before You Push Record
• Register:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/688211161

 

 

Any conversation about the future of web design has to come to terms with a fundamental and rapid shift in the way we view the web. By 2014, mobile Internet usage will surpass desktop usage. And from desktops and laptops to smart phones and tablets of differing sizes and resolutions, viewing device options are also growing at an increasingly steady rate.

For web designers and developers, it simply won’t work to build websites for just one or two types of devices, and the days of checking your site in a few web browsers and launching are long gone.

So how are web designers, developers, and content strategists addressing this fundamental shift? Well, some pretty cool things are happening in the world of responsive web design that provide answers.

Responsive Web Design is the use of CSS techniques, design principles such as fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries to deliver the best possible viewing experience (without compromising the quality of content) to users no matter how large (or small) their display.

(Image source: Brain Traffic blog)

Certainly read Ethan Mariotte’s seminal article and book on responsive design to learn more about these techniques and principles … or if you are like me, start by checking out some web eye candy first!

WARNING: I have yet to tire of finding and playing with new responsive design websites.

Here are a few of my favorites. Re-size your browser to see responsive design in action:

• Responsive Design, Responsively Illustrated - Interactive illustration using the same basic HTML which adapts its appearance to the changing viewport size, representing different devices accordingly.
• The Seminal Responsive Design Example - Related to his article mentioned above, Ethan Mariotte created this web page as an example to show how responsive design can optimize presentation across a range of displays.
• The Boston Globe - Great example for those who have a lot of content and news article type content on their website.
• CONFAB - The Content Strategy Conference website designed by Sean Turbidy using responsive design principles, while keeping content consumption in mind.
• Mr. Simon Collision - I love this website’s clean, responsive design and the use of simple graphics to spruce up otherwise mundane links.
• Responsive Design Test - Curious how your own website responds to different devices? Check out this nifty little tool by Matt Kersley.

Want more? Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Here is the full list of responsive design examples over at Media Query. Check them out and rate your favorites.

Design is Key, Content is King

The shift we are seeing is not JUST about web design and development. People visit websites for content, not for design, although the design is key in how it facilitates (or doesn’t) content consumption. The future of web design and the future of content curation and consumption cannot be “viewed” separately.

As the web evolves, designers and content experts will need to work closely together so that designers are not making decisions about content strategy and content experts move towards producing the type of content that truly takes advantage of the web’s universality and ever-increasing speed. Read more on content strategy and responsive web design.

Looking Ahead

While contemporary web design may have overcome some of the legacy limitations of its static print design roots, embracing the web as its own medium is still a new and exciting area and one to keep a close eye on in 2012 and beyond. And if the web is to truly shine as it’s own medium, responsive design is a great candidate to take it to its next destination.

How will your website fare in the future of the web? Will it respond gracefully to different resolutions and according to the device the user is viewing it in? Will it easily give the visitor the content they want from wherever they want it?

Additional Resources and Links:

• Responsive Web Design (Book)
• Multi-Device Web Design: An Evolution

NetSquared.org will be offline tomorrow night for site maintenance between 5:00pm and 6:30pm pst.

We'll get back up and running just as soon as we can! We'll remind you on Twitter before we go down. Pop us an email if you have any questions (net2 at techsoupglobal.org).

 

This post opens a January mini blog post series devoted to 2012 social tech trends. Even though old divisions (when it comes to time, as well as geography) are of less and less appliance in the modern (tech) world, 2012 already seems to be critical for various tech-driven decisions of global importance. 

In a series of posts this week, we will be exploring the near future of web design, as well as the mobile trends; we will also call out a few #protips for going greener technology-wise. 

This post was supposed to be, only and as much as, an invitation for staying tuned to our Net2 channels, and taking part in discussions around emerging nptech trends. However, the recent SOPA and ACTA developments brought yet another thing to our attention. 

Both regulations address the intellectual property issues, and are considered a threat to the freedom in the Internet (freedom of access, and freedom of speech). I will not go into the details of SOPA and ACTA here. Instead, I would like to look at the social response to the proposed regulations. For these interested, I provide additional links to reliable information sources on the topic on the bottom of the post.

