The  Non-profits  that  successfully  integrate  Web  2.0  tools  and  techniques  effectively  into  their  communications  and  programming  strategies  are  showing  signs  of  breaking  away  from  the  pack  and  reaping  the  many  benefits  Web  2.0  has  to  offer.  They  do  not  necessarily  raise larger  dollar  amounts  than  others  but,  the  Web  2.0  enabled  organizations  are  reaching  large  amounts  of  new  potential  donors,  particularly  younger  groups,  and  laying  important  ground  work  for  the  next  generation  of  philanthropic  supporters.   

Web 2.0 Adoption  Challenges  When  it  comes  to  putting  web  2.0  opportunities  into  practice  in  the  humdrum everyday  nonprofit  work,  most  non-profits  must  deal  with  adoption  issues,  as a recent  study  from  the  Overbrook  Foundation  has  shown.   In  spite  of  the  popularity  of  many  Web  2.0  tools  like  social  networking  and socialized  media,  a  lot  of  nonprofits  are  just  embarking  on  the  early  stages of exploration;  some  are  even  paralyzed  by  unanswered  questions  or  concerns, a  lack  of  knowledge  or  skills,  concerns  about  control  of  branding  or messaging,  or  others  simply  do  not  view  web  2.0  as  a  priority.  Many organizations  feel  pressured  to  adopt  these  tools  or  see  Web  2.0  as  a  trend that  will  go  the  way  of  the  dodo.   

Some  nonprofits  feel  that  they  need  to  adopt  a  new  way  of  making  their allies the  carriers  of  their  message,  and  their  mission.  To  help  make  this  shift happen,  there  is  a  need  to  educate  more  nonprofits  about  what  potential Web  2.0  tools  offer  to  them  and  the  most  practical  ways  to  get on  the  bandwagon. It  took  years  for  many  organizations  in  the  nonprofit  world  to  change  from faxes  to  using  email  and  it  will  most  assuredly  be  the  same  when  bridging the  gap  from  Web  1  to  Web  2.0.    Those  organizations  that  have  successfully  answered  the  question  and  found out  why  Web  2.0  is  so  important  are  now  starting  to  grapple  with  the following  questions:   

How does this affect our mission?  

And how do we do this the right way?

Read how they get answers from GutZy Women LLC here:

The demographics of Internet usage, especially with reference to the sexes, have been subject to great speculation ever since the advent of the Internet. Do men and women use Internet the same way or differently? What do women think of the Internet? How do they negotiate this space and how they use it? What exactly is the Internet being used for by women? What are women’s hopes, dreams and fears about the Internet?

A million significant questions to which there are no easy answers, if only because of the constantly evolving dynamics between the sexes. Most studies on the way men and women use the Internet reveal that men are still first out of the blocks when it comes to trying out the newest innovations and latest technologies. They are also more demanding in their quest for Internet activities—logging on more often and spending more online when they do.

Closing the Gender Gap

Recent trends in internet usage however indicate that, although the percentage of women using the Internet still lags slightly behind the percentage of men, the gender gap is slowly closing. Women are steadily catching up in overall use of the Internet and they are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on strengthening connections with other people. A recent Burst Media survey indicated that 66.1% of women claim their lives are likely to be disrupted if they had to do without Internet access for even one week.

The Internet as a tool for Communicating:

The demographics of Internet usage, especially with reference to the sexes, have been subject to great speculation ever since the advent of the Internet. Do men and women use Internet the same way or differently? What do women think of the Internet? How do they negotiate this space and how they use it? What exactly is the Internet being used for by women? What are women’s hopes, dreams and fears about the Internet?

Go here to discover the answers to the questions:

RSS Feed Sounds Like a Name for a Company that Sells Feed for Livestock.

Web 2.0 lingo just keeps getting weirder. What the heck is RSS, now? No wonder the “common folk” roll their eyes, cross their arms and look at
“web savvy” folk like they’re from another planet! The “techies” try to convince
everybody that each new internet communication capability is a MUST HAVE
in order to compete for eyeballs and dollars.

Naturally, the more that’s bombarding us, the more we curl into the
“rolly polly bug” position in order to protect ourselves from the stress
of being overwhelmed or made to look stupid. I totally understand!
My family worries about me when Im curled up in the fetal position
in my bed after a long night spent in front of my computer.

But here’s the deal: When we perceive something as difficult, we put up
barriers to understanding…especially if NEW WORDS or names we’re
not familiar with are involved. For example…I remember when FAX machines
first came out. What the heck was it and how in the world did it work?

One thing for sure is that it changed the way we did business. It made
commerce, legalities and communication faster and easier to conduct across
space and time like no other. Now, they’re practically extinct because of
internet technology. And if you thought faxing was easy and fast, wait
’til you see what RSS FEED technology can do!

Even the name itself conveys the fact that RSS can SIMPLIFY your life!
It stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and once you see what it can
do for YOU, you’ll be extremely motivated to add it to your online strategy!

Just listen to Joanne Quinn-Smith , AKA  Techno Granny, and Debbie
Ducic, AKA GutZy Woman as they discuss what RSS is, how you use it
and what the benefits are.  If you don’t “unroll” and open up to it and then
implement it, you’re CRAZY!

Just listen to the “podcast”  below by clicking on the green square to start
the recording, sit back and hear these two these “babyboomers”  get excited
about the possibilities! If you listen well, YOU can’t help from be excited too!

If you’re not, then be prepared to “roll into oblivion”!

This series of articles can be used to glean knowledge and know how from two very qualified and experienced technology guys. In part 1, Frank Klein, who has been an educator and technology administrator for 40 years talks about how Web 2.0 affects and benefits students, school teachers and administrators.

Email marketing is an integral part of a successful online promotional strategy. If you’ve ever bought a book from Amazon, a plane ticket on Expedia, or any other product online, you may have opted to receive updates on special offers or promotions.

This is successful email marketing. You’ve opted to receive updates from these companies. You’ve given them permission to send you an email at a later date. This is how successful email marketing starts—with you as a business getting permission to send someone an email.

Your primary email marketing tasks will be to send out important information about your business niche, encourage existing customers to make more purchases with promotional emails and attract new customers with giveaways.

There’s one caveat to this… 

Don’t make every email promotional even if you stated that in your terms and conditions. Why? Most people are hit with promotional only emails everyday. Make yourself stand out by GIVING SOMETHING AWAY first.

Depending on the size of your business, you should target emails at customers based on previous purchases. Many of the larger online businesses have been successful because they’re able to offer products that match customer interests. If your product is in a well-defined niche, you may not have to worry about matching broad interests.

Your email’s reply address and subject line are extremely important. That’s because you still have to get the message opened once it’s in the recipient’s inbox. Even though you’re not spamming, you still have to overcome spam’s stigma.

You’ll find more tips here.