Duke's Grog

New Version of Experts Exchange

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:22:00 GMT

If you have never used Experts Exchange to get your technology questions answered, we highly recommend it. Technology gurus from around the world volunteer their time to answer user questions. Hardware, software, servers, programming, Excel, databases -- anything you can think of is covered. Experts Exchange is about to lauch Version 10 of its service and we look forward to the enhanced platform that should make finding answers to technology questions even easier.

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NTC Takeaways

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 20:48:00 GMT

At NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in mid-March, as usual I came across a few great finds. In this posting, I talk about Tree Saver, Volunteer Rally, Zerista, and using Google Docs for post-conference note exchanges.

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Book Review: OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet Macro Programming

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I recently had the opportunity to work with Phil Shapiro on a book review for PC World. We discussed OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet Macro Programming by Dr. Mark Alexander Bain. The book covers OpenOffice.org's Calc spreadsheet and its macro programming environment. You can listen to our discussion on YouTube. A transcript of our discussion is posted here.

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Email Attachment Safety

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:33:00 GMT

So you get an email message that looks really, really legitimate. There are no typos, the subject matter could easily apply to you or your organization. You check the domain name of the sender's email address and it is a legitimate organization. Do you go ahead and open the attached Word document? No! Instead, forward the message to VirusTotal, a free scannign service.

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Cloud Power

Thu, 13 May 2010 14:31:00 GMT

There is a lot of hype about "the cloud" these days. We have just begun to explore it's potential. The utility of the cloud that attracted us is in the ability for distributed systems to multiply computing power to serve an important cause. Green Moon has signed up on a trial basis to participate in Stanford University's Folding@Home protein research project.

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Donation System Marketing Tips

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As a follow-up to our participation in the Day of Service at the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC), I am posting an excerpt of our slide presentation. Our project was to work with an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization and identify technologies and strategies for them to begin receiving online donations. The crux of our presentation was focused on donation systems that we felt were the right fit for the specific organization we were helping. The part of our presentation that was focused on marketing donation systems is posted on Slide Share where you can view it.

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A Farewell to Tronn

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:09:00 GMT

Tronn Carson was a friend and an invaluable contributor to Green Moon Solutions. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to him and extend our sympathies to his family.

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File Sharing Tools

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:50:00 GMT

I was recently asked to provide a summary of online file sharing tools. I thought I'd post that summary here. I touched on some of these tools in a previous blog about collaboration, but I will describe more resources here.

I have listed the tools in two categories: web-based and desktop-based.

Web-based

Basecamp (Milestones, To-Do Lists, File Repository): www.basecamphq.com
Project Spaces (Document library/version control, task lists, calendar): www.projectspaces.com
Box (Workspaces, document sharing/version history, document commenting): www.box.net
Drop.io (a free service up to 100 MB, private shared spaces): drop.io
Files Anywhere (Synchronization, version control): www.filesanywhere.com
iCloud (store, organize, open, share files) www.icloud.com

Desktop -- synchronize/collaborate files across multiple computers

Dropbox (Free, includes version tracking, Windows-Mac-Linux): www.getdropbox.com
Windows Live Sync (free, but requires free Windows Live account, Mac & PC): sync.live.com
Mesh – another Microsoft Live tool (free, but only does synchronizing, but can also sync your phone with your pc): www.mesh.com
NomaDesk: http://www.nomadesk.com/
Microsoft Groove (PC only): office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/HA101656331033.aspx

Worm Virus -- No April Fools Joke!

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:13:00 GMT

Many Windows computers are believed to be infected by the "Conficker" worm virus. The worm is due to activate on April 1st, 2009. No one seems to know exactly what it will do. However, its ability to duplicate itself and avoid detection has many security experts worried. You can read more about it here and here and here.

It is pretty easy to protect yourself against it.

First, make sure you have installed Windows updates and patches: http://update.microsoft.com (you must access this site by using Internet Explorer).

Second, make sure your antivirus program is updated.

Third, if you cannot reach both of the following pages from your browser, you are likely infected:

Source:
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-088A.html

PowerShift - Activist Tools

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I only recently heard of PowerShift because a friend of mine was involved in it and he thought I should go. On first glance at the information posted on the event website, I wondered why -- the event was geared toward high school and college aged environmental activists. Now, I consider myself an environmentalist, but it seemed like I would be out of place at the conference.

However, as I looked through the many workshops and panel discussions, I realized that I could learn a lot by attending. Young adults are very technologically savvy and they are now driving changes in how the Internet is being used. I thought that surrounded by 12,000 enthusiastic, smart, young people, it was quite likely that I would hear or see something that would benefit my work and the work of other non-profit organizations.

So, are there any breakthrough technologies that these young people are using that we don't know about? No. However, what I did find is that they seem to use the technologies in ways that are more open and creative than some of us may be used to. PowerShift itself was organized on the Internet -- email, Facebook, MySpace, blogs, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr were employed to get the word out, organize workshops, invite participants, and encourage community.

During the conference, participants were encouraged to post to Twitter and Flickr. Twitter updates were embedded into the PowerShift website and that page was displayed on flatpanel screens all around the convention center.

However, I have seen all of the above done before (e.g., last year at the NTC). Even though the technologies being used have been around for most of Web 2.0's duration, I did find that the PowerShifters thought about them a little differently.

First, regarding Facebook, we know about using Facebook to set up groups and pages, from which events can be created and sent to members. We know about posting photos and videos and having discussions on Facebook. But, the PowerShifters were savvy about using Facebook's Causes application. Anyone with a Facebook account can start a cause (or many causes). Causes help people to make others aware of an issue and to track their "impact" -- the number of people who joined the cause and the total dollars donated (Facebook processes donations through Network for Good). Causes can also be used to gather petition signatures that can then be sent to elected officials.

A key point that I heard discussed multiple times at PowerShift was that local, grassroots efforts were the most effective. One example of this is the Humane Society. Although a large national (and international) organization, it works at a very local level. Instead of having one Cause for the society, it has over 1,200 local causes. That allows volunteers in Wichita, Kansas or Rochester, New York to connect with local people and make good things happen. It is important for large organizations to find a way to appeal to people on a more personal basis -- and having local causes is one way to do that.

Another technology being heavily used was cell phones. Attendees were asked to volunteer to be state or local organizers by sending a text message to a 5-digit number. The idea was that the attendees were there, energized, and wanting to participate -- so they were asked to immediately take on leadership roles. They weren't asked to go home and think about it and then reply later -- PowerShift asked them to take immediate action. Imagine the network that was instantly created -- a network of leaders.

Throughout the conference, attendees were asked to take action, to take responsibility, and to show leadership. They were not talked at -- their voices were requested to be heard.

One final concept that was evident at PowerShift -- speakers and presenters said that it was important for organizers not to wed themselves to any specific technology, as no one knows what the next Facebook or Twitter might be, nor when it will appear. It was stressed that organizers needed to remain flexible and be able to adapt to whatever future technologies might provide the greatest leverage and efficiencies.

PowerShift organizers were able to bring 12,000 young people from across the country together for one weekend. This was only their second conference. The first one in 2007 had 6,000 attendees -- they were able to double attendance from one conference to the next.

Yes, they used the latest technology -- but nothing more exotic than we already know about. But, they harnessed that technology and used it quickly, locally, and effectively.