Blog Day 2005

Here are the 5 blogs I recommend for Blog Day 2005:

1. The Future of Mathematics: This is a great blog for math educators. The entries have information on using Flickr, blogs, and digital images for teaching math.
2. Information Wants to Be Free: This blog has information about libraries, technology, and job searching.
3. SimpleBits: This blog has information on designing websites.
4. WCC Family Tech: Each entry of this blog has links to education related websites.
5. Spark Armada: This blog is written by the person who came up with the idea for blog day. Most of the entries are about blog day. There are some entries about technology and Israel.

Blog Day Website

Links about Nonprofit Blogs

TechSoup -An Introduction to Weblogs

TechSoup - Ready to Start Blogging?

TechSoup - Profiles of Nonprofit Weblogs

Blogs for Non-Profit Orgs - Global PR Blog Week 1.0

onPhilanthropy - Four Steps to Better Online Communications

onPhilanthropy - Blogging as an Effective Fundraising Strategy

Blogging for Nonprofits: There's Less to This Than Meets the Eye

Non-Profits Can Profit From Blogs

Should Your Nonprofit Launch a Blog?

Tagging Missions of Organizations

I started researching organizations to help me with my job search and I have been looking at the missions of these various organizations. Even though I am looking for a technology related position, I decided I would first focus on organizations whose missions interest me. I am interested in organizations related to education, environment, and health.

Through my research and the recent posts about the use of Flickr for nonprofits, I have realized the nptech tag can be used in other ways. Learning about tagging is not just a skill for techies, it is a skill for anyone.

More uses of nptech

• bookmark blogs of non-profit organizations
• bookmark blogs or blog entires about an issue
• take pictures at non-profit related events and tag them on Flickr
• write a blog entry about an issue and tag it using tags on Technorati

How can non-profit organizations use tags?

• Tag images, bookmarks, and blog entries to share with others who might be interested in the mission of your organization.
• Look at the users of the tags and see who else is interested in the mission of your organization
• Find images on Flickr related to the mission of your organization. Images found on the Creative Commons section can be used for websites, newsletters, or blog entries.
• Find bookmarks on Del.icio.us to help with researching about the mission of your organization.
• Find blog entries on Technorati related to the mission of your organization.
  

Tags (missions, events, organizations)

• conservation
• ecology
• pollution
• raceforthecure
• recycling
• redcross
• wildlife
  

I will be adding to this list as I find more tags.

I decided to write an entry about this topic after reading the following blog entries:

Wonder what flickr has to do with nonprofits?

Digital Images for Nonprofits, Courtesy of Flickr and Creative Commons

Flickr and Nonprofits

Participating in the nptech tag experiment

Since January, I have been participating in the nptech tagging experiment on del.icio.us.

My interest in nptech tag

Since I graduated college last year, my career goal has been to find a web design or training position in Washington, DC with either a nonprofit organization or technology company that provides services to nonprofits.

A year ago, I started researching the internet to learn more about nonprofit technology and how I would be able to make a difference. Through my web searches I found nonprofit technology resources like Techsoup and the Information Systems Forum. Then my list of nonprofit technology resources grew. I had a collection of links that included nonprofit technology organizations, web design companies in DC that design websites for non-profits, and articles that interested me relating to nonprofits and technology.

In December 2004, I first learned about the nptech tagging experiment on del.icio.us. At first I was not sure I wanted to participate in this experiment since I do not work in nonprofit technology yet and did not know what nonprofit technology professionals would be interested in. I also did not know anything about tagging, but was willing to learn.

After reading more about the experiment, I finally decided to participate and sign up on del.icio.us.

How do I use the nptech tag?

I first started using nptech to tag my bookmarks that I already found that were nonprofit technology related. I wanted to share my links with others. Since my interest is in designing websites for nonprofits, I started sharing bookmarks related to that.

As I spent more time tagging nptech, I started sharing blogs and articles about nonprofit blogging. I also started sharing websites and articles about usability, accessibility, and anything else web design related that nonprofits might be interested in.

I also browse the nptech tag stream on del.icio.us to see what other nonprofit resources nptech taggers are tagging.

What have I gained by participating in this?

By participating in the nptech tag experiment, I have learned more about nonprofit technology and how to tag with del.icio.us. I also learned about blogs and started reading nonprofit related blogs. I have also met new people by participating in nptech tagging.

Ideas for Nonprofit Blogs

After reading Deborah's blog entry titled Blogging for Nonprofits: There's Less to This Than Meets the Eye , I decided to write an entry on ideas for nonprofit blogs.

In my opinion, a blog for nonprofits can be compared to a newsletter.

What would nonprofits want their readers to find out about their organization?

Here are some ideas for what to include in a blog for a nonprofit organization:

• News
• Upcoming events
• Past events
• Wish list
• Articles about the organization
• Links to websites /articles related to the mission of the organization
• Pictures
• Facts about topics relevant to mission of organization
• How to get involved in the organization