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How to apply for Linden Labs’ Showcase

Hi everybody! Today I’m going to tell you about my experience with Linden Lab’s Showcase section.

About two months ago, Mercedes Ochs suggested I try to get my Garden for the Missing on Remora into the Showcase. I wasn’t even sure what Showcase was, so I poked around and found it.

When you go to that page on the SL website (and I will give you the URLs at the end of this little talk), you will see there are four SL venues spotlighted on the top right of that main page and sublistings of categories on the left.

So, I applied, having no idea what was about to happen.

A week later, I was being interviewed for an article in SL Illustrated. We were at the Garden for the Missing and people kept popping in at the rate of one a minute. We’re talking about a venue that, unless I have an event, usually gets about 10-20 on a normal day. I finally asked a visitor where they hear about The Garden for the Missing and he said it was on the Showcase page. It was the featured “Hot Spot” listing.

The front page listing lasted a week, during which more than 600 people visited the Garden for the Missing. It was crazy. I had Mercedes and Mel helping me greet visitors as much of 24/7 as we could fill. The visitors came nonstop.

After a week, the listing was moved off the main page to the Hot Spots subpage listing and continues to greet anywhere from 25 to 75 visitors per day. I’d say at this point, between 800 – 1,000 have been introduced to my nonprofit as a result.

Another cool thing is that when it was replaced on the main page, it was replaced with our own Contact a Family, another nonprofit in NPC!

These graphics show how the listings look today on the “Hot Spots” subpage.

One more thing to note is that there were a number of blogs and a couple of articles written about my nonprofit as a result, so the amount of visitors resulting from the Showcase was amazing, but the increased awareness didn’t stop there.

The Showcase doesn’t approve everyone who applies. But it’s very worth giving it a try. And now, here are your URLs.

The Showcase: http://secondlife.com/showcase/

The FAQ: http://secondlife.com/showcase/faq.php

The “How to suggest” section: http://secondlife.com/showcase/faq.php#five

Written by: Ronnie

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Nonprofit Participation in NPC: How a Little Strategy Goes a Long Way

In response to a special request for a BLOG post, below are some suggestions made on the WIKI for enhancing your nonprofit’s participation in the NPC community. These are some small, yet strategic ways to help your nonprofit maintain its presence and take advantage of community-wide events that promote your nonprofit in SL and IRL.

Below are some very easy and positive ways, aside from coming to weekly
meetings and your requisite 2 hrs/week, that everyone can help become
“active” as community members:

* Special Community Events:

1. Offer to help in some small way for community-wide events in
advance (e.g., Ethelred and I drafted the clues to the hunt at least
one month ahead of time, which took very little time, but was really
helpful to the organizers);

2. Take a few minutes to respond to Group Notices by submitting your
nonprofit information for community-wide events (e.g., for NPC’s stand
at the SL5B or “Second Life 5th Birthday”, NPC Awareness Night, and
the Scavenger Hunt, the organizers requested logos, notecards and LMs;
in each case, very few responded over the course of a few months, even
though this takes only a few minutes and really helps in terms of
community representation, not to mention driving visitors to your
office and real life website!);

3. Drop in at community events, even though you can’t be there the
entire time to show your nonprofit’s support and involvement.

* General/Presence on NPC 1 & 2 & Weekly Events:

1. Drop in for either of the weekly dance events: Tuesday (8SLT) NP2
at Wharf Ratz or Thursday (7SLT) NPC 1 at Common Ground.

2. Create a “dot” on the maps for a few minutes now and then by just
being there and available for visitors, whether it’s close to the
island TP point, in your office or elsewhere on the island. Ask
another nonprofit avatar to hangout with you there and talk to create
two dots. When people see a dot, they tend to drop in more (and visit your office).

3. Ask how you can know when visitors are near or entering your office
(even if you are offline but in email) using a SuperGreeter tool and/
or door entry detector, so that you can either TP over to your office
or logon to greet them. You can IM me for more information.

4. (New) – We have also just learned that submitting your nonprofit on the SL Showcase can drive a lot of visitors to your office and NPC (and over to your website as a result). Come to the 9/12 weekly meeting (or read the meeting notes) to find out how to do that. Both Garden for the Missing and Contact a Family have already done this. Showcasing your nonprofit does not take a lot of effort but can result in a dramatic increase in visitors and attention (Garden for the Missing received 600 visitors in a week’s time).

Also, remember that organizers are sometimes 100% volunteers who are
not part of TechSoup and not even nonprofit representatives, but
individuals who are giving freely of their time, expertise and money
to help us out. It is so important that we need to show our
responsiveness and appreciation, in order that they will continue to
support our community and causes.

—> Note that none of the above takes much time but will increase
your nonprofit presence, traffic and representation on the NPC islands and
during community-wide events and just in general, even when you can’t
be there a lot or at all.

Just some ideas so that your office does not become an abandoned build
or your nonprofit MIA as part of this wonderful community – Looking
forward to your participation!

