Social Networking as a Managed Service

I recently met with a client of ours, a well known nonprofit in San Diego, to discuss "all things technology." The services we provide to them today are generally related to their corporate network; remote monitoring, server maintenance, and assorted hardware and software troubleshooting. They have a really nice website and we've never talked much about whether they needed our help in that area. But in the course of the conversation I asked why they didn't have a Twitter account. My customer looked at me and said, to my surprise, "we really need your help with that. It's just too much."

Being part of a technology-based organization, I tend to take some things for granted. We have a staff of 20 and most know to some degree HTML, various CMSs, social networking, and all the desktop apps. Staff have Twitter accounts, we have a Facebook account, and even our own social networking site with thousands of users just in San Diego. I casually suggest to our service clients that they consider using social networking tools as part of their marketing strategy. But I never follow up. That's because I never considered it a managed service or one that we could provide. The conversation I had that day made me realize how wrong I was about that.

Social networking and the array of related on-line tools used for marketing can be just as complicated as managing file servers, mail servers, and security. As I write this, a Tweet pops up telling me that Google is starting a certification program for AdSense. To me this all points to social marketing as a managed service.

The app that tipped the scales, I think, is Twitter, which landed shortly after FaceBook started to catch fire as a great marketing tool. Since it arrived on the heals of Facebook, and because it was promoted heavily as a marketing tool-for-the-stars, many of our clients viewed it as “just another social networking site.” The general attitude seems to be that it's just too much to try and figure out.

Where have I heard that before?

The Accidental Marketer

Nonprofits have a word for the person whose job is not to provide tech support but they do it anyway. They're called the “Accidental Techie”. This person can be in-house staff with a technical background, a volunteer, an intern, or even a family member. Rarely do nonprofits receive funding or have budgets for full-time staff or even hardware and software upgrades for that matter, so the support job often falls to whoever is available and willing. Clearly this is not the best solution, and is one of the reasons SDFF was created. We’ve seen plenty of Linux, Windows 2000, and Exchange Servers deployed and then abandoned by boyfriends and cousins.

Likewise, most nonprofits can’t afford, nor do they need, full-time marketing staff, even though marketing is a crucial component of their fund-raising efforts. Fortunately, nonprofits have been able to get by, for the most part, with the “Accidental Marketer” sending the occassional enewsletter, press release, or postcard. Social media tools change that, and it will be very difficult for most nonprofits to keep up. They can't afford not to.

As a service, the managed “suite” includes the org's website, at least one blog, and the major social networking resources (Facebook and Twitter). The devil, though, is in the details, which includes:

• The plan


• Comprehensive


• Strategic


• Frequently monitored and updated

• Multiple contributors


• Trained staff


• Multiple social media accounts


• Search engine optimization


• Search engine account management
  
  
  • Google
  
  
  • Bing
  
  
  • Yahoo


• Social networking account management
  
  
  • Facebook
  
  
  • Twitter
  
  
  • Verticals


• Bookmarking account management


• Analytics


• Search advertising


• Reports and Metrics


• Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes


• Frequent attention!

Nonprofits need to be as efficient as any other business does in their marketing and fund-raising (selling) efforts. But the tools have changed. They are powerful and require more time than the Accidental Marketer has to learn, use, and follow effectively. For small to medium-sized nonprofits (not to mention regular for-profit businesses), social marketing should be considered as a managed service.

Next: And you thought you already knew your customers!

The Social Enterprise: SDFF Part I

Some time last year I was introduced to the term "social enterprise". This is an organization, I suppose it could be a for-profit but most often a nonprofit, whose mission is to serve the community but also to earn income that helps sustain the organization. It took a while for me to grasp the term social enterprise until I realized that that was what my organization had become over the last several years, whether we called it that or not.

I was "loaned" to SDFF in 2000 while working for SAIC, a large, for-profit and employee-owned engineering and contracting company based in San Diego. Honestly, I didn't know much about nonprofits other than the few networking groups I had joined and participated in over the years (I actually started one called the San Diego Digital Media Association prior to the advent of the Netscape browser but I'll save that story for later).

SDFF's mission is/was to close the digital divide in San Diego. We accomplish this by taking computers that the County of San Diego is replacing, refurbishing them, and donating them to SD nonprofits, schools, and families. For the first several years, that's all we did; give away computers. But having a technical and particularly services background, it made sense to me that we should offer technical services and any other kind of service that fit with our mission, for a fee. Our Board at the time wasn't completely interested, but things changed.

Catching Up

It's only been four years since we updated our blog. Obviously we've been busy and the blog ended up on the backburner. Since our last post here in 2006, our organization has grown from six employees to more than 20. One of the main reasons I added this post and updated the blog is because we are becoming much more active in eMarketing initiatives and particulary the use of online tools and social networking technologies to promote our business and those of our clients.

