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| What Digital Non-Profits Can Learn From Companies Like Google | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 11:46 PM | Daniel Atwood |
|  Daniel Atwood works with organizations in the social sector to craft meaningful experiences for customers and constituents, and to find innovative product, campaign and messaging ideas in unexpected places. We live in a world where new digital products are solving problems daily -- from managing our finances to remembering the groceries. Often, they're solving problems we didn't know we had, like the need to connect several times a day in 140 characters or less. Occasionally, they're creating new problems (but that's a topic for another conversation). What we're just starting to see, and what is for many the most exciting trend in technology, is the emergence of digital products designed specifically to provide social services at scale. This isn't a rant about the death of the traditional non-profit, but a birth announcement. Non-profits (and other organizations aimed at making a social impact) are taking new approaches that look less like direct service and more like Google. These aren't just brochure websites. They're tools -- proprietary, unique and scalable. And this means there's an increased need for talented digital product managers in the social sector. Let's take a quick look at where organizations have been focused for the past several years; we'll call it Non-profit Digital Engagement 1.0. In this phase, a handful of tools came to dominate our understanding of how non-profits could engage in the digital space. Specifically, these were tools that enabled people to email Congress, sign a petition, tell-a-friend, send a letter to the editor or make a donation. This toolset focused on two activities: fundraising and advocacy -- raising money and making noise. Those activities are important for most organizations, but they represent only a small slice of how non-profits actually aim to create change. And partly as a result, too many organizations were applying the same tools to engage people around wildly different problems. So, what's next? In short, less focus on tools that aim to engage more people with causes, and more focus on a new wave of customized digital tools that provide social services at scale to constituents. Some examples: Kiva: This is an early one, but one worth noting. Kiva created a digital platform to connect small-dollar funders with nascent social entrepreneurs. This let it scale its model in a way that would have been nearly impossible had it not put a significant focus on technology. Brighter Planet: Actually a for-profit company, Brighter Planet is a great example of using digital thinking to find new ways of adding value to social causes. It created the CM1 platform to calculate carbon impact and opened it up with APIs that allow others to plug in and do the same. MasterCard has signed on and will soon be providing carbon impact reports to its corporate clients based on its employees' travel habits. Brighter Planet has focused on a specific need, and it's offering a scalable solution for it. Google's Haiti Person Finder: When an earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, Google teamed up with the State Department to rapidly create a tool that let people submit and search for information about missing loved ones. It has since deployed it several times for other disasters, including the 2010 earthquake in Chile and the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. These examples go beyond the traditional paradigm of raising more money and sending more emails to Congress. They are each providing a real service in a constituent-centric, scalable way that would have been impossible just a few years ago. A corollary to this promising growth in digital services is that it's going to require more money invested in work that is traditionally viewed as 'overhead' in the non-profit world; namely, the significant staff time, design and development costs associated with creating and maintaining great digital products. Donors will have to think differently about investing in these types of projects. And organizations that hope to undertake them will have to lead the way by educating and inspiring donors in new ways. For those groups that do want to create and scale digital services like these, the key to success will be putting the right people with the right power in the right positions. There is still a dire need for campaigners and organizers -- no question about it. But as often happens in this still-evolving field, we're seeing a new core role emerge naturally: the digital product manager. Product managers -- people who can envision, build and market digital tools that add real value -- will play an increasingly critical role. Good product managers thrive on strategic thinking, but are also obsessed with ensuring that the final detail is just right. They care as much about design as about sustainable coding. They are tireless, tenacious and patient. As many have already noted, we can't solve all of our problems with technology. But technology has opened up new opportunities for organizations to create scalable, innovative services in the social sector. And we're just beginning to realize the implications of that shift. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL |
| Comment and Highlight on Websites with commentto | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 11:30 PM | Alissa Skelton |
