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Category Archives: books
Ning For Dummies @ a local bookstore
Today, I had the first chance to take a complete look at the entire book since it came out. Sunday, I was able to hold it in my hands for the first time, but today I flipped through it all.
It was a very special moment… just wanted to share it with you.
You can get your copy of Ning For Dummies @ your local bookstore or online.
Ning for Dummies Book Giveaway
Beth Kanter, author of the blog “How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media” is doing a Ning For Dummies book giveaway (4 copies) through her blog.
Check it out.
Fundraising When Money Is Tight
Timely and highly relevant! A must-read for all nonprofits in times of crisis
“Relevant” and “timely” fall short as terms to describe Mal Warwick’s latest book. After going through a brief analysis of what history has taught us in terms of philanthropy in times of crisis and putting forward three scenarios for economic recovery, Mr. Warwick presents three possible fundraising strategies to take us through the period of economic recovery.
He then embarks on a detailed nine-step approach to what he calls “peace of mind”:
* Step 1: Reassess the Whole Ball of Wax – to make sure your organization is around long enough to make a lasting impact, he proposes efficient management practices, something that is good even in times of abundance.
* Step 2: Strengthen your Case for Giving – donors don’t care about you as much as they care about the issues you work on. Focus on those.
* Step 3: Be Content with One in the Hand -Forget the Two That May Be in the Bush – he questions the importance of creativity in tough times.
* Step 4: Cut Costs with a Scalpel, Not an Ax – he shares sixteen cost-cutting recommendations that impact the whole organization and fourteen more focused on cutting costs in print production. Here, I found his invitation to draw the line between major and small donors @ $1,000 very interesting.
* Step 5: Fish Where the Big Fish Are – this chapter deals with donor segmentation in as much detail as you need to “get” the idea and why it’s important for you to do.
* Step 6: Stay Close to Your Donors – say thanks! And then, say thanks again!
* Step 7: Get Personal With Your Donors – collect and use data about your donors as a means to appeal directly to their cherised values and beliefs.
* Step 8: Step Up Your Efforts Online – lots of things you need to do to maximize your fundraising efforts by developing a comprehensive online strategy.
* Step 9: Break Down the Silos – a phenomenon that not only affects nonprofits but can hurt them badly, silos are discussed in this chapter.
In short, Fundraising When Money Is Tight: A Strategic and Practical Guide to Surviving Tough Times and Thriving in the Future packs SO MUCH in so little space that, if you haven’t taken pages of notes or if you have marked less than 10 pages to revisit again, I can guarantee you missed on lots of things: go back and read it cover to cover. You will thank me for it!
Ning For Dummies is DONE!
I just sent out the last revisions to Nicole, the Project Editor! I am tired but very excited. My first book is done!!!
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement throughout the writing process!!!
AND, if you have an interest in social networking and run a social network on Ning (or are planning to run one), please order a copy of the book.
I guess I will be blogging some more again. 
Ning For Dummies, available for pre-order
The pressure’s on: May 29, the book goes on sale. “Ning For Dummies” is now available for pre-order on Amazon, if you want to get your copy.
This is super-exciting!!!
Writing 'Ning For Dummies'
Yep! It’s happening… I couldn’t believe it when I learned about it, but it’s happening: I am starting to write the official “Ning For Dummies” title.
The next few months will be PACKED with work but full of excitement too. And topping that excitement will be the work producing this book that will be published in the Spring.
If you see me posting updates on Twitter late @ night, you know what I am doing after the day is over: writing “Ning for Dummies”.
Managing Online Forums: A Great Book!
Much needed advice for those who run online communities
As many online forums as there are, sadly there are only very few titles out there that deal with the topic.
Until now, the best one (now out of print) was Design for Community. But Patrick O’Keefe has changed this for good with this amazingly comprehensive title that is packed with great (and fairly timeless) advice about how to start, develop, promote and manage your online community. Two chapters at the end deal with tips on how to keep your online forum interesting and how to monetize it.
Personally, the only downside I found in the book is that it has a very heavy emphasis on forums (phpBB, more specifically), leaving outside some of the aspects specific to social media. However, the knowledge that the author has included in here can be relatively easily ported to help folk wanting to manage social networks or other social applications.
As for me, I am getting a copy of “Managing Online Forums” for each of the Administrators in my communities.
Designing for the Social Web
A great book for people needing to get their sites caught up with the social web
Joshua Porter pours his knowledge about user interface design in social media in this title. While the AOF method (Activities, Objects and Features) he presents early in the book gets a bit confusing when you first read about it, very quickly you get his point.
The design framework he presents is aimed at taking new users of a social site through the steps that make up the usage lifecycle: not being aware of the site > becoming interested in it > using the site for the first time > becoming a regular user > becoming a passionate user.
I see a practical application of Joshua’s design philosophy in the way Ning (a platform for you to create your own social network) is put together: it is easy for a new member to sign up and create/manage a profile page, interact with other members and sharing with others inside or outside the network so as to make more people aware of the network.
The main downside I found to the book was that, in an attempt to be more comprehensive, it went into certain topics that had little to do with design, such as the case with the chapter on “Authentic Conversations” (why they are the most important thing you can do for your social web site) and the closing chapter on “Funnel Analysis” which seemed a bit rushed and disconnected from the rest. Still, the chapter on authentic conversations was useful and even the one on metrics carried weight and useful tips, just not as much as the rest of the book.
Overall, “Designing For the Social Web” is a very good reference for folks needing to catch up with the social web in the sites they manage.
Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Review
Since John Battelle’s “The Search,” I haven’t had such a good read about people that make web technologies happen. But his book was very focused on a single technology, while Sarah Lacy has chosen to deal with a whole period in Silicon Valley’s history: the emergence and glory days of Web 2.0 (arguably those days are not over yet).
Sarah has a provocative style, she knows what she is talking about and she knows the folks that play the game. Her writing flows like the words in her columns, which she has been writing for nearly ten years now. In the course of the book, she carefully weaves a tale that lets the reader see where all the pieces fall: where each Web 2.0 entrepreneur (or “nontrepreneur” as she refers to Blogger’s and Twitter’s Evan Williams) connects with the next one and where did he get the inspiration (or the funding) from to pursue the next big thing.
Throughout the book’s eleven chapters, I found myself referring back to a very useful diagram that she included in the beginning, which shows at a very top level companies and people, showing who was founder, investor and employee of which.
You do not need to be a geek to enjoy the book, but you will if you are. You certainly do not have to live in Silicon Valley to know what she is talking about, but you will get a kick out of local references if you live or work in the stretch of 101 between San Francisco and San Jose. You do not need to be a web entrepreneur to want to devour the book, but if you are, you will find yourself flipping through the pages in search of yet more interesting and passionate anecdotes from the people that made Web 2.0 what it is today.
Sarah Lacy’s book is a must read for anyone using the social web today: in case you didn’t realize it, that means every one of us! Get your copy of “Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good” quick.