Video offers a power and immediacy that is an excellent supplement to the written word. Now qualified nonprofits can take advantage of YouTube’s new Nonprofit Program. Certain restrictions apply. The following groups are not eligible:

• Hospitals and health care organizations
• Schools, childcare centers, academic institutions, and universities (philanthropic arms of educational organizations are eligible)
• Governmental entities and organizations

YouTube makes it easy to create an attractive YouTube channel for all of your videos with included templates. You can add call-to-action overlays to your videos and make special annotations. You can even add a donation button to Google Checkout.

YouTube has conveniently created a 24 page downloadable guide with clear hints, instructions and diagrams to get you started. To download your copy of “Playbook Guide: YouTube for Good”, please go HERE.

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The mistake that many presenters make is that they do not consider their audience when assembling their ideas. Instead they remain in the comfort zone of their own experiences. This can cause a profound disconnect when you finally do make your presentation. The presentation  may be carefully crafted, but it was crafted for you, not your audience.

Of course there are times when you want your audience to step outside of their comfort zone. This can be very difficult as people tend to resist being uncomfortable. Knowing your audience well allows you to connect with them so they can gain new insights and become curious, rather than apprehensive about new experiences.

Christine Esposito of Terracom Public Relations has a good summary of how to pay attention to your audience so your audience pays attention to you. You may read it HERE

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Take the case of Robert Collins who works for the Maryland Department of Corrections. He took some leave because of his mom’s death, but was ordered to turn over access to his Facebook account in order to return to work. To see his account on video, please go here.

The Facebook company has been accused of playing fast and loose with privacy in the past, but in this case they are considering legal action against any organization who demands Facebook passwords. The practice appears to be growing and includes companies, government agencies and even colleges. In this economic climate the pressure to surrender such very personal information can be overwhelming.

Erin Egan, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer has this to say:

“Facebook takes your privacy seriously.  We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privilege.”

To read more about this issue please go HERE

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Although the trending tweets on Twitter may be celebrity oriented, teachers can use Twitter to create classroom projects that stimulate imagination while students process information. For example, Twitter is used by journalists as a research tool. Students can do the same. They can create Twitter “notecards” by judicious use of hashtags and source references. These can be referred to and shared.

Another cool idea is to use Paper.li which can take twitter feeds from people you follow and auto-magically create a digital newspaper. By setting up special feeds for a classroom digital newspaper, students can add content that links to articles they have discovered on the web. Their digital newspaper can include graphics and video.

Twitter can also be adapted for after school programs and youth center projects.

For more Twitter-Ed ideas please go HERE.

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There are a number of excellent graphic design tools and guides for Facebook, including ones for the upcoming major Facebook changes scheduled for March 29. Since Facebook experts have already done the heavy lifting, your graphic designer can get busy designing that knockout Facebook page for you.

The Facebook Cheat Sheet: Sizes and Dimensions is a detailed geography of the Facebook page. Now your designer can calculate the exact sizes of your graphics and test them out. You can also find out how much text is allowed in ads, titles and status updates. What is the maximum size and length of uploaded videos? The answer is available. Since Facebook is always changing things, this page is updated frequently.

If you want a custom Facebook landing page, that’s a bit trickier. However there are services and tools that can help make it easier. These come in both paid and free versions. A good place to get started is 4 Free Facebook Landing Page Creation Tools. Author Priit Kallas of Dreamgrow  recommends Pagemodo and Wildfire iFrames.

Finally, if you and your designer need some visual  inspiration you can browse 22 Inspiring Examples of Facebook Page Designs chosen by Priit Kallas.

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Besides taking a whack at the avant-garde, this trend has hurt community art projects and arts education. Community art projects not only make communities more enjoyable, but are an excellent economic investment for community development. Research indicates that the creative arts can help make people smarter. Yet school art programs are being cut by the rush to hi-stakes testing. Enjoyable communities? Economic benefits? Smarter kids?  Funding the arts has multiple benefits way beyond even those three.