 

The Power Of Feedback

Last week in the US was marked with a series of websites blackouts -- a widely spread digital protest joined by many local and international and local domains. By blacking out the Internet US citizens 2.0 provided their authorities with a feedback of a strength and reach never seen before.

On the same week that the Internet went black in the US, the Polish government announced that on January the 26th it will sign the international ACTA agreement. For the past three years ACTA has been negotiated in secret by 39 countries, some of them (including the US) already signed the regulation. Civil society, developing countries, as well as the Internet users has been excluded from the conversation, as they were in the case of SOPA.

Hactivism -- Tweet by Tweet

In response to the Polish government declaration, an online community of hackers via their Twitter profile (AnonymousWiki) called to action: “POLAND NEEDS A REVOLUTION. Government signing on the 26th!”. By 2:00 AM many government and public institutions’ sites got blocked and blacked out. The protest included a popular prime minister’s daughter blog on fashion and make up. Instead of the usual lipstick & hairstyle photos the site would reveal a note: “Tell Your Dad He Won’t Win With Us. Stop ACTA” ("Powiedz Tacie, że z nami nie wygra. STOP ACTA") -- check out the print screen image on the right.

Anonynmous called hacktivists to put the protests on hold until the Minster of Administration and Digitization, Michał Boni, speaks to the prime minister. Due to the protests the meeting has been scheduled for today (Monday, Jan the 23rd). It is very likely that the rapid online response to the threat of signing ACTA without any serious social consultations will block the process for the time being. 

 

A Big Deal

I wanted to write about SOPA and ACTA protests in the context of the 2012 Look Ahead, because it speaks to a very important global trend. It has been said during the Arab Spring, that Social Media gave Arab people the voice, and empowered them to act. It seems to me that SOPA and ACTA are a somewhat similar case. As the opponents of the acts claim, governments and corporations have been systematically limiting people’s freedom, and despite numerous protests have often remained unpunished. The last month has shown that citizens 2.0 have tools and motivation to feedback government actions, and to fight back at these they find oppressive.

It Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

The question of methods, as applicable to radical activists’ and (h)activists’ initiatives, constitute a problem here: how should we fight back, and what will be considered crossing the line? Does the immorality of one side justify the attacks of the other? And finally: what does the democratic potential of the Internet really translate into?

These questions are the ones to ask now, and during the following months. I won’t say that 2012 will bring all the answers, but will definitely force us into taking a stand.

---------

By bringing up the challenges of transparency and democracy we kicked off the 2012 blog series from the very top -- meta level -- of the tech pyramid.  Tech driven reality has many layers, and we will be diving right into them during the next couple of days. Tomorrow, we will look at  the 2012 trends in web design. Stay with us! Important trends we are missing in our little 2012 Look Ahead Series? Share yours -- we will welcome all your adds.

 

Learn More

 

• ACTA in Wikipedia
• SOPA in Wikipedia
• ACTA Fact Sheet
• SOPA Explained -- a Video from The Guardian
• Say No To ACTA -- a video from Le Quadrature du Net
• AnnonymousIRC Twitter Profile

 

 

Net Tuesday is proud to have Communicopia's Jason Mogus presenting at our February 7 meetup. NOTE: We expect this event to be very popular, so registration is capped. Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.

RSVP on Meetup.com

There has been a sea change recently creating new models for how social change organizations (or start up businesses) structure themselves to accomplish a social good. Network organizations, typically those "born after the Internet", are smaller, nimble, less hierarchical, highly collaborative and deeply social by nature. Their leadership, culture, structure, programs, and outcomes are often quite different from those of traditionally structured NGO's.

As these structures are more aligned with the fundamental organizing principles of the web, done right this enables these organizations to punch far above their weight online. In this session we will discuss:

• the differences between network orgs and more traditional NGO's
• why network orgs are an adaptation to the unique challenges and opportunities of our times
• why traditional NGO's struggle with managing digital innovation
• why network orgs create better online campaigns - including many examples!
• some fundamental principles of network centric campaigns

Come with your own examples and expect a fulsome discussion on the benefits and limitations of this controversial hypothesis.

