Nuru has come out with a compelling video to show what they do, which is to empower rural communities in the developing world to help eradicate extreme poverty. A combination of good script and music, along with diverse settings and voices, make this “Big Idea” video a Go Small fave.
Readers might have noticed that we’ve written posts on this blog before about books and/or publishing in relation to social media. That’s because, not only are we book junkies, we also like to write, possibly as much as we like to eat food (especially certain kinds of cheese and cured meats). Probably more.
For those of you looking for a literary hit from a favourite new writer, editor or critic about a recent book, the NYTimes website features podcasts by NY Times Book Review editor, Sam Tanenhaus. Also available through iTunes, “Inside The New York Times Book Review” offers everything from conversations with Marlon Brando’s biographer to an extended conversation with the late John Updike.
Dip into a bookish podcast today for your daily morsel of inspiration. Here are some others to listen to…
Just One More Book (Children’s book podcast)
Slate Magazine’s Today’s Papers Textcast (news, politics, culture and humour)
Everyday it seems there are more spiffy online resources for not-for-profits wanting to start their own blog, podcast, or to exchange with others on a social software site or common portal that links people from like minded organizations such as Wiser Earth (if the environment is your bag) or Shapeshifters (if you’re in the creative industry).
The Nonprofit Blog Exchange is a blog that connects other bloggers in the sector, while providing these groups with vital information to help them navigate the twists and turns of the blogosphere.
Every little resource and connection we make to other not-for-profits will help the online experience feel less otherworldly and more like, well, home.
Over the past few years, musicians, artists and writers have begun to do something that, not that long ago, they would have considered unthinkable: Giving people their work for FREE.
Take the band Radiohead. When they first released their album In Rainbows they told fans they could download it and basically pay what they wanted. Three months later the release was full price. Many people were upset because they thought the band had undermined the whole music industry and what it stood for, while others thought it was a great ploy to reel in more fans. Whatever way you look at it, it got me thinking more about how creators could still keep some semblance of control over their art (and incomes!), given that consumers seem to find ways to download whatever they want for free anyway.
A recent example in the book industry is Kelly Link’s second book, Magic for Beginners, which is now available online for one year under the Creative Commons license. Seven of her nine stories are included in the free download. This is a major step for her publishers, the big guns, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (paperback) and HarperPerennial (UK edition). The move gives even more credence to the Creative Commons and what they’re trying to do, which is let authors, artists, scientists, and educators have the freedom to make their work available within the rules of copyright.
The new marketplace is forcing everybody, not just musicians and authors, to look at ways to attract people to their product, whether it is an actual physical thing like an album or book, or whether it is another way of looking at recycling or caring for the elderly. It seems we have no choice but to be part of the shift. And, since that’s the case, why not take matters into our own hands and create our own version of what that shift looks like?
Not-for-profits looking to make a difference virtually (really, but virtually!) may wish to look at what others, such as musicians and authors are doing in the digital commons in order to glean ideas from these experiments (because that’s what they are…) and prepare their organizations for fresh ways of reaching out and communicating.
