Elijah van der Giessen

I help nonprofits build community.

Category: NetSquared

Tootin’ my own horn: I’m off to Australia! — January 15, 2011

Tootin’ my own horn: I’m off to Australia!

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Connecting Up conference 2011 in Melbourne AustraliaI’ve won a scholarship to participate in Australia’s Connecting Up conference this June.

Whooo!

From NTEN:

NTEN is pleased to announce the winners of our mutual scholarship program with Connecting Up to share nonprofit technology knowledge across the Pacific. Through an application process, two NTEN Members were chosen to attend the Connecting Up Conference (CU11) in Melbourne, Australia, June 1-3, 2011 on a full scholarship!

The lucky folks are Elijah van der Giessen of David Suzuki Foundation and Tatiana Marshall of Oceana. We look forward to hearing about their nonprofit technology adventures down under!

The conference focuses on nonprofit marketing and technology, and my role in Vancouver’s Net Tuesday was key to my successful application, because one of the application questions was “How will you share what you learned when you get back home?” Yay NetSquared and Net Tuesday!

Related articles
Net Tuesday February 1: Should your nonprofit be selling merchandise? —

Net Tuesday February 1: Should your nonprofit be selling merchandise?

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CPAWS toqueDid your favorite nonprofit group send you an email over the holiday campaign season inviting you to buy a calendar, a t-shirt, or baby onesie? I certainly did.

As nonprofits struggle to adapt to changing donation patterns organizations like CPAWS, WWF and Pivot Legal are diversifying their revenue streams by selling merchandise to their supporters. But merchandise programs bring with them a host of new challenges, including inventory management, distraction from the core mission, and the potential to divert donors to a gift stream with lower net revenue.

But merchandise sales also bring lots of potential benefits. Join a panel of experts at Net Tuesday February and learn if selling merchandise is right for your organization.

Issues tackled:

  • Playlist for the Planet t-shirtsWhat makes for a successful sales program?
  • How do you determine your program’s goals?
  • How do you setup a program that will meet your goals?
  • Will merchandise clash with your organization’s values?
  • Can merchandise sales support other organizational goals besides fundraising? How can it be used as an employment creation program?

It’s gonna be an awesome evening, so please RSVP.

Date: Tuesday, February 1
Doors: 5:30pm
Duration: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue: W2 Storyeum, 151 W Cordova

RSVP on Meetup or Facebook.

Hope in Shadows 2011 calendar coverPANELISTS

Net Tuesday March 1: Location-based services —

Net Tuesday March 1: Location-based services

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RSVP

Have you recently “checked-in” or fought for “mayorship” at your favourite restaurant or retail location? With Facebook recently launching its Facebook Places and Foursquare partnering with (RED), location-based services are definitely one of the trending topics in social media right now.

Foursquare (social networking)
Image via Wikipedia

The topic for March is location-based services and how organizations can leverage the technology for social-change. We’re still in the process of curating speakers, so if you know anyone who is knowledgeable about these topics, please let us know at melody.yy.ma@gmail.com

Date: Tuesday, March 1
Doors: 5:30pm
Duration: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue: W2 Storyeum, 151 W Cordova

Special thanks to Melody Ma for volunteering to be this month’s event producer.

Net Tuesday April 5: Tips in Social Media Outreach in Culturally Diverse Communities —

Net Tuesday April 5: Tips in Social Media Outreach in Culturally Diverse Communities

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Social media has opened up an entirely new way for various ethno-cultural communities to connect and share their experiences that affect them. Through a panel discussion, we’ll hear relevant success stories from social media experts and also explore the commonalities and differences among the various communities using social media. We’ll also look at the way diverse communities consume social media (online vs mobile, for example) and what that means for the future. Come learn and share your experiences with us in this very unique session.

Tentative Schedule
630-7pm – people start coming to event
705-715pm – introductions
715-815pm – panel discussion
8-845pm – open dialogue (unconference format)
845-9pm – networking

Vancouver Public Library
Image via Wikipedia

Date: Tuesday, April 5
Location: Vancouver Public Library downtown branch

RSVP:

Background via @KetyE / Huffington Post

Special thanks to Ajay Puri and the Vancouver Public Library for producing this event with Net Tuesday.

Net Tuesday December 2010 slides: Measuring Success with Google Analytics – which traffic sources are more likely to convert? — December 22, 2010
Net Tuesday December – Group buying and conversion-tracking in Google Analytics — November 24, 2010

Net Tuesday December – Group buying and conversion-tracking in Google Analytics

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Hey Net Tuesday-ers,

I’m thrilled to announce that the December Net Tuesday will feature a panel on group buying sites (like Groupon) and a case study demonstrating the use of conversion tracking in Google Analytics. It’s gonna be awesome, so please RSVP.

Date: Tuesday, December 7
Doors: 5:30pm
Duration: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue:  W2 Storyeum, 151 W Cordova

RSVP on Facebook or Meetup

Group buying and deals panel

You’ve probably heard about Groupon, the daily deal site that offers discounts if a minimum number of purchase commitments are made. They’ve already got 18 million subscribers and are continuing to grow rapidly. But did you know that Groupon evolved out of  the social-change focused online community The Point?

  • How can nonprofits and social entrepreneurs make use of Groupon and Groupon-like sites?
  • What’s the best way to structure the deal?
  • Is it right for you and your organization?

Join panelists Annalea Krebs of ethicalDeal and Chris Mathieson of the Vancouver Police Museum as they share their experiences from both the business and client sides of the relationship.

Case study: Conversion tracking with Google Analytics goals

Eli van der Giessen rips apart the David Suzuki Foundation’s recent action alert and uses it as a case study to demonstrate how to use Google Analytics goal-tracking and link tagging to measure which traffic sources are most useful. Which group is more likely to complete an action? Email subscribers or Facebook Like-ers?