|  The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: commentto Quick Pitch: Comment anywhere. Genius Idea: Commentto is a browser add-on service that allows users to highlight, bookmark, comment, save and share bookmarks and excerpts on websites. Do you ever want to add extra knowledge to a news story or other content on the web? Well, browser add-on commentto lets you comment on anything you want. Commentto allows users to highlight paragraphs on websites and add additional notes or comments. Users can also save information from a webpage to a personal commentto account folder. In the commentto popup, users can edit the title of the clip, add comments, and place the excerpt into a folder. Commentto does not track website history, but keeps a digital record of the websites and excerpts saved. This add-on feature is especially helpful for those doing research and want to return to a webpage at a later date. Students could benefit from sharing notes, too. It can also be a useful tool for programmers, or anyone really. "I code everyday, and many times I search online for solutions to problems I have with my code," said Kandarp Dave, the founder of commentto. "When I find a solution, all I do is select, and save the information to commentto." Dave started working on commentto in 2009 while he was studying computer science at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He earned a master's in computer science in December 2011 and now his complete focus has turned to his startup. Commentto relaunched last month with a shinier exterior. Dave said he listened to feedback from its 185 users to make the site better, faster and easier to use. He has built commentto solely with his own funds. The add-on has not been profitable, but Dave hopes to accept advertising in the future. "I started commentto, because I was really bothered that I always had to comment at the end of, say, a news article," he said. "That's not really a conversation. If we want to bring real-world conversations online, we have to provide users a way to comment anywhere." Mostly Dave's friends and social network are the ones using the site. He hopes more will try it out. To start using commentto, sign up for the add-on's free service and then download the browser extension on Firefox or Chrome. From there, a user can comment on anything on the web and save content to folders. Watch Dave's video to see the browser add-on in action. "Once you start using it you will really love it," Dave said. "It is very easy to use." The positive side to this add-on is knowledge could be more widely shared. The down side -- comments could clutter the web or be completely inaccurate. Although, only those who have the commentto add-on can see comments. Will you use commentto? Tell us why or why not in the comments below. Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today. |
| Check in at Walgreens and Receive Tweet Deal Coupons [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:22 PM | Joann Pan |
|  Walgreens is tweeting mobile coupons to customers who check in on mobile apps including Foursquare, Yelp and Facebook -- letting customers in on deals while they shop. The retailer is taking advantage of knowing who is in one of its 8,000 national locations. It is one of 40 companies currently using LocalResponse technology, which aggregates more than 1 billion checkins per month. January check-in tweet deals at Walgreens included discounts on Halls cough drops coupon, flu shots and Energizer batteries, according to AdAge. LocalResponse is a check-in aggregator that collects publicly shared information from more than 200 million users across platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. Walgreens stands as the first retailer to use LocalResponse to send promotions for packages goods, but joins a long list of big-name clients. SEE ALSO: 13 Location-Based Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs The startup had its soft launch more than two years ago, but will relaunch its beta in a couple weeks. However, it's picking up speed, signing up multiple big brands including Verizon, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, General Mills, Hershey's and others. LocalResponse recently received $5 million-backing from various companies. Some of these brands have their own way of utilizing LocalResponse. Verizon, for example, uses it to respond to customers tweeting frustrations about other phone companies. Verizon tweets back with a $100 discount for individuals to switch carriers. Tell us, in the comments below, what you think about businesses taking advantage of knowing where you have checked in. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Phillip Pessar. |
| DKNY Takes Top Honors at Fashion 2.0 Awards | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 9:41 PM | Lauren Indvik |
|  After nabbing four of the eight awards handed out at last year's Fashion 2.0 Awards, apparel brand DKNY was once again recognized for its use of digital media, taking home awards for Best Twitter and Best Blog by a Fashion Brand. The honors are well deserved. DKNY's Twitter account and Tumblr blog, both of which are run by Donna Karan International SVP of Global Communciations Aliza Licht, are entertaining, informative and exceptionally on-brand. The Twitter account features, among other things, live blogs of CW show Gossip Girl each week, and frequently engages in conversations with followers of all stripes. Meanwhile, the brand's Tumblr has become a go-to resource for humor-laced PR advice. Winners were determined entirely by popular vote, following an open nomination round. One award -- the Fashion 2.0 Visionary Award -- was presented for the first time to Gilt Groupe cofounders Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and was exempt from the voting process. The awards, handed out for the third time at the SVA Theatre in New York City Wednesday evening, are designed to recognize innovation in an industry that, before the latter half of 2010, was sincerely behind other industries in its adaptation of digital media. A full list of nominees and winners (in bold) are displayed below. Best Twitter @BetseyJohnson @DVF @DKNY @OscarPRGirl @RachelZoe Best Facebook Bergdorf Goodman Burberry Dior Gucci Oscar de la Renta Best Blog by a Fashion Brand Alice & Olivia DKNY PR Girl Kate Spade Rebecca Minkoff/ Minkette Tory Burch/Torypedia Best Website Burberry Coach Elie Tahari J Brand Marc Jacobs Best Mobile App DVF GAP Style Mixer Ralph Lauren Collection Tiffany & Co. Engagement Ring Finder Victoria's Secret for iPad Best Online Video Bergdorf Goodman "Unleashed" Lanvin Fall Winter 2011-2012 Ad Campaign Norma Kamali 3D Spring 2012 Collection Prada Spring/Summer 2011 Video Campaign Rachel Roy Holiday Kindness Series Next Big Thing in Tech Instagram Pinterest Pose Snapette Stylitics Top Innovator Burberry Coach DKNY Kate Spade Oscar de la Renta Graphic courtesy DKNY |
