I Am on video!

"In June, when  I was at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, I got interviewed by What  Gives on the role Managers of Volunteers need to play in convincing their boards to support volunteerism.

Me at a serious moment in the video!

They have done a great job. Apart from the annoying way I wrinkle my nose, I like this video.

I also like the quote they drew from it:

For a board that’s trying to find the money to keep an organization afloat, the fact that a volunteer goes home with a cookie at the end of the day isn’t really relevant.  At the end of the day the board doesn’t actually care if the volunteers are having fun.  It’s the responsibility of the board to make sure they have enough resources to keep the organization going." – Martin J. Cowling, People First – Total Solutions

What do you think?

Ten Questions about Volunteer Management

DJ Cronin on his blog has asked ten questions about volunteering to the sector:


1.In 20 words or less describe/define Volunteer Management

2.What are the 3 main differences between Volunteer Management and Human Resource Management?

3.Where is the current leadership evident in Volunteer Management?

4.Finish this sentence in less than 50 words… An association in Volunteer Management should…

5.There have been many debates on the definition of volunteering itself. How would you define volunteering?

6.If you weren’t doing this what other profession would you have been interested in?

7.Who do you believe has been the most inspiring volunteer in history?

8.Where do you think social media can take volunteerism and Volunteer Management?

9.Does Government "get" (understand) volunteering? If not why not?

10.What would you like to achieve personally in the volunteerism world?



Check out my answers on his blog. 

What do you sleep with?

I initially banned all electronics from my bedroom in my new house- no laptop, no phone, no TV, no computer, no digital alarm clock. Its a rule I have tried to keep in most of my houses.

Until my Iphone!

Because of its function as an alarm clock it now sleeps next to me when I sleep. This is the same phone I now check email on before I get out of bed, the same one that I use to pace me when I run, the same one I use to text, skype, check in to flights, buy things, do my banking, take photos and listen to music.

You get the picture.


Associated Press reports that "Psychologists and others are concerned about another equally troubling issue: the growing obsession among people who would much rather interact with their smartphones than with other human beings."


Have a look around you. On the subway/commuter train/bus/streetcar/ferry, in coffeeshops, offices, lectures and family dinner tables. I used to have another rule: "no phones on the table at a meal". Last week, I went out to dinner with five friends. We all had our phones out! We were comparing apps, showing each other photos

We also use phones to avoid others. There is even a Facebook page Pretending-To-Be-On-The-Phone-To-Avoid-Someone!

Associated Press refers to "Michelle Hackman, a recent high school graduate in Long Island, New York, won a $US75,000 prize in this year's Intel Science Talent Search with a research project investigating teens' attachment to their mobile phones. She found that students separated from their phones were under-stimulated — a low heart rate was an indicator — and lacked the ability to entertain themselves."


My third rule is an electronics Sabbath - no electronics one day a week. At times, even this gets stretched. Going to the footy and not getting the commentary and scores via the phone from friends and media outlets is too hard!

These phones are new.

What rules do you have/need to have to manage the ubiquitous nature of these phones:

•  for yourself? 
• your workplace (amazed at how many train drivers I have seen looking at their phones as they travel along)
• your home?

Monday Motivation

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.”

Social Media Training in the Hills

Break time

Had a very enjoyable day in the Adelaide Hills training 

with Hills Volunteering and Mt Barker District Council. 

There were attendees from the Private Sector, government Sector and Community Sector. 

We looked at Social Media. Some good questions came from the group:

• where does a "Tweet" go?
• how do we keep records in an electronic age when  data can be changed so quickly?
• do we need to keep records of Facebook conversations for legal reasons?
• Is Flickr safe for children?
• Where should I store photos? Flickr or Facebook?

Esme from Hills Volunteering

Image via CrunchBase

Workshop Participants

We also had a presentation about the facts behind the new Australian National Broadband Network like what the wires look like, the connections, the costs, the equipment. It is indeed very visionary and very different to what I thought. 

Was very excited by the provision of fresh fruit for lunch and snacks. Thanks guys!

I got an average of 94% which would seem to be "acceptable".

Any Perth people? I am in Perth in about a month and would LOVE to do a Social Media workshop if anyone would be keen to arranging that!

What do I need to have to manage volunteers?

There are several debates / discussions going on online right now regarding what the qualifications should be for those in charge of volunteers at a nonprofit, NGO, government program, etc. 

Jayne Cravens details her viewpoint in her blog. She says: "That's a hot topic right now, and there is a LOT of disagreement about it" 

She has links to all these various debates happening online right now. You can find her blog here.

World Changers: Norway

I send my condolences to the families of the young people of Norway who lost their lives at the hands of someone who chose violence to change the world.
Is anything worth the death of people?

What's the whole idea of a Facebook picture?

How often do you change Facebook pics?

From a study of 500 000 facebook users, the average Facebook user will change their profile photo 18 times this year! That’s three times as often as in 2006. Women twice as often as men. 
Why is this important? If you are reaching people through Facebook, you need to know what will reach them!

Have a look at this amazing infographics about Facebook and photos and the commentary on it. A few interesting facts:

• people seem to "recognize that having an online presence is now the norm and maintaining it is important"
• smartphones with "extremely powerful cameras" are the norm
• everywhere you go people are watching the world "through their cameras"
• 80% of Gen Y will "digitally manipulate" their pictures as they post compared to Gen X
• Under 30s will post pictures "anywhere and everywhere" compared to over 30s who are very careful where they post pictures
• People understand what a profile picture is and have come to expect other users to have realistic and current (very current) profile pictures, especially given the likelihood of their attending an event recently in which they probably took pictures with their smartphones.

Think about this. How often have you gone to a see a singer or a speaker or an author and their pictures are very much older than they are? I have been fascinated by how many people have commented when I have met them at conferences: "you look like your photo" or in some cases "you look much better/younger" (thank you) than your photo. Whereas I would get one comment like that a month at a conference, I now get it multiple times. People are looking at my pictures on multiple social networking sites. What is even more fascinating is that many of the same people who have instantly recognised me in a lift (elevator), conference centre corridor  or conference room have been  surprised to learn that I am Australian. While they have remembered my photo, some have clearly not taken everything in from the accompanying bio. 

Conference participants from NCVS 2011 this year. 

From some research undertaken on a  community newspaper by Abbie Schmid, Lauren Pinder and Harumendhah Helmy: "When a video or photo is uploaded to Facebook (not just linked to) people are more likely to participate in conversation and to read the story. If there is a visual aspect to the story, make sure at least one photo is uploaded."












Implications for a not for profit:

• we are a visual generation- think visual for everything- but also be aware some people are not naturally visual
• if you dont have an online presence, you are invisible (what I say in my trainings a lot)
• if you dont have a policy regarding photos for your agency, get one
• if you have not changed your online photo recently, then you will be seen as dull/irrelevant/out of date
• if you want to recruit people to volunteer for you, think what your pictures say about you!
• "Keep the community in mind when posting pictures or galleries" (Schmid et al)
• always make sure your hair and make up is good! LOL

Excuse me, while I go and change my photos (hows this one?)! 

Monday Motivation: 25th July 2011: Humour and Hope

“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”  Bill Cosby

Made the Big Time!

My blog post about Google+ got mentioned by Jayne Cravens at Techsoup. TechSoup is a nonprofit that helps other nonprofits and public libraries get the technology resources they need to operate at their full potential.

 I was described as non-tech with an "insightful review".  Thanks Jayne!