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[08:24] Coughran Mayo: howdy

[08:28] bulaklak: I am curious if the Mentors Central has ever covered how to take awesome inworld pictures. I was comparing mine to Rhiannon’s last week and hers were 100x cooler than mine.

[08:28] Rhiannon Chatnoir: aww

[08:28] Gentle Heron: Thanks for the great topic idea, Bulaklak.

[08:29] Zinnia Zauber: They were very good. There are several factors indeed.

[08:29] Rhiannon Chatnoir: a lot has to do with SL settings … then you can maybe you can chock the rest of to composition/design

[08:29] Rhiannon Chatnoir: but settings can have a huge difference – definitely a good topic though!

[08:30] bulaklak: Thanks! Yeah I figured there must be some tricks and tips. I like how you were able to have the floating names and chat out of the shot.

[08:31] Rhiannon Chatnoir: ahh – that is a setting too 🙂

[08:31] Gentle Heron: Depending on your viewer, that’s simply a setting once you push the camera button before you press SAVE

[08:31] Zinnia Zauber: Depending on your video card…

[08:31] bulaklak: Ah, cool. I’ve just been taking screen grabs. =)

[08:32] Gentle Heron: oh no WONDER Bulaklak. Use the inworld tools for photography.

[08:33] Zinnia Zauber: The amount of people in the shot can be a factor.

[08:33] Rhiannon Chatnoir: a SL photo workshop would be great

[08:34] Tava Longfall: Hi everyone, Jenelle crashed and can’t get back in so she asked me to sit in

[08:34] Zinnia Zauber: I am waiting for volunteers.

[08:34] Gentle HeronGentle Heron waves to Tava.

[08:34] Zinnia Zauber: wow major chat lag there.

[08:35] Tava Longfall: Took a good 30+ seconds

[08:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: is Susan coming today?

[08:35] bulaklak: no

[08:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: ok

[08:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thanks

[08:36] Buffy Beale: Buffy Bye, Bridges for Women, Victoria BC Canada, http://www.bridgesforwomen.ca @bridges4women

[08:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: OK lets start things off

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Welcome everyone to this weeks NonProfit Commons meeting!

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: The Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is sponsored by TechSoup Global and is a program of the TechSoup Global Community & Social Media team

[08:37] Buffy Beale: oooo sorry thought I was late 🙂

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Today’s Agenda:

• 8:30 am Welcome & Introductions
• 8:40 am TechSoup Announcements
• 8:45 am Mentors Central
• 8:55 am Jayne Cravens speaking on the TechSoup Forums
• 9:30 am Open Mic / Announcements

First a few links to start off the meeting. 

Here are the many ways to can get involved with the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life:

Nonprofit Commons Blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org

Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons

Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life

Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh

http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thats ok 🙂

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: About TechSoup the sponsors of the Nonprofit Commons:

– http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp

– http://flavors.me/techsoup

INTRODUCTIONS

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: So, morning – lets start with introductions

[08:37] HB Eternal: Harold W Becker, The Love Foundation, Florida, http://www.thelovefoundation.com @lovefoundation

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Please state your real name, location, org, and the ways we can find you online.

[08:37] Chayenn: Monique Richert, Protect Yourself 1, Inc., Baltimore MD, protectyourself1.org , facebook.com/PY1US, @PY1US

[08:38] Dancers Yao: Kara Bennett, Elder Voices, Los Angeles, CA Health Care and Human Rights www.eldervoices.net

[08:38] Tava Longfall: Bruce Hestley, Transgender American Veterans Association, Akron, OH, http://www.tavausa.org

[08:38] Coughran Mayo: Dick Dillon, Innovaision, LLC @Coughran @Innovaision St. Louis MO

[08:38] Gentle Heron: Virtual Ability, Inc. www.virtualability.org

[08:38] Zinnia Zauber: Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond, Sequim Humanities and Arts Alliance, Sequim, Olympic Peninsula, Washington. http://www.sequimartsalliance.org http://www.facebook.com/sequimartsalliance @renneemiko

[08:38] Ozma Malibu: Sandra Andrews, Floaters Org – tech outreach in Arizona, Mexico and On the Road.

[08:38] Zotarah Shepherd: BEACH College, Santa Rosa, CA

[08:38] alebez: Ale Bezdikian, Online Community Coordinator, TechSoup, SF, Ca., @TechSoup, @alebez

[08:38] Adalace Jewell: Adalace, RoSa Library Brussels, http://www.rosadoc.be @adalace

[08:38] Coughran Mayo: On The Road! nice Ozma

[08:38] Tank Thibedeau: Ricky Davis, San Antonio, unempoyed, HIV/AIDS activist and DJ

[08:38] Atalanta Visage: Jen Siegel, National Service Inclusion Project, Boston, MA, www.serviceandinclusion.org

[08:39] Rhiannon ChatnoirRhiannon Chatnoir is Joyce Bettencourt, online community manager of the NonProfit Commons, Boston, MA, http://joycebettencourt.com, @rhiannonSL

[08:39] jacmacaire Humby: Jacques Macaire HUMANBE http://www.humanbe.com Action Tank and Council on Sustainable Development France and International @Humanbe

[08:39] bulaklak: Michael DeLong, Senior Manager Online Community and Social Media, TechSoup Global, San Francisco, CA, USA, www.techsoup.org, @MichaelDeLongSF @TechSoup

[08:39] Zotarah ShepherdZotarah Shepherd is still visiting in Seattle

[08:40] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Anyone else?

[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: We have lovely weather in Washington, don’t we?

TECH SOUP ANNOUNCEMENTS 

[08:40] Rhiannon Chatnoir: OK – Lets move on to TechSOup Announcements

[08:40] Ozma Malibu: @Coughran yes Floaters isn’t picky about whether or not members have fixed addresses

[08:41] Zotarah Shepherd: Yes

[08:41] bulaklak: Okie doke! Hi, folks. We’re super excited to welcome Jayne Cravens today. First a few updates from TechSoup.

[08:42] bulaklak: You have a few days left to enter our Technology in Action photo contest. We’re asking folks to take a picture of what Technology in Action means to them. And this could be an inworld picture, of course! Or a collage or drawing or something you made in Photoshop. It’s open to all social benefit agents and orgs. There are four ways to enter: on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or by email.

[08:43] bulaklak: Details are here: http://bit.ly/TechInAction

[08:43] bulaklak: The deadline is 11:59 PT on September 30

[08:43] bulaklak: And the prize is pretty cool: a custom-made infographic by Karma Store that you can use to engage constituents online

[08:44] bulaklak: I also want to share some news that has pretty big ramifications for one of our projects, NGOsource, and for global giving in general.

[08:45] bulaklak: The IRS and Treasury are easing the burden on global giving, which was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

[08:45] bulaklak: Please read more about that here

[08:45] Carl Solutionary: Carl Icann http://carlicann.wordpress.com For Rockcliffe U, Etopia, & Feed-A-Smile: At 8am slt every Sunday, I lead Humane Education Drum Circles – Now with Poetry! Founder of Occupy Virtual Worlds http://interoccupy.net/ovw17/calendar/

[08:45] bulaklak: http://bit.ly/NGOsourceNews

[08:46] bulaklak: Welcome, Carl.

[08:46] bulaklak: And that’s all I’ve got for today!

[08:46] bulaklak: Enjoy the meeting and have a great weekend.

[08:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thanks Bulaklak

MENTORS CENTRAL

[08:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: on to Mentor’s Central!

[08:47] Zinnia Zauber: Today we have Coughran!

[08:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Today for it, we have Coughran speaking to us

[08:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: 🙂

[08:47] Zinnia Zauber: Rah!

[08:48] Gentle Heron: YAY Coughran.

[08:48] Buffy Beale: yay C!

[08:48] Coughran Mayo: Is that the intro?

[08:48] Coughran Mayo: sorta lame

[08:48] Buffy Beale: getting the drum roll ready

[08:48] Zinnia Zauber: Sorry, I should have just been chanting!

[08:48] Coughran Mayo: ha ha

[08:48] Ozma Malibu: rah!

[08:49] Zinnia Zauber: Coughran! Coughran! Coughran!

[08:49] Gentle Heron: You need no introduction.

[08:49] Buffy Beale: lol Z

[08:49] Gentle Heron: Just talk, Coughran.

[08:49] Coughran Mayo: anyway, I believe I am here to talk briefly on “Selling your VW plans in-house”

[08:49] Coughran Mayo: in 8 minutes

[08:49] Coughran Mayo: I mean I get 8 minutes to talk, your selling plan could take longer than that

[08:50] Coughran Mayo: In my discussions with many nonprofit representatives in SL, I hear a lot of similar issues that revolve around the acceptance of SL, or virtual worlds in general, as a legitimate tool or resource.

[08:50] Coughran Mayo: To begin with, it is not a general rule that the person using SL on behalf of a nonprofit is the executive director, or chief administrative officer (although that IS true in some cases).

[08:50] Coughran Mayo: More often, you have some other role with the organization – you might even be a volunteer – but you have recognized the potential for using virtual worlds to advance the mission of your nonprofit.

[08:50] Coughran Mayo: The question is, how do you get buy-in from the organization as a whole? There is a cost to SL participation. Even those of us whose groups have benefitted from the free space made available by TechSoup still have a time investment that needs to be considered. The most active NPC members may spend 10 or more hours a week inworld. It is nice If you can get credit for “working” during those hours!

[08:50] Coughran Mayo: And, of course, if you want to have additional locations in SL, even your own “Agency Island”, there is an additional cash outlay to Linden Lab to be considered.

[08:51] Coughran Mayo: And, we all want to look good and dress sharp, so don’t forget the clothing budget.

[08:51] Coughran Mayo: So the key is, how do I demonstrate to my organization the validity and the value of a virtual world presence? I think there are a few things you can do to advance this concept and gain acceptance among your group leaders.

[08:51] Zinnia Zauber: Yah!

[08:51] Coughran Mayo: First, develop a library of resources that can be shared – articles, web blogs, videos, etc. If you have outside reporters who make the case that Second Life or other virtual worlds have a meaningful use in real life concerns, you can do a lot to offset the concept that “it’s just a game”. I have a well developed list that I would be happy to share with anyone who wants to drop me an email (dickd@innovaision.com)

[08:52] Coughran Mayo: If you gather a few good resources, share the best of them with the decision makers in your organization. And, always keep your eye out for new reports or documents to pass along. Like social media, a steady but not overwhelming stream of information does a lot to keep your issue on the front burner and to persuade others of the validity of your position.

[08:52] Coughran Mayo: Second, organize a tour of the virtual world. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, and it doesn’t even have to involve other people actually logging in (sometimes that creates more problems than it solves). You can arrange a meeting (real life) and have a projector connected to your computer so that participants can watch you take a tour of the NPC sims, for example, visiting your own space and the offices of others to show what is being done with nonprofits in the VW.