Our Sponsor:

A special thanks to our venue sponsor W2 Community Media Arts Society.

Our panelists:

Chris Mathieson is the Executive Director of the Vancouver Police Museum, a self-funded charity that has seen incredible growth (from 3000 to 25,000 visitors a year) over the last five years, partly by being unafraid to take small risks in social media and other emerging technologies.

A few additional notes from Chris:

“- We’ve offered two Groupons since they launched in the Vancouver, one for museum admission and one for our “Sins of the City” walking tour. Both offers were very carefully crafted to benefit us while minimizing our risks, something some companies don’t seem to be doing. Both were significant successes for us, but only because we were thoughtful about what we were doing. (We hope…)”

Annalea Krebs is a passionate social entrepreneur whose vision and energy to build a brighter, more sustainable future inspires those around her. She believes that business can be a powerful force for change, and loves companies that are built to make the world better. For Annalea, ethicalDeal is an opportunity to introduce more people to sustainable businesses, products & services.

Prior to founding ethicalDeal, Annalea managed the sales, marketing and community relations for various social enterprises and green businesses including: TheChange.com, Values-Based Business Network, Organic Islands Festival & Sustainability Expo, ICE Promotions and the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation. Annalea holds a degree in Commerce from Royal Roads University, a Diploma of Technology from BCIT and is a graduate of Leadership Vancouver.

Net Tuesday November notes – online video for nonprofits — November 13, 2010

Net Tuesday November notes – online video for nonprofits

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W2 Community Media ArtsThanks to everyone for coming out and making the panel work (all those hard questions!) A special shout-out goes to W2 Community Media Arts Society, who provided the venue.

Special thanks to panelists:

There’s been an interesting discussion on Pull Focus’ Meatless Mondays video on the Meetup.com page. And you can watch the original “Meathead” video on Youtube.

Resources and presentation slides:

Subtitling:

Videos examples from event:

Free audio resources:

Other cool resources:

Links via Miraj Khaled

Other than youtube grants, projects with feature length video ideas may benefit from the examples &
grant/awards at the Skoll foundation & Participant Media

A youtube success story: one-man’s video journey to change the world

New ways to learn & collaborate:

The Slides:

Net Tuesday December – call for session proposals! —

Net Tuesday December – call for session proposals!

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Next event: Tuesday, December 7

RSVP:

The topic is still undecided. It will probably be a grab-bag of 3-4 presenters. Please email me with suggestions for speakers and topics. eli@vandergiessen.ca

Net Tuesday November 2 – Online video for nonprofits — October 25, 2010

Net Tuesday November 2 – Online video for nonprofits

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My grandpappy always used to tell me to “go where the audience is.” (Well, not really, but he should have! Because it’s great advice.) That’s why most nonprofits joined Myspace, and then abandoned Myspace for Facebook when their supporters made the same move.

TV gets smashed by the internet

So, we use paper mailings, email, webpages, social media, public events…. we go where the people are. And increasingly nonprofits’ current and potential supporters are watching video online. So let’s go there too, because the latest research suggests that 50% of internet users are watching online video at least once a week and 32% of all internet traffic is already video (with that figure expected to double by 2013.)

Net Tuesday November 2010: online video for non-profits

Date: Tuesday, November 2
Time: doors at 5:30pm, Starts at 6:00pm, and finishes at 7:30pm
Location: W2 Storyeum, 151 west Cordova
Special features: amplified audio and adequate seating for all!

RSVP on Facebook or Meetup

Featuring:

  1. A 30-minute overview of the Youtube grants for nonprofits program, plus a demonstration of some fun features like captioning and translation, annotations and call-to-action overlays.
  2. A 1-hour panel with seasoned experts working in the field who will address the hows and whys of video for nonprofit. How can video help advance your mission? Is it worth your time? Where can you find help in creating a video? How do you promote your video? What makes a “viral video”?

Panelists include:

RSVP on Facebook or Meetup

More stuff you should know:

  • The David Suzuki Foundation is hiring a Senior Marketing Coordinator to lead our direct mail and online fundraising. If you or someone you know would be a good fit please apply ASAP.
  • Jason Mogus and Lauren Bacon are presenting “Are you web ready?” for nonprofit leaders on November 9. It promises to be fabulous. I’ll be there, and you should too. RSVP now.
  • FreshMedia is hosting Remixology 3 on November 6. The Topic is “The future of media”
  • Communicopia is looking for a new office-mate. Looking for a new office? Check it out.

 

A/B testing email campaigns – an example — September 19, 2010

A/B testing email campaigns – an example

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September’s Net Tuesday brought up a lot of questions about best practices for email campaigning.

Long or short subject lines? One ask or newsletter style? Weekly or monthly? Text or HTML layouts?

Now I may not be a grizzled old veteran yet, but I’ve already seen that “best practices” for one organization may not necessarily be the optimal strategy for everyone else. So, you have two choices when developing your email campaigns:

  1. you can guess
  2. you can test

I suggest test! It’s fast and easy with most email service providers.

Example using Mailchimp (but almost any major service will do)

NOTE: this was not a statistically valid experiment because of the small size of the test group. I did this as a test of Mailchimp’s functionality and to show how easy it is to setup an A/B test.

I setup an A/B test on the from field of a recent invitation to the Vancouver Net Tuesday group (instructions). The test sent the two variants of the email to a random 30% of the total list, and then after 24 hours automatically sent the winning variant of the email (based on open and clickthru rates) to the rest of the mailing list.

  • Group A: NetSquared Camp
  • Group B: Eli from Net Tuesday

And here’s the stats on the test:

As the French say, “et voilà”.