So what has changed at SDFF? First and foremost, we have evolved significantly into a "social enterprise." According to the Social Enterprise Alliance, a social enterprise is:

'An organization or venture that achieves its primary social or environmental mission using business methods. The social needs addressed by social enterprises and the business models they use are as diverse as human ingenuity. Social enterprises build a more just, sustainable world by applying market-based strategies to today's social problems.'

Our enterprising efforts include:

1. Technical services - this department provides professional technical services
on various contracts to more than 25 nonprofits in San Diego, and the number is
expected to grow significantly as our services and abilities mature. This
department completely sustains itself.

2. Hardware services and recycling - this department also sustains itself through revenues generated from computer refurbishing, recycling, and repair services. Our programs and the number of PCs we distribute are expected to grow significantly over the next couple of years, and we expect the hardware deparment to continue providing valuable services to the community.

3. Community Technoloyg Programs - this department features programs such as DiverseCity Tech, eLearn2earn, the San Diego Broadband Initiative, and our various training and employment services. Each program offers far more than should be covered in a blog, and they have all garnished exceptional funding support in the last few years, enabling us to continue offering services a no-cost or very low cost to nonprofits and families.

Expect to see frequent updates to this blog but not so much in the way of "advertising" or press releases. The focus will be on trends, developments, and decisions, both internal and external, that affect our organization and those of our clients and partners.

SDFF, County of San Diego, & Laura Bush Foundation Help Re-establish Gulf Region School Libraries

Working together with the San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox and the Laura Bush Foundation, SDFF helping First Lady Laura Bush’s initiative to ensure that the Gulf Region School libraries are functional and ready to serve all students’ educational, cultural and informational needs with the latest state-of–the-art technology. SDFF is sending 150 computers to 10 Gulf Coast School libraries who are re-building after the hurricane disaster of 2005.

This was made possible with the support from Michael Moore (San Diego County’s Chief Technology Officer), San Diego County Library, AT&T, and the Laura Bush Foundation.

Newsletter Article Thanks SDFF

The Spring Community Options Newsletter includes an article highlighting SDFF's donation of 15 computers:

As often as you replace your computer, an organization must do the same. San Diego Futures Foundation (SDFF) replaced fifteen of our obsolete machines with gently-used computers. San Diego Futures Foundation provided 15 refurbished Dell Pentium III desktop PC’s, along with 17-inch-monitors, keyboards, mice, and cords. San Diego Futures Foundation’s computers, which have been slowly installed over the last few months, were previously used by the County of San Diego. The donation helped Community Options replace computers, which should be done on a routine basis to decrease lost productivity and inefficiencies. Yet replacing all of Community Options’ computers would be a costly endeavor. San Diego Futures Foundation’s computers will be used to replace staff computers as well as those used by individuals in our site-based programs. A big round of thanks goes out to the SDFF and their generous donation.

We're always pleased to hear back from organizations that have really utilized their computer donation!

Thanks to Community Options for their important work: "We envision a society where having a disability is neither a stigma nor a barrier to opportunity and equality."

AOIT students broaden their horizon

Recently, Academy of Information Technology Interns at SDFF have begun providing technical desktop support to City Heights Community Tech Center. Functions include PC maintenance, troubleshooting, loading and reloading software applications, and installing new hardware as needed. This provides a valuable experience of sharing expertise, providing assistance the community, and improving one's résumé.

SDFF HELPS A NEIGHBOR

SDFF donated 2 computers to the Terralta Neighborhood Association which represent a neighborhood within City Heights. Our full time intern, Jerry, set them up and installed modems so they could connect to the internet. These computers will allow Terralta Neighborhood Association perform their regular day to day operations.

Blogging for Nonprofits

There is a good post at NetSquared on how nonprofit organizations can use blogging - click here.

SDFF has been asked by a number of organizations about how to use blogs. The best way is to determine why and how you want to use it. Who is the audience? Then just start. Blogging is more informal that a press release. SDFF uses it to give people unfamiliar with us a "snapshot" of what we do.

SDFF Supports County's Strategic Initiatives

SDFF is supporting the County of San Diego’s Strategic Initiatives, which are to improve opportunities for children, to promote safe and livable communities, and to ensure environmental preservation, quality of life, and economic development. A recent example is SDFF's donation of 50 computers to San Diego Youth and Community Services. San Diego Youth and Community Services mission is to help at-risk youth become self-sufficient and reach their highest potential by investing in them, strengthening their families, and building their communities.

If your organization provides such services or related programs, or in need of technology support, please complete our online application.

Former Intern Wins Film Competition

Angel Munoz, The SDFF Intern of the Year, is a member of a Hoover High School team that won the grand pize in the My City Now Future Filmmaker National Contest. Entitled "The Painting of a Culture", their video represents Chicano Park in San Diego and it's amazing murals plus the rise of a hardworking culture. Angel and his team did part of their film editing at the SDFF Tech Center using a digital video editing workstation donated by Dell Computer.

Congratulations to Angel and his team members.