[08:52] Coughran Mayo: I like to ask other NPC friends to join me when I set something like this up, so that the onlookers can not only see what the virtual space looks like but they can also begin to get a feel for how the interactions between people/avatars actually works.

[08:53] Coughran Mayo: Zinnia, Gentle and others have helped me out more than once!

[08:53] Coughran Mayo: Third, think of ways to use the virtual world to demonstrate the value to your organization internally.

[08:53] Gentle Heron: awwww

[08:53] Coughran Mayo: When I was with Preferred Family Healthcare, we arranged meetings of staff members who were separated by hundreds of miles, saving the company a lot of mileage dollars. We even did virtual job interviews with candidates from distant locations who might not have been able to meet with us had they needed to travel a long distance just for an initial interview. I know PFH hired at least one person from this activity.

[08:53] Coughran Mayo: Finally, keep your eye out for funding from grantmakers and foundations, that your organization might be able to apply for. This (virtual anything!) is a hot topic these days. If you can secure outside funding to advance the work you or your organization does, that’s a lock!

[08:54] Coughran Mayo: Put these ideas together and you can do a lot to infuluence your organization to continue to support or even expand your work in SL.

[08:55] Coughran Mayo: You CAN get paid to play!

[08:55] Hour Destiny: And try to attend conferences on virtual worlds, especially those with a focus on your area of employment?

[08:55] Gentle Heron: oohhhhhh

[08:55] Coughran Mayo: Ha, and two minutes left for questions!

[08:55] Coughran Mayo: 🙂

[08:55] Buffy Beale: you’re a pro C

[08:55] Gentle Heron: Coughran, will you be doing a full presentation on this topic any time soon?

[08:55] Coughran Mayo: online clock

[08:55] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes – questions for Coughran

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: Rock Star!

[08:56] Coughran Mayo: Gentle yes, I will be talking about this on the Saturday after next at Agile Bill’s affair

[08:56] Coughran Mayo: which I unfortunately do not have a reference for

[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: http://www.meetup.com/agile3d/events/59490692/

[08:56] Buffy Beale: Question: Do you see Virtual Worlds gaining in popularity for business use or has it peaked?

[08:56] Coughran Mayo: but we can get it and send to NPCers

[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: http://agileworlds2012.sched.org/

[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Those are the links to the event!

[08:57] Buffy Beale: ty Z

[08:57] Coughran Mayo: Buffy, I think if you read the Gartner “hype cycle” report for 2012, you see they believe that the legit use of virtual worlds is just starting to come into its own

[08:57] Coughran Mayo: so I’m very optimistic

[08:57] Buffy Beale: that’s good news

[08:57] Coughran Mayo: we are emerging from the “trough of disillusionment”

[08:58] J Cravens: Hi, everyone. Sorry to be late.

[08:58] Coughran Mayo: well you have my email so don’t be strangers

[08:58] Coughran Mayo: thanks!

[08:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thanks Jayne – thats ok. and thank you

[08:58] Zinnia Zauber: We are on the upswing! Coughran, is it important to find a team with “pie in the sky” ideas?

[08:58] Coughran Mayo: I’m sticking to my clock!

FEATURED PRESENTER

[08:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: so lets all Welcome Jayne Cravens who is our featured speaker for today’s meeting, talking to us about the TechSoup Forums

[08:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: a bit about Jayne:

[08:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Jayne Cravens is an internationally-recognized trainer, researcher and consultant. Her work is focused on communications, volunteer involvement, community engagement, and management for nonprofits, NGOs, and government initiatives. She is a pioneer regarding the research, promotion and practice of virtual volunteering, including virtual teams, microvolunteering and crowdsourcing, and she is a veteran manager of various local and international initiatives. Jayne received her BA in Journalism from Western Kentucky University and her Master’s degree in Development Management from Open University in the U.K. She is currently based near Portland, Oregon in the USA.

[08:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: so whenever you are ready Jayne

[08:59] J Cravens: Memorize that. There will be a test later.

[08:59] bulaklak: lol

[08:59] Hour Destiny: Logs really help my memory. 😀

[08:59] Gentle Heron: Agile Worlds 2012 online here: http://agileworlds2012.sched.org/event/40dbbb60da603130b758fa08932b84dc#…

[08:59] J Cravens: Good morning! I am so sorry I’m late! I could not find this area again – found it last night, but couldn’t this morning. Also, I have an ancient computer – really slows things down.

[08:59] Buffy Beale: Cheering!

[08:59] alebez: woooot, jayne!

[08:59] J Cravens: I’m Jayne Cravens, and this is my first Second Life event/interaction EVER! Usually, I’m wondering around by myself, bumping into things and wondering where I am – which is how I’m in real life as well.

[09:00] Tava Longfall: Welcome Jayne

[09:00] J Cravens: Wandering…..

[09:00] Zinnia Zauber: Welcome!

[09:00] J Cravens: Anyway, how many of you have been on the TechSoup community forum *this year*.

[09:00] Coughran MayoCoughran Mayo raises hand

[09:00] Hour Destiny: Me, as a guest.

[09:00] Buffy Beale: me

[09:00] Rhiannon ChatnoirRhiannon Chatnoir raises hand

[09:01] bulaklak: Me!

[09:01] J Cravens: The forum has changed a lot since it started way back in the ancient days of 2001 or so. Branches have come and gone. But what’s still true – volunteers, employees and consultants at nonprofits, libraries and other such ors have a lot of questions and comments about tech and their work.

[09:02] J Cravens: Since you all are rather savvy tech folks, I invite you to post somethiing today or this week – just something about what you’ve learned, what’s helped you, or what’s challenged you re: tech at your organization.

[09:03] J Cravens: It can be really simple – your ongoing love of FileMaker Pro to track volunteers, your ongoing hatred of teh Cloud – whatever!

[09:04] J Cravens: And, of course, you can offer questions and advice. About your smart phone that you use for work, or Second Life, or your email client, or your attempts to train fellow staff members re: some software tool – truly, whatever.

[09:04] J Cravens: What’s in it for you is that you can find other organizations that are experiencing something similar to you re: the use of tech.

[09:06] J Cravens: And ANYONE from your respective organizations can post to the TechSoup community – not just the IT staff.

[09:06] J Cravens: So, any questions? Comments?

[09:07] Hour Destiny: Are the forums only for those working at/for a nonprofit?

[09:08] Buffy Beale: I think the forum is a handy tool and glad it’s still being supported

[09:08] Coughran Mayo: chat lag

[09:08] J Cravens: You can post as a volunteer for some organization, or for nonprofits in general. Or just as someone who really cares how mission-based organizations use tech.

[09:08] Magic Pathfinder: I am really confused about TechSoups online content… there seems to be numerous channels… and it’s not clear where to focus… are any channels curated for quality?

[09:09] bulaklak: major lag

[09:09] J Cravens: The TechSoup web site has a LOT going on, it’s true. The TechSoup community forum *is* moderated.

[09:09] J Cravens: But we don’t block any content unless it’s spammy.

[09:10] J Cravens: I’m tryingn to get what’s going on in the community better integrated with TechSoup’s activities on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

[09:11] J Cravens: If you follow the #TechSOupDYB tag on Twitter, for instance, you will get tweets about questions on the TS community forum that are particularly hot, interesting, or in need of input.

[09:11] J Cravens: DYB = Donate your brain.

[09:11] J Cravens: Have I missed answering any questions ? I know there’s a serious chat lag.

[09:12] Hour Destiny: Can one access the forums from a prim in SL? That might increase the number of those aware of the forums.

[09:12] bulaklak: How did you first get involved in the forums?

[09:12] J Cravens: Hour Destiny, someone else will have to answer that. MIchael?

[09:12] J Cravens: How I got involved – I got involved with TechSoup when it was Compumentor and sent tech volunteers to nonprofits – I was a client!

[09:13] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Hour – you should be able to… via web on a prim, you could view with no issues and then if you wanted to post, you would have to login and it should allow you to enter/submit…but we would have to test that

[09:13] bulaklak: Thanks, Rhiannon.

[09:13] J Cravens: Then when the TechSoup community was launched, Susan Tenby invited me to participate – and I jumped all over it. I was at the UN at the time, and desperate to talk to other nonprofits re: tech. I was still using USENET, and it was so spammy, it had become useless.

[09:14] Hour Destiny: NNTP.

[09:15] Tava Longfall: My question is how do you keep track of all the different communication channels?

[09:15] J Cravens: I’ve been a client, volunteer and consultant with TechSoup – I expect to get to be janitor at some point, just to cover all the bases.

[09:15] bulaklak: We hire more and more contractors!

[09:15] J Cravens: Tava, if by communications channels you mean Twitter, Facebook, SecondLife, etc., that’s something MIchael or Susan will have to answer.

[09:16] Buffy Beale: lol on the janitor job

[09:16] J Cravens: If you just mean the forum – we track all the different branch activity with old fashioned human review – there’s not a huge amount of traffic, so no software is needed.

[09:16] J Cravens: We involve volunteers – the TechSoup Royal Court – to help keep out spam and to act as subject matter experts.

[09:17] Tava Longfall: I mean by the time I get through emails and facebooks and everything I miss some

[09:17] J Cravens: We have volunteers who are experts at security, for instance.

[09:17] J Cravens: Tava, I hear your pain. For a huge organization like TechSoup, that’s a HUGE challenge.

[09:17] Rhiannon Chatnoir: monitoring and tracking social media would be a great topic of a future meeting 🙂

[09:17] J Cravens: The community team meets every friday on the phone, religiously, because of the need for that kind of internal communication.

[09:18] J Cravens: I agree with Rhiannon, because I don’t know of any nonprofit doing it especially well.

[09:19] J Cravens: I think some people think text-based communities / bulletin boards are on their way out, but I don’t at all – it’s still a preferred “gathering” mehtod for a lot of folks. However, without social media support, such is doomed. Hence why TechSoup does the #TechSoupDYB tag on Twitter.

[09:19] Rhiannon Chatnoir: a few of us here were talking about Beth Kanter’s new book about analyzing the networked nonprofit… will see if we can get her to come speak to us on it – she was an early member of the NonProfit Commons here in Second Life 🙂

[09:19] J Cravens: Right now, I’m refining how the community contributes to the stated goals of TechSoup.

[09:20] J Cravens: Measuring the value of online community, as well as social media outreach, is a challenge – so many of the for-profit/corproate measures do NOT apply.

[09:20] Hour Destiny: http://betanews.com/2012/09/24/bitrix24-gives-away-free-cloud-based-soci… might be of interest.

[09:20] J Cravens: Any other questions or comments about the forum? What can I say to entice you to come post?!

[09:21] Rhiannon Chatnoir: what are some of the most popular forum threads/topics

[09:21] J Cravens: I do hope you will head over to techsoup.org and click on “community” and then “Forum”!

[09:22] J Cravens: Most popular forum is the databases/software forum, in terms of sheer volume.

