Here's the latest from Google Apps

Google Apps News April 2010 New customers join the cloud revolution, plus Google launches Google Apps Marketplace: Newcomers to Google Apps: • Simple ways to get more out of Google Apps: The Mind Research Network taps Google’s online documents, video, and archiving and encryption for 200+ research scientists and staff (Free webcast). • An advanced infrastructure, lower costs in two months:City of Orlando becomes one of the first cities in America to switch to Gmail (Free webcast). • No fooling around: On April 1, the same day Google re-named itself Topeka, the State Library of Kansas in Topeka got serious with a move to Google Apps. Google Apps + third-party cloud applications = big win! • New! Google unveils the Google Apps Marketplace, a new online storefront that enables Google Apps administrators to discover and purchase integrated third-party cloud applications and deploy them in their domains. • New! Hot on the heels of the Google Apps Marketplace release, Google announced a new Marketplace YouTube channel showcasing videos from Marketplace vendors. Get timely customer news and product updates delivered to your inbox by signing up at theOfficial Enterprise Blog. All the best from Google, and stay tuned!

Ever wonder about analytic on your Facebook page. - No More!

Here's a great John Haydon post detailing Facebook Insights.

http://johnhaydon.com/2010/04/facebook-page-insights-measure-engagement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Corporatedollarorg-ExceedYourOn-lineFundraisingGoalsWithSocialMediaMarketing+(John+Haydon+|+Social+media+inbound+marketing+for+non-profits+and+small+businesses)

Email summary of Google Spreadsheet forms results - Automatic. Strengthens the case to Go Google!!

Ability to now receive a summary email of form responses in Google Spreadsheets Posted: 12 Apr 2010 05:40 AM PDT If your username is being collected when you submit to a form created in Google Spreadsheets, you now have a new option to also receive an email summary of your responses for your reference. Editions included: Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions Languages included: All languages supported by Google Spreadsheets How to access what's new: At the bottom of a Spreadsheets form when the username is being collected, enable/disable the checkbox 'Send me a copy of my responses' to receive the summary email.

Phybridge Uniphyer Customer's 1st year anniversary! = 0 Complaints and very pleased.

Happy 1st Anniversary to IPC Financial Services "We deployed IP phones using the UniPhyer over a year ago and have not had a single service complaint or quality issue since."                                            Reggie Alvares, VP of Operations, IPC                                                                                          Congratulations to IPC Financial on zero dropped calls since deploying IP Telephony over 365 days ago using the UniPhyer! Installing the Phybridge UniPhyer is a piece of cake!

Very power Social Media information for Non-Profits

Social media 101 for small nonprofits Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:45 AM PDT   Upcoming tool will help small nonprofits improve their social media savvy Should small nonprofits wade into the sometimes daunting terrain of social media? Increasingly, the answer is: Yes, because that’s where their members and supporters are, and social media the most effective way to reach them. Last year TechSoup Global won a grant fromKellogg Action Lab/Fieldstone Alliance with an impressive goal: to create a tool that helps nonprofits assess their current social media capabilities and to connect them with resources to get them started down the right track. TechSoup Global hired Socialbrite to manage the project and build the tool, and our team spent weeks interviewing the top executives of 50 mostly small nonprofits: CARES Foundation, Down Syndrome Network, Net Literacy, Legal Community Against Violence, National Autism Association and dozens of others. We found that these nonprofits — often run on a shoestring budget with a bare-bones staff — are well aware that major changes are taking place in the media and communications landscape. Often they seem to feel baffled by the disruptions. Many wonder whether they have the resources to effectively use social media, given the resources and time commitment required inside organizations where everyone does everything — and then some. “There hasn’t been a lot of data that justifies putting labor into this. How sure are we that social networking is worth prioritizing?” one foundation’s communications director asked me. Still, the vast majority of nonprofits said they were eager to learn and to push forward internally with modest social media programs. While the survey results are confidential, I can tell you that we’re working with TechSoup Global to put the finishing touches on a Social Media Literacy Tool that will be available to the public starting in May. (The tool is geared to nonprofits but can be used by anyone.) How social media will benefit your nonprofit When I discuss the need to embrace social media with nonprofit leaders, the reasons usually fall into these buckets: (1) Social media has altered the balance of power The same tectonic shifts that have disrupted other spheres of society — the public’s interactions with brands, with media, with government — are starting to affect other sectors as well, including the nonprofit community. The smartest reaction would be to identify key learnings from watching the other sectors and then adapt and apply those takeaways to your own. People no longer want their only interactions with a favorite cause or nonprofit to be restricted to their credit cards — they want to participate (at least some of them do) at all levels of your core mission, from communicating with members of your team to communicating with each other to helping you raise money or connect with community resources. It’s likely that there are rich conversations taking place online about your nonprofit or your cause. You should be a part of those conversations. (2) You can copy what has worked elsewhere The real-world results are in: There are now tons of case studies proving that social media has moved the needle in a positive direction for organizations — nonprofits and businesses alike — that know how to how to create a social media action plan, which begins with a strategy and then an implementation of the proper tactics. I’ll refrain from citing Twestival, which every “social media expert” on the Web cites, and instead point to efforts like: • Awareness campaigns (PDF) by PBS KIDS and War Child Canada • charity: water’s September birthday campaign • CouchSurfing International’s efforts to forge connections across borders • Invisible Children’s Visible Children Scholarship Program • epic change’s Tweetsgiving program • The American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays program The nonprofit Society for New Communications Research — of which I’m a senior fellow — honors nonprofits, universities, media organizations and businesses with annual awards in categories like communities, collaboration, social media production and more. Head over to our sister site, Socialmedia.biz, to read some great case studies. (3) Your nonprofit has a compelling (untold) story In every conversation I had with nonprofits, it emerged that their organization or cause had a heart-tugging, compelling story that wasn’t being effectively captured or conveyed on their website. Social media’s strongest component is its ability to give supporters an easy way to create and share stories about the things that matter to them most. Whether it’s using Twitter to spread the word about your latest campaign or using a Flip cam to interview people who are being directly helped by nonprofit, social media expands the range of possibilities in a dynamic, conversation-driven, low-cost way. (4) Your staff’s internal dynamics will thrive Time after time we’ve heard from nonprofits about how a strong social media effort not only improves the connections between your organization and its supporters but also strengthens the fabric that binds your staffers together. When employees are empowered to interact with the community, their stake in your organization rises immeasurably. When employees use new tools to communicate with each other more effectively, they get more accomplished and form deeper ties as a team. And when your nonprofit begins each day by listening to and talking with your community, deeper understanding follows. Everyone is after the holy grail of return on investment (ROI). The top ROI of using social media for your nonprofit? Insight. Related articles by Zemanta Understanding The Roi Of Social Media (slideshare.net) What’s the real value of social media for communicators? (willmarlow.com) What nonprofits need to know about social media (smartblogs.com) Streamline Your Nonprofit on Twitter (ricksrss.com) JD Lasica works with nonprofits, social change organizations and businesses on social media strategies. See his profile, visit his business blog, contact JD or leave a comment.

