This blog is for volunteers, webmasters and administrators of associations, clubs, charities, communities and other groups. We discuss issues and trends in modern web technologies that help your organization achieve more with less. This blog is sponsored by Wild Apricot membership software: a set of tools for membership administration, event registration, website management, online fundraising - with friendly and knowledgeable tech support. See for yourself how affordable and easy it is to use: - Take a tour!

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• 20 August 2008

  Tech Support for Free and Open-Source Software 

  This is the third part of our series on free and open-source software and the resources to help your organization make the most of what FOSS has to offer. When you need to know the meaning of a word, you flip open a dictionary. It’s a trusted authority. It gives the information you need to use an essential tool (language) more effectively. Wouldn’t it be great if support for free and open-source software (FOSS) was just that easy? Users of open-source software — and particularly those users without Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 20, 2008 4:55 PM by Rebecca | 0 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Volunteers, online community, training, open source

• 13 August 2008

  An Introduction to Free and Open Source Software 

  As more cash-strapped non-profits, businesses, and individuals turn to free or open-source software to stretch their budgets, the open-source movement is booming. There may be no better time to talk frankly about the realities of using free or open-source software in your organization. For just about any type of “brand name” software you can name, there are FOSS alternatives available or in development. Some of the open-source software is remarkably sophisticated, too; as feature-rich as their commercial Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2008 3:07 PM by Rebecca | 5 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, online community, open source

• 11 June 2008

  Crowdsourcing: How Business and Nonprofits Tap into the Wisdom of Crowds  

  “Welcome to the age of the crowd,” wrote Jeff Howe in The Rise of Crowdsourcing (2006). In coining the term "crowdsourcing," Howe pointed to the rise of the open-source software movement; to the success of user-created Wikipedia; and to profitable businesses like MySpace and eBay “that couldn’t exist without the contribution of users.” Nowadays, user-driven innovations and crowdsourced solutions are popping up faster than you can say "open API" and "online community"... Read More... Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:01 PM by Rebecca | 2 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, online community, case studies, collaboration, open source, crowdsourcing