[09:22] bulaklak: In a way, though, that’s liberating. We can measure success by whether or not questions get answered, which is helpful.

[09:22] J Cravens: Most common question is “What software should I use to do –fillintheblank–“

[09:22] J Cravens: But the more interesting conversations are things like, “Should I block Facebook at work?” or….

[09:23] J Cravens: Should I allow my staff to telecommute.

[09:23] J Cravens: The policy questions are really good debate starters.

[09:24] Coughran Mayo: Telecommuting workers get more done, according to a recent report

[09:24] Hour Destiny: There should be a sticky about how to ask a question.

[09:24] J Cravens: I do a lot of followup with people who post, to see if they get answers to their question.

[09:24] J Cravens: Or felt they got answers. Some of the best comments come from that followup.

[09:24] Buffy Beale: do you have a link for that C?

[09:25] J Cravens: Hour Destiny, do you think people don’t understand the mechanics of asking a question, or how to express such?

[09:25] J Cravens: Buffy – sorry, not understanding….

[09:25] Buffy Beale: Coughran mentioned a report

[09:25] Buffy Beale: I call him C 🙂

[09:25] Coughran Mayo: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-25/what-people-really-do-wh…

[09:26] Buffy Beale: you’re the best C 🙂 ty

[09:26] J Cravens: I could totally speak to the realities of working from home… but I’ll save that for another time.

[09:26] J Cravens: I will say that telecommuting manuals formed the early recommendations regarding virtual volunteering. Some of you may know I’ve researched that topic since 1996 (yikes).

[09:27] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes – another good topic

[09:27] Hour Destiny: jcraves42, I’ve seen too many posts that go like “please help me”.

[09:27] J Cravens: Yeah, the “please help me” posts happen a lot – and that means myself or a community forum volunteer has to write that person and tease out what it is they mean.

[09:27] J Cravens: It’s important to remember that some of these folks are NOT “techies”, and don’t even know how to frame their needs.

[09:28] J Cravens: I hear from people all the time that say they would ask a question, but they “don’t want to sound stupid.”

[09:28] J Cravens: So we work really hard to be welcoming.

[09:29] J Cravens: Some people post that “Please help me message”, and then disappear – they don’t respond to followup messages. I always wonder what happened to them….

[09:29] Tava Longfall: Stupid question is the one you don’t ask

[09:29] Hour Destiny: And they probably don’t bother to read stickies…

[09:30] J Cravens: I repeat myself a lot in messages to members – but I’ve been an online moderator since 1994 (yes, the Internet was around then), so I know that comes with it.

[09:30] J Cravens: I just pretend I’m saying it for the first time.

[09:30] Tava Longfall: And some are so overwhelmed, they don’t know where to start

[09:30] Hour Destiny: Heh. I’ve been on the Internet since 1994 myself.

[09:31] J Cravens: A lot of nonprofits are looking for that one super IT volunteer who can do EVERYTHING – design and manage the web site, design a Facebook outreach strategy, network all the computers, troubleshoot… that person doesn’t exist.

[09:32] J Cravens: So we encourage people to think in pieces – and that can be hard, because people aren’t sure how to break things up.

[09:32] J Cravens: I know it’s a cliche, but I look at the TS community, and all online communties, as a garden.

[09:33] Hour Destiny: Actually, I’ve done all that. 🙂

[09:33] J Cravens: I also try to think, “OKay, if we were all in a room together, face to face, how would I handle this?” Often gives me ideas of what to do online.

[09:33] Rhiannon Chatnoir: good strategy

[09:33] Rhiannon Chatnoir: any other final questions for Jayne?

[09:33] J Cravens: Involving volunteers has been key – I’m currently recruiting more SME experts, both via the community and via outside channels, like VolunteerMatch.

[09:34] J Cravens: Okay, well, come on over to the forum, and follw me on jcravens42 on Twitter! & I’ll come back, I promise, as an enthusiastic attendee, to one of your future events.

[09:35] J Cravens: http://www.techsoup.org (click on “Community”, then “Forum”)

[09:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: we would love to have you

[09:35] Hour Destiny: http://www.biggerplate.com/mindmaps/PnbDARyK/100-tips-for-using-linkedin…

[09:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Lets thank Jayne for speaking to us today!

[09:35] Buffy Beale: cheering! thanks Jayne!

[09:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great!

[09:35] Tava Longfall: We’re here every Friday

[09:35] Zotarah ShepherdZotarah Shepherd applaudes

[09:36] Gentle Heron: Thank you Jayne. Come visit us again of a Friday morning.

[09:36] J Cravens: Sorry I was late! Glad I didn’t step on anyone.

[09:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: feel free to stay seated here Jayne

OPEN MIC / ANNOUNCEMENTS

[09:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: we are going to move on to Open Mic / Announcements

[09:36] J Cravens: Probably for the best.

[09:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: so if anyone ahs any announcements for today?

[09:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: has even

[09:36] Buffy Beale: it’s a requirement to sit down on someone at least once in SL 🙂

[09:36] Buffy Beale: hand up

[09:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes.. happens all the time

[09:37] Buffy Beale: hand up for open mic I mean, not that I sat on someone 🙂

[09:37] Zinnia Zauber: me please

[09:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: be thankful you werent part of the ‘box on the head’ early days of Second Life

[09:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: lol Buffy

[09:37] Buffy Beale: lol

[09:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: ok, first Buffy, then Zinnia

[09:37] Buffy Beale: thanks Rhi

[09:38] Buffy Beale: If you look around you’ll see that Zinnia, Par and Brena put out NPC members logos

[09:38] Hour Destiny: Rhiannon, like we were for Jon Stewart?

[09:38] Buffy Beale: but… we sadly are still missing some

[09:38] Rhiannon Chatnoir: nod Hour

[09:39] Rhiannon Chatnoir: who should they send their logos to Buffy? if they do not see theirs.

[09:39] HB Eternal: the logos are a great visual

[09:39] Buffy Beale: so if you have not handed in your logo to either of those three or myself, please remember we need it and next time yours will be up there too

[09:39] Buffy Beale: either myself or Brena or Zinnia would do

[09:40] Buffy Beale: that’s it, thanks

[09:40] Zinnia Zauber: Thanks, Buffy!

[09:40] Hour Destiny: Does clicking a logo take one to that’s organization’s area?

[09:40] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great

[09:40] Zinnia Zauber: It shares info and a Landmark.

[09:40] Buffy Beale: no Hour, they’re only temporary for the event we had last week

[09:40] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and next Zinnia

[09:40] Zinnia Zauber: If orgs gave us info, we put it in.

[09:41] Zinnia Zauber: I want to thank everyone for being part of our celebration last week.

[09:41] Chayenn: it was so great

[09:41] Zinnia Zauber: And, encourage you to read the transcript from the Community Planning Workshop we had.

[09:41] Buffy Beale: it was fun!

[09:41] Zinnia Zauber: http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/content/pay-it-forward-transcript-collab…

[09:42] Zinnia Zauber: We were very pleased with how that event went and the connections that were made.

[09:42] Ozma Malibu: The Community Planning Workshop was a real eye-opener for me.

[09:42] Zinnia Zauber: The CommonGround Meet and Greet was a great time to connect as well.

[09:42] Zinnia Zauber: I think we forged some new friendships there.

[09:43] Rhiannon Chatnoir: maybe we can do a mentors corner or presentation at one of our upcoming meetings on a deeper recap of the community workshop

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Ozma!

[09:43] Adalace Jewell: sorry guys, need to go. thx for the meeting

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: Please check out the transcript.

[09:43] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: And, thank you for joining us for our members speaking during the meeting.

[09:43] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thanks Zinnia – if your set – Gentle has an announcement too

[09:44] Gentle Heron: I’d like to promote a conference coming up for virtual world business development. Several NPCers will be speakers, and others you may be interested in. Take a look here at what you can learn between Wednesday October 3 and Saturday October 6.

http://agileworlds2012.sched.org/

[09:45] Gentle Heron: Topics include global teamwork, virtual worlds as service delivery tool, professional image, collaboration skills across time zones, and many more.

I hope some of our organizations will be able to let us attend. There is a (reasonable) cost to attend.

[09:45] Coughran Mayo: USD$45

[09:45] Gentle Heron: As I said, reasonable.

[09:45] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Gentle! I know Coughran, Pathfinder, and myself are speaking. And, this event is a fundraiser as well.

[09:45] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great

[09:46] Zinnia Zauber: This event supports virtualability.org, UW Avalumni, and Rockcliffe University Consortium.

[09:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: any other announcements

[09:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: … there is a languages/machinima event going on all weekend this weekend… will paste details here

[09:47] Rhiannon Chatnoir: 6th SLanguages Annual Symposium 28-30 September 2012

A free 3-day conference on Language & Culture

in Virtual Worlds held on EduNation in Second Life.

Twitter hashtag: #slang12

Themes: Educational Games and Machinima

*************************************

Come join us for 3 days and 50h of program to listen to some 55

guest speakers and actionaries for a weekend on language learning

& culture in virtual worlds such as Second Life, Open Sim and others.

Here are the highlights of the program.

Keynotes by Stylianos Mystakidis and Dr. Cynthia Calongna

Symposium on Euroversity, Visual Anthropology and a Spanish Symposium

Presentations, tours, demo lessons and workshops

Machinimas (3D Video films)

Two 3-hour workshops on how to create a machinima (video in SL)

A games park with some 50 educational games

A ballet performance ‘Petah and the Wolf’ and a party

all sessions are livestreamed with Adobe Connect

************************************

HOMEPAGE

http://avalon-project.ning.com/

[09:48] Rhiannon Chatnoir: have collaborated with the MachinEvo group and EduNation – looks interesting 🙂

[09:48] Hour Destiny: Too bad there’s not a TV network for nonprofits.

[09:48] Rhiannon Chatnoir: could happen

[09:48] Rhiannon ChatnoirRhiannon Chatnoir can teach you all to live stream SL

[09:49] Gentle Heron: Hour, most often you can get on your local channel if you have something to put on regularly.

[09:49] Rhiannon Chatnoir: any other announcements otherwise we can lose up the meeting

[09:49] Rhiannon Chatnoir: close

[09:50] Rhiannon Chatnoir: then thanks to Jayne (who had to head out a bit early) and everyone else for being here this week

[09:50] Rhiannon Chatnoir: And again, here are the many ways to can get involved with the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life:

– Nonprofit Commons Blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org

– Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com

– Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons

– Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life

– Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh

– http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

About TechSoup the sponsors of the Nonprofit Commons:

– http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp

– http://flavors.me/techsoup

Thanks everyone and see you next week!

[09:50] Rhiannon Chatnoir: have a wonderful weekend too

[09:51] alebez: goodbye everyone! enjoy the weekend.

[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: Mentors Meeting at 10!

[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: Please take care everyone and see you soon!

[09:51] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes!

