by Rob Cottingham | Oct 5, 2009 | Social Signal
SXSW isn’t the only fabulous event whose agenda is partly shaped by audience input. NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network, will hold its annual conference next April in Atlanta, Georgia… and they’d like you to help them figure out what sessions to offer.
Head on over here for a list of candidates, and start a-clickin’. And if you’d like to leave comments – suggestions, questions, thinly-veiled requests to be included on the panel – just click on the session title.
As with SXSW, public voting counts for 33% of the final score in deciding which sessions make the grade. (Why only a one-third voice instead of having the community vote carry the day? Because, as the FAQ; points out, “If we did it that way, we’d have 40 sessions on social media, 30 on websites, and a score on e-mail. Yes, we’re ‘How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?’ folks”.)
While the deadline for session submissions was September 21, if you’ve had an idea that’s just mind-blowingly fantastic, you can try to talk them into adding it to the 228-submission-long ballot… they’re kind and generous people.
Voting wraps up on October 16, and they’re adopting a strict one-IP-address, one-vote rule to prevent overenthusiasm from skewing the results. So start voting!
(We have two sessions in that list, by the way: Building your social media team and Planning for online engagement – if you think they’d be helpful, we’d love your support!)
by Rob Cottingham | Oct 5, 2009 | Social Signal
The BC Children’s Hospital is on the lookout for a Super Community – a group of people doing something extraordinary to raise funds, raise awareness and support the hospital’s work caring for British Columbia’s children.
And to do that, they’ve created an online space where communities can organize at SuperCommunity.ca. You’ll find tools for collecting donations, emailing contacts, and sharing stories, videos and photos.
But they aren’t just offering tools – they’re offering some context as well: stories, ideas and tips for putting those tools to work, and fundraising and organizing online. We’ve helped them pull together their Super Community Resource Kit, which lives on their blog at bcchf.wordpress.com.
Be sure to check it out… and consider it just a beginning. Add your comments, ideas and links to other helpful resources, and help BC Children’s Hospital’s supporters do even more to help kids when they need it most.
(Oh, and while you’re in the mood to help BC Children’s Hospital, please do fan them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and check out the personalized superhero video and Facebook application we helped them build!)
by Rob Cottingham | Oct 5, 2009 | Social Media, Social Signal
(one neanderthal to another, who has built a fire) You doing it wrong. (Caption: First known ancestor of the social media consultant.)
![](https://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RobCottinghamCartoons/~4/_yt-cTpa-PU)
by Rob Cottingham | Sep 27, 2009 | Social Signal
(man to a shady character) You’ll get me 15,000 new followers?! SURE you can have my car, house and office keys! (Caption: And that’s why we have Twitter worms)
![](https://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RobCottinghamCartoons/~4/9SPEw-SNGx4)
by Rob Cottingham | Sep 26, 2009 | Social Signal
(woman in dominatrix outfit to someone in a furry outfit) No, last night was quirks mode. Tonight is strict mode.
![](https://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/RobCottinghamCartoons/~4/cBqZlDjGoQU)
by Rob Cottingham | Sep 23, 2009 | Cartoons, Noise to Signal, Social Media, Social Signal, Technology
If you’re visiting from PC World – or just happened to stumble onto us – we’re glad you could come by. Pull up a chair. Lemonade?
Your timing’s terrific: I was just about to start the slide show. Oh, no, don’t get up – the holiday pictures aren’t until later. No, this is all about Noise to Signal, my cartoon about the intersection of technology, communications and life. Sit back and make yourself comfortable.
Let me just plug the remote… into the projector… dim the lights… and here we go.
Here’s the cartoon that launched Noise to Signal (although I didn’t call it that yet) waaaay back in the spring of 2007. It was a simpler time (at least in the Oval Office, ba-dump-bump!)…
This is a tribute to the famous New Yorker cartoon, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” (I’ve come back to this theme once or twice.)
![Internet dog cartoon](/system/files/2007-06-24-cyberdog.gif)
This one is probably the first one I published under the name “Noise to Signal”.
![How young people use social networks](/system/files/images/2007-07-09-young-networks.gif)
And now, as measured by raw hits, here are the top 10 Noise to Signal cartoons of all time:
Number 10, sadly a little timelier now than when I drew it:
![Downsizing cartoon](/system/files/images/2008-03-22-freedom.gif)
Number 9, a cartoon the PC World folks (and Amazon customers) will recognize:
![Cartoon: sex recommender system](/system/files/images/2009-02-21-recommender.gif)
Number 8, for everyone who obsesses about their Twitter follower count:
![Cartoon: why did you stop following me?](/system/files/images/2009-01-11-quittr.gif)
Number 7 is for my fellow gadget freaks out there whose spirituality glands may be underperforming:
![Cartoon: spiritual void](/system/files/images/2008-09-20-spiritual_0.gif)
Number 6 goes to a pie chart. Somewhere, my grade 6 math teacher’s ears just pricked up.
![Cartoon: chart of how we spend our time online](/system/files/images/2009-01-14-piechart.gif)
Coming up to number 5, a reminder that it’s probably a good thing Alex and I didn’t have iPhones yet when we got married:
![Cartoon: Twitter wedding](/system/files/images/2009-01-28-vows.gif)
Number 4 promotes both privacy awareness and good dental hygiene. Hard to do in one cartoon, but we’re committed to value here at Noise to Signal industries:
![Cartoon: missing keys](/system/files/images/2009-02-08-keys.gif)
Third place – bronze! – is the closest I come to a religion: typography.
![Cartoon: Comic Sans?!](/system/files/images/2008-06-11-fonts.gif)
Number 2 – ooh, so close – makes that case that, while Flooz may have flopped, alternative currencies for the online world are still alive and well:
![Cartoon: panhandling for beta invites](/system/files/images/2008-06-22-beta.gif)
And the number one Noise to Signal cartoon of all time…
![Cartoon: bankrupt but beautiful](/system/files/images/2008-07-17-favicon.gif)
Thanks for checking us out! You can also find Noise to Signal on Facebook… and if you’re hankering for the RSS feed, it’s right here.