RSVP on Meetup.com

LOCATION
W2 Media Cafe
111 W Hastings, Vancouver, BC

DATE AND TIME
Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Doors at 5:30 PM
Starts at 6:00 PM
Wraps at 7:30 PM

Jason Mogus is the principal strategist of Communicopia, a Gastown based firm that has been leading transformative digital projects for social change institutions since 1993. Jason has worked with some highly successful network orgs, including the TckTckTck climate coalition, Nothing But Nets campaign, and Web of Change, as well as for many large NGO's, governments, and sustainable businesses both locally and globally. For a full bio: http://communicopia.com/company/jason-mogus

Suggested background reading:

• http://www.bethkanter.org/the-networked-nonprofit/
• http://communicopia.com/insights/what-is-a-netcentric-campaign

RSVP on Meetup.com

Learn more about Net Tuesday Vancouver meetups on our blog.

I have been recently sharing with you the way in which NetWtorek (NetSquared Local Warsaw) promotes the meetings online. I described the timeline of promotional tasks to show, that even if they overlap or are ongoing, there is a certain order to them. In this post I would like to look more closely at what we think should deserve your special attention when you are aiming for organizing your community both online and offline.

So far these are a few of our lessons learned, and we welcome all of your comments!

 

No-Shows Shouldn’t Put You Off

As it usually happens with the events created online (e.g., Facebook events) -- not everyone who signed up for your event online will show up. Some people who didn’t sign up, on the other hand, will attend the meeting. Don’t take the online attendees list too seriously -- offline and online are complementary, but not quite the same.

Social Media Never Sleeps

Once you decide to promote your event via social media (which is usually the case when it comes to NetWtorek) you sign up for an open ongoing discussion and constant feedback. Monitoring your social media (a blog post -- and good ones will always allow commenting-- is a social media too) is a never-ending task. Get ready to respond, to admit you didn’t know, and to make mistakes. 

Sharing Should Come Easy

Be careful about how much you reveal via your online channels and if your community is fine with it. It might be ok torecord or stream a presentation, but maybe it would keep people from openly discussing sensitive topics afterwards. Internet data privacy issue is a sensitive one -- it might be about participants names and surnames, but also about their personal. opinions. Make sure you make your community feel comfortable both offline and online.

Be Flex

Pay attention to who is showing up at your events, define the general audience, but be ready to flex depending on the topic. Match the audience with the channels -- a part of the NetWtorek community is formed by social activists and programmers heavily interested in open source. They don’t use Twitter or Facebook, and it is hardly possible to ask them to sign up for things online. This is why use the previously described alternative social networks such as Diaspora and Identica.

Build Trust

Understand your community needs and values, and ask questions before you commit to something on their behalf. Once, we invited a speaker to talk about law and the Internet, and gave a positive answer to an NGO willing to record the meeting without a previous consultation. At the beginning of the meeting we learned that the speaker doesn’t agree to put the video on the Internet. She wasn’t very happy that we assumed otherwise. Nor were the NGO members who came to the meeting especially with the purpose of grabbing it on the camera.

It Is Difficult

And what if our posts and comments are left unanswered? What if no one “likes” us? It can be hard, but building a community takes time and lots of patience. We have been stubbornly organizing meetups for 10 people, recording meetings, and reaching out to new groups of people It finally worked. A community is a vivid and organic organism though and many things are beyond our control. A community has no owner, it comes and goes -- be ready for that when you start thinking about building one. 

 

Do you want to know more about the broad range of software Microsoft donates to nonprofits and libraries through TechSoup? Join our webinar Making the Most of your Microsoft Software Donation on January 26, 2012, at 11am Pacific time to find out more.
 
During the hour, we will be speaking to Gretchen Deo from Microsoft, as well as Brian Calvert and Julie Navejas from TechSoup, about the benefits and details of the Microsoft software donation program.