[09:52] Chayenn: Have a good week end see u next friday

[09:52] Coughran Mayo: I must go, sorry. will miss the Mentors meeting

[09:52] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and … I am setting up our fall speakers calendar.. so if you or anyone else you think would be good to come present to us here at NPC – send them my way

[09:52] Buffy Beale: ok Rhi will do

Written by: Rhiannon Chatnoir

On Friday, September 21st meeting featured the community coming together to celebrate the NPC’s 5th Anniversary, this included Marnie Webb, the Co-CEO of Tech Soup along with mentors and other long-time community members presenting.

Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting

Friday, September 21st, 8:30 AM SLT / PST

Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26

AGENDA

• 8:30 am Introductions
• 8:40 am TechSoup Announcements
• 8:45 am Mentors Central
• 8:55 am Main Speaker: Ale Bezdikian
• 9:30 am Open Mic / Announcements

http://nonprofitcommons.org 

– Unabridged Transcript –

INTRODUCTIONS

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Welcome everyone to this week’s Nonprofit Commons Weekly meeting!

[08:37] Rhiannon Chatnoir: The Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is sponsored by TechSoup Global and is a program of the TechSoup Global Community & Social Media team.

[08:38] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Today’s Agenda:

8:30 AM Introductions

8:40 AM TechSoup Announcements

8:45 AM Nonprofit Commons History – Buffy Beale

9:00 AM All Star NPC Members’ Stories for the Future – Ozma Malibu, Jacmacaire Humby, and Coughran Mayo

9:30 AM Nonprofit Commons All Star Awards – Brena Benoir and Zinnia Zauber

9:45 AM Open Mic / Announcements

[08:38] Panny BakerlyPanny Bakerly claps

[08:38] Rhiannon Chatnoir: First a few links to start off the meeting. 

Here are the many ways to can get involved with the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life:

• Nonprofit Commons Blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org
• Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons
• Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life
• Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh
• http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

About TechSoup the sponsors of the Nonprofit Commons:

• http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp
• http://flavors.me/techsoup

[08:38] Rhiannon Chatnoir: So, let’s start off with introductions!

[08:39] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Please state your real name, location, org, and the ways we can find you online.

[08:39] Buffy Beale: Buffy Bye, Bridges for Women, Victoria BC Canada, http://www.bridgesforwomen.ca @bridges4women

[08:39] Zotarah Shepherd: BEACH College, Santa Rosa, CA

[08:39] Zinnia Zauber: Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond, Sequim Humanities and Arts Alliance, Sequim, Olympic Peninsula, Washington. http://www.sequimartsalliance.org http://www.facebook.com/sequimartsalliance @renneemiko

[08:39] Ronnie Rhode: Denise Harrison, The Garden for the Missing, http://www.gardenforthemissing.org/ and SLURL Remora (203,148,21), Project Jason, assistance for families of the missing, http://www.projectjason.org.

[08:39] Adalace Jewell: Corine Van Hellemont, RoSa Library, Brussels – Belgium @adalace

[08:39] MarnieWebb: marnie webb w/ techsoup global

[08:39] Coughran Mayo: Dick Dillon, Innovaision, LLC St. Louis MO @Coughran, @Innovaision

[08:39] Glitteractica Cookie: Susan Tenby, Online Community Director, TechSoup San Francisco CA SUA @suzboop @techsoup

[08:39] Brena Benoir: Brenda Bryan, Preferred Family Healthcare, Kirksville, Missouri, www.pfh.org, @brenabenoir

[08:39] alebez: Ale Bezdikian, Online Community Coordinator, TechSoup, SF, Ca. @TechSoup, @alebez

[08:39] Pathfinder Lester: John Lester, Montreal, Chief Learning Officer at ReactionGrid, http://about.me/pathfinder, @Pathfinder

[08:39] bulaklak: Michael DeLong, Online Community Manager, TechSoup Global, San Francisco, CA www.techsoup.org, @TechSoup @MichaelDeLongSF

[08:39] Panny Bakerly: Jeanne Booth, Freeport Historical Society, Freeport, NY freeporthistorymuseum.org

[08:39] Svea Morane: Brian Kaihoi, Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org

[08:40] Ozma Malibu: Sandy Andrews, Floaters technology outreach, currently in Arizona, @ozma

[08:40] Tank Thibedeau: Ricky Davis, San Antonio, TX http://www.urbanskribbles.net

[08:40] Rhiannon ChatnoirRhiannon Chatnoir is Joyce Bettencourt, Community Manager for NonProfit Commons, Boston, http://joycebettencourt.com, @RhiannonSL

[08:40] Chayenn: monique Richert. Protect Yourself 1, Inc , Baltimore MD , protectyourself1.org, facebook.com/PY1US , @PY1US

[08:40] Par: Bartholomew Cubbins, generic volunteer, north of Baltimore MD, no website or twitter

[08:40] Dancers Yao: Kara Bennett, Elder Voices, Inc Los Angeles, CA www.eldervoices.net

[08:40] Ozma Malibu: Bartholomew! indeed.

[08:40] Ethelred Weatherwax: Dave Dexter, Neenah Historical Society, Wisconsin USA

[08:40] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great – any others?

[08:41] Panny BakerlyPanny Bakerly waves to Ethelred

[08:41] Rhiannon Chatnoir: ok … let’s move on to TechSoup Announcements

[08:41] CarmenLittleFawn: Lorna Hawkins, Executive Director Drive By agony, California http://lornah.wix.com/keepingkidssafe

TECH SOUP ANNOUNCEMENTS – FEATURING MARNIE WEBB

[08:41] bulaklak: Howdy, folks! Excited to be here in this very festive environment today.

[08:42] Carl Solutionary: Carl Icann http://carlicann.wordpress.com For Rockcliffe U, Etopia, & Feed-A-Smile: At 8am slt every Sunday, I lead Humane Education Drum Circles – Now with Poetry! Founder of Occupy Virtual Worlds http://www.facebook.com/groups/231407276985298/

[08:42] bulaklak: And super excited to welcome our co-CEO Marnie Webb

[08:42] Glitteractica Cookie: woot

[08:42] Zinnia Zauber: Rah!

[08:42] bulaklak: But first want to tell you about a webinar next week I am also very excited about.

[08:42] Gentle Heron: Hello and welcome Marnie.

[08:42] Magic Pathfinder: Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid), Faculty at New Citizens Inc (NCI), Teaching hands-on Artificial Intelligence and Pathfinding in Second Life – More Info: http://any1gynoid.wordpress.com/

[08:42] bulaklak: I don’t think I am allowed to say “excited” any more times today.

[08:42] CarmenLittleFawn: HAHAH

[08:43] bulaklak: So as you all may know, we have a terrific initiative called TechSoup for Libraries

[08:43] bulaklak: Where public libraries, like nonprofits, are eligible for tech resources through TechSoup

[08:43] bulaklak: Next week they are putting on a free webinar on the topic of community content creation

[08:44] bulaklak: They will be talking with the Escondido Public Library, who has a fantastic program called LibraryYOU

[08:44] bulaklak: where they put the content creation tools in the hands of its patrons

[08:44] bulaklak: in order to let them share knowledge with each other

[08:45] bulaklak: the webinar will look at ways that any library, nonprofit, or other type of social benefit org can find those hidden gems of content producers in their own communities

[08:45] bulaklak: That is on 9/25 and here is the link to register

[08:45] bulaklak: http://bit.ly/Uee1ZI

[08:45] bulaklak: As always with our webinars, if you request captioning 72 hours in advance, that is something we can provide

[08:45] bulaklak: to make them more accessible

[08:46] bulaklak: It will also be recorded and archived

[08:46] bulaklak: And that is all I got for today!

[08:46] bulaklak: Thanks, all!

[08:46] CarmenLittleFawn: ty 🙂

[08:46] Rhiannon Chatnoir: As Bulaklak mentioned, we have a special guest today., Marnie Webb, who is the co-CEO of TechSoup Global. She is very interested in how communities — online and offline — work.

[08:46] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Marnie if you want to say a few words 🙂

[08:46] MarnieWebb: Hello everyone.

[08:47] Veri Oddfellow: *Waves* HIya Marnie! Glad to see you.

[08:47] CarmenLittleFawn: Hi 🙂

[08:47] MarnieWebb: I work with Susan at TechSoup and, as a part of my job, I work a lot with communities.

[08:47] MarnieWebb: And, by many measures, this community

[08:47] Orange Planer: Welcome to Second Life. If we can obfuscate you in any way, let me know.

[08:47] MarnieWebb: The one that we are in here

[08:47] MarnieWebb: is the most engaged community in which we operate.

[08:47] Veri Oddfellow: LOL Orange!

[08:47] MarnieWebb: And I don’t think that has very much to do with second life

[08:47] MarnieWebb: though it provides the place

[08:48] MarnieWebb: I think it has a lot to do with the way the community engages over time to make this place a destination

[08:48] MarnieWebb: We’ve learned a lot from all of you

[08:48] MarnieWebb: From these weekly meetings

[08:48] MarnieWebb: From the projects in which you are engaged

[08:48] MarnieWebb: and over the last five years

[08:48] MarnieWebb: you keep coming back

[08:48] MarnieWebb: and interacting

[08:48] MarnieWebb: and growing this place

[08:48] MarnieWebb: into the robust community it is today

[08:49] MarnieWebb: and I want to thank you.

[08:49] MarnieWebb: So,

[08:49] Glitteractica Cookie: and you have remained at 35 ppl per mtg. which is solid

[08:49] MarnieWebb: Thank you.

[08:49] Glitteractica Cookie: Thank you for supporting this endeavor

[08:49] Buffy Beale: cheering!

[08:49] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Thanks Marnie for taking the time to come in-world with the NPC community today!

[08:49] CarmenLittleFawn: yay

[08:49] Veri Oddfellow: *applause*

[08:49] MarnieWebb: Thank you for letting me visit

[08:49] Coughran Mayo: Come back soon!

[08:49] MarnieWebb: And, you know, teleporting me here.

[08:49] MarnieWebb: Does anyone have any questions?

[08:50] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you Marnie! It is wonderful to have your support of our community’s efforts!

[08:50] MarnieWebb: About TechSoup or why we think this is important.

[08:50] Glitteractica Cookie: questions?

[08:50] Buffy Beale: It’s been an amazing adventure, long live TechSoup!

[08:50] Orange Planer: I’d state the obvious question, but it’s obvious.

[08:50] Buffy Beale: Question: Do you feel supporting the NPC has been good for TechSoup?

[08:50] MarnieWebb: Yes, it’s been very good for TechSoup.

[08:51] MarnieWebb: We’ve had engagement with projects

[08:51] Glitteractica Cookie: which is…Orange?

[08:51] MarnieWebb: — like last week’s talk about the Mayo clinic work —

[08:51] MarnieWebb: that we wouldn’t have exposure to otherwisse

[08:51] Orange Planer: “Why does TechSoup feel that Second Life/NPC is important?”

[08:51] Gwendolyn McGinnis: there is no music here ?

