Is the government really closed?

Normally I stick to posts about tools available from corporations.  However, after attending SLS11, I had to write a "real" blog post because I became extremely irked.  See, all these students and their professors at a college in DC kept going on about how the government is closed and it needs to be open.  Then it got into there being only one "real" news site.  So, here's my rant: What ever happened to teaching students to seek out information?  Are we really in an age where everyone must be spoonfed information in order for the information to exist?  The government is open to a large extent.  The data that we see everywhere comes from government funded research and agencies.  When we look at nutrition labels, calorie counters, cool apps that tell us how much pesticides are in our food, where do people think the data came from?  The company didn't spend years researching and collecting it.  It didn't appear out of thin air.  It came from a government website download that's available to EVERYONE.  That's how the Congressional Budget Office gets materials (bills are available online via the feds). See, there's a super site...a FEDERAL .gov site...that gives the information.  Seek and ye shall find.  Want data about food?  USDA has it.  Data about meds, FDA has it, pesticides?  USDA or EPA.  The files are in pdf, doc, rtf, xml, csv, and other files (including pretty cool widgets).  Want a hard copy? Generally, they'll mail it to you.  This infogeek has boxes of materials courtesy of our tax dollars regarding health and wellness (an interest of mine).  I've got so many documents full of html links that I had to upload them to scribd. 

There are a lot of citizen journalism sites out there.  I like patch.com.  There are other ones out there too.  More and more are sprouting up thanks to the Knight Foundation.  Who?  See...that's the problem.  People don't seek.  The Knight Foundation is a grant making foundation that gives money to projects that promote citizen journalism through use of technology.  It didn't pop up after the Egypt uprising.  It's been around for YEARS and YEARS (since 1950 to be exact).

Tweetmeme-The tweet aggregator

Tweetmeme has several uses.  You can retweet the most popular tweets, find content, and post content.  How do you post?  Add a button to your site.  Users can comment on stories, tweet story comments, and promote your own original content. 

Twtpoll-Do you wanna take a survey?

I got thrown back to my college years when I first saw this site.  I remember surveying people in person and hating it because of shyness.  Now, I can ask unlimited questions, get 400 responses, get Twitter and Facebook comments and embed a widget on my blog, all for free.  I'm a huge fan of the free and as a casual user, Twtpoll is a great tool.  Even if I were someone who needed more features, a one time fee of $89 max for polls and $249 max for surveys isn't bad. Add branding with your personal Twitter handle and this site is golden. Did I mention it's a one-time fee...FOREVER.  For agencies who manage multiple accounts, $79- $129/month isn't bad.

Twellow-A directory of Twitter profiles

Just got done searching and getting to know Twellow, a Twitter Directory.  It's free to register and you can claim your Twitter profile.  It's great to find people to follow in categories that interest you.  If you're a jobseeker, you can follow companies, consultants, and nonprofits.  If you're a nonprofit, you can get listed in activism, volunteer and other categories.  Looking for venture capital?  Follow some VCs. Find out who's in your Twellohood (people who tweet who are geographically near you).

Branchout: Search your friends' contacts to find a job/customers

This is a great tool for jobseekers and those looking to network. It roots through your friends' information to find out company names and associations.  Most jobs are given through referrals.  BranchOut lets hiring managers and business owners see who to headhunt from friends/contacts and we get to see what companies we wish to join via our friend network.  My favorite part?  The job listings.

Paper.li: Create your own mobile newspaper

Turn your social media stream into a newspaper.  Use Paper.li to pull the posts from the people/businesses you follow and store them for up to 24 hours in a newspaper type format on your phone.  No more keeping up with Twitter by constantly checking the stream.  I love the idea of settling down with my caffeine free tea, my mobile phone and enjoying my voyeur-like tendencies at the end of a busy day.

Ow.ly: The best way to shorten a bit.ly link

Wow.  I just shrunk http://on.msnbc.com/emW7NL (from bit.ly) to http://ow.ly/4iokZ on ow.ly, effectively giving myself more characters for Twitter writing.  While I like that they have an open API, I'm not a fan of having to use captcha every time I want to shorten a link.  The only way around that is to sign up for their service.  If you're like me and you are commitment-shy, this isn't the site for you.  However, if you want really short links and want to keep track of analytics, then maybe we can get over our fear of commitment together...Don't want to give up information...then sign in using Twitter. Ow.ly is the platform used by Hootsuite.

Bit.ly: Where'd all the letters go?