Anika Pastorelli

Written by: GCN

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Notes from my talk on “Beyond Best Practices: Taking Non-profits to the Next Level in Second Life” at SLCC

SL Curriculum Workshop

For those that weren’t able to be there, here’s a quick rundown of what I spoke about at the Non-profit Commons mini-track at the Second Life Community Convention this past weekend in Tampa, Florida. While this year’s non-profit track had less folks participating than last year, we had some great exchanges with non-profit innovators like Master Quatro, Sheva Nerad, folks from the American Library Association, USC’s Network Culture Project, Native Lands, and several other groups in attendance physically or via SL.

Thanks to Coughran Mayo for inviting me to speak and doing an admirable job moderating the entire mini-track.  And shout-outs to Rhiannon Chatnoir, In Kenzo and Amulius Lioncourt for bootlegging an audio stream in the Plush Nonprofit Commons in record time.  And I can’t forget my colleague Meghan Deana (Coreina Grace in SL) for stepping in at the 11th hour to help me present and facilitate the session.

[Note this is cross-posted from my blog rikomatic.com]

My talk notes follow…

Beyond Best Practices: Taking Non-profits to the Next Level in Second Life

Almost exactly a year ago, based on findings from SLCC 07 in Chicago, I wrote a little report on "Best Practices for Nonprofits in Second Life," which you may have read. At last year’s SLCC non-profit panel people were presenting more questions than answers. Lots of presenters were announcing projects they were just in the process of launching, including the MacArthur Foundation, USC’s Network Culture Project, and Youth Ventures.

This year, the message I have for you is: congratulations! We have firmly made the case for the viability of using Second Life for non-profit work. It is no longer a question of if but how.  This year we can celebrate real achievements:

Here’s some other cool stuff that I’ve run into in my wanderings in Second Life:

  • My Favorite Freebies: Uthango jetpowered bike to fund employment ctr in Capetown and very cute World Wildlife Fund panda that follows you around and tells you stuff about WWF
  • The Grundfos Sim: Grundfos, a for profit pump company, has created a very interactive sim on sustainable development, clean water, reducing co2 emissions. A great example of a for-profit company giving back to the community.
  • Avatar on Duty project: Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership has organized expert avatars to be available to answer specific questions related to effective philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. The AvOD will be available to answer questions in regards to effective practices and research on specific topics related to philanthropy and nonprofit leadership.

New Tech relevant to Nonprofits:

  • SL on web and iphone (ajaxlife.net), SL / SMS tool (switchboard), combined SL – web chat (SLCN.tv)
  • opensim – ability to run your own grid, connect to SL grid via opensim
  • voice – lowered barrier to bringing in voice, causes issues for some communities concerned about identity issues

What hasn’t happened:

  • slow international growth: Uthango south african NGO , Japan NGO, few others?
  • not much better user interface
  • Little growth in teen grid

Written by: rikomatic

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NPC Scavenger Hunt – Grab Your Magnifying Glass and Join the Fun!

Do you consider yourself a modern-day Columbo and LOVE searching for clues? Then please join us for NPC’s Scavenger Hunt! The hunt begins on August 22 @ 7PM SLT and continues through August 24 @ 8PM SLT. This is an awesome opportunity to become more aware of what Nonprofit Commons and its wonderful organizations are all about. And, c’mon, who doesn’t love an excellent hunt for goodies?

The opening ceremonies begin at the Nonprofit Commons 2 Aloft @ 7PM SLT with a fabulous performance by Vincent Merricks. Don’t be left out! Come by and grab your clues!

At the conclusion of the hunt, we’ll hold the closing ceremonies at Nonprofit Commons 1 Plush @ 8PM SLT with a stunning performance by Kim Siefert along with the prize awards ceremony.

Prizes include:

1st Prize – 25,000 Lindens
2nd Prize – 2 Kiva Gift Certificates
***and many other fabulous prizes to be awarded***

Seriously, you can pass up this rockin’ good time and these great prizes. Come out and learn more about Nonprofit Commons, meet new folks and have a wonderful time! WOOT!

Written by: Beth J. Bates

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Justice Jam Dance Party and Chat on the US and the ICC August 13

On August 13, at 5PM PST, come to the International Justice Center to catch real world / virtual DJ Doubledown Tandino spinning an eclectic mix of global grooves for your dancing pleasure. During the dance, we’ll also be asking for donations to aid victims of human rights abuses in Darfur, the Congo, Uganda, and Central African Republic. Afterwards, Mr. John Washburn, convenor of the American NGO Coalition on the International Criminal Court, will talk about why the next US President should support the International Criminal Court. Come dance, support human rights, and learn about the ICC.
Donations received will be forward to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the ICC Victims Trust Fund.

Click here to RSVP.

Written by: rikomatic

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Great Strides Charity Auction Event – Sat. 8/9/08 – 11 – 2 pm SLT

Come party and get some great deals!

Great Strides Charity Auction

When? Sat 9 Aug – 11:00 AM SL Time for 3 hours (No Cover Charge)

Come bid on a yacht (from Trudeau), a tour of the Elven lands, horses (AKK Stables and more), artwork (from Annah DeCuir, Ronnie Rhode and more), jewelry, buildings (from Oldrome Yer and others), and much more! All proceeds will benefit Great Strides, a RL charity.

