Sep

23

An inside look into the web strategies of the Hartman Institute

Filed Under Social Media | Leave a Comment

Richard Macmanus, founder and editor of Read/Write Web, one of the most successful Web 2.0 business/tech blog/websites, has launched a new series of reviews and articles, titled, Religion and Web Technology.

He is going to write about churches and other religious organizations that use Web 2.0 media well. His first piece is about an Oklahoma church with the website LifeChurch.tv. It’s an interesting read and offers a lot of ideas that can be put to use by amutot – religious or not.
As part of that review, I wrote to him regarding things we are doing here at Shalom Hartman Institute, and which are summarized below. Let this stand as fulfillment of my promise to the Amuta 2.0 folks to recapitulate some of the points in my talk at the conference earlier this month.

Our website includes regular Op-Ed length essays by our leaders and scholars on topics of interest to the Jewish/Israeli worlds. We include “talkbacks” (reader comments) on our articles, some of which draw large responses.

We also stream lectures from our scholars and leaders both onsite and offsite. I have used Blip.tv for full-length videos, YouTube for short ones (we were named 2nd most-viewed Israeli non-profit on YouTube), and Jewish video sites Yideoz.com and JewTube.com for additional distribution (although both sites have their technical issues).

To upgrade the quality of our videos, which had been single-camera-plopped-in-front-of-a-seated-lecturer boring, we hired a professional cameraman this summer who intercut and edited the videos, as well as added intros and credits at the end. We have had interest in these from a Jewish cable TV network in the U.S., as well as have placed these on an online Jewish Internet TV network.

We have done video-enabled distance learning to rabbis, teachers and community leaders in North America for 5+ years via dedicated, non-Internet lines. We are transitioning this fall to online video via Ustream.tv and/or Mogulus.com. Some of our courses are for small groups, so we will keep those streams private for a while before making the recorded videos public.

I started an offsite blog for our site – http://hartmaninstitute.wordpress.com - to allow us to use Hebrew, to enhance search, and to give a less formal view of our activities.

I am working - with some frustrating lack of success - to launch an iTunes podcast audio and video versions - although I suspect the problem is more my lack of understanding than anything else (help appreciated!).

We have purchased URL’s that correspond with the names of some of our leading individuals - donnielhartman.com, and rabbihartman.com (not surprisingly, davidhartman.com was taken), and are building individual sites for them.

We also are working on enhancing the Wikipedia entries others have created.

We are developing a Facebook strategy, as well. I use my FB page (Alan Abbey - please ask to friend) to promote our content and videos, and have created a FB group for a group of North American rabbis studying with us. I regularly place our material on related Jewish/Israeli FB groups, as well as promote through Twitter.

We are weaker than I would like in social networking, however. Our existing audience is older than the standard online audience, and we are slowly making headway.

All this is not to say we are doing the best job in the Jewish world. There are some better funded, and larger organizations with intensive Web operations. We are probably, however, one of the better organized “mainstream” Jewish organizations online (i.e., not Ultra-Orthodox, not “messianic” Jewish, and not “New Age-y”).

I would love it, of course if our Amuta 2.0 users were to look at our ops and review, comment and critique. I could use some advice!

[Update: Read/Write web featured the Hartman Institute as part of its Religion and Web Technology series ]

This post was written by A lan D. Abbey, Internet Director at the Shalom Hartman Institute - http://hartman.org.il/

Sep

14

4 tips for social networking: online and real life

Filed Under Social Media | Leave a Comment

We all know what it’s like to go to networking events: Hi, How Are You? What Do You Do? Can I Have Your Business Card? Etc.

But collecting and distributing business cards that ultimately get slipped into a drawer is not enough anymore; it is important to create meaningful relationships both online and offline that people remember, even after the business card has been filed.

It’s about being part of a community and joining discussions.

Here are 4 tips that apply to social networking in real life and online.

1. Be real, be yourself

Real life: Think about how you want others to act toward you – with genuine interest, not with glances around the room to see if anybody better is coming along. This takes patience and good listening skills. Make sure that the friendly, not-nervous part of you that everyone loves comes out and shines – yes, you can even make jokes. We’re human, and connect to other humans who captivate us with their personality, not with their business suits and stiff business-like manners.

Online: Revisit your profile and be clear about who you are. Relationships are built on trust. Be aware that both colleagues and personal relationships will probably have access to your profile so make sure to be comfortable with whatever appears there. Try to have as much of a personality as is possible online.

2. Help others - don’t be pushy or sales-y

Real life: Make sure to get to know people’s names so you can introduce them to others if you see a good business match. Connecting people, or offering pearls of wisdom based on your conversations will give you instant fans. On the other hand, be sure to never aggressively push your website or product. People want to connect with you, not buy something.

Online: Listen to the questions being asked in your area of expertise. Can you help? If so, get out there and start offering tips, advice, resources, and anything else you’ve got hidden up your sleeve. Being persistent about offering help will bring you trust and friends, while being persistent about sales and products will only damage your reputation.

3. Prepare and research who will be there

Real Life: Try to find out who is attending and who will be on the panels, and look up some information about them. Think about how flattered you are when someone comes up to you and knows something about what you do or has read something you wrote.

Online: Before becoming part of a new network, get to know the site’s culture, rules, and style before jumping in. It’s often a good idea to “lurk” there a bit to see what types of information is being published, and they styles of conversations taking place.

