flickr/jessamyn. few weeks ago a reader asked me to blog about effective ways that nonprofits and foundations can share their knowledge bases. This is a subject close to my heart. There’s a lot of talk in foundations and nonprofits about disseminating information, but for the most part their online resources are still PDF lists—ugh.

flickr/askpang. Many nonprofits are in crisis mode these days. Still, it pays to remember that “crisis&# is derived from two Greek words meaning “a turning point&# and “to decide&# (not “the sky is falling&# ). The current situation may not be so much a crisis as a paradigm shift. Web 2.0 Expo is “The Power of Less.&#.

flickr/luc legay. Many nonprofits have already dipped their toes into social media. They see others doing it and figure they should be doing it too. So they jump on Twitter and create a Facebook fan page. Or they put event photos on Flickr, or buy a Flipcam to get videos on YouTube. Then what? Back up. spread important ideas and create awareness.

flickr/armadillo444. You can’t swing a cat these days (I never would) without hitting a storytelling workshop for nonprofits. It’s kind of the new silver bullet for conveying organizational impact. m a big fan of stories, but I’m a little concerned about the approach the nonprofit sector seems to be taking. CC photo credit: armadillo444

flickr/krazydad/jbum. In the past two weeks I’ve taken you through the major steps in conducting a communications audit, but we’re not quite done. Do keep in mind—this entire audit is set against the backdrop of your current strategic communications plan to help you assess how effectively you’re reaching your goals.

How many of you have taken Andy Goodman’s storytelling seminar ? Pretty mind-blowing, huh?  Andy unlocks the secrets of good story-telling, decoding a formula for narrative going at least back to Aristotle’s Poetics. There are easily thousands of non-profit communicators who have passed through Andy’s program.  Not for lack of trying.  They are.

I am completely biased in this post because of my own studies in journalism. That said: Newspapers are downsizing. Jobs are being cut. The journalism field is in the midst of a re-invention. Despite the landscape and view people may hold when they think of today’s journalism, enrollment in journalism school has INCREASED ! Get ready. Cliche?

By my most recent count, there are 106 fundraising blogs out there. My definition of "fundraising blogs" is deliberately broad -- these are blogs that are touch on fundraising in some way, at some time. That's a lot of talk about fundraising. More than a normal person can (or probably should) read. But I do. The Agitator. Endless Plain. forimpact.

I can guarantee you this: A lot more people hate the US Air Force than hate your nonprofit organization. For that matter, a lot more people love the Air Force. And that means people say all kinds of things about the Air Force in blogs and other social media places. And the Air Force is doing something about it. And here's the cool part.

Let's face it: People have short attention spans. Especially when it comes to the Internet. We're all clicking around furiously trying to nab the quickest, most-reliable answers to our questions. And, often, we're just browsing for things to entertain our instant-gratification-seeking minds.) Effectively. And, oh yes, quickly. Funny-we did, too.