Great Strides mission is to promote emotional healing and growth in partnership with horses. Learn more at: http://www.GreatStrides.org.

Location: Oldrome Yer’s sim: Pantheon (85, 112,34)

Please forward to your friends and I hope to see you there!

Veri

Veri Oddfellow (SL)
Brad Lewis (RL)
Board Chair
Great Strides
www.GreatStrides.org

Written by: jharyaconel

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Drug Policy Alliance Network Makes Second Life Debut on Thursday August 14th

08/14/2008 11:00
Etc/GMT-8

08/14/2008 11:00
Etc/GMT-8

August 4, 2008—On Thursday, August 14, at 11 a.m., Second LifeTM Time, Drug Policy Alliance Network, the United States’ leading organization dedicated to ending the war on drugs, will make its virtual debut with a staff meet-and-greet on the Nonprofit Commons Aloft simulator.

When: Thursday, August 14, 11 a.m. SLT – 1 p.m. SLT
Where: Plush Nonprofit Commons Cafe (Plush Nonprofit Commons – 165, 241, 26)
Second Life URL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/165/241/26

Second LifeTM resident Camdyn Collins will host the event, which will include several DPA Network employees. As the first of what will hopefully be several events planned throughout the year, the initial gathering is geared toward answering any questions Second LifeTM residents may have about DPA Network and its mission.

Immediately following the meet-and-greet with DPA Network staff members, residents will stay at the cafe and attend an afterparty, which will include a performance by celebrity Second LifeTM DJ, Azufr3 Catteneo (www.azucatteneo.com). During the afterparty, random DPA Network themed prizes will be given away to attendees and residents will be able to interact with other drug policy reform supporters.

A donation box for DPA Network will be present at the event, as well as other DPA Network-produced literature, drug fact information, and instructions on ways to take action offline against the war on drugs. Because donations to the Drug Policy Alliance Network are used in part for lobbying and grassroots activism, they are not tax-deductible.

For more information about DPA Network and our mission, please visit our website at www.drugpolicy.org or email webmaster@drugpolicy.org.

Written by: camdyncollins

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Relay for Life Second Life

For the fourth consecutive year running, the American Cancer Society held their annual Relay for Life Second Life. 2008 was the most successful year yet for this virtual relay to raise funds to fight cancer.

Some stats: 2230 avatars, 85 Teams, walked 3441 virtual laps and raised over $L 55,230,056. The relay funds raised translated into over $210,000 USD to support the American Cancer Society in its mission to defeat cancer. This greatly exceeded last year’s Second Life Relay for Life that raised around $100,000 USD and is the single largest amount raised to date by a single nonprofit campaign in Second Life.

Congratulations to all the builders, promoters, fundraisers, all of the participating avatars and their supporters for making this such a great success! The success of Relay for Life Second Life not only provides benefit in the battle against cancer, but also serves as a role model for other nonprofits seeking to use Second Life to enhance and further their real-life social change work.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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NPC Nonprofit Awareness Night=A Great Success

What do you get when you have 65 NPO’s, Live entertainment, dancing, and a whole bunch of people in the main square at NPC Aloft?
The answer….. an awesome Nonprofit Commons Awareness night!

SL singer Vienna James put on an amazing performance, helped promote our NPO’s and toured the sim after her performance.

In between songs, there were representitives from several Nonprofits from both Plush and Aloft, sharing information about their organizations. Some of the representitives included….Anika Pastorelli (GCN), KellyJ Shepard (Project Jason), Ronnie Rhode (Garden for the Missing) and Veri Oddfellow (Great Strides) along with several others.

Vistors to Aloft had the oppertunity before and after the show to take the magic carpet tour , the horse and buggy tour or just wander the sim to see what NPC is all about.Volunteers from many NPO’s were on hand to answer questions as well.
All and all I would say it was a successful event and hopefully there will be more like it in the future

Written by: MeRcEdEs

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Using the Event Calendar

As you may have noticed, there has been a little event calendar on the site for the last few weeks. We’ve been ironing out some issues and there are still other elements that we may add in the future, but it is ready for folks to start making use of.

  1. To post to the calendar you must be registered as a blogger on the site. We are limiting who can post to the calendar to prevent spam from ending up on the calendar.
  2. If you want to post to the calendar, please ask Glit, Penguin, or Creech (me!) to set you up.
  3. If you want to book space in one of the sims, please see Penguin or Glit and ask one of them to make the arrangements.
  4. This goes without saying, but please be sensible about what events you post.

Alright, how do you go about posting an event? It is pretty simple.

  1. Log into the NPC site.
  2. Click on "Create Content" in your right hand menu
  3. Click on "Event"
  4. Choose a start and end date along with times. Please note that the time zone is Pacific/SL.
  5. Type in a Title
  6. Add body–you can use some HTML. If you want to see what the filter will accept and what options you have–click on "Input Format"
  7. You may include a file attachment if you have something like a flyer
  8. Click "Preview" if you’d like to look at your event before you post it
  9. Click "Submit" when you are ready for it to be posted to the site.

It is that easy. Happy event posting!

Creech Antwerp/Matthew Saunders

Written by: Creech