Google Apps for Non-Profits Newsletter

Google for Non-Profits Newsletter - March, 2010
We hope you enjoy this month's update from the Google for Non-Profits team. A reminder that you can find and search all of the old newsletters and other emails sent to this list at the Google group site. Also, please be sure to join the googlefornonprofits-discuss group. This group offers an email forum for members to ask and answer questions about Google tools for non-profits.

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YouTube Nonprofit Video Awards

Google Apps highlights

Improve your AdWords account structure

AdWords for mobile

Increase your AdWords conversions

The Google AdWords Online Classroom

New Blogger Template Designer
Google Apps Marketplace

Today's vowel outage

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YouTube Nonprofit Video Awards - The YouTube Nonprofit Video Awards received 750 submissions and judges have selected 16 finalists.  The winner will be announced at NTEN's Nonprofit Technology Conference later this month and will receive a $10,000 award.  A public vote will determine who wins and is taking place now through April 7th. Visit this site and click on the "vote" button at the top to watch the finalist's videos and cast your vote.

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Google Apps highlights - A recent edition in this great series highlights calendar labs, security enhancements, conversion tips for organization moving from Microsoft Exchange, and testimonials from organizations that have "gone Google".

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Improve your AdWords account structure - A few simple steps to structure your Google Grants account can save you lots of time down the line and help you to effectively target the right demographics for your ads.  The video in this blog post tells you how.

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AdWords for Mobile - Want to access your Google Grants account from anywhere? Remembered a change to your ad campaign that you forgot to make before leaving work? With the recent launch of AdWords for mobile, you can now have access to all of your Google Grants account information from anywhere, on your smart phone.  This feature is being rolled out over the next few weeks, but you can try it now by clicking here from any Android, iPhone or Palm Pre.

 

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Increase your AdWords Conversions - Google's Conversion Room Blog recently featured a post with five short videos explaining in simple terms how to get more from your AdWords account through better organization, controlling costs, understanding keywords, better ad text and measuring success. Click the link above to learn more and watch the videos.

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The Google AdWords Online Classroom - Whether you are a brand new Google Grants recipient and unsure where to begin, or a power user looking to expand your abilities, the AdWords Online Classroom has lots of free, on-demand tutorials to take you from the basics of setting up your account through using Google Analytics to improve your AdWords ROI.

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New Blogger Template Designer - Blogger template designer gives you 15 professional templates (with more on the way) to start a new blog for your organization or redesign an existing one.  There are also hundreds of professional background images from iStockphoto, customizable fonts, colors and layouts with one, two or three columns. Template Designer makes it even quicker and easier to get up and running with a professional, customized blog for your organization. 

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Google Apps Marketplace - The Google Apps Marketplace allows users to easily discover, deploy and manage cloud applications that integrate with Google Apps.  Once installed, these applications work like native Google applications and with administrator approval can interact with calendar, email, documents and contact data to increase productivity.  From accounting to project management to travel planning to human resources management, these applications are sure to increase productivity and lessen frustrations for users and IT administrators by expanding what can be done using Google Apps, eliminating the need for software updates, multiple passwords and manual syncing.

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Today's Vowel Outage - Google has received recent reports that the Gmail service is experiencing a vowel outage today, April 1.  Please accept our sincere apologies and know that our engineers are hard at work to rectify the issue.

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That's it for this month's newsletter. As always, please send any suggestions for the newsletter or Google for Non-Profits site our way.

Have a great rest of the week!