| ESPN's 'Complain About Women' Option Exposed by Twitter User | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 8:42 PM | Sam Laird |
|  Until Tuesday, ESPN had a special section on its website for viewers to complain specifically about announcers who happen to be female. "Commentator -- dislike female commentators," read one option in a drop-down menu that enables viewers to provide feedback about coverage topics including blacked-out games, camera angels and audio/video issues, according to a screenshot posted by Twitter user Megan Soisson on Tuesday. Here is the tweet: wait this is a serious complaint of @espn viewers? twitter.com/msois/status/1.— Megan Soisson (@msois) February 7, 2012 Soisson is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania and sports editor of its student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. She was looking into why a major upcoming basketball game against Harvard University would not be televised on the network, and was directed to a contact page off the main ESPN website, which is where she found the complaint option. "I was really shocked about it and upset because I'm a female sportswriter, so it's like one of my dreams to be a sideline reporter -- and to see there was a specific area to comment against female reporters was upsetting," Soisson told Mashable in an interview. She then tweeted the picture to to a few female broadcast professionals, including ESPN's Hannah Storm (pictured at left in photo at top right) and Sage Steele. "Sage are you aware of this? Found it yesterday," she wrote to Steele. To Storm she wrote, "did you know this existed? Found it yest." The Jezebel blog soon picked up on the story, writing it up in a short post on Tuesday night. On Wednesday Soisson received this response in an email from ESPN: "We very much appreciate you raising this issue with us. We have corrected the problem and will have a statement for you shortly." That was soon followed by a slightly longer statement directly to Soisson: We apologize for the mistake on the viewer response form template. We've been an industry leader for more than 30 years and are extremely proud of the leadership role we continue to play in providing high-profile opportunities and assignments for female commentators -- from SportsCenter anchors to play-by-play announcers, analysts, reporters and more. We appreciate that this matter was brought to our attention and it was addressed and deleted immediately. The sports media blog Fang's Bites apparently received a copy of that statement later upon request, but it is still not readily accessible online. Soisson said that later on Wednesday, an ESPN vice president wrote her a longer personal apology in which he explained that the comment field for complaints about female reporters was a a relic from some 10 years ago, when the the network first began assigning female play-by-play announcers to cover college football games and received criticism from some fans. "He says in his email that there's no defense and it was a horrible decision, so I really do appreciate the response," Soisson said. "But I was hoping they would be a little bit more public about acknowledging it." Mashable contacted ESPN for more comment, but as of publication had not gotten any additional information. We'll update the story if and when we do. UPDATE: An ESPN representative contacted Mashable and essentially echoed what was in the second one-paragraph response to Soisson. What do you think about this comment field for complaints about female announcers? Honest mistake, or something that never should have been there in the first place? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of Delaware Online. |
| Valley Still Beats Alley in Meetup Tech Groups | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 8:31 PM | Sarah Kessler |
|  Silicon Valley's tech scene still beats out Silicon Alley's, at least as far as Meetup numbers go. Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman announced at the 21,000-member New York Tech Meetup on Wednesday that Bay area tech Meetup groups had more RSVPs in 2011 than those in any other city. New York City had the second-most members of Meetup tech group RSVPers, followed by London, Washington D.C. and Chicago. The fastest-growing tech scene on Meetup, based on RSVPs, was Hong Kong, followed by Melbourne, Detroit and Paris. This ranking, of course, is heavily dependent upon Meetup adoption and not a direct indicator of startup scene size. There are few objective ways to compare the size of "scenes" that all sides seem eager to compare. New York City in particular has taken to positioning itself as a tech mecca. In the last year, the city has pumped up its digital initiatives, welcomed prestigious startup accelerator TechStars, opened new offices for Twitter and Facebook and announced plans for a 2.1-million-square-foot Cornell tech campus. Along the way, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has framed New York City as a Silicon Valley rival. "We understand that we will not catch up to Silicon Valley overnight," he said in a speech to the business community. "Building a state-of-the-art campus will take years, and attracting a critical mass of technology entrepreneurs will take even longer. But -- as with everything we have done -- we are taking the long view." Take a look at the gallery of Meetup stats on tech communities, and let us know where you see tech gaining momentum in the comments. |
