This blog is for volunteers, webmasters and administrators of associations and nonprofits. We discuss issues and trends in web technologies that help your organization do more with less. The blog is brought to you by Wild Apricot. Our web software helps you manage the 'boring stuff' like membership and contact records, payments, donations, website updates, event registrations, mass emails and more. Wild Apricot starts at just $25 a month (flat monthly fee; tech support and version updates are free). Take 10 seconds to sign up for a free trial and see for yourself.

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• 22 April 2010

  How to Backup Your Ning Network Content 

  Recent changes in Ning’s business model (see News & Views About Change for updates) have Network Creators wondering whether to pay to keep hosting their online communities on the Ning platform, or to start looking at alternatives. We won’t be told the new pricing structure and other details until May 4th, but in the meantime, inevitably, rumors are running rife – and it’s a fresh reminder to backup the content you and your members have worked hard to create online. Back in 2008, founder Marc Read More... Posted Thursday, April 22, 2010 8:00 AM by Rebecca | 2 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, online community, Blogging, Social networking, membership, database, websites, Membership management, data backup, open source, software, content, Ning

• 18 January 2010

  Nonprofit Newsletter: Free Tools to Create and Merge PDFs 

  One small nonprofit I work with has chosen to publish its monthly membership newsletter as a magazine-style document in Portable Document Format (PDF), rather than as an email blast. The idea is to take advantage of a PDF’s ability to retain a consistent appearance across different computer systems: to simplify the job of the newsletter editor, who must put together a lot of different reports submitted by the various committee chairs; to enable readers to share the newsletter easily, regardless of Read More... Posted Monday, January 18, 2010 2:31 AM by Rebecca | 10 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Non-profit Communications, collaboration, PDF, open source, application, software, newsletters

• 25 June 2009

  Portable Apps: Free Software on a (USB) Stick 

  If you work at times on different computers, carrying a USB loaded with free portable software can save you time and help to ensure security - there's no need to download and install the software you need or to risk your data on someone else’s hard drive. Read More... Posted Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:39 PM by Rebecca | 3 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, open source, software

• 08 May 2009

  Free Data Recovery Software to Undelete Lost Files 

  Have you ever accidentally deleted an important file? An image that can't be recaptured, or a document you've worked long hours to prepare? In an over-extended and understaffed small non-profit, rushing to do seven different things at once, deleting the wrong file is an error that can happen all too easily. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be a crisis! When you delete a file through Windows Explorer, that file goes into the Recycling Bin (and similarly, Trash for Mac users) — unless you've changed Read More... Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 8:45 PM by Rebecca | 2 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, office, open source, software

• 18 November 2008

  Top 4 Picks for Free Office Suite Software 

  If you’re running any kind of organization, a suite of office software is essential — at the very least, you need a fairly good word-processing program, a spreadsheet application, and some sort of presentation software. Feature-rich Microsoft Office has made that particular market its own for at least the past decade, but now a few strong alternative software suites are fast gaining ground... Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:26 PM by Rebecca | 7 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, office, Microsoft, Zoho, open source, Google Docs, ThinkFree

• 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 | (Comments Off) Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Volunteers, online community, training, open source

• 15 August 2008

  Does Open-Source Software Fall Down on Usability? 

  This is the second part in our series taking a closer look at free and open-source software : the real costs, the barriers, and the trade-offs; the best FOSS alternatives to “brand name” software; and the resources to help you make the most of it. One of the on-going criticisms of free or open-source software (FOSS), as a general class of software, is that it’s lacking in usability . But what does “usability” really mean — to software developers and to those of us who depend on a collection of software Read More... Posted Friday, August 15, 2008 1:34 PM by Rebecca | 4 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, Usability, nptech, 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

• 21 July 2008

  Top 12 Mind Mapping Tools for Web or Desktop 

  The trick to effective mind mapping is finding the right tool for the job — whether that tool is pen and paper, as Guy Lewis used to unravel his personal life, or dedicated software, as Patrick Lynch used to explain Wild Apricot’s features to his colleagues. What is Mind Mapping? Mind mapping is a non-linear, highly visual method of capturing and organizing ideas. Fans of mind mapping claim that it helps them to be more creative, more productive, and more organized in their thinking and learning. Read More... Posted Monday, July 21, 2008 4:33 PM by Rebecca | 7 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Web 2.0, Non-profit Communications, collaboration, open source

• 07 July 2008

  4 Ways to Put a PowerPoint Presentation on Your Web Site 

  If your organization makes PowerPoint slideshows for special events, meetings and conferences, you've probably put a lot of time and effort into creating each one. Why not get extra mileage from those PowerPoint presentations by putting them onto your website or blog for others to see? Here are four different ways to share PowerPoint files on the Web. Read More... Posted Monday, July 07, 2008 2:45 PM by Rebecca | 20 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, Web 2.0, Widgets, Non-profit Communications, websites, Microsoft, open source, SWF, PowerPoint

• 02 July 2008

  How to Check Your Website on Different Browsers 

  Cross-browser compatibility has long been a frustration for website designers. What looks fine in one browser may be more or less “broken” in another, with sidebars shifted and elements overlapping... But does it really matter, how your website looks in different browsers, in the big picture of what your organization is trying to accomplish online? Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 02, 2008 5:11 PM by Rebecca | 7 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, Usability, nptech, Web 2.0, Best practices, Google Analytics, websites, 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 | 3 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, General non-profit interest, nptech, Web 2.0, online community, case studies, collaboration, open source, crowdsourcing

• 29 April 2008

  Free PDF Tools for Mac 

  When we caught up with educator Dave Riddell on Twitter the other day, he was looking for a new low-cost tool to create and edit PDF files — the web's default format for sharing printable documents. Here, for the benefit of other Macintosh users, he shares his picks for free open-source PDF software. PDF Tools for Mac As an educator, I spend a significant amount of my time immersed in articles and reports as part of my research for grant writing, and curriculum and project development. I try and Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008 12:01 PM by Rebecca | 9 Comments Filed under: Non-profit technology, nptech, PDF, open source

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