Free web 2.0 tools for nonprofits

• Simple Online Project Management
• www.basecamphq.com
• Easy-to-use Membership/Association/Event Management
• www.wildapricot.com
• Simple Online To Do List
• www.tadalist.com
• Online collaborative writing
• www.writeboard.com
• Online photo hosting
• www.flickr.com
• Online photo hosting
• www.bubbleshare.com
• Online wordprocessor
• www.writely.com

A reposting of a presentation delivered at Online Community Camp (with verbal permission,  asked at the session).  The PDF is the same content as below.

Online Community Summit
San Francisco, CA
May 25, 2006
Prepared by: Robert Labatt, CEO ezboard, Inc.
rlabatt@ezboardcorp.com
www.ezboard.com | www.yuku.com

What is Growth?
    New Registered Users

How do you achieve growth?
    WOM... (word of mouth)
    ...and don’t pay for it

How do you drive WOM?

A dump of notes from the Online Community Camp. (Along with the text version of this file).

What are basic dos and dont's of expanding community website internationally?

Laureen - runs newsletters on focused topics (Java languages)
    best results - ask community - do you want to localize this?
    results through enthusiasm and guilt
    they have to spot check (but only occasionally)
    best practice: have initial "super user" who shares your language
    to measure risk, they sat down with lawyer and asked "what's the worst that could happen?"
    added disclaimers
    give kudos, name translators, refer others to them

Kurt -
    Microfinancegateway.org
    selected outsourcing partners (groups working on similar topics / issues)
    English content - want "localized" not just translated
    Laureen: trend seems to be smaller orgs wants to translate, larger groups want to develop own
    David - Asian offices want to repurpose all content into local format
    is it challenge with coporate culture or other issue?  control issue
   
Adam - What about other way (pushing translation as opposed to asking)

Michael K- Canadian gov agency
    wanted official translation
    lots of money - but found it was going to be huge amt of work
    agency wanted everything in both eng and fr, but effort actually stunted growth of community (too much work to do it)
    Greg  - "ownership"/ control of translation process seems similar to fear of independent bloggers going "off-message"
    Laureeen - if we can open source software, then can open source language (i.e. don't try to control it)
    mailicious efforts will be in focused on code, not in language

Michael (MyFamily example) - run by AOL
    used local community to do all translations (individuals would post content in more than one langauges)
    communty users asked for translation help
    AOL helped w/ initial localized content, then let users go to town to do themselves
    specific international community developed around the multilingual boards (i.e. small group of folks who spoke more than one language became their own community)
    had to redo the boards to add language users not originally targeted, but expanded into from multi-lingual users
    pre-research - legal research: what is allowable on boards in specific countries (and leads to more or less moderation)
   
Univision community boards - users flag messages for removal
    users (teens) write in both languages
    most users in US
    Europeans use Spanish on Univision site (but also local languages)

Michael (MyFamily) - brand loyalty to "free" sites is better than on managed sites!

LuckyOliver: what are strategies to develop portal for new language audience

Michael (MyFamily) - developed localized portals (with local hires)
    originally completely autonomous (then brought together 6 years level)
    Laureen - what decision led to consolidation
    business strategy (money savings, reduce duplication, could develop European products, not Germ vs. French products)
    community quickly adopted pan-Euro identity, while keeping local identity

Greg - if you build foreign lang content you then show up on foreign lang search

Michael K - duplicatd site into French wholesale (tranlsated content into French)-
    site successful - because of content
    Adobe forums - tranlated interface into foreign language, and it took off (no need to facilitate)
   
Louis: suggestion - seed community with "localized" moderators
    build out new communities from other localized  languages (i.e. can go from Spanish to Greek, not always English to Greek)
       
Kurt - back end integration for multi-lingual communities? content could be duplicated?
    Laureen - not link content (???)
    Microfinance site: developed huge up-front planning, actually pays off
   
Gary - Java.net project (case study)
    translated formal documentaiton into other languages (starting with Portuguese)
    start with Brazil user groups
    huge benefit to localize user documentation
    open source lang translation tools (designed for very formal and structured docs)
       
David - if have single content stream (issue focused) - is there benefit of only UI and help pages localized? (i.e. most of content is still only English)
    Phil: Skoll Fnd = did do some localization, but main portal was English
    Michael K - customers can choose UI, but then leads to users posting in local language while most of site is still in English
    Michael (MyFamiy): rule of thumb - about 3k regular community members = will self-support localization efforts if asked

Gary - legal ramifications -
    AOL had paid moderators for different country-specific sites (because of legal issues)
    Michael K - had a Spanish speaking community( but no Spanish moderators)
    Took off (but they didn't know content), got negative feedback, had to shut entire board down (used terms of service as legal back-up)
    AOL community - added pop-ups with warnings when entering potentially offensive community boards
   
Kurt - what is relationship w/ government?
    AOL - moderated *everything* when working in China
    ultimately shut it down (because of pressure)
    Laureen - cutural issue - Brazil not regulate much, ZA pretty much the same
    Asian govts want more oversight
    Univision - has a lot of rules (legal terms of use)

Adam - where can we go to get more info

David - Wikipedia? (as resource / casestudy for how multi-lingual community works)
America - Wikipedia community manages itself
    main goal is to be neutral
    you build your own reputation
    Dave - underlying tech is very simple (interface and content is international)
    works best for long-standing contents
    even Wikipedia had problems in China
   
Michael (MyFamily) - ask the blogosphere

Kurt - use occ2006 and i18n as tags

Gary project: "developers without borders"
    Java.net stipends for students
    socially aware software
    students in developing countries
    want input on project and funding
    studentstipeds.dev.java.net

Greg - flags are chellenging when used toidentify language (what flag for Spanish?  What flag for Portugeuse?)
    NativeText - blog translation tool - sign up, and others translate for you?

 

[I'm reposting this message because it's worth a look - and worth a revision.  Smoking Goat.] 

There are lots of these lists of listservs and forums. But this one can be contributed to by anyone. So feel free to edit this mess. I just dumped something in here. Would you be so kind as to help clean it up a little?

In no particular order:

riders-talk
Circut Riders general discussion

riders-tech
Circuit Riders technical discussion

As part of CompuMentor's interest in Web2.0 technologies and online commuity building, we're working with an international theatre arts organization called Theatre Without Borders that aims to make connections between individual theatre artists around the world.  We are looking at the possibilities of using all the strengths of Drupal / Civic Space Labs
to drive a largely community-driven site.

Unfortunately, this project has no budget - CompuMentor is supporting my time, but this is largely a volunteer effort.  For neutrality reasons, Theatre Without Borders has no formal fiscal representation in the U.S. (or anywhere, for that matter).  So while there is a wealth of professional Drupal consutlants out in the world, we can't pay anyone.  We're looking for someone who has some experience with Drupal, but wants to develop more skills and potentially a portfolio?

Guidelines to help foundations and nonprofits plan, build and sustain online communities. Written by Jillaine Smith and published by the Benton Foundation, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, May 2003.

Full Document | Checklist Handout