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Dr. Changelove – making tech change happen in your organization: Cartoon-blogging at #12ntc

Dr. Changelove – making tech change happen in your organization: Cartoon-blogging at #12ntc published on No Comments on Dr. Changelove – making tech change happen in your organization: Cartoon-blogging at #12ntc

Another cartoon-blog from the Nonprofit Technology Conference. (Thanks again to NTEN for having me, and Rally for flying me in! Catch the work Kate Rutter and I did at the conference here.)

This one’s from Dr. Changelove, or: How My Org Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technology. It was one of the strongest panels I’ve seen in a while, featuring Rose de Fremery, Dahna Goldstein and Marc Baizman (who went out of his way to make me feel like a rock star, and then delivered a terrific Ignite talk on improvisation).

 

#nv11 toonblogging: Controversy

#nv11 toonblogging: Controversy published on 4 Comments on #nv11 toonblogging: Controversy

Just got out of the Controversy panel at Northern Voice 2011. As you might expect, it was pretty lively and a lot of fun. One thing that distinguishes it from nearly every other social media panel I’ve attended, oh, ever: the discussion, among the panelists and with the audience, was almost completely among women. (Smart, articulate women, I might add.)

The panel: Rebecca Coleman (http://www.rebeccacoleman.ca), Kazia Mullin (http://kitchentablemarketing.ca/) and Lorraine “raincoaster” Murphy (http://www.raincoastermedia.com).

NTC: Dan Heath

NTC: Dan Heath published on No Comments on NTC: Dan Heath

This was simply smashing. And their central metaphor is – I’m sure you’ve noticed – definitely made to stick.

NTC: In which we call a trade show a science fair

NTC: In which we call a trade show a science fair published on 1 Comment on NTC: In which we call a trade show a science fair

I spent last week in Wash­ington, DC, cartoon-blogging NTEN’s 2011 Non­profit Tech­no­logy Con­fer­ence. These are some of the highlights.

One of the parts of NTC I find the most appealing is how the trade show is called the Science Fair:

The Science Fair isn’t like a typical conference exhibit hall. Instead of running throughout the entire conference – and competing with everything else on the agenda – the Science Fair takes place only on the first day of the NTC, and it’s the sole focus of the conference at that time. It’s also the setting for the conference’s Opening Reception. As a result, the room is full from start to finish, so come prepared to talk to dozens of exhibitors and meet hundreds of conference attendees. Reflecting this event’s unique nature, we call it the “Science Fair” so that everyone realizes it’s an integral part of the NTC and not just another boring exhibit hall!

I’d love to see them take the metaphor one step further. If this is a science fair, then how about having science projects?

It doesn’t have to be mandatory (so vendors won’t phone in some token effort just to qualify), but it could be a chance to show off some fun tech application, an intriguing experiment and its outcome, or an inspiring case study. Have participants vote for their favourites (hola, QR codes) to select finalists, and enlist a panel of distinguished judges to choose the winner.

NTC: The usual WiFi hiccups

NTC: The usual WiFi hiccups published on No Comments on NTC: The usual WiFi hiccups

I spent last week in Washington, DC, cartoon-blogging NTEN’s 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference. These are some of the highlights.

You can’t have a tech conference without WiFi becoming an issue, unless you take extraordinary measures. It really doesn’t help if the venue is underground, as a lot of large convention centres are, making it a lot harder to connect even to a cellular signal – my own Internet-of-last-resort. (Although it’s actually getting pretty tolerable. I’m tethered right now, and while there’s no question it’s slower, I can definitely get stuff done.)

Was it a blessing in diguise? Maybe. It freed us to look at the people right next to us, to really look at them, and to talk with them. To share our hopes (“Try deleting your network preferences”), our dreams (“I’ve heard of a conference where the WiFi was actually pretty good”), even our innermost spirituality (“Maybe the IP address gods will smile on us”).

Off to the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference!

Off to the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference! published on 1 Comment on Off to the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference!

There’s nothing like getting up while dawn is still having that weird dream where it’s back in high school and completely naked during a surprise math test… and stumbling bleary-eyed from shower into clothing up stairs out the door into taxi and into an airport…

…only to realize the first leg of your flight is domestic, and you could have slept for another hour.

Ah, well. What’s an hour’s sleep when NTC 2011 lies ahead?

Nonprofit tech types convene in DC. Me, too.

Nonprofit tech types convene in DC. Me, too. published on No Comments on Nonprofit tech types convene in DC. Me, too.

The Nonprofit Technology Conference is an annual gathering of the nptech community: technology practitioners who work with nonprofit organizations, helping them to organize, communicate and work more effectively.

It’s put together by the Nonprofit Technology Network, and this year, they’re meeting in Washington, DC… and I’ll be with them as the official NTC cartoon-blogger. (By which I mean this sort of thing.)

