Two years ago this month, Haitians endured a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that destroyed much of the infrastructure in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed over 300,000 people. The outpouring of support from numerous nations inspired faith that rebuilding after the tragedy would bring notable improvements to the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Unfortunately, two years […]
Archives for January 2012
#COMMUNICATIONS: Hashtags Haunt McDonalds’ Foray Into Social Media
If anyone suggests to you that social media lay the yellow-brick road to huge fundraising or provide the silver bullet to finish off negative responses to your company, just smile sweetly and back away. Like any power tool, social-media platforms offer opportunities to do fine work to reach out to new customers, and they offer […]
#Tech: Apple’s Reputation Gets Pulped – Deservedly So?
Tweets often move faster than facts. True, the Apple web store was down for a bit yesterday, but when it came back up, no new iPad or iPhone 5. Indeed, the only notable difference I could see was the prominence of Apple’s report on ‘Supplier Responsibility‘ for 2012. Which proved to be a ‘fortuitous’ move, […]
#Communications: Postal Rates Raised Last Week – Not For Nonprofits
The United States Postal Service has been struggling financially for the last few years. The Bush Administration saddled the service with pre-paying its future retiree benefits for a decade (2006-2016), a demand uniquely imposed on the USPS. Bush’s policy meant the service went from profits in the $1.4 billion range in 2005 to one that […]
#Development: Listening To Social Networks An Important Investment Too
Yesterday we talked about creating content on your business’s or nonprofit’s website that will bring new readers to your site, deepen the loyalty of those already in contact with it, and turn more of them into customers, volunteers, and donors. The creation of such content requires some investment. Staff – at least some staff hours […]
#Communication: Six Tips To Expand Readership On Your Nonprofit’s Blog
We thank you for reading our blog, and we hope to provide relevant, timely, and interesting material for you for 2012. Producing a timely and engaging blog (at least we hope so!) requires some effort. But the opportunities and results they can produce are well worth the investment. If your nonprofit organization has a blog, […]
#Tech: CES 2012 Shows Off The Flat Entertainment Coming Post-Recession
Each mid-January, while much of the country is struggling to get through wintery weather and get kids back on a school-day schedule, the brash, bold, and bright world of near-future technology is shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not the back end of the financial crisis/Great Recession, not the fact […]
#Communication: SOPA & PIPA Bills Are Dying, But Not Dead
Yesterday, a couple of the most used and best-known websites on the internet willingly shut themselves down: Wikipedia and Reddit. Google, you likely noticed, ‘redacted’ its daily Google Doodle. These efforts were to call attention to and protest against the Congressional debates over the ‘Stop Internet Piracy Act’ (SOPA) in the House and the ‘Protect […]