[08:51] Buffy Beale: that’s great to hear Marnie ty

[08:51] MarnieWebb: and that has helped us grow the ways that we work in other communities and in real life

[08:51] Gwendolyn McGinnis: or my damn computer sux again ?

[08:51] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Gwen, no during the meeting it is text only

[08:52] MarnieWebb: We feel it’s important because it’s a place where people can come together

[08:52] Buffy Beale: perfect, it’s the same for the orgs here I think, connecting with others

[08:52] MarnieWebb: when we started this we were at an event

[08:52] Gwendolyn McGinnis: ha sorry

[08:52] MarnieWebb: where Ansche Chung talked about how second life

[08:52] MarnieWebb: transported her out of a rural communitiy in china and provided access

[08:52] MarnieWebb: we are all about using technology to provide people with access

[08:52] MarnieWebb: and second life is a venue in which that can happen.

[08:53] Zinnia Zauber: Marnia, how do you feel we can collaborate in the future using social media and virtual worlds?

[08:53] Rhiannon Chatnoir: any other questions.. I know Marnie only has a few minutes left

[08:53] Orange Planer: OK, if that isn’t a clear statement of support for what we all believe in, I don’t know what is.

[08:53] Buffy Beale: Encouraging to hear Marnie, thank you!

[08:53] MarnieWebb: I think that we can use virtual worlds and social media to model interactions that we could never have in real life

[08:53] MarnieWebb: as these technologies get stronger and easier to access

[08:54] MarnieWebb: and have more tools — even things like google glasses or mapping overlays —

[08:54] MarnieWebb: that allow us to blend the different environments

[08:54] MarnieWebb: i think that we’ll find that we are able to solve problems around specific issues

[08:54] MarnieWebb: and move those issues — the issues we are all committed on working on — forward.

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: Are you excited to see more and more of that engagement?

[08:55] MarnieWebb: (I’m super impressed by some of William Gibson’s books and I think those have some hints of that in their art projets)

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: We know we have to help train people to use these tools and this is a super forum to do it in.

[08:55] MarnieWebb: Anything that brings engagement across communities and provides avenues for interaction and creativity is important

[08:55] MarnieWebb: anything that helps bring more community to our community is valuable.

[08:56] Ozma Malibu: Marnie you are SO ENCOURAGING thank you.

[08:56] Glitteractica Cookie: She’s pretty cool

[08:56] MarnieWebb: Thank you all.

[08:56] CarmenLittleFawn: I knew of techsoup from the 90’s through California Wellness Foundation, a lot was going on back then, and it was not until I came to second life that I really utilized what you have to offer

[08:56] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes to community, creativity and collaboration

[08:56] MarnieWebb: Thank you all for letting me drop in today.

[08:56] MarnieWebb: In real life, i’m sitting in a room filling up with our IT staff and I’ve got to go to that meeting.

[08:56] Pathfinder Lester: well said, marnie

[08:56] MarnieWebb: I’m sorry to have to leave mid way through.

[08:56] Buffy Beale: Oh Marnie come take one of the tours, like a magic carpet ride 🙂

[08:56] Rhiannon Chatnoir: We are happy you took time to Marnie 🙂

[08:57] Panny Bakerly: Thank you Marnie

[08:57] CarmenLittleFawn: tyMarinie

[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you for joining us today!

[08:57] Gentle Heron: Thanks for coming Marnie.

[08:57] Orange Planer: Not that you have tons of time, but if you have questions for anybody, feel free to drop in, send an IM or notecard.

[08:57] Namaara MacMoragh: Thank you Marnie

[08:57] Rhiannon Chatnoir: And, of course any time you want to drop in the future.. would be wonderful

[08:57] CarmenLittleFawn: nice meeting u

[08:57] MarnieWebb: Nice meeting all of you.

[08:57] Rhiannon Chatnoir: let’s thank Marnie !

[08:57] Veri Oddfellow: Thanks, Marnie! Be well!

[08:57] MarnieWebb: Now: celebrate!

[08:57] Glitteractica Cookie: 🙂

[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Yay!

[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you!

[08:57] Buffy Beale: Cheering!!!

[08:57] Glitteractica Cookie: Bye marnie

[08:58] CarmenLittleFawn: eheheh have a great day

[08:58] Coughran Mayo: *air horn*

[08:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great !

[08:58] bulaklak: woo hoo!

[08:58] Zinnia Zauber: lol

NONPROFIT COMMONS HISTORY – FEATURING BUFFY BEALE

[08:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: So, now we can move to the parts of today’s agenda that start our day long celebration

[08:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Lets welcome Buffy up here to talk about NonProfit Commons history

[08:59] Coughran Mayo: Yay, Buffy!

[08:59] Zinnia Zauber: Rah Buffy!

[08:59] CarmenLittleFawn: clapping

[08:59] Ozma Malibu: Yay Buffy!

[08:59] Buffy Beale: Wow this cupcake is comfy

[08:59] Gentle HeronGentle Heron applauds for Buffy and sits at her feet.

[08:59] Zinnia Zauber: How about you guys join the audience now?

[08:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: 🙂

[08:59] Zotarah Shepherd: Of course

[08:59] Buffy Beale: lol it’s ok I like to rub shoulders with the brass

[08:59] Panny BakerlyPanny Bakerly starting to sink into the icing

[09:00] Buffy Beale: please do stay

[09:00] Coughran Mayo: Bruce Springsteen is here?

[09:00] Coughran Mayo: oh you said brass, not boss

[09:00] Buffy Beale: ooooooo hope so, hi Bruce

[09:00] alebez: 🙂 buffy

[09:00] Buffy Beale: lol C

[09:00] Buffy Beale: ok so….

[09:00] Zinnia Zauber: We are thankful to have Buffy share with us her insight of the NPC History.

[09:00] Buffy Beale: Hello and good morning-afternoon-evening wherever you are in the world today, here you are joining in with others from around the world. Isn’t that just the best thing about Second Life… we can connect from anywhere.

[09:00] Buffy Beale: Today marks a special day but every Friday is special to me because of our weekly meetings here at the Nonprofit Commons (NPC), where we’ve been meeting now for 5 years. Five years of packed agenda’s, that is no small feat.

[09:00] CarmenLittleFawn: mmhmm

[09:01] Buffy Beale: There are so many here today who have been here longer than I have, so I’ll just share one of my first impressions.

[09:01] Buffy Beale: I think most know the story of how I found the NPC, seeing TechSoup in someone’s group, looking them up and dropping off a notecard to thank them.

[09:01] Buffy Beale: The organization I volunteer for in Real Life, Bridges for Women has used TechSoup for years and it’s because of TechSoup we can afford to keep current with our software.

[09:02] Buffy Beale: I say it a lot, and I’ll say it again…. Long Life TechSoup!

[09:02] Buffy Beale: Not long after, Glitteractica Cookie (what a name lol!) invited me to join here and the rest is history.

[09:02] Veri Oddfellow: Amen, sista!

[09:02] Glitteractica Cookie: I’m so glad we stayed

[09:02] Buffy Beale: lol Veri 🙂 ty Glitter

[09:02] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes

[09:02] Buffy Beale: I’ll never forget my first meeting here, and surprise that it was more than just a group meeting to chit-chat, like many group gatherings. No, it was being engaged with an interesting presentation and an opportunity to make an announcement should I have one for Bridges.. I was impressed from the get-go and dazzled by the concept of having an office here for Bridges.

[09:02] CarmenLittleFawn: mmhmm

[09:03] Buffy Beale: But, that first meeting was a milestone for me.

[09:03] Buffy Beale: When Glitteractica Cookie asked us to say our real names and location, I froze. I mean, this is the internet and one is supposed to stay safe and not reveal one tiny thing about ourselves… to say my name out loud was terrifying!

[09:04] CarmenLittleFawn: she crashed

[09:04] Par: I guess she was too terrified

[09:04] CarmenLittleFawn: hehehehe

[09:04] CarmenLittleFawn: Par

[09:04] Zinnia Zauber: aww

[09:05] Rhiannon Chatnoir: oh no.. Zinnia do you want to come up and fill in any gaps

[09:05] Zinnia Zauber: We all know that we crash once and awhile.

[09:05] CarmenLittleFawn: oh yes

[09:05] Zinnia Zauber: That is why it is so important to have supportive peeps

[09:05] Coughran Mayo: whenever I type an exclamation point, I crash too

[09:05] Zinnia Zauber: to pick us up and help us move on.

[09:05] Rhiannon Chatnoir: nod

[09:05] CarmenLittleFawn: nods

[09:05] Conover’s Flight-Helper 6.3.3 (WEAR ME!): Flight-helper is ready and operational.

[09:05] Coughran Mayo: wb Buffy

[09:05] Zinnia Zauber: Buffy is such a great example of what this community is.

[09:05] Zinnia Zauber: Welcome back!

[09:05] CarmenLittleFawn: wb

[09:05] Buffy Beale: oh my stars lol what a time to crash

[09:06] Buffy Beale: I’m sorry all 🙂

[09:06] CarmenLittleFawn: np

[09:06] Glitteractica Cookie: whenever I tlak about our super users and our biggest ambassadors across all channels, I invoke buffy

[09:06] Buffy Beale: composes herself…

[09:06] Zinnia Zauber: I know that because of Buffy’s encouragement, I became more engaged because I felt welcome.

[09:06] CarmenLittleFawn: 🙂

[09:06] Zinnia Zauber: Please Buffy, continue.

[09:06] CarmenLittleFawn: yes she is a gem

[09:06] Buffy Beale: as I was saying…

[09:07] Gentle Heron: You said “terrified” and disappeared. It was perfect timing, Buffy! Very dramatic.

[09:07] Buffy Beale: to say my name out loud was terrifying!

[09:07] Buffy Beale: lol Gentle

[09:07] Buffy Beale: I only had a few minutes to decide… was I in or out.

[09:07] Buffy Beale: My screen lit up with names of the others; I was mesmerized by the sound-off of names and locations from all over the world. People like Coughran and Ozma and Glitteractica and InKenzo merrily typed out their info without hesitation.

[09:07] Buffy Beale: It didn’t matter if they were a pink cat or a green fairy giant… these were real people

[09:08] Buffy Beale: If they could do it, so could I as it gave me the confidence to jump in too. I’ve never looked back.

[09:08] Glitteractica Cookie: 🙂

[09:08] Buffy Beale: LOL now it’s a race between myself and a few others to be first, mostly HB who teases me every time he ‘wins’, my how times have changed.

[09:08] Buffy Beale: It still gives me a warm feeling those morning introductions to see where we’re all from. Truly we are a global community of caring people who want to make a difference in the world. It doesn’t get much better than that.

[09:08] Buffy Beale: I’d like to thank you Susan, er Glitter for having the vision and gumption to make the Nonprofit Commons a reality. It couldn’t have been easy, 5 years ago this virtual reality was such a big question mark for a lot of reasons, mostly because it was thought it is NOT a place for serious happenings.