 
Discussion topics will include:
•Types of software available
•Nonprofit resources offered through Microsoft
•Benefits automatically included with Microsoft software donations
 
Whether you’ve already received a Microsoft donation or are contemplating your first, this webinar will help you make the most of your Microsoft software donation. This webinar is suited for all nonprofits and public libraries in the United States that are interested in requesting a Microsoft donation.

Details

• Date: Thursday, January 26
• Time: 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
• Making the Most of Your Microsoft Donation
• Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/909355729

 

 

 

Open Green Map first appeared on this blog as a NetSquared Featured N2Y3 project, and has never lost touch with us. They have been regularly contributing to the Net2 blog, they have also won our last Invitational -- Net2AllStar. We are honoured to be witnessing social change exemplified by our star. We are also proud to say that we played a part in the OGM big success.

Read this interview with Green Map System's founder, Wendy Brawer to learn how this social mapping project has grown and expanded, and how a vivid Open Green Map community was built. If you haven’t watched the winning video, find it on the bottom of the post.

Wendy -- thank you for answering all these questions in such an interesting and elaborate way.  Dear community -- enjoy the read!

 

Q: First of all, congrats on the prize! I would like to ask you why did you decide to participate in the challenge?

We enjoyed taking part in N2N3 back in 2008 and it certainly accelerated our trajectory. When the Net2 Invitational offered this unique showcase, we were excited to share our progress, especially with the potential of reaching new audiences and accomplishing more in 2012. 

Q: One questions about the video -- it is obviously a great and winning one, but is there anything that you would do differently (or repeat) the next time you tell your story via film medium? How did you find the entire experience?

The breezy spirit of the Invitational made the video quick and easy to complete. I could have added the definition - a locally-made map that uses Green Map Icons to highlight nature, culture and sustainable living resources. I could have shared some exciting plans and raised the quality of the video, as well. 

It’s a great feeling to take Open Green Map to the next level along with being a Net2 All Star.

Q: How did this all start? When and how the idea of creating Open Green Map came to your mind, and why did you decide to give it a go?

The concept of a shared mapmaking platform came up on March 25, 1995, literally on Day One of the global Green Map movement. I was with the O2 Global eco-designers network and we had plugged in a modem for the very first time to consider how we could use this new medium as a vehicle for social change. I had already created NYC’s original Green Maps and knew a locally-led sustainability mapmaking movement could be connected via a universal  iconography. The Internet transformed the concept’s potential and we all pitched in, full of creative energy fueled by our love of home and planet. 

I registered the domain (and got my first email address!), then began developing the network of empowered local leaders, the globally designed iconography, adaptable framework and tools. The process of involving diverse communities in making Green Maps got underway - the outcomes included beautifully designed printed folding maps, web maps, murals, tours, performances, events, books and businesses. We collected and shared the experiences of the map teams, which are led by diverse city agencies and established NPOs, grassroots and youth groups, universities and social entrepreneurs. The Green Map movement started to snowball, and by Year 2000, we had topped the 100 project milestone, promoted dozens of map debuts and received nonprofit status. 

Developing the database-driven shared mapping resource took a back seat until there was an easy and familiar tool for the users of the maps, flexible open source content management tools, and a critical mass of Green Map teams who were, by then, clamouring for a social mapping platform. Merging local knowledge, Green Map Icons, Google Map and Drupal became our goal. Discovery, design, development ensued in 2006. 

First, we needed to firm up our structure, so we rebuilt GreenMap.org as a content managed registration, presentation and tool center. Then, we updated our icons for the third time - this is the set you see on Open Green Maps. Then, our team dug in with our network’s wishlist, a handful of crowdseeds and foundation grants and a burgeoning array of new location-based and collaborative apps to learn from.

We were really fortunate to meet Thomas Turnbull, who became our lead developer out of the blue. Risa Ishikawa and Akiko Rokube were involved from the design – user experience angle and Carlos Martinez worked on the social side of the equation. There’s actually a huge list of people who were involved from ‘06-09 as we moved toward the launch - many of these folks worked for little or no pay to make it happen. Many are still advising us or creating maps as we work with Openflows on the platform’s ongoing development.  

Q: Who forms the Open Green Map Community?

