I had the pleasure of attending the Net Tuesday Networking for Social Change event last week in SF, hosted by NetSquared, a project of TechSoup.

Oz Basarir and Dave Sanford served as the evening’s presenters. Oz Basarir, an independent web consultant, is leading the WiserEarth project. WiserEarth is a dynamic wiki-based networking forum for various nonprofits addressing social justice, poverty and the environment, and dedicated to sustainability - a project funded and supported by Natural Capital Institute.

The concept behind WiserEarth was to create a community-driven site for students, activists and nonprofit executives to locate information and connect with others supporting similar causes. We were fortunate enough to see a demo of the site which currently can be viewed by invite only.

The site is designed to include registration for users and guests, allowing them to create, maintain and share profiles of their individual nonprofit organization. Enhanced with a content tracker, a job post and events section, video hosting, and a link to make donations to your nonprofit of choice, organizations from all around the globe can communicate with each other. Another feature worth mentioning is that it allows users to view the location of each listed nonprofit via Google Earth. We’re told the test site currently has more than 125,000 entries to date. Stay tuned, as the beta version is expected to launch in April of this year.

LinkedIn For Nonprofits

Many of us use LinkedIn as a way to network and stay in contact with friends, peers and colleagues. Apparently LinkedIn has tons of utility for nonprofits too. Dave Sanford, a product and business strategist for LinkedIn, updated on us what we can expect to see next from the popular social networking site – social networking for good.

In the upcoming months LinkedIn’s platform will become more robust to help nonprofits and NGOs network, secure donations and share information across the web. Nonprofit organizations will be able to create and maintain a public profile, playing a key role in helping them achieve their goals. Once the public profile is activated, it not only will heighten their organization’s visibility and increase traffic to their site, but will also serve as a forum for meeting like-minded organizations and potential supporters, and provide a portal for spreading their messages beyond the immediate community.

Overall, it was a great event and reassured me that social networking really can be a good thing. Thanks to NetSquared for hosting the event and to LinkedIn for sponsoring the appetizers, beverages and the pie! Since I’m in PR and “all about promoting” (read: I really enjoyed the pie), next time you’re in San Francisco, stop by Mission Pie for a tasty slice of heaven. Proceeds go towards an urban renewal project.

/Leah McLean

Technorati Tags: linkedin, net tuesday, Net2, wiserearth

Well we don’t - not yet anyway, but we would like to extend our thanks to Laura DeVere and Joost Schuijff of Zeno Holdings, Inc. for hosting a fantastic networking event in Los Gatos the other night.

Laura and Joost partnered with Deloitte & Touche Netherlands who brought their “Fast 50” to the Silicon Valley for networking and information-gathering. We met with ~20 of the fastest growing young companies in the Netherlands who are exploring how to bring their companies – and their innovation – to the United States.

We met charismatic leaders from companies like Mendix, Intermax, High Concept and Kahuna. We also met interesting Bay Area companies advancing RFID, AJAX, and software engineering. (We especially loved meeting the guy who helped create the “guts” of TiVo… Pieter, you changed our lives!)

Of course, the wine was great and the appetizers were amazing. But most of all, we enjoyed the conversation about global innovation, borderless marketing and multi-cultural lifestyles.

Innovation and the Netherlands….it is ON!

/JW

Technorati Tags: deloitte touche, fast50, netherlands

We recently caught up with Voce’s Dave Black to talk about the pros and cons of print articles in public relations….

Technorati Tags: dave black, media, pr, voce communications

I traveled to Sacramento this past weekend to catch up with an old friend who recently became engaged. We’ll call him Eric. Eric was also playing in an annual poker tournament with his brother-in-law and friends, so they invited me along. Whether dumb luck or pure skill (the line is so fine) I managed to get third place out of 22 guys and took home some money. Unfortunately, after telling this story to Dennis Fisher with Information Security Magazine, at Monday’s Voce sponsored mixer, he did not invite me to the well-known poker tournament many journalists and analysts participate in the first night of the RSA security conference. Oh well Dennis, maybe next year? Translation…you are pot committed and I’m coming for you.

Keeping up with a long standing tradition, we hosted an intimate mixer to kick off the first day of the RSA security conference. This mixer gives us a chance to catch up with old friends in the security industry, and welcome the conference back to San Francisco (RSA alternates between SF and San Jose annually). Voce threw down the AMEX for a few hours and treated clients such as NetIQ and Fujitsu to some beer and aps, as well as some industry journalists and friends of the famiglia. All in all it was a very fun night with good people, and our thanks go out to all those who attended.

/Colin Crook

Technorati Tags: rsa, voce+communications, security, events

Having a full-time job that keeps me in poverty? No way…unimaginable, right? But millions of Americans face this reality day in and day out, working 40+ hours a week unable to satisfy the basic needs of food and shelter. Right now, the current Federal Minimum Wage is ONLY $5.15 which has less buying power than in the 1950s.

Recently, Voce had the incredible opportunity to do some pro-bono work for the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, a fast-growing nonpartisan coalition of ninety faith, labor and community organizations, that work in support of federal legislation to raise the federal minimum wage and state legislation and ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage. The Campaign conducts an ongoing educational program to inform people of the severity of conditions facing low-wage working people and what must be done to bring about constructive change.

On January 19, a Senate press conference was held to garner support and awareness for the Federal Minimum Wage Bill that was successful passed as a “clean bill” in The House of Representatives that was going to the Senate floor for debate.

Our Voce team was tasked with securing media attention for the passing of the Federal Minimum Wage Bill which coincidentally was being over shadowed by President Bush’s decision to increase American troops in Iraq. Our objective was to communicate to the media the support the bill had from business owners across the country.

Throughout our efforts, we kept hitting on this key point: By providing sustainable living wages, it directly yields increases in productivity, job satisfaction and brand loyalty from customers, all contributing to higher returns for investors and employers.

Update on the Federal Minimum Wage Bill

The Federal Minimum Wage Bill was passed in the Senate on February 1, but not as a “clean bill.” The bill has gone back to the House and is receiving the attention it needs by the mainstream media. There is a lot to come on this hot topic and Voce will one of the driving forces to raise awareness on this critical issue.

Remember, a job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it.

/KD

Technorati Tags: letjusticeroll, minimum+wage, federal+minimum+wage+bill