While mainstream media remains under the control of a handful of giant corporations, you no longer have to own a printing press to reach a dedicated audience. Building on traditions of public access, independent media and peer-to-peer networks, we now communicate, "many to many", across phone and internet networks with affordable and high powered laptops, PDAs, phones and gaming devices. In this major step forward for free speech, the “network centric” age enables us to "be the media", tell our stories, and make social change happen.

But what media and communication tools will make the biggest impact and have the farthest reach? Whether you are planning a demonstration, a print campaign, a web site, a viral video, or a mobile action, you need to start with a goal and a strategy. To help, we’ve compiled many of the rich resources available to the nonprofit community in a few basic steps to strategic communications.