Are you ready for the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference? 

We're playing host to over 100 breakout sessions this April 3-5, and we're delighted to bring you a video preview of just a few of those, including Scott Lenger of Beaconfire Consulting.

Here, Scott highlights some of the points from his session, Engaging Mobile Design. 

If you you can't join us in San Francisco, remember that you can see Scott and many others from the comfort of your desk thanks to the NTC Online!

We probably don't need to convince you that mobile's becoming increasingly important to the nonprofit sector. I mean, at least 43.5 million people use their phone to check email on a daily basis and almost 7% of U.S. web traffic now comes from mobile devices.

So we're excited to hear Kelly McIvor's perspective. He's been in the business for 19 years, focused on the creation and marketing of new mobile products and services. We've engaged him to talk about the key elements of "Creating a Mobile Strategy".

> Learn more and register today.

Today, I’m live blogging a few sessions from the 2011 Millennial Donor Summit. This session focuses on how to successfully get started with mobile technology, with Tonia Zampieri from Smart Online presenting.

Last week, we asked our Facebook community what tech goodies they hoped to receive this holiday season. The most popular answer? The iPad of course! In case you were lucky enough to get one of these goodies recently, I thought you might like a couple of tips about how to turn the best mobile movie and book machine into something close to productive as well.

I got an iPad last summer, and after six months of heavy-duty use, I have a few suggestions for apps you can actually use to get work done.  In no particular order, my favorites:

Flickr: visit~ fingerlakesWhere I come from, there's a lake, and every year on the Saturday before Labor day when the sun goes down, everyone who lives on that lake turns off their house lights, lines their waterfront with lit red flares, and builds a bonfire. This is how we mark the end of summer (high tourist season) and the beginning of a new year. For the past few years, I've been in Portland, OR, far away from this tradition -- which may explain why it feels a bit like September has smacked us over the head, as it walked unannounced into our summer party.

Regardless of how it got here, it's already September and before we know it, October, November, and December will soon follow. In preparation for your end-of-year campaigns, NTEN has devoted September to talking about fundraising. I thought I'd do my part with a few of 2010's best resources (so far).

Corinne Ramey, MobileActive.org

Although nonprofits in the United States have been slower to embrace mobile phones for some purposes than the rest of the world, mobiles are catching on as a way to reach diverse populations across the U.S.

Nonprofits and government agencies are using mobiles for purposes including monitoring, education, and instant alerts and communication.

Lack of knowledge is a bigger problem preventing adoption than cost. Nonprofits interested in mobile need to think outside the box in terms of creative message content and new ways of reaching their audiences.