Momentum for Sustainability
The 17th issue of the NTEN: Change journal is out, focusing on “Digital Inclusion and Technical Divides.” This issue covers a range of perspectives from those at the forefront of bridging the digital divide: schools, libraries, city governments, and nonprofit organizations. Subscribe & download the March 2015 issue: www.nten.org/ntenchange.
This post might be overly technical, but hey, there were no good explanation on the web, and I think I’ve understood the issue now.
The Problem: You’ve built your website somewhere else, now you want it to show under your own domain.
Does your website do what it should? Reviewing the own website should be regular practice for everyone who maintains an online presence for a good cause or organization. At the same time, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees sometimes.
Here are 10 steps that can help you get the insights you need to make strategic suggestions to improve your own website:
Some of my clients have it all: They are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. They run their own online community. They have a blog. When I speak to them, they are so overworked that their main question is: “How can we automate all this?”
Others are just starting out, and are overwhelmed by all the platforms and possibilities out there. How can they decide where to place their energy?
For those labelgeeks among us, creating or updating a sustainability standard is comparatively straightforward: The ISEAL Standard-Setting Code tells us exactly what to do. There’s a list of stakeholders to be compiled, a draft to be written along a defined structure and two public consultations to be held. It’s still a lengthy process involving hundreds of people and numerous meetings and conversations.
I admit, I’m a geek. I love playing with technology. My particular pleasure at the moment: Finding just the right website management system for the task at hand. Here’s my current list of installations in progress:
I can’t say it often enough: If you are working for a small, cash-starved, well-meaning nonprofit, please resist the temptation to have your website custom-built. Do yourself a favour and go open source.