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: Beth Kanter & Allison Fine, Authors, The Networked Nonprofit

Session: The Networked Nonprofit: Using Social Media to Power Social Networks for Change

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

We think that the nonprofit sector is entering a new and exciting phase of use of social media. We collectively dipped our toes into the social media waters over the last two to five years. Organizations set up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. They've found that using social media is easy, however, using it for social change isn't always easy. Exploring what it means to use social media for social change - and more specifically what it means for nonprofits, how they have to think and work differently, is the next phase of development.

There are more than a few things to do at the Nonprofit Technology Conference. (What? You haven't registered yet? The regular rate goes up on Monday, so get going!)

Since I started working on the NTC -- and its predecessor, the RoundUp -- almost a decade ago, my very favorite part has been the Day of Service.

Whether you're a social media maven, an online fundraising guru, or a wireless networking champ, you can lend a hand. It's simple:

Net2 NTEN

Over the last week, technology has played an unprecedented role in bringing aid to and saving lives in Haiti.

That's social media for social good, and that's exactly what NetSquared and NTEN want to highlight with Beth Kanter this spring at SXSWi.

Here are some of the things you already know about Beth:

Flickr Photo: Vermin IncOn Wednesday, the kind folks at Russ Reid allowed me to invade a little think tank they held with some clients about social media and its applications in the nonprofit organization. I was lucky enough to listen to three organizations talk about their excitement, frustrations, challenges, and successes with social media all day.

We spent the last part of the day talking about the hard part of social media: the organizational challenges and obstacles. Despite all the challenges -- the fear of change, the lack of time, and even the lack of real ROI at this point -- each organization is firmly committed to staying the course with social media.

This led me to wonder: what's in the DNA of each of these orgs that allows them to embrace change and experiment?

Flickr Photo: clevercupcakesI recently got an email from an NYU graduate student in Public Relations, Paola Christina Lamarca. She's working on her Capstone and wanted to hear a few of my opinions about the impact of social media on the nonprofit sector. I answered a few questions for her, but I told her your two cents would be even more valuable.

The SXSW Interactive Festival (scheduled March 12-16, 2010 in Austin, Texas) is a mega huge social media industry event. The final program is done through a combination of an open submission and community voting process. The panel picker process just opened - so you can vote yes or no for the panels you think are worthy of being on the program or not until September 4th.

The nonprofit presence at SXSW has been growing steadily over the past couple of years. In 2008, I was on one of the few nonprofit panels on the agenda. It was organized by Ed Schipul. At the end of that panel, we all hoped there would be a larger nonprofit presence on the agenda for this 2009. And yes, indeed, in 2009 there were many more panel proposals about or by folks who work with nonprofits and voting. Last year, many more nonprofit panels made it onto the agenda and there was even a nonprofit lounge hosted by BeaconFire.

So, let's get out the nonprofit vote for panels at SXSW!

Beth Kanter, Beth's Blog

ROI -- or Return on Investment -- is a pre- and/or post-evaluation process and analysis of three factors: benefits, costs, and value of a specific technology purchase over time. ROI can help your organization avoid a technology purchase that is a huge mistake -- or avoid not investing in a technology that could return many dividends.

But if you approach ROI as a just a financial analysis, you're missing the point.

Flickr Photo: _ESAmy Sample Ward lays out 5 strategic steps for measuring the ROI of social media for your organization. There are no easy equations, but this is sound advice on how to go from identifying the problem (or goal) to measuring the impact of a social media strategy (or tool).

What do you know, NTEN made the news! Check out this Chronicle of Philantrhopy article about our recent scholarship fundraising campaign. Thanks again, y'all!

Allyson Kapin offers 10 Best Web Content Practices over on the Care2 blog. Design is nice, but content is still king!

Beth Kanter is cited in an LA Times article announcing the Attributor and Creative Commons collaboration with FairShare. Nice! And just because Beth went all Hollywood doesn't mean she's not still walking the walk: check out her latest online campaign announcement to see how easy it is to feed hungry children by engaging online.

Just what I've been looking for: Idealist.org published a handbook for changing the world. Thanks!

Finally, I love it when our members team up for good causes! Watershed Company, Mobile Commons, and the Humane Society of the United States worked together to provide this case study on mobile giving campaigns. NTEN members rock when it comes to being generous with their awesomeness!

Flickr Credit: OllyhartPhilip King, President and CEO of Artez Interactive, has a great podcast series called Digital Fundraising. He interviews nonprofit technology rockstars. His most recent episode is a conversation with NTEN's own Holly Ross.

Philip asks Holly about the big picture: where we've come from and where we're going in the nonprofit sector when it comes to that crazy thing we call "technology."