Flickr Photo: Daniel F PigattoWe've started a new project to help aggregate the many amazing social media resources out there and develop a social media training curriculum that anyone in the sector can use. The best part is, we're making it happen in true Web 2.0 style. This is content truly created by and for our sector.

The amazing Beth Kanter is working on this project with us, and we've started work on the very first module for the curriculum: Why Should Nonprofits Embrace Social Media?

How did you pitch a blog, flickr, or twitter to your boss? Is there a metaphor you use to describe social media? Share your experiences with us on the wiki. Everything you share contributes to a richer curriculum we can all use in the future.

Flickr Photo: celestehodgesChange is buzzing through our ears -- and not just from the Obama campaign,but in the NTEN Affinity Groups, as well.

Marc Osten, Summit Collaborative, invites us to join a discussion that puts Web 2.0 on the hot seat, asking, "Will Web 2.0 be the tool set we need to change the world?" View the conversation here.

Mark's idea for this discussion stems from a recent thread on the UK Riders list. The UKRider thread was started by David Wilcox, who shared a bit about Clay Shirky's book, Here Comes Everyone. Shirky states the following regarding Web 2.0.:

Does this chart make you want to rethink your Facebook strategy?

Facebook Apps

Flickr Photo: zombophotoI do a lot of traveling and talk to lots of people about social media and why I think it matters for nonprofits. I give a good twenty minutes about how the ground has shifted under our feet and social media is aligned with our current values as a society and a sector. It's one of those 10,000 feet view sorts of things.

And while I think that most people really appreciate the context, I can practically HEAR them thinking as I talk, "Yeah, but how the heck do I actually figure this stuff out?"

I usually give a few pieces of advice and then start showing off the tools that matter most to me. Now I have some new sources of inspiration for my talks. Chris Brogan has a great post today that consists almost entirely of questions:

• What were your first steps into social media?
• Who were your early people you admired and followed?
• How did you get started?
• If you were going to give advice to someone starting out, what would you tell them?
• What will you do in the next few months with social media?

There are dozens of comments with answers already, and they reveal some pretty great advice to folks who are currently wondering how to get started with social media. A few of the points come up again and again:

Flickr Photo: savolskertsonNo matter which side of the political aisle you sit on, there's no doubt that social media is having a big impact on this presidential race. We even dedicated a whole newsletter issue to the topic.

My favorite stories are the ones that don't actually involve the campaigns. I love hearing about ordinary citizens starting up FaceBook groups or MySpace pages for their candidates, making democracy their own.

The latest example to come to my attention? Super.del.egates.us for Obama. No endorsement of candidates here, just sheer admiration for Jo and Michelle for taking the reigns of democracy into their own hands and empowering others by using a wiki.

It gives me hope on days when Hillary, Barack, and John all film spots for a WWE episode instead of debating.

Flickr Photo: Capt KodakIt's not about the technology, it's about the people.

You are not marketing, you are building community.

In case you need to remind yourself, or others, of these principles, check out Twistori. It's a perfect example of what social media is all about: people. It exposes the humanity that makes social media so powerful -- our love, our hate, our thoughts, our beliefs.

The next time you're thinking about how to get your message out in social media, visit Twistori. Then think about how you can help inspire, motivate, and excite the people in your community instead.

Chris BroganAre you an NTEN member? Then you're in luck! Chris Brogan, social media expert, is going to be kind enough to share an hour with us next week for an Ask the Expert session.

Okay, so Chris prefers to say he's not an expert, but that he advises people on social media use. That doesn't change the fact that he's smart and savvy on the social media front. One of his specialties? Starting and maintaining conversations with stakeholders.

If your organization is trying to figure out how to move your stakeholders from passive listeners to passionate participants, this is your golden opportunity. NTEN Members get exclusive access to ask questions and hear them answered, for free!

Join us on Monday, May 5 at 11am Pacific for this phone call and live chat. The event is free for NTEN members, so sign up today.

Let's see how many social media metaphors I can cram into one post, shall we? :)

Jeremiah Owyang has a piece today about trust. I don't know if you've felt this lately, but I certainly have: we're head over heels for trust in the sector these days. I wrote a bit about it back in November. Katya Andresen and Mark Rovner think it's one of the seven things everyone wants. Search for "trust" on Beth's Blog and you'll come up with myriad posts. Search for trust on the NTEN website and you'll get dozens of job listings where "building trust" is in the job description.

But back to Jeremiah's post. Want to guess what the number one source of trusted information is for most Americans?

Flickr Photo: ourlady ofdisgraceDoes your organization blog? Do you encourage folks to post pictures online? Perhaps you have a video podcast?

If your organization uses social media tools, you want to bookmark the Berkman Center's new Citizen Media Legal Guide. It's not completely built out yet -- I couldn't find any information about Libel and Blogs for example. But the resources that ARE live are great. Here are just a few resources that address some of the questions I hear all the time:

• Deciding Whether and How to be Anonymous
• Deciding Whether and How to License Your Content
• Journalism Skills and Principles

I am especially looking forward to the forthcoming "Special Content" section which will cover enticing topics like "Employee Blogs." Did that sound sarcastic? I really mean it. I'm excited to see some really practical guidelines to which we can point the sector.

Flickr Photo: not waltonSince I became Executive Director of NTEN last November, the number of things I've needed to stay on top of has exploded. On any given day, I need to be an expert in:

• Social Media tools and strategies
• DNS settings
• Nonprofit and Board Governance
• How innovative nonprofits are using technology
• The state of municipal wireless
• Email open rates
• Human resources laws
• Anything and everything NTEN members are up to
• And everything anyone is saying about NTEN

My old way of managing information was not cutting it. Although I use a lot of social media tools, I was very email-inbox centric. My inbox was the place I kept articles I wanted to read later, ideas I wanted to follow up on, and all of my to-do items.

The result? If you emailed me in the last three months, I probably didn't respond very quickly, if at all. That's no way to lead a membership organization.