Icommons.org

People, like me, who work in the nonprofit technology field are very aware of, and are often advocates for, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). In 2004, a trio of nonprofit technology organizations - Aspiration, NOSI and the LINC Project, established Penguin Days - an opportunity for nonprofit organisations to explore the range of issues and options involved in using Free and Open Source software.

Penguin Days happen in different locations several times a year and for the past three years, a Penguin Day, takes place following the annual NTC: Nonprofit Technology Conference, the largest gathering of nonprofit techies from all over the world. The event began and still continues to be an important conversation about the challenges and opportunities nonprofits face as they adopt Free and Open Source Software.

For this year’s Penguin Day, the topic of ‘Open Content’ is on the agenda and I’ve been asked to facilitate a session. The participants may have awareness of Creative Commons licensing, some may already be using it, but others may be new to the idea. Further, the idea of remixing open content is something that is just beginning to spread in the nonprofit sector - so this session will be more of introduction and exploration of what issues come up as we try to use Creative Commons for content in the nonprofit sector.

I am not a lawyer or legal expert, but you don’t need to be to understand and use Creative