Ed. Note: As we prepare for the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference, we wanted share a wee bit of the wisdom our speakers will be serving up, so as not to overwhelm you when you get to Atlanta. We're asking them all to share their answers to five very important questions.

Speaker: Mark Rovner, Sea Change Strategies

Session: That's Not Funny: Using Humor in Online Communications 

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

A greater focus on campaign core priorities: the story, the message, the call to action.  The emphasis will be on integration, good emotional engagement, and simplicity and less on channel frenzy.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

Because non-profits come off to the world as humorless, stern schoolmarms, and it hurts the cause.  The people who work inside non-profits are some of the funniest people I know, but the non-profits they work for are, um, not funny.

Humor is an extraordinarily powerful tool, even when we’re discussing serious topics.  Right now we all suck at it.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

That it’s better to offend one person and electrify your core audience than to bore everyone to tears – which is what most non-profits do.

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Grover.  No contest.  He’s a muppet of action.  He cares.  He doesn’t take himself too seriously.  And he’s blue!!!!

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)? 

• Blog:www.seachangestrategies.com/blog
• Twitter (and almost everywhere else) @mjrovner