Kickstarter allows individuals and organizations to propose projects(within Kickstarter’s generous guidelines) and then have donors pledge money in exchange for various perks decided upon by the project creators. Typical perks for donors include public recognition, signed copies, meetings with the creators etc. If the fundraising goal is not met within a specific time period, all money is returned.

The  2012 fiscal year budget for the NEA is $146 million dollars. Kickstarter is projected to raise $150 million if it continues at its present rate. Read more about Kickstarter HERE.

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Think of it as a crowded Internet kiosk where people “pin” pictures up for others to share. It’s also a referral service so that when people click on a “pin”, they can also visit the original website. People can choose to follow you and “repin” your offerings.

But like any heavily-used social media, it’s hard to get noticed. Fortunately, social media veteran Heather Mansfield has scouted out the best practices that non-profits can use to get noticed in a crowd. According to Mansfield, Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined. To read more and learn how you can join in the fun, please go HERE.

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Required:

• Some experience in the technology side of web development and keen interest in learning more.
• A solid familiarity with website coding (HTML/CSS)
• Knowledge of the design aspects of web development is a plus, but not required.
• Self-propelled Independent learner.
• Enthusiastic troubleshooter.
• Provide your own workstation and software (HTML editor, FTP program, and Photoshop).

Learning opportunity:
The ability to learn on your own using tutorials, videos and online courses is critical. You will be completing projects under the guidance of a senior web developer in a one-on-one mentoring relationship via remote screen-sharing conference calls until you feel confident in completing a site from start to finish. There is NO PENALTY for asking questions. We much prefer you take ten minutes to ask the senior designer about a problem than spend two hours trying to solve it yourself.

Hours:
As long as the work is completed by deadline, hours are extremely flexible and the work can be done from anywhere. We can offer 5 to 30 hours per week of contract work when candidates become proficient. Individuals with multiple high-level of skills will be invited to work more hours per week.

Compensation:
We pay a flat rate for the first ‘training’ project, usually a nonprofit with a flexible deadline. This is a win-win situation… you’ll be helping a worthy cause while receiving personalized training from an experienced web professionals, but please note that you will receive payment ONLY if the project is taken to completion.

Once Webtrax Studio has determined your skills have advanced adequately and you are familiar with our workflow, payment is by the hour and negotiable depending on speed and skill set. Pay starts at $16 to $20 and increases based on speed and efficiency.

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• Do you want to help rally thousands of north suburban Chicago residents behind a mission and vision of an open, integrated, and non-discriminatory North Shore?
• Do you have substantial experience in creative use of the internet and social media to attract “foot soldiers” of all ages and backgrounds to organize and advocate for social justice?
• Do you have experience delivering workshops and classes to different audiences about civil rights or fair & affordable housing?

Then consider applying to the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs to be our Marketing & Communications Director!

Please download a PDF of the job description of the Marketing & Communications Director. Please note that we will only consider applications sent with a cover letter indicating specific interest in working for Interfaith and in this position.

Thank you for your commitment to civil rights and housing justice!
Interfaith is north suburban Chicago’s premier voice for fair and affordable housing.”

Sincerely,
Gail Schechter, Executive Director

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The issue isn’t size really. Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings stretches across 3 volumes including those voluminous footnotes. Michelangelo’s The Creation runs across an entire ceiling and you have really bend your neck to see it. Dante’s Inferno is 14233 lines in its original. Their size is just fine. No, the problem is something else. How much is enough and where the heck is the editor?

I once sat in a comedy cafe with an open mic. On the back wall was a sign that the owner flashed that said “Wrap it up” before the eager jokester died on stage. Vaudeville had a saying,”Always leave them wanting more, not less.” Even novelist Ernest Hemingway, the master of terseness, had a master editor named Max Perkins.

Web writers take note. The short attention span on the web means page views don’t necessarily translate into actual extended reading. If you don’t have an editor,  get someone to read it over before you post. You may end up with something a bit shorter, but minus the literary dust bunnies— and just think of all the embarrassing typos that will disappear.

Ralph Caplan has an excellent article on the decline of editing over at the American Institute of Graphic Arts(AIGA). Check it out.

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