Digital Divide Network article features SDFF

SDFF is featured in an article on the Digital Divide Network (DDN) website. DDN describes itself as the Internet's largest community for educators, activists, policy makers and concerned citizens working to bridge the digital divide. The article describes SDFF programs and includes quotes from several people helped by us.

Click here for the full article.

Our Outdoor Wireless Network

With a generous donation of equipment from Avaya and bandwidth from Cox, we were able to build a wireless network in City Heights. The network serves three sites, two of which are low income housing projects.

You can view a map of the area covered south of our offices here. Price Charities was also generous enough to donate roof space on the highest building in City Heights (pictured above) for our antenna placement. The network has access to our content filtering device so the connected computer labs are protected from questionable browsing habits.

With the exception of a few windy days and maintenance, the network has been going strong for nearly two years and we plan on keeping it running for the foreseeable future.

Showcase and Awards Ceremony

SDFF is having an Open House on Thursday, February 2 at our Tech Center in City Heights. It is a showcase of our activities and will include an awards ceremony for our Intern of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations and thank you to Angel and Mike.

Contact our office if you are interested in attending. Hoover High School interns will be showing their computer projects. Aaron Price Fellow interns will be talking about their experience learning about databases and web portals. Staff will also be available to talk about our consulting work including our web design projects.

See you there.

Thanks to our largest Donators of 2005

The Futures Foundation receives a substantial number of computers annually as a result of our Corporate Recycling Program. Key partnerships with business, academia, professional organizations, and nonprofits are behind the success of San Diego Futures Foundation programs. These innovative partnerships result in donations of computer hardware, software, peripherals, technical services, human capital, and the funds required to conduct meaningful technology inclusion programs. These donations to the Foundation help alleviate the digital divide in San Diego County and ensure that all San Diego County residents have access to the technology resources that many of us take for granted.

We would like to take this time and Thank some of our largest contributors of 2005:

Other pivotal corporate partnerships include:

The First American Corporation
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency
CoStar Group
San Diego State University
Premier Inc.
L3 Titan
Pt. Loma Nazarene University
SemTech
CancerVax
Biosite
San Diego County District Attroney
Miro Technologies
Lender Support Systems
San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program
Nolte Associates
San Diego Public Law Library
The Aspire Group
Napster

Thanks again to all of those who have made this effort possible. We look forward to working with you on future donations.

Sometimes the computer problems are low-tech

TechSoup just highlighted an article in their recent newsletter that is very helpful. Entitled "How to Clean Your Mouse: An Illustrated Guide", it's a really useful article when the most frustrating thing going on with your computer is a dirty mouse. If you have a computer lab - get some users to do this for you.

New Employee Joins SDFF

Scott has joined the Futures Foundation and will be managing our hardware donations, intern program and corporate recycling program. Scott started as an intern at SDFF while going to Coleman College. He brings a wealth of technology knowledge and great enthusiasm.

Welcome!

Tech Advice for Non-Profits: TechSoup

A great place for non-profits to look for articles and advice in the technology field is TechSoup. They have articles discussing all aspects of technology and tech support as well as other topcis. A recent article gave advice and how to best utilize volunteers. There is also a very good article on ensuring your mass emails are not classified as Spam.

TechSoup also runs TechSoupStock, a marketplace offering reduced price software. They have amazing deals on Microsoft software but be warned - you can only order Microsoft products once per year. Read the details. They also have software from Macromedia, Symantec and Intuit.

One of the best features of TechSoup is the Discussion Area. Check out the discussions on hardware, software, fundraising and a host of topics.

Aaron Price Fellows Start Internship

Three high school seniors who are Aaron Price Fellows have begun a 6 month internship at the San Diego Futures Foundation. The mission of the Aaron Price Fellows program is to enrich the lives of a diverse group of high school students so they become responsible, caring members of their community.

Annette, Andre and Monica will assist SDFF staff in all our programs and learn about both technology and non-profit organizations.

Welcome!!

National Engineering Week Planning

Futures Foundation Staff participated in a meeting sponsored by Qualcomm to promote activities during National Engineering Week, www.eweek.org. The San Diego region shares a nationwide crisis of too few students pursuing math, science and engineering college degrees. In a world-wide marketplace, the U.S. needs to stay competitive by producing for engineers and scientists. E-Week is part of a national effort to promote this beginning in elementary school and continuing through high school and into college.

Foster Families Receive 100+ Computers

We've partnered with San Diego County's Foster Family Licensing program this year to get refurbished computers to families raising foster children. This past week we gave out 101 computers. Our total for 2005 is 506 computers to Foster Families!

The parents are universally so thankful. And the children who came with them were pretty excited to be able to use the computers.

We owe a big thanks to Suzanne and Lamisse from the County. And an even bigger thanks to my volunteers: Mike, Julie and her two high school interns, Christine, Scott, Manny and a bunch of high school interns who helped clean and prepare the monitors and computers: Fong, Boun, Annette, Andre, Monica, Christian, Le, Sergio and Lupita.