Flickr Photo: Snow_girlI feel it's cliche to say that Fall is in the air, but it definitely is. I feel it on my morning bike commute: the chill, dodging children on their way to school, and the generally increased sense of hustle and bustle that continues into the work day. The Affinity Groups were no exception this past week, with lots of advice coming in and big announcements being made.

Take a read through these highlights, then go sign up for the NTEN Discuss email list (or one of the many other Affinity Groups that might suit you).

In our quest to use social media to build a social media curriculum for the sector, our WeAreMedia project has already involved more than 65 people. You've been contributing articles, photos, videos, and mindshare toward a common cause.

Over the last few weeks, our focus has been on social media strategy, or the bigger picture concepts an organization should tackle before worrying about the tools themselves. We have covered how to know if social media is a good fit for your organization, strategy mapping, meeting resistance, storytelling, engagement skills, and ROI.

Last Tuesday, Portland, Oregon saw the launch of a new wiki by Meyer Memorial Trust.

Marie Deathridge, Director of Communications and Learning, explained that MMT wanted to share resources within the foundation but was questioned why this information should be kept within the organization's walls. The goal became to help other organizations openly share knowledge.

What was created is more than just a wiki: it is an integrated non-linear tool for foundations, nonprofits, and citizens to share information and connect around People, Places, and Things. It goes by the name of connec+ipedia. As Amy Sample Ward, NTEN Member, fellow Portland cohort, and MMT Communications & Learning Associate says, "connec+ipedia is, in my opinion, an awesome new tool that will change the way many people think of wikis."

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.

While you should be concerned about zombie attacks every day, it's trickier on Halloween: How can you tell an actual zombie from a child dressed as a zombie? The very funny people at Common Craft provide the answer in their new production, "Zombies in Plain English":

Before you head to Costco, you may want to explore these other zombie survival resources:

• The Zombie Survival Wiki
• The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks
• The Zombie Survival Test
• Shaun of the Dead

And remember, you don't have to be able to run faster than the zombies, you just have to be able to run faster than your friends.

With over 100 active groups and 5,000 users, NTEN's Affinity Groups platform is an incredible resource for those in the nonprofit tech community. There are a variety of discussions constantly taking place, ranging from the very basic and elementary aspects of technology in the nonprofit sector to the more sophisticated and technical.

A lively discussion recently occurred in the general NTEN Discuss Affinity Group about selecting wiki software.

Nokia and Vodafone have launched a new wiki, Share Ideas, designed to help distribute ideas about how mobile phones can be used in civil society.

We here at NTEN and MobileActive.org are pleased to have played a small part in the process of creating the site, bringing people and ideas from the MobileActive.org network to the table. We are thrilled that after two years of hard work, there is increasing recognition and knowledge about how critical mobile phones are as a tool for social change and how important it is for civil society organizations to share ideas and resources.

Please check it out!

The growing user community of Salesforce and the Salesforce Foundation have releases a wiki documenting the nonprofit template; one of the main customizations for nonprofit use that Saleforce has released.

The wiki can be found here. It is a very useful resource for nonprofit thinking about or implementing Salesforce in their organizations. As many of you know, the Salesforce Foundation offers the powerful CRM (constituency relationship management) platform free to nonprofit (up to ten seats). The Foundation also offers a grant program that is aimed at development and dissemination of nonprofit applications and customizations useful for the sector.

We here at NTEN use Salesforce (albeit not with the nonprofit platform). The Salesforce Foundation is also an underwriter of the National Technology Conference.