| Game Developer Wooga Draws In 40 Million Users | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 7:07 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  LIVE from the third annual Inside Social Apps 2012 conference. Mobile game developer Wooga recently ranked as the third most popular game developer in terms of monthly active users (MAU) on Facebook with more than 40 million players each month. The company has so far released six games: Brain Buddies, Bubble Island, Monster World, Happy Hopsital, Diamond Dash and Magic Land. The games are available in seven languages. Versions that sync to mobile devices will soon be launched as well. The characters in Wooga games -- unicorns, princes, trolls and buck-toothed giraffes, for example -- combine a Disney-like wholesomeness with the madcap look of video game characters, such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario. Wooga, based in Berlin, was founded in 2009 by Jens Begemann, Philipp Moeser and Patrick Paulisch. The company says it experienced 185% user growth in 2011, and plans to add 100 new employees this year. "Wooga's growth is organic in every sense. Only 5% of our new users come through paid ads and 40% through viral features, with the remainder coming from cross-linking through our existing games," CEO and co-founder Jens Begemann said in an interview. Just this week, the bipartisan, tech-promoting organization TechNet released a study, which found that apps have created nearly half a million jobs in the United States since 2007, dubbing the result the "app economy." Do you play Wooga games? What do you think about them? Tell us in the comments. |
| New Facebook Filings Reveal Details of its Relationship With Zynga | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 6:46 PM | Christina Warren |
|  Facebook just amended its S-1 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the documents offer deeper insight into Facebook's relationship with Zynga. Facebook amended or added 26 new documents to its SEC filing and these updated documents provide more color on Facebook's stock allotment and its relationships with other companies. As first reported by Business Insider, that includes a more detailed look at how Facebook and Zynga work together. In original IPO filing, it was revealed that Zynga accounts for 12% of Facebook's revenue. That news was enough to lift Zynga's stock and made clear that the relationships is symbiotic. The amended filings include a Developer Addendum effective as of May 14, 2010 that discloses the developer relationship between the two companies. The documents says, in part: The parties acknowledge that FB desires to enable Zynga to build the Zynga Platform on top of the Facebook Platform, and the parties desire to, amongst other goals set forth herein, work together to increase the number of users of each party's products and services. The parties further acknowledge that Zynga is making a significant commitment to the Facebook Platform (i.e., using Facebook as the exclusive Social Platform on the Zynga Properties and granting FB certain title exclusivities to Zynga games on the Facebook Platform). In exchange for such commitment, the parties have committed to set certain growth targets for monthly unique users of Covered Zynga Games. In essence, what this agreement says is that in exchange for building atop Facebook's platform, Zynga got Facebook's assurance that it would meet certain growth targets. Those growth targets are based on a linear weekly growth rate for web and mobile. In exchange for meeting these targets, Zynga promised exclusivity of its titles on the Facebook Platform and promised exclusive mobile integration. There are more documents in the new filing that also look interesting and we'll be following the wider story as it develops. |
| Groupon Posts Loss, Stock Falls 12% | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 4:28 PM | Todd Wasserman |
|  In its first quarter as a public company, Groupon on Wednesday posted a loss of $.08 per share, which sent the company's stock sliding in after-hours trading. The consensus among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was that Groupon was going to post a profit of 3 cents a share on revenues of $473 million. Groupon beat the latter figure with sales of $506.5 million, up 194% vs. the comparable period in 2010. For the full year 2011, Groupon's revenues jumped 419% to $1.6 billion vs. $312.9 million in 2010. In other positive news, the company's worldwide customer base grew to 33 million-plus, an increase of 275% for the year and more than 20% quarter over quarter. Active customers are defined as having purchased a Groupon in the previous 12 months. Despite those upbeat numbers, investors focused on the loss. In a release announcing the results, Groupon didn't outline the reason for the loss. However, Groupon has in the past cruphoto |
| GigaOm Acquires PaidContent to Create 'Powerhouse' | | Wednesday, February 08, 2012 3:12 PM | Sarah Kessler |
|  Tech blog GigaOm announced Wednesday it has acquired paidContent's parent company ContentNext. GigaOm founder Om Malik cited location and staff as reasons for the acquisition. ContentNext -- which owns MocoNews, paidContent:UK and ContentSutra, in addition to paidContent -- has offices in New York and Europe. Staci Kramer will remain the editor of paidContent. The site's executive editor, Ernie Sander, will become executive editor of Giga Omni Media, and the majority of ContentNext's staff will remain with the sites -- bringing the combined GigaOm editorial staff to a total of about 20. "The combined group will be a powerhouse," Kramer and Sander wrote in a post on paidContent that announced the acquisition. GigaOm is purchasing ContentNext from Guardian News & Media, which acquired ContentNext in 2008 and will take a minority stake in GigaOm. Though the 6-year-old GigaOm has 4.5 million monthly unique visitors and is building out a premium subscription model, it was expected to turn a profit for the first time in 2011. It has accepted $15 million in funding to date. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, photographeer Disclosure: paidContent is a publishing partner with Mashable |
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