[09:08] Buffy Beale: We know better now.

[09:09] Buffy Beale: I know it takes a team behind you too, so a hearty thank you to everyone from TechSoup, here we are 5 years under our belts.

[09:09] Buffy Beale: It’s been great having alebez and bulaklak join in too, so thanks you two you’re doing a fantastic job, as is Rhiannon.. our fearless leaders 🙂

[09:09] Glitteractica Cookie: Yes, it’s been challenging to convince them to take it seriously at times. The Congressional hearing helped though

[09:09] Veri Oddfellow: Here, here! Yay Glitter!

[09:09] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes!

[09:09] Buffy Beale: I can well imagine!

[09:09] Buffy Beale: Also, it’s been so wonderful to have people like Parhelion Palou, Brena Benoir and Zinnia Zauber take the time to create this festive meeting place today, hearty applause to you for your hard work! Please forgive me if I’ve left anyone out 🙂

[09:09] Buffy Beale: This is a time to celebrate the past today and rejoice in the fact we passed this important milestone; onwards we go to the future because when virtual reality becomes mainstream (which I believe it will), we’ll be ready.

[09:10] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you very much Buffy! We have a great team!

[09:10] Buffy Beale: We are the pioneers.

[09:10] Buffy Beale: Thank you everyone for coming today and yehaaaa… let the party begin 🙂

[09:10] Zinnia Zauber: Rah!

[09:10] Buffy Beale: Standing ovation for the NPC!

[09:10] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you Buffy! You inspire us all!

[09:11] Brena Benoir: Woohoo Buffy!

[09:11] CarmenLittleFawn: yes she is 🙂

[09:11] Glitteractica Cookie: standing ovation for buffy

[09:11] Coughran Mayo: Thanks, Buffy!

[09:11] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great.. Zinnia why don’t you come up and lead us into the All Stars part of this

ALL STAR NPC MEMBERS’ STORIES FOR THE FUTURE

[09:11] Zinnia Zauber: Rah Buffy!

[09:11] alebez: Woot!

[09:11] Buffy Beale: oh you silly Glitter lol

[09:11] Namaara MacMoragh: YaY Buffy!

[09:11] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you everyone for joining us today!

[09:12] Zinnia Zauber: We have some All Star NPC Members’ Stories for the Future

[09:12] Zinnia Zauber: I want to start with Ozma

[09:12] Buffy Beale: Cheering for Oz!

[09:12] Zinnia Zauber: Ozma can you join me up here please?

[09:12] Veri Oddfellow: Yay Oz!

[09:12] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Ozma!

[09:13] Ozma Malibu: Am I still here? yes.

[09:13] Ozma Malibu: Gonna talk fast – lots of people I want to mention. If I crash, just know that I love you all. Glitter, I hope Marnie & all see the transcript and all the good things we are saying about TechSoup.

[09:13] Ozma Malibu: I work with Floaters.

What is Floaters?

[09:14] Ozma Malibu: Founded in 1994, Floaters is a technology outreach organization that seeks to extend technology to everyone, especially to those least likely to have such access. Floaters has worked primarily with people who have been homeless. 

Floaters Organization is located in Arizona, Mexico and “On the Road” (some of our members live in vehicles.)

[09:14] Ozma Malibu: Floaters isn’t just about the technology. The actual tech is only a small part of having access and using it. A program like this is also about envisioning pathways and empowering people to build their way to the life they want.

[09:14] Glitteractica Cookie: I will share this with Marnie, no prob

[09:14] Ozma Malibu: Floaters operates through participatory action research, where people get together and decide together on the goal. Everyone’s voice is equal, because everyone’s knowledge is equal.

[09:15] Ozma Malibu: How Did Floaters Arrive in Second Life?

Ozma came into being in 2006, my second attempt at getting into Second Life. (I will not go into the confusion of the first attempt.) In 2006, though, I had a flesh and blood mentor, someone who could guide me through and get me started.

[09:15] Ozma Malibu: It wasn’t long before, wandering about on Info Island, I found the TechSoup sign next to a stone circle of seats.

[09:15] Ozma Malibu: I knew that in Real Life, TechSoup was very good at organizing things, and that was exactly what I needed, someone to organize the chaos of Second Life. So I signed up immediately And that is how I met Glitteractica Cookie!

[09:16] Ozma Malibu: When the first island, Plush, was gifted to the NonProfit Commons, Floaters moved into our current location, Office 17.

[09:16] Glitteractica Cookie: 🙂

[09:16] Ozma Malibu: Office 17 became both a virtual Community Technology Center and a virtual gallery where we tried out ideas that we might use in a Real Life gallery someday.

[09:17] Ozma Malibu: And I am still pinching myself, because that’s exactly what happened. Floaters is now working with a 2-year timeline to renovate a house in an historic district in Mesa, Arizona, a little adobe home, and create a gallery there, helping to bring this little neighborhood back (there were 17 foreclosures on one 3-block street).

[09:17] Buffy Beale: YAYY!

[09:17] Ozma Malibu: The reason for the 2-year timeline is that in 2 years, the Phoenix light rail will reach downtown Mesa, Arizona, about two blocks from the planned gallery. We envision people taking the light rail downtown, and walking the two blocks to our little gallery and drinking iced tea and admiring the art.

[09:17] Ozma Malibu: AND So much of this is due to TechSoup and the Nonprofit Commons. I can’t imagine how this would have happened otherwise. We have gained so much confidence from the interesting projects that Office 17 has played host to.

[09:17] Ozma Malibu: A word about Networking in Second Life:

[09:18] Ozma Malibu: Everybody says it, and it’s true: networking opportunities are more useful, interesting, deeper, and fun in a virtual world than in a world of just email and text chat.

[09:18] Ozma Malibu: Floaters has collaborated with other nonprofits whose avatars Ozma met right here. Finding that a group of us worked on issues of homelessness, we got together and worked out plans for a project called Transitions that would provide a path upward for people in need of a “new life.” The project would require some funding to really take off, but we were able to run a pilot project, and we learned some interesting things and I think we can say that the people who participated did benefit from the project.

[09:18] Ozma Malibu: This bit is long but needs to be said. The story of the pilot was published as a article in the Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments. The editor for the project was Bluewave Ogee, a member of the Nonprofit Commons at the time, a lovely person who was already famous for having written the first all-digital dissertation. Her work relied on video, and there was really no other way to present her findings. Bluewave died a few years ago, but not before successfully piloting, on a large scale, the use of Second Life in higher education; and before she passed away, Texas received funding for every State institution of higher learning, and every course, to have access to a space in Second Life.

[09:18] Ozma Malibu: There are other people here today with whom I have worked for so long that I really trust them, and know them better than many people whom I have worked with in Real Life.

[09:19] Coughran Mayo: She was great!

[09:19] Gentle HeronGentle Heron misses Bluewave

[09:19] Ozma Malibu: I am so grateful to TechSoup who supported us, Glitteractica who made the community work through sheer force of will, and the volunteers who live here and built so much. I want to personally Zinnia, whose idea this celebration was, from the bottom of my heart — for all she has done, and for leading us through the summer. Yay Zinnia!

[09:19] Buffy Beale: me too 🙁

[09:19] Zinnia Zauber: It was Buffy’s idea!

[09:19] Buffy Beale: miss Bluewave but Yay to Z!

[09:19] Ozma Malibu: = Buffy sorry.

[09:20] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Ozma! We have a wonderful team that could make Buffy’s idea become so sweet!

[09:20] Buffy Beale: it was a group idea 🙂

[09:20] Ozma Malibu: One more thing I beg you, please don’t let Zinnia burn out. She is so full of creative ideas, she is so willing to share, and I just don’t know what we would do without her “super hero” spirit. (Once, she made us all super hero capes.) Please, next time she or another mentor asks for help, jump in. If you’re like me, you may worry that you don’t have the skills to build cupcakes. But that’s OK. You learn. You’ll be mentored, for free, to learn the skills you need. Seriously, how could you ask for more?

[09:20] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you so much. Ozma!

[09:20] Coughran Mayo: Zinnia is the Always Star!

[09:21] Ozma Malibu: I am focusing on Zinnia here because she helped so much this summer, but truly, this applies to all the volunteers who are volunteering!

[09:21] Brena Benoir: Woohoo Zinnia!

[09:21] CarmenLittleFawn: ty Ozma

[09:21] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, C! Our Mentors are All Stars!

[09:21] Ozma Malibu: Whew!

[09:21] Ozma Malibu: that’s it thanks.

[09:21] Zinnia Zauber: Yay!

[09:21] Buffy Beale: Great job Oz!

[09:21] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you so much, Ozma! You are such a great spirit and force for good!

[09:22] Zinnia Zauber: I want to welcome Rik up here to share with us!

[09:22] Rik Panganiban: who’s that guy?

[09:22] Zinnia Zauber: Come on down!

[09:22] Rhiannon Chatnoir: lol

[09:22] Buffy Beale: whoohooo Rik is in the house!

[09:22] Rhiannon Chatnoir: wooo hooo

[09:22] Glitteractica Cookie: Woo+!

[09:22] Rik Panganiban: WOOT!!!!!

[09:22] Buffy Beale: welcome home Ric 🙂

[09:22] alebez: woooooo

[09:22] CarmenLittleFawn: yay Rik

[09:22] Glitteractica Cookie: I like that Oz said I made the community work thru ssheer force of will

[09:23] Chayenn: hello rik good to see u

[09:23] Glitteractica Cookie: RIK!!

[09:23] Gentle Heron: Good to see you again Rik.

[09:23] Rik Panganiban: morning friends!

[09:23] Rhiannon Chatnoir: try the blue or pink cupcake maybe?

[09:23] CarmenLittleFawn: you did Glitter she is right

[09:23] Glitteractica Cookie: heh

[09:23] Glitteractica Cookie: i am willful

[09:23] Rik Panganiban: sending virtual hugs all around

[09:23] CarmenLittleFawn: u have to be to do all this

[09:23] Rik Panganiban: It’s been too long since I’ve been here and I’ve missed you all

[09:23] Glitteractica Cookie: 🙂

[09:24] Rhiannon Chatnoir: aww

[09:24] CarmenLittleFawn: nice to see u again Rik

[09:24] Rik Panganiban: Can I start by saying that I love what you’ve done with the place?

[09:24] Rik Panganiban: 😉

[09:24] Zinnia Zauber: Thanks, Rik!

[09:24] Rik Panganiban: I’m getting a tooth ache just sitting here

[09:24] Buffy Beale: lol!

[09:24] CarmenLittleFawn: hehehe

[09:25] Rik Panganiban: Seriously, the place could use a bit of color, so I see Zinnia’s influence and I like it!

[09:25] Zinnia Zauber: 😉

[09:25] Zinnia Zauber: That’s my job!