I’ll post the cartoons here, but you can see them first on the NTC blog – where I’ve drawn a bunch of pre-conference cartoons that they’re posting in the runup to the conference’s launch next Thursday.

If you’re going to NTC, by all means look me up. And if not, you can follow the proceedings on Twitter via the #NTC11 hashtag (and the NTC11 tag everywhere else).

Toonblog: BlogWorld closing keynote with Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla and co.

Toonblog: BlogWorld closing keynote with Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla and co. published on No Comments on Toonblog: BlogWorld closing keynote with Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla and co.

Originally posted on BlogWorld

This was a tough one to diagram – at times because I was laughing so hard (Penn Jillette nailing Adam Carolla around the mike handoff was the high point of the night for me), at others because the material was flowing so quickly. But what resonated most – for me, at any rate – was Penn’s passionate, hilariously profane defense of online connectedness. That, ultimately, is what brought us together for BlogWorld 2010, and it’s the spirit that I’m taking home with me.

* * *

With that, we close off BlogWorld recap week here at Noise to Signal. It was a terrific time, and I’m looking forward to the next time.

(And if you have an event you think could use a little toonblogging, well, maybe we should talk.)

In fairness, they do call it an Apple

In fairness, they do call it an Apple published on No Comments on In fairness, they do call it an Apple

Originally published on BlogWorld

At about the time I was drawing this – about 11:49 a.m. – the growling in people’s stomachs was drowning out the actual speakers. “So, say you’ve just written a great blog post about brie-stuffed tenderloin…” Shutupshutupshutupshutup!

Toonblog: The seven harsh realities of blogging for bucks

Toonblog: The seven harsh realities of blogging for bucks published on No Comments on Toonblog: The seven harsh realities of blogging for bucks

Originally posted on BlogWorld

Saturday’s opening keynote featured Sonia Simone and Brian Clark of Copyblogger and  Darren Rowse of Problogger looking at the downs and ups of blogging with an income in mind. (You can catch the full write-up from Alli here.) And here’s my take.

Book cover: The Networked Nonprofit

Toonblog: Networked nonprofits and Twitter

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Originally posted on BlogWorld

Book cover: The Networked NonprofitI’ve learned that you can never go wrong by going to a Beth Kanter panel. The co-author ofThe Networked Nonprofit (I’m halfway through it on my iPad, and it’s terrific) has a gift for bringing out the audience’s shared wisdom and experience while keeping the panel conversation lively and valuable.

Not that panellists Danielle Brigida, social media outreach coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, and Claire Williams, who leads social innovation at Twitter, needed any prodding. Each could have easily filled the hour with anecdotes, advice and recommendations. (Thanks to Williams, my new Twitter mantra is “WWKD: What Would Kanye Do?”)

Here are notes from Brigida’s and Williams’ presentations.

Baby needs a new premium template!

Baby needs a new premium template! published on No Comments on Baby needs a new premium template!

Originally posted on BlogWorld

I have learned that, apparently, no matter what your blog may be worth, the cashiers at the casinos here don’t accept it in lieu of tender. Hmph.

At a conference, “fresh” is relative

At a conference, “fresh” is relative published on No Comments on At a conference, “fresh” is relative

Originally published on BlogWorld

The one thing that cheers me up about the fact that there’s only a little more than an hour left in BlogWorld is this: the prospect of seeing sunlight again. Hearing the chirping of birds, the wind whispering on my cheek, the cursing of a driver who just got cut off on the Strip. Aaah.

That said, if I had to be indoors for three days, this was a pretty dang swanky place to do it in.

Swag!

Swag! published on No Comments on Swag!

Originally published on BlogWorld

I have a suitcase full of yo-yos, inflatable airplanes, T-shirts, USB drives and much more to take home with me tomorrow. What was your favourite piece of conference swag?

Besides, isn’t all video ‘mobile’? I mean, the pictures move.

Besides, isn’t all video ‘mobile’? I mean, the pictures move. published on No Comments on Besides, isn’t all video ‘mobile’? I mean, the pictures move.

Originally posted on BlogWorld

The day ended with a session on video, chaired by Susan Bratton of Personal Life Media, and featuring Dermot McCormack, Executive Vice President of MTV Music Group Digital; Dick Glover, CEO of Funny or Die; and Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3.

There were some great moments, including the revelation that the budget of a typical Funny or Die video is… drumroll please… what’s that? We can’t afford a drumroll? That must be because the figure is only $2,000.

But the moment that grabbed me early on was the emphatic statement by one of the panelists that one huge factor affecting the future of video right now is the rise of mobile. And given how many conversations I’ve had with people who are still trying to get their minds around just how huge a platform mobile is, well, that spurred this cartoon.

Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes on the state of digital politics

Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes on the state of digital politics published on 2 Comments on Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes on the state of digital politics

Originally posted on BlogWorld

For your consideration, notes from Karen Hughes’ and Mark Penn’s opening statements on the morning panel. It was a lively session (especially once some of that voter discontent started to bubble up from the floor!).

Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building community on your blog

Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building community on your blog published on No Comments on Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building community on your blog

Originally posted at BlogWorld

This one’s from a great session by  Darren Rowse, co-author of Problogger, looking at building community on your blog. The ideas were coming far faster than I could capture them; I’ve tried to capture the highlights here.

Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes

Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes published on No Comments on Toonblog: Mark Penn and Karen Hughes

Originally posted on BlogWorld.

For your consideration, notes from Karen Hughes’ and Mark Penn’s opening statements on the morning panel. It was a lively session (especially once some of that voter discontent started to bubble up from the floor!).

I set my politics aside while I drew this. It. Wasn’t. Easy.

Toonblog: Behind the wristband with Doug Ulman and Rohit Bhargava

Toonblog: Behind the wristband with Doug Ulman and Rohit Bhargava published on No Comments on Toonblog: Behind the wristband with Doug Ulman and Rohit Bhargava

It was an emotional and fascinating hour, starting with Rohit Bhargava‘s call for everyone in the audience whose lives had been touched by cancer to stand. Livestrong CEO  Doug Ulman touched on how Twitter can sometimes be less daunting than blogging, how transparency and authenticity are transforming non-profits, when a logo can take away from an organization’s efforts, and why Livestrong focuses more on supporting families living with cancer than on research.

And it ended with the announcement that PayPal and Swagg would sponsor a 5-cent-per-tag bounty for every use of the hashtag #beatcancer for 24 hours – plus a $1 contribution for every pledge to download Swagg’s free iPhone app when it’s released. See BeatCancerEverywhere.com for details.

Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building your blog’s community

Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building your blog’s community published on No Comments on Toonblog: Darren Rowse on building your blog’s community

Originally posted on BlogWorld.

This one’s from a great session by  Darren Rowse, co-author of Problogger, looking at building community on your blog. The ideas were coming far faster than I could draw them; I’ve tried to capture the highlights here.

Watercooler 2010

Watercooler 2010 published on No Comments on Watercooler 2010

Originally posted on BlogWorld.

The full title of this session was “Convergence of media and the future of unscripted drama on the web.”  Brian Solis (author of Engage and creator of the Conversation Prism infographic you’ve used in at least three slide decks so far this year) interviewed Survivor creator  Mark Burnett on how networked communication is challenging, supporting and transforming shows like his.

It was a fascinating conversation, starting with the essential importance of story to both blogging (something Solis speaks about so eloquently that I wonder if he might have the same kind of spec screenplays buried on his hard drive that I do) and shows like Survivor, where Burnett invoked Joseph Campbell and walked us through the show’s imagery of life, death and  rebirth.

From there, the two looked at the way the online backchannel has transformed water-cooler conversations. Those conversations now start during the show itself, and take place everywhere, Burnett said. “The water cooler is now omni-present.”

Cartoon: two people at a water cooler. One asks: 'So, didja see the liveblogging for Survivor last night?'

Burnett tells Solis, I pitched 'Joe Lieberman's Connecticut, but nobody bit.

The conversation ranged over football legend Jimmy Johnson’s appearance on a rescheduledSurvivor to the MTV Movie Awards, before they launched into Burnett’s latest project, Sarah Palin’s Alaska. He described Alaska as “epic”, and we became the first audience to see promotional footage from the upcoming show.

Then, at the end, Solis announced a surprise: the footage was being released to the world not through the usual channels, but  via Steve Garfield’s YouTube channel. (Burnett acknowledged the plan may have initially caused some agita in the executive suites at TLC.)


TLC exec's head exploding. But tastefully. And educationally.

BlogWorld Toonblog: Opening keynote – Scott Stratten and UnMarketing

BlogWorld Toonblog: Opening keynote – Scott Stratten and UnMarketing published on No Comments on BlogWorld Toonblog: Opening keynote – Scott Stratten and UnMarketing

Originally posted on BlogWorld.

It was a wildly energetic start to the morning from Scott Stratten, author of UnMarketing. He’s a terrifically visual speaker – which was mighty appreciated while I was drawing this!

My sketchbook for the flight to BlogWorld in Las Vegas

Flying into BlogWorld

Flying into BlogWorld published on No Comments on Flying into BlogWorld

This was me arriving at BlogWorld on Wednesday.

I’m there through Saturday, toonblogging the whole thing. You can read the latest cartoons on the BlogWorld site – and be sure to follow the #bwe10 hashtag if you’d like to read the Twitter backchannel.

By the way, here’s my sketchbook from the flight:

My sketchbook for the flight to BlogWorld in Las Vegas

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