Revised as of April 25, 2007

 
What are good blog topics for mission-based organizations?

 
Heard about blogging? It seems to be a favorite word of the media these days.

The word "blog" is short for "web log", and means keeping a journal or diary online. Blogging is NOT a new concept -- people have been doing it long before it had a snazzy media label. The appeal of blogging for an online audience is that it's more personal and less formal than other information on a web site. Readers who want to connect with an organization on a more personal level, or who are more intensely interested in an organization than the perhaps general public as a whole, love blogs.

Blogs can have lots of "I" statements, and feel more like someone speaking and less like a PR piece. They are an opportunity to not just relate information, but to relate feelings and opinions.

Not every mission-based/civil society organization needs a blog. Blogs must be frequently updated, and be part of an already well-traveled web site. Blogs should also be published regularly, certainly at least once a month. They should be part of the many reasons to visit your organization's web site regularly.

If your organization choses to have a blog, you do NOT need special software: you can upload blog entries just as you do regular web pages. If you want to enable people to post comments about individual blog entries (and approve them before they appear), then special software may make setting up and managing the feature much easier.

Blogs can come from your Executive Director, other staff members, volunteers, and even those you serve. Content options are many:

• Reflections by your executive director on your organization's successes over the last 12 months.

• An update by the president of your board about a new facility being constructed for your organization.

• A personal observation by a program manager relating how people your organization serves related to a particular recent activity.

• An essay by a volunteer about why he or she feels motivated to help your organization.

• A commentary by a staff member about what a proposed piece of legislation may mean for the mission-based organization.

• A description by your volunteer manager about what a "day-in-his/her-life" is like at your organization.

• A commentary by a staff member in conjunction with a press release by your organization, such as the receipt of a new grant, giving a personal message about what this means to the organization along with the PR piece.

• An essay to acknowledge a particular event or day relating to your organization, such as World Aids Day, or International Volunteers Day.

You can see a list of Blogs in My RSS Reader, reflecting both professional and personal interests.

My own blog features regular updates about my web site, and resources and issues relating to mission-based organizations (nonprofits, non-governmental organizations/NGOs, civil society, and public sector agencies). The blog provides a way for readers to post comments as well. The Jayne Blog is also available via RSS Feed (if you have a web page that allows you to view RSS Feeds, such as via your My Yahoo page, you can see the latest headlines on my blog right along with all other blogs and web sites you monitor via an RSS Feed). The RSS feed address for the Jayne Blog:
http://blogs.forumer.com/rss.php?u=jcravens
Or, if you use MyYahoo as your RSS reader, just click on this icon:

Volunteering, Civic Engagement & MySpace
My blog on MySpace (every user gets one) focuses specifically on volunteerism / civic engagement for MySpace users -- most of whom are in their teens and 20s. To add My MySpace blog to your RSS reader, use this URL:
http://blog.myspace.com/blog/rss.cfm?friendID=38885498
Or, if you use MyYahoo as your RSS reader, just click on this icon:  
Also see For Nonprofits Considering Their Own Podcasts: Why It's Worth Exploring, and Content Considerations (includes my own podcast)

and

Nonprofit Organizations and Online Social Networking (OSN): Advice and Commentary

 
Return to the index of resources for "Community Relations, With and Without Technology"

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