Mapmakers wanted a quick, low cost way to share their findings online. The community varies greatly, so we considered the needs of the City of Cape Town’s sustainability division gearing up to host the FIFA World Cup Games, a volunteer network in small town Romania, Harlem’s green faith network, and many others. Like Baltimore Green Map, many create both printed and interactive editions to reach different sectors in the community. 

We now have about 250 Green Maps on the platform. You can sort the maps by the maker, and get a sense of who is behind them. We’ve linked their profile alongside each map (under the Info tab), and all the Open Green Maps are crosslinked on a list and on a map as well. 

Really, our community includes the local teams of Green Mapmakers, everyone who uses the maps, and each of the 19,000+ sites on the platform to date. Your recognition is sure to significantly expand each of these stakeholder groups!

Q: It is not only about “green”, is it? Green Map provides information on cultural and social sites too. How did you expand your initial vision?

Back in 1995 when Green Map System got started, the focus was on cities. Copenhagen, Kyoto, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Adelaide and of course, NYC were among the first. Cities mix everything together, so environment, culture and sustainable living were in the iconography at the heart of the movement from the git-go. The social aspect became stronger in 1998, influenced by participants at a conference in Havana on the ethics and culture of sustainable development. Rural and youth sensibilities were reflected in the Green Map Icon update of 1999. 

The iconography is a trend barometer, evolving with our understanding of sustainability, and informed by the locally designed icons that several Green Map teams have added to print maps. We’re starting to work toward adding a theme mapping component to Open Green Map. As it’s such a popular gateway, additional icons signifying the local food movement will be the first created, with climate justice, social innovation, ecotourism, energy and other themes on the list.

You can explore Open Green Map’s sites by the icon with your mobile and quickly compare their attributes. Or, from the desktop, open any site, tap its title and then Connections tab to compare related sites, near and far.

Q: How is it to work with an international audience in 60 countries?

The synergy of working together is really rather magical, as we all share so many feelings about our common future and inspire one another. Someday, it would be amazing to bring us all together to see what we can do. We had a taste of this back in 2002 at the first Global Gathering at the Bellagio Center, with 22 of us from 14 countries. We’ve had numerous regional and national gatherings, but our idea of setting up a Green Map Lab for a month or so and working together with waves of Mapmakers on a variety of much-needed tools and processes is a distant dream. 

Actually, we’d love to open up the Open Green Map tools more broadly and work with many different developers, innovators and supporters. We want to make the platform’s data interoperable so it can be utilized with different GIS tools, edited offline and shared in open and mobile collaborations, and more. 

The really important thing about these maps is how they bring overwhelming global crises down to the local level where the individual can do something about them. I always felt that way and recently read this, underscoring the urgency of our mission:

“The less people know about important complex issues such as the economy, energy consumption and the environment, the more they want to avoid becoming well-informed, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. And the more urgent the issue, the more people want to remain unaware, according to a paper published online in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.”    

Q: How are you promoting the tool?

Entering competitions is a great way to get the word out. Green Map System has been recognized by 23 international and regional competitions and there are many local Green Map project awards as well. It’s part of exhibits and presentations, from 140edu to Crisis Mappers international, as well as workshops worldwide.

There are upwards of 5 million copies of 500 different printed Green Maps spreading the word, attracting new Green Mapmakers and map users all the time. The Open Green Maps are great promotion, whether embedded in other websites or explored on the mobile app.

Oh yes, there’s Twitter, Facebook, Youtube - we’ve created a number of short videos to promote OGM and help people participate and add site suggestions, multimedia, comments and ratings. 

One of our 2012 promotion goals is about reaching each mapped site’s patrons and encouraging them to enhance the listing with their own viewpoints, images and impact assessments. This could be done with a widget for the site’s own website or with QR codes, etc. Perhaps a reader of this blog will want to pitch in?

Q: How is the mobile use of your app expected to grow and change over time, and how does it affect the traditional web approach?

Having a mobile website that’s more agile will help us go a long way toward reaching audiences in diverse communities. We’d love to see that happen!

