Did you miss out on getting a ticket to DrupalCon in DC later this week? Are you super bummed about it?

Well, if you're an NTEN Member, cheer up! Even though the conference has been sold out for a month, we happen to have 5 tickets available.

If you still want to purchase a ticket -- they're $250 a piece; we only get to give out purchasing rights, not the tickets themselves -- just be one of the first 5 NTEN Members to leave a comment on this post, and you'll not only be able to attend the conference, you might even get to hang out with me, too!

Flickr Photo: Caro WallisI've come across a lot of things this week from and about you rocking NTEN members. The thing is, it's not just a lot of activity -- especially for AUGUST -- it's the kinds of things you guys are doing and saying that's so impressive.

Here we go:

lolnptechHere's this week's installment of the online news and contributions from and about NTEN members.

First up, some contributions to nonprofit technology tips, how-tos, and insights:

Flickr Photo: El Negro MagnificoWe like to hear about our members in the news and acknowledge their activity online. Last week, I happened to see the following about NTEN members:

> NTEN member Nancy Schwartz, of Getting Attention, announced the 12 nonprofits with the most votes in her 2008 Nonprofit Tagline Award Competition, including NTEN members UNICEF and the American Lung Association. Congratulations! Look for her full report on nonprofit taglines in September.

> Several members were cited in the recent NonProfitTimes article about Facebook's Causes: read about how Network for Good, Rick Christ of NPAdvisors, PETA, and the American Red Cross have incorporated Causes into their fundraising and outreach strategies.

> Convio's Connection Cafe highlights NTEN member Farra Trompeter and her relatively new firm, Big Duck.

> Convio gets some love in the news, too, with the announcement that Susan G. Komen for the Cure is deploying Convio's SaaS tools to integrate their communications, fundraising, and relationship management.

> Two members weigh in on what "open source" really means when it comes to deploying FOSS software at your organization. Michelle Murrain, current coordinator of NOSI (Nonprofit Open Source Initiative), says open source solutions are usually free, as in "free kittens", while Randy McCabe, founder and CEO of MPower, an open source CRM provider, takes a crack at defining what "open" really means when it comes to open source CRM solutions for nonprofits.

> If you didn't get to attend the 2008 BlogHer conference, NTEN member Amy Sample Ward has you covered. She couldn't go either, but decided to connect via Second Life. Amy did some live blogging to keep you all tuned in.

Flickr Photo: 2-Dog-FarmIt's been a while since I've posted a round-up of the online news and activity of NTEN members, but that's because there's been so much going on with you all, not to mention around here at NTEN!

On this afternoon before a long weekend, I thought I'd channel my cabin-fever energy into a roundup of what I've seen online this week from and about NTEN members:

In case you hadn't noticed, NTEN's been growing: in content, services, community and membership. In fact, we are very happy to announce today our 1500th NTEN member for 2008, Claire Murray, who joined NTEN over the weekend.

Welcome, Claire, and thank you to all our members, newly joined or with NTEN from the beginning, in 2000, when membership was a proud 150 in count. In 8 years we've grown by 10 times our original size!

Flickr Photo: alexander drachmannWe started the week off here at NTEN with a Q&A session with Chris Brogan, who answered questions from NTEN members about engaging people through social media. In case you missed it, you can see a transcript of the questions in the materials section (and if you're a member of NTEN, you can get the recording) here.

Chris commented a few times on how impressed he was by the questions you all asked him -- demonstrating yet again that, in many ways, the nonprofit sector is a leader in harnessing the power of social media to engage and energize communities and individuals online.

Here is a summary of take-aways from the session:

LOLnptechNTEN members were sharing lots of great tips, checklists, and resources online last week.

Colin Delany, of e.politics, shared his Social Marketing "cheat sheet" for using Web2.0 tools for engagement and fundraising purposes.

If you're a do-it-yourself kind of nonprofit when it comes to designing your web site, you might want to check out Kivi Leroux Miller's "10-Point Basic Website Checklist for Nonprofits".

For anyone plagued by email delivery statistics (or curious about what your organization should be considering when it comes to email messaging), take a look at NTEN member and NTC speaker Bill Pease's helpful tips.

Marnie Webb provides a couple of posts about integrating Twitter into your communications practice: first, she brings Twitter into the virtual tool chest she's building for her readers, then shares a list of Twitter resources that can help you maximize your Twitter-effectiveness.

Speaking of Twitter, Rose Vines is the back-channeling star of the NTEN community. Fortunately for us, she shares her tips for using Twitter for good (documenting and sharing).

In other news, NTEN members are . . .

AdamNicholson's NTENny DisplayI'm composing this weekly round-up differently this week, for two reasons: 1) there's a LOT of buzz in the blog- and twitter-spheres from and about NTEN members because of last week's conference, so I'll be truncating the summaries; and 2) I want to take this opportunity to share my thoughts about the conference and the NTEN community -- and thank everyone for the great experience.

First up, here's an abbreviated round-up of the 08NTC-related posts from members:

[Update: Please note that this program has now ended.]

At the close of his session at the 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference on Thursday afternoon, Google Adwords Evangelist Frederick Vallaeys announced a new partnership between Google and NTEN.

"Due to our similar goals in supporting the non-profit community, particularly through technology, Google Grants and NTEN are partnering to enhance their impact on non-profits. We would like to invite all qualifying NTEN organizations to apply to Google Grants and we will expedite the review of those that apply."

How cool is that? Very.

If you don't already know about Google Grants, they allow qualified nonprofits to use Google Adwords for the low, low price of free.

To take advantage of this offer:

• If you're not yet a member of NTEN, join today!
• Then, apply for the Google Grant at http://www.google.com/grants through Google's easy online application. Please spend some time reviewing the site to learn more about the program, eligibility, grant details, etc.
• Finally, send an email to grants-nten@google.com to help Google identify you as an NTEN member, which should hasten your application through the process.