[09:26] CarmenLittleFawn: 🙂

[09:26] Rik Panganiban: Anyway, congrats to you all for what you have buildt together over the past 1825 days in the virtual world

[09:27] Rik Panganiban: It’s a testament to the vision of TechSoup, Glitter and the hundreds of others who have come and put their energy, time and exertise into this place

[09:27] Rik Panganiban: And I count myself lucky that I got to play some part in that as your community manager

[09:28] Buffy Beale: you did a great job for us Rik

[09:28] Glitteractica Cookie: indeed

[09:28] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes – amazing job Rik

[09:28] Rik Panganiban: Currently I’m pretty far from the virtual world as a technology educator at the California Academy of Sciences in SF.

[09:28] Rik Panganiban: But its never very far from my thoughts.

[09:28] Gentle Heron: Gotta educate those profs about virtual worlds, Rik.

[09:29] Rik Panganiban: My goal is to help teens to explore their science interests and telling compelling stories using technology.

[09:29] CarmenLittleFawn: that is great Rik

[09:30] Rik Panganiban: And from a larger perspective, I think there is a great challenge in creating online spaces where kids can learn about the world, science, sustainability and themselves in a safe and engaging way.

[09:30] Panny BakerlyPanny Bakerly looking at Rik’s charleston pics

[09:30] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great focus – maybe you can come back sometime and speak/update us on that more Rik 🙂

[09:30] Zinnia Zauber: We will have to all work together for sure!

[09:31] CarmenLittleFawn: nods

[09:31] Rik Panganiban: And right now there are a lot of great digital tools that we are looking at, from 3D modeling software, virtual environments like the Blu, and collaborative game spaces like Minecraft.

[09:31] Rik Panganiban: And it looks like Linden Lab is expanding their offerings to other creative apps and spaces as well.

[09:31] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes

[09:31] Glitteractica Cookie: we should have them come and talk to us about them

[09:32] CarmenLittleFawn: mmhmm

[09:32] Rik Panganiban: So the challenge for us is how to use the right tools to bring the right content to this next generation of leaders, scientists, and citizens.

[09:32] Rik Panganiban: We’re still figuring that out for ourselves at the academy.

[09:33] Rik Panganiban: So we look to places like the NPC as a great forum for smart people to help us find some answers

[09:33] Gentle Heron: The right answer is: “There is no one right answer.”

[09:33] Rik Panganiban: better answers

[09:34] Rik Panganiban: So my time here is limited, but I wanted to give you some idea of what my current challenges and projects are.

[09:34] Zinnia Zauber: That is wonderful, Rik!

[09:34] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great and thanks Rik 🙂

[09:35] Zinnia Zauber: We know that we will be connecting more and thankful that you could share with us!

[09:35] Buffy Beale: thanks Rik glad to hear life is treating you well

[09:35] Rik Panganiban: I’m super excited to hear about all the great stuff that is happening here

[09:35] CarmenLittleFawn: yes it is Rik and best to you on your project

[09:35] Rik Panganiban: And hopefully I will have more to share in the future that might be relevant for the NPC community.

[09:35] Zinnia Zauber: Yay!

[09:35] Rik Panganiban: you all rock!

[09:35] Rik Panganiban: WOOT!!!!!

[09:35] Zinnia Zauber: As do you, Rik!

[09:35] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you very much!

[09:35] CarmenLittleFawn: claps

[09:36] Buffy Beale: Cheering!!

[09:36] Zinnia Zauber: Now, I would like to have another All Star join us up here! Coughran!

[09:36] Glitteractica Cookie: W00=!

[09:36] Zinnia Zauber: Please come on down!

[09:36] CarmenLittleFawn: claps

[09:36] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, C!

[09:36] Buffy Beale: Yayyyyy C! You are the rock of the NPC!

[09:36] Glitteractica Cookie: woo+

[09:36] Coughran Mayo: Like my outfit?

[09:36] Zinnia Zauber: You know I do!

[09:37] Zinnia Zauber: How about mine?

[09:37] Coughran Mayo: Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking….

[09:37] Brena Benoir: lol

[09:37] Buffy Beale: lol

[09:37] Gentle HeronGentle Heron sends Coughran hugs, but tries not to trap his typing hands.

[09:37] Coughran Mayo: I’m happy to be able to be here today to share with you some of my history with the NonProfit Commons in Second Life.

[09:37] Coughran Mayo: I’m not sure what the “all star” designation that was given to me (and some others) in regards to this meeting, I suspect it’s a lot like other things in my life – if you stick around long enough, sooner or later you get credit for something, whether you deserve it or not. Or else you get blamed!

[09:37] Coughran Mayo: It is certainly true that I have some longevity with the NPC, although I hasten to mention that there were already people in SL, working hard on the founding of the organization, by the time I showed up in February of 2007. At the time, SL was about 3 and a half years old, and it was already a busy place – although certainly not on the scale of today.

Today, when you log in, you will usually see somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 concurrent users. Back when I first discovered it, Second Life usually had about 13,000 users on at any given time.

[09:38] Buffy Beale: lol C you deserve the credit

[09:38] Coughran Mayo: One of the first things I did when I got logged into SL in 2007 (once I figured out how to score a few Linden dollars so I could upgrade my beginner avatar) was to use the internal search function to look for things that interested me. I searched for “addiction”, “counseling”, “therapy” and the like. One hit I got from a search for “nonprofits” was to a kiosk – I think it was on one of the Info Islands – that announced the formation of the NonProfit Commons. Beyond the obvious reference to NPC, I also saw that TechSoup was the organizer of this new collaboration group. I was already familiar with TechSoup, as my non-profit had benefited several times from their software donation program.

[09:38] Coughran Mayo: Those of you who are not familiar with this program, if your non-profit ever buys software, really owe it to yourselves to check it out. Just go to http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp and you will see how you can get some massively discounted deals on most of the useful software programs a non-profit might need.

[09:39] Coughran Mayo: Anyway, following up on the in-world notice about NPC, I first met Glitteractica Cookie, who explained to me what the project was all about, and after taking care of all of the details – providing evidence of my employer’s non-profit status (I worked at Preferred Family Healthcare at the time) and filling out the application, I was given one of the very early spaces here on Plush Non-Profit Commons, which was the only sim that NPC had at that time. I believe that our first office was Number 03. Later we moved into the inner circle, where the TechSoup office is now.

[09:39] Coughran Mayo: At the beginning, there were only a handful of offices filled up, but over the next several months NPC was filled in with a diverse slate of nonprofits, including many who are still involved: RoSa, Boomer Esiason Foundation, Bridges for Women, Great Strides, Giving Circles Network, and Garden for the Missing, just to name a few. I was able to learn from all of these new colleagues, people I would never have met in real life.

[09:40] Coughran Mayo: I still have some photographs from the dedication ceremony for Plush, where I was asked to be a speaker, and also serve as “security” 

[09:40] Coughran Mayo: Over time, NPC continued to grow and add members and when Aloft NPC opened, I asked for a space there in order to create Wharf Ratz, where we have been having our Tuesday Night Extraordinary Dance Extravaganza each week for about four years now. A lot of you may not know this, but the reason for the name of Aloft comes from the original tenant/owner of the property, Starwood Hotels. They were testing the concept of a new, businessperson-focused hotel, to be call Aloft, and set up a demo version of their hotel on the parcel, soliciting comments and suggestions from SL visitors. Some of the ideas people sent them were incorporated into the final design of the Aloft chain, which now has nearly 500 locations around the world. If you look at the Wikipedia entry for Aloft, there is a mention of the Second Life project. When Starwood was finished with their project, they had a contest to give away the sim to a nonprofit, and the winner was one of the NPC members, which led to Aloft becoming the second Sim on the NP

[09:40] Coughran Mayo: C “archipelago”

[09:41] Coughran Mayo: Following an initial attempt to use SL as a way to “recruit” clients who needed the behavioral health counseling services that Preferred Family Healthcare offered – after all, among 14,000 concurrent users we could statistically expect to find 700 or 800 people with alcoholism or addiction problems – we decided at PFH that a better use for the virtual world technology was to maintain connectedness with our “real world” clients who had accessibility challenges. A series of events, both planned and unexpected, led us to getting an initial project funded through a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health, and over the next three years we were able to win around 3 million US dollars in grant funding from various sources to try using virtual world based counseling for different user groups. Today, virtual counseling is a significant part of Preferred Family Healthcare’s product line. Clearly our NPC involvement played a big part in that happening.

[09:42] Coughran Mayo: In November of 2011, I left PFH to start my own consulting firm, Innovaision LLC. Although I do work with nonprofits on strategic planning, grantwriting, and innovative problem solving, the main focus of my work is building virtual environments for counseling and teaching purposes, and training agencies to use these environments to advance their mission. After nearly one year, Innovaision is quite successful, and I can truthfully say that a significant foundation for this success derives from my initial visit to Second Life, and the inclusion in the NonProfit Commons project over the past five years!

[09:42] Glitteractica Cookie: great story

[09:42] CarmenLittleFawn: yes 🙂

[09:43] Coughran Mayo: And, although I have left PFH, I ‘m happy that Brena Benoir is still here representing PFH at NPC, she has great ideas and boundless energy!

[09:43] Brena Benoir: Thank you C!

[09:43] Coughran Mayo: Beyond the history and success I have noted, I would also want to say that NPC involvement has, importantly, introduced me to many clever and thoughtful people, many of whom have become true friends over time. One of the pleasures I have had in developing these friendships has been meeting a lot of you in person during my travels. Those of you who haven’t see the “Wall of Fame/Shame” at Wharf Ratz should come by sometime and see the many photos I have taken with myself and my real life Second Life friends. I always remember that there are real people behind each avatar in SL, and in my experience, most of those people are really fantastic!

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: Rah Wall of Fame!

[09:44] Coughran Mayo: the rest are just “sorta fantastic”

[09:44] Biji Mornington: heh

[09:44] Coughran Mayo: I’m looking forward to continuing to collaborate with others in the nonprofit world in Second Life, and the ongoing success of NPC. 

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk with you today. Here’s to five more years!

[09:44] Glitteractica Cookie: Tanks for all you do, coughran

[09:44] Rhiannon Chatnoir Rhiannon Chatnoir has hugged Coughran in RL

[09:44] Gentle HeronGentle Heron cheers

[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you Coughran!

[09:44] CarmenLittleFawn: claps

[09:44] Coughran Mayo: 🙂

[09:44] Biji Mornington: Yay Coughran!

[09:44] Tank Thibedeau: woooo tah

[09:44] Namaara MacMoragh: Yay Coughran!

[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: You are amazing, man!

[09:45] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you all for speaking about NPC!

[09:45] Zotarah Shepherd: Yay

[09:45] Buffy Beale: Cheering!!!

NONPROFIT COMMONS ALL STAR AWARDS

[09:45] Zinnia Zauber: I want to have Brena join us up here please!

[09:45] Ozma Malibu: Yay Brena!

[09:45] Zinnia Zauber: We have been inspired by so many of you!

