Once a quarter I try to collect the latest activity across the network to keep NetSquared organizers up to date. If you usually ignore our updates let this one be the exception! :-)
What’s Happening Now
- Does your group go by “Tech4Good” but doesn’t have a logo? Tech4Good SWFL and Homer Gaines of Design Donation have come up with a creative commons-licensed Tech4Good logo you can remix and use for your own group
- 16NTC feels like it’s a million years away, but voting is now open for sessions! Did you submit a 16NTC session? Please add it to the spreadsheet so that we can help promote it! (thanks to Birgit for creating this). I would also appreciate your up-votes for the other sessions proposed by my colleagues at TechSoup. Of special interest to NetSquared is the Community Organizers Connect gathering. Remember to vote by July 31
Event Ideas
Coming up with a new topic every month is tricky, so here’s some suggestions:
- Outernet Edit-a-thon - On July 18–19, 2015, help Outernet and Creative Commons build a #LibraryFromSpace
- Mozilla Maker Party - hold a web literacy event with Mozilla’s guides or in partnership with a local Mozilla Club
- Or get inspired by stealing an event idea from another group or pulling from our library of event recipes
Event Resources
The Organizer’s Handbook has everything from sponsorship templates to sample surveys. If you can’t find what you want give me a shout and we’ll create it! Some of the most popular resources are:
- How to make screencast videos of your event using free tools
- Slide decks to help you introduce your event, explain NetSquared, and share the latest TechSoup offerings
- Brainstorm event ideas with a whiteboard at our next meeting
Awesome Things From the NetSquared Blog
There’s been some fabulous contributions to the NetSquared blog from our community:
- What makes a great conference amazing? Net2DC’s Heather Ratcliff when to NCtech4good and shares her tips
- A roundup of live #Nptech events in July and Birgit’s indispensable collection of online education events
- Video from San Francisco Tech4Good’s Tech Platforms for Volunteering panel, organized by Katharine Bierce
- And continuing with video here’s interviews from the attendees of the Nctech4Good conference and Net2van’s Digital Nonprofit conference
Statistics
July 1 is the beginning of TechSoup’s fiscal year, so it’s the time for me to look at the activity of the previous 12 months. It was a HUGE year for NetSquared!
- No. of active groups: 59 (vs 50 last year, a 18% increase)
- No. of events: 629 (vs 468 last year, a 34% increase)
- No. of attendees: 17,470 (vs 11,435 last year, 54% increase)
- No. of Meetup.com members: 27,524 (vs 21,852 last year, a 26% increase)
All this is, of course, a lot to digest at once. I’ll be following up on each of these topics during July and August.