Data collection can already be done by tapping GreenMap.org on the go, but it’s very basic - we want to make this more robust as all the features of our mobile website and iPhone app are improved. As part of exploring ways to make the tool more open, we want to make the data more widely available, while providing a financial base for the continued growth of Green Map System. We also have some offshoot concepts we’d like to explore as they will accelerate meaningful, measurable sustainable and social actions.

Q: What features and enhancements are you currently working on?

As described throughout, we’re open to exploring new directions, partnerships, issues and monetizing models. We're looking for people who have ideas and are interested in helping chart a strategic path so we can support more local leaders and help more communities make progress toward a more resilient, healthier and culturally rich future. 

Q: Excuse my nosiness, but... What will you do with the 500 USD that you have been granted as the Net2 All Star?

Your $500 will fund the planning, promotion and event - a roundtable on Open Green Map going more open and interoperable. We would like your help! Let us know if you would like to be involved and we’ll respond with more details in the near future. 

 

The Cameroon Netsquared Community will be organizing a conference on the 9th of February 2012 in DTCHUKS PALACE HOTEL Molyko Buea, the capital of the South West Region. The event will bring together members from all the local groups in Cameroon, Techies, civil society organizations and local government authorities.

These social actors shall critically analyze the activities of Netsquared in Cameroon, redefine a foundation and put in place a strategic plan of action for 2012-2014.

 

GET DETAILS ON THE EVENT @ www.ivission.net

Registration is free!!!

 

Please confirm your participation today:

 

• Online @ http://www.meetup.com/ivission/events/46801592/
• By email@: net2cameroon@yahoo.fr
• By SMS @ +237 99 44 43 91 or +237 77 14 26 23

 

 

The innovation this time around includes:

 

1. Remote intervention from some NetSquared groups in other parts of the world to share  success stories
2. Remote presentation from Techsoup Global USA, Sangonet R.S.A. and Kabissa USA.
3. A digital board  put in place to permit participants worldwide work on our strategic plan of action simultaneously thanks to www.titanpad.com

 

The meeting scheduled to take place from 8:30am to 17:30pm Cameroon time

 

Presentation format

 

All presentations will be done in PowerPoint slides.

You can download template from: http://ivission.net/Netsquared_Regional_Conference_Cameroon_Buea.htm.  Please we want to experiment what we call ‘inter-partner promotion’

 

Voice Integration

While the PowerPoint slides are unrolling, the presenter will use any of the following applications:

 

• Skype voice (@ i-vission)
• Yahoo Instant Messenger (@ excelasama@yahoo.fr)

 

You can add us on your list as from now on.

 

We advise remote presenters to send their slides through email by the 3rd of February 2012 to permit us plan in advance.

net2cameroon@yahoo.com & ivissioninternational@yahoo.fr

 

Opportunity to share your success story remotely!

 

• The Netsquared Community in Cameroon is anxious to learn from other communities worldwide! Do you have any success stories to share or good news to announce? Please feel free to contact us before the 31st of January 2012. You will be given the opportunity to video talk remotely for two minutes or have your story read during the meeting through:
• Skype voice (@ i-vission) or
• Yahoo Instant Messenger (excelasama@yahoo.fr)

 

 

Please get details on the conference @: http://ivission.net/Netsquared_Regional_Conference_Cameroon_Buea.htm 

 

AttachmentSize Netsquared Cameroon.jpg14.77 KB

It has been almost a year since the revolution in Egypt started. It is a great time to look back at what happened and, especially in the context of the net2 blog, ask questions about the role that technology played in it. A lot has been written and said about the role of social media in the past year’s protests, and this is why here on Net2, we‘d like to bring a unique voice to the discussion.

Heba Gamal, a Senior TechSoup Global Network Partner manager, is Egyptian and has been closely monitoring events that took place in her homeland in 2011 and during the last days. Apart from her personal relationship with Egypt and the revolution Heba also has a social activist past, and a passion for new technologies and web 2.0 in particular.

Watch this short video and listen to what Heba has to say. Want to ask Heba a question? Have any other thoughts about how social media help inform social actions and inspire democratization processes? Let us know in the comments!