Nemo eats them. I use bit.ly to shorten and keep track of my links.  I love it..it's quick, easy to use and best of all, FREE.  They have an open API and if you want, you can always upgrade to a premium plan (no thanks says the cheap bird here).  How to use it: paste a link into the box.  Ex: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42183807/ns/business-oil_and_energy/?gt1=43001

Press shorten and Nemo gets to work. He leaves us with http://on.msnbc.com/emW7NL.  Now, you don't have to worry about that 140 character limit on Twitter.

Does anyone else find it funny that a company with a fish as a logo began at a place called Betaworks?

ps, I call the fish "Nemo"...I don't know his real name.

Instagr.am: Having been born too late for the telegram, this will definitely do

Are you like me and wish you lived in during the olden days/days of yesteryear, just to receive a telegram?  Well, now you can get one via your smartphone.  Ok...via an iPhone.  You can share photos to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and check-in to Foursquare with this app.  Instagr.am features 11 filters, including color, tonality, border, and mood.  With an open API for developers, it's a definite "win".

Storify: unleasing the storyteller in all of us

Use Storify to collect social media stories from around the web.  Compile them and turn them into one big story that uses embedded links to post online. Right now, potential users have to request an invite.  Totally worth it.  Storify can be used in Mailchimp, Tumblr, Posterous and WordPress.

Embed.ly: the service that leaves me speechless

That's hard to do and it's why Embed.ly won my respect.  Connecting visuals (videos, pictures) and audio to Twitter and other sites embedded in URLs was a winning idea and I'm glad someone acted on it. It includes an API, analytics, and is relatively inexpensive ($20/month with a 50,0000 URL ceiling).

MailChimp: Reliving my youth through email

The Mailchimp logo looks like a cousin of Curious George.  I fell in love instantly.  Not only can I use it for free to create mailing lists of under 2,000 people and 12,000 emails/month, but the emails can include co-branding, social stats, facebook integration, templates and more.  It's also Storify friendly. This is perfect for enterepreneurs, startups and small nonprofits.

Sparked.com--microvolunteering at its best

Sparked.com asks a few basic questions: What's your favorite cause and in what areas can you help?  You're then sent to project pages of nonprofits that have specific questions.  A hospital in one of the M states needed help with getting people to interact on their Facebook page.  They weren't asking for "likes" and you don't have to "like" them to see the page.  Those who answered gave constructive criticism with 5 star advice.  Another organization asked for people to peruse their blog and give them feedback (on sparked.com) about their posting, layout, etc. Who doesn't like 5 minute volunteering or an open API?   

Foursquare-Don't underestimate its power

An article in Fast Company sums up the power of Foursquare really well.  This BizSpark company grew into over 15 million venues via check-in over the past couple of years.  Yes, it's great for businesses, people love badges (it's the only time I'd ever consider being Mayor), and more nonprofits are using it for fundraising.  Businesses without physical locations don't have to worry.  Now Foursquare is manually creating Pages just for you...want your own badge? Come up with a campaign that's super compelling and you Foursquare will create one for you.

DoGooder, You Tube and the NonProfit Video Awards

Do a good deed, make an awesome video, get votes and win big on YouTube for your favorite cause/nonprofit.  While you're there, sign up for the Daily DoGooder email to learn about what other people and nonprofits are doing. 

Animoto

Sign up for the Animoto nonprofit program to get professional tools for free.  Make a video from your event photos, ad music and wording and voila, a video ready for YouTube is born.  Animoto even provides music.  Y

You Tube

24 hours of America's Funniest Home Videos, informercials, music videos and more.  I use YouTube to learn how to use applications, software, listen to music, and even watch a dog use a remote to turn the TV channel.  Nonprofits should be using it to showcase their good deeds, learn about technology and share videos about their cause and work.  I love YouTube's Nonprofit Channel and Do Gooder Awards (recently DoGooder (See3 Communications) also sends out daily emails highlighting worthy nonprofits using technology the right way).  If you only have pictures, don't worry...Animoto allows people and businesses to turn their photos into videos for posting online.

AOL 365

I can't wait until April (and not just because of my birthday).  AOL 365 launches.  This initiative gives nonprofits exposure on the front page (top right corner) of AOL's site.  How do you get on the homepage?  Through contests.  They're highlighting one nonprofit/day for a year.

Salute to Service

This site, presented by Causecast highlights organizations that help veterans.  It launched in time for Veteran's Day 2010.  Salute to Service organizations are veteran organizations on the Causecast website.

CauseCast

CauseCast helps nonprofits market online via platforms and apps.  The nonprofits are vetted through their CauseCast (nonprofit) site.  Through the nonprofit site, one can look for volunteer opportunites and ways to donate.  Nonprofits that are willing to give financial information (990s) can apply to join.  CauseCast has a partnership with HuffingtonPost. PS...they're hiring and looking for interns in Culver City, CA.