4. Breaking the traditional networking rules

The line between social networking and real life networking has become a bit blurred. Are you supposed to meet people in real life and then connect online – or can it be the other way around too? Start rethinking how first meeting online and then meeting in real life can create an even more meaningful meetup at an event. Don’t stop the networking at the collection of business cards and the standard “follow up” email or phone call. It’s a social event. Feel free to take pictures or videos of people and then post them online so you can continue your relationship and help jog the ol’ memory if you forget what someone looked like.

Written by Miriam Schwab & Rebecca Markowitz of illuminea

illuminea is an internet marketing firm that helps companies create and optimize their web presence with comprehensive blogging and social media strategies.

Sep

10

Harnessing the Internet

Filed Under Conference Details, E-newsletters, non-profit | 1 Comment

E-mail, not the Web, is the key to raising money online. A strong Web site is absolutely necessary, but it’s far from sufficient. If you build it and just let it sit there, they won’t come.

Get out your pencil and notebook now. It’s time for a pop quiz.

Question: Which one of the following statements is true?

  • The most important thing for raising money online is the capacity to accept donations on your Web site.
  • E-mail costs so much less than direct mail that it is rapidly replacing it as a fundraising medium of choice.
  • Nonprofit organizations in the United States are raising more than 10% of their revenue online, and that  proportion is expected to rise to 50% by 2013.
  • The way to raise money online is to take your direct mail letters and send them out by e-mail to all your donors.
  • Almost everyone in the United States is now online, so it’s only a matter of time before nonprofits can expect their donor lists to grow exponentially through an influx of younger donors who will join through the World Wide Web.

Careful now—that was a trick question.

Have you got it? You figured out that not one of these answers is true? Go to the head of the class! But if you’re unsure about whether these statements reflect current reality, listen up. Fundraising online is a highly promising field, but it’s a world in itself, with its own rules, quirks, and culture. If you plunge in blindly, heedless of the idiosyncrasies and challenges of communications online, you may find that fundraising via e-mail and the Internet is anything but cheap.

Read more…

eJewish Philanthropy is an independent Jerusalem based resource.

Incorporating blogs, videos and more, we are an instant publishing channel of Jewish Philanthropy news, ideas and fundraising content resources.

eJewish Philanthropy consults on ePhilanthropy and Web 2.0 marketing strategies for Jewish organizations and academic institutions in Israel, North America and the U.K.

Check us out and opt-in for our regular email updates!

The best way to reach us is ejewishphilanthropy@gmail.com.

eJewish Philanthropy

Jewish Philanthropy in a Web 2.0 World

http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/

Sep

9

Review of the amuta 2.0 launch breakfast with Jeff Pulver

Filed Under Conference Details | 1 Comment

It’s been over a week since we held the launch event for amuta 2.0 in the form of a breakfast in Jerusalem featuring Jeff Pulver and a panel of representatives from non-profits speaking about social media.

Thanks to everyone who schlepped to the event from all over the country and the world. We had people from the Golan, the north, the Negev, and the Tel Aviv area, and of course Jeff who was in Israel from New York. A big thank you also goes to our sponsor, The Jerusalem College of Technology and their representative Dr. Avi Kay who introduced the event, whose generous sponsorship helped make it all happen.

Here’s an overview with links and info from the event:

They blogged and wrote about it:

Photos

We posted photos from the event on the Launch Page . Jeff also uploaded photos to facebook.

Packets

We’re really sorry there weren’t enough packets for everyone. We’ve uploaded some of the packet material to the website so that you can download it. Click here to view the contents of the packet.

Write on the amuta 2.0 blog

Our blog is there for you: not only for reading, but also for you to share your wisdom and experiences with others. We’d love to publish your thoughts and ideas on marketing, managing and growing your non-profit, and every blogger gets to publish a bio at the end of their article with a link back to their site. It’s a great way to help others, AND promote your organization. To submit an article, please send it as a Word document to info@amuta20.com.

More amuta 2.0 goodness!

We’re already got a few great tentative events lined up for the next half a year:

Wednesday October 29th
How-to Hands-on Workshops
Haifa

Sunday, December 7th
Business and Non-profits: Models for Working Together
Tel Aviv

Sunday, January 4th
Peoplehood: Connecting the Jewish People
Location to be announced

Stay updated

To stay updated on future amuta 2.0 events, please sign up for the newsletter by entering your email address in the sidebar of the website.

Thanks again to everyone who came and made the event a success, and we hope to see you soon!

Sep

4

Free e-newsletters for non-profits at Vertical Response

Filed Under E-newsletters | Leave a Comment

I’ve been using Vertical Response for managing my email campaigns and e-newsletters for a few years now. I like their service because it is feature rich, yet not too complicated. Plus, their pricing structure suits someone like me who does not have a set mailing schedule, since they charge per email sent rather than an ongoing monthly fee.

Someone just posted on the Digital Eve Israel list something that I think many non-profits will find useful to know: Vertical Response offers up to 10,000 emails per month for free to non-profits registered with the American 501(c)(3). After 10,000, non-profits must pay but they enjoy a reduced rate.

Email marketing is a great and low cost way to strengthen your non-profit’s position. Free is as low cost as you can get, so why don’t you take this opportunity to create or strengthen your current e-mail marketing strategy for you non-profit?