[09:46] CarmenLittleFawn: claps

[09:46] Gentle Heron: Go Brena!

[09:46] Brena Benoir: Good Morning NPC!

[09:46] Chayenn: good morning Brena

[09:46] CarmenLittleFawn: 🙂

[09:46] Brena Benoir: I have had the privilege of working with many people on various events throughout my involvement here at NPC

[09:46] Buffy Beale: Cheering for Brena!!!

[09:47] Brena Benoir: The amount of energy, time, dedication, and immersion that goes in to planning events for the community takes a massive amount of work.

[09:48] Brena Benoir: Often times there is a lot of background work going on to make these things happen

[09:48] Brena Benoir: There are a core that seem to volunteer each and every time

[09:48] Brena Benoir: Without those people, we could not make these events happen

[09:49] Ozma Malibu: You are one of them, Brena

[09:49] Brena Benoir: With that being said, I would like to recognize some people who made this event happen today for us.

[09:49] Brena Benoir: Thank you Ozma

[09:50] Coughran Mayo: Yay, Ozma

[09:50] Brena Benoir: First off, I would like to recognize Zinnia. She has spent countless hours trying to coordinate details, makign textures, getting materials, etc. Without her involvement this event would not have been possible

[09:50] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Brena! 🙂

[09:50] Zotarah Shepherd: Yay Zinnia!

[09:50] Ozma Malibu: Zinnia!!!

[09:50] Biji Mornington: Woo hooo Zinnia!

[09:51] CarmenLittleFawn: YaY YaY

[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: I am honored to have such a professional team!

[09:51] Brena Benoir: It is with truly heartfelt appreciation for your dedication to this community that I present these flowers to you as a show of appreciation for everything you are as a person and what you give to this community

[09:51] Brena Benoir: Thank you Zinnia!

[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you!!!

[09:51] Ozma Malibu: Hurray!!!

[09:51] Tank Thibedeau: WOOOO TAH ZInnia !!!!!! claps claps

[09:51] Par: Yay, Z

[09:52] Veri Oddfellow: Huzzah!

[09:52] Chayenn: wonderful

[09:52] Glitteractica Cookie: Yay Z

[09:52] Buffy Beale: Yeehaaa Z you’re a rocker!

[09:52] CarmenLittleFawn: Whooot Whooot

[09:52] Zinnia Zauber: *blush*

[09:52] Buffy Beale: bright fuschia I hope

[09:52] Brena Benoir: Our community landscaper, builder, all around fixer-upper, Mr. Parhelion Palou

[09:52] Chayenn: bravo zinnia

[09:52] Zinnia Zauber: Rah Par!

[09:52] Buffy Beale: Wooot Par!!

[09:53] CarmenLittleFawn: YaY Par

[09:53] Namaara MacMoragh: yay Zinnia!

[09:53] Par: I didn’t volunteer … everyone else took one step back

[09:53] Ronnie Rhode: Yay Brena, Zin and Par!

[09:53] Brena Benoir: I truly appreciate you sacrifice of sleep on many occasions to make things happen for the events in this community

[09:53] Ozma Malibu: And you never know what to expect from Par! Yay Par!

[09:53] Buffy Beale: Mr behind-the-scenes master builder here

[09:53] Rhiannon Chatnoir: great

[09:53] Coughran Mayo: Par is awesome

[09:53] Coughran Mayo: total volunteer!!!

[09:53] Chayenn: yes he is

[09:53] Biji Mornington: Yay Par!

[09:53] Rhiannon Chatnoir: congratulations to you all and thanks so much for all of your efforts

[09:53] Buffy Beale: and ace flyer!

[09:53] Rhiannon Chatnoir: we are going to have to wrap things up for the meeting

[09:53] Ozma Malibu: Yes, yay Brena, Zinnia and Par!

[09:54] Brena Benoir: There is no way to recognize each person that has contributed to every event since I hav ebeen here in the NPC, however I know that there are the handful of people that keep coming back to make events happen for this community and I am proud to be part of that team.

[09:54] Brena Benoir: Thank you

[09:54] Namaara MacMoragh: I just want to thank everyone who contributes to the richness of NPC.

[09:54] Gentle Heron: Sincere thanks to Brena, Zinnia, Par, and all the folks in NPC who do the work here.

[09:54] Rhiannon Chatnoir: but thanks again to everyone who spoke, helped set up and organized today’s celebration!

[09:54] Chayenn: bravo brena

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: Brena makes so much happen here and we are thankful for her work!

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you all for being All Stars in our community!

[09:55] CarmenLittleFawn: ty Brena

[09:55] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Zinnia if you want to paste in the rest of today’s celebration agenda

[09:55] Glitteractica Cookie: thanks all.. I unfortuantely need to jump out for another mtg at 10

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: Without you, we wouldn’t be a community!

[09:55] CarmenLittleFawn: bye Glitter tc

[09:55] Glitteractica Cookie: just wanted to say THANK YOU for all you have done in the past 5 years

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: 3:30 – 5:00 PM SLT

DJ DyVerse Dance Party Meet and Greet at CommonGround Aloft Nonprofit Commons. Enjoy networking and dancing among other nonprofits and supporters!

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: Learn more about what nonprofits, educators, humanitarians, scientists, and artists accomplish in Second Life at the Nonprofit Commons at this fun and informative event.

Aloft Nonprofit Commons (59,68,25)

[09:56] Buffy Beale: thanks Glitter it’s been a delightful experience for me and for Bridges for Women

[09:56] Glitteractica Cookie: You all have changed my life

[09:56] Pathfinder Lester: congrats everyone. very inspiring to hear everyone’s experiences here.

[09:56] Rhiannon Chatnoir: aww thanks Glitter!

[09:56] Glitteractica Cookie: seriously

[09:56] Buffy Beale: wow Glitter mine too

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you, Glitter!

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: You changed ours!

[09:56] Buffy Beale: great to see you here Path!

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: 8:30 – 10:30 PM SLT

Active Collaborative Community Planning Workshop to create solutions for all our unify goals for the Virtual Vision 2020 – an initiative to develop a plan for the Second Life community at Plush Nonprofit,

[09:56] Buffy Beale: yours was the first avatar to scare me 🙂

[09:56] Rhiannon Chatnoir: we all are so appreciative of this amazing space and community that you were the catalyst of.. hugs all around to Glitter!

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: All Second Life Communities are welcome to participate in building partnerships and solutions. http://www.virtualvision2020.com

Plush Nonprofit Commons (88,126,26)

[09:57] Buffy Beale: but turns out you’re a teddy bear 🙂

[09:57] Zinnia Zauber: Please join us for all these events!

[09:57] Glitteractica Cookie: And you all have no idea how many times i endured the chucking about the silly avatars, etc, and then proved them wrong when they saw this community’s reach and affect

[09:57] Buffy Beale: ohh I can imagine Glitter lol

[09:57] CarmenLittleFawn: nods

[09:57] Rhiannon Chatnoir: thank you for that Glitter

[09:58] Glitteractica Cookie: That’s why I can still have the suport from the leadership team to do this program… b/c of all you do

[09:58] Glitteractica Cookie: ok, with that… ciao for now

[09:58] alebez: thank you everyone. this community is amazing. i have to take off as well.

[09:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: take care Glitter and thanks..

[09:58] Panny Bakerly: ty Glitter

[09:58] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you and take care!

[09:58] Zotarah Shepherd: Thank you Glitter and all wonderful NPC folk!

[09:58] CarmenLittleFawn: bye alebez, bye Glitter

[09:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: going to close things out here for today’s meeting.. enjoy the events for the rest of the day

[09:58] Jane Birdsong: Thanks all.

[09:58] Glitteractica Cookie: My wonderful community coordiantor, Ale, is the glue that keeps my crazy plans together, so she needs to go project manage our next mtg!

[09:59] Zinnia Zauber: Please join us for the group hug in the back

[09:59] Zinnia Zauber: Rah Ale!

[09:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: feel free to sneak in any announcements to get put into the transcript

[09:59] Buffy Beale: you go ale!

[09:59] Biji Mornington: Congratulations to all who have contributed to the success of NPC! Gotta run.

[09:59] CarmenLittleFawn: hugs

[09:59] Buffy Beale: ohh yeah the group hug 🙂

[09:59] Pathfinder Lester: take care folks. i have to run.

[09:59] Rhiannon ChatnoirRhiannon Chatnoir hugs

[09:59] HB Eternal: Oooo we like group hugs!

[09:59] Rhiannon Chatnoir: And again, here are the many ways to can get involved with the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life: 

• Nonprofit Commons Blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org
• Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons
• Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life
• Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh
• http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

About TechSoup the sponsors of the Nonprofit Commons:

• http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp
• http://flavors.me/techsoup

Thanks everyone and see you next week!

Written by: Rhiannon Chatnoir

Friday September 21 at the Nonprofit Commons (NPC) on Plush and Aloft with events throughout the day and festive formal dress encouraged!

The Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is a community of social benefit organizations managed by a community of volunteers and sponsored by the nonprofit organization TechSoup Global.

http://www.nonprofitcommons.org

5th Anniversary Celebration Events happen at 8:30 AM, 3:30 PM, 8:30 PM, and 3:30 AM. Please see details below:

8:30 – 10:00 AM SLT

Morning Nonprofit Commons Meeting including NPC History, Awards, and All Star NPC Members Coughran Mayo, Jacques Macaire and much more at Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater.

• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26

Meeting Agenda

• 8:30 AM Introductions
• 8:40 AM TechSoup Announcements
• 8:45 AM Nonprofit Commons History
• 9:00 AM All Star NPC Members’ Stories for the Future
• 9:30 AM Nonprofit Commons All Star Awards
• 9:45 AM Open Mic / Announcements

3:30 – 5:00 PM SLT

DJ DyVerse Dance Party Meet and Greet at CommonGround Aloft Nonprofit Commons. Enjoy networking and dancing among other nonprofits and supporters! Learn more about what nonprofits, educators, humanitarians, scientists, and artists accomplish in Second Life at the Nonprofit Commons at this fun and informative event.

• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/59/68/25

8:30 – 10:30 PM SLT

Active Collaborative Community Planning Workshop to create solutions for all our unify goals for the Virtual Vision 2020 – an initiative to develop a plan for the Second Life community at Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater. All Second Life Communities are welcome to participate in building partnerships and solutions.

• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26

Workshop Agenda

• 8:30 PM Introductions
• 8:40 PM Explanation of Community Planning and Virtual Vision 2020 Purpose
• 8:50 PM Breakout groups discussion of goals and identification of who might help achieve goal
• 9:20 PM Presentation of breakout group solutions and strategies
• 9:40 PM Build partnerships to lead by example

3:30 – 4:30 AM SLT

Live Music Meet and Greet at CommonGround Aloft Nonprofit Commons.

• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/59/68/25

Please Come Join the Nonprofit All Stars!

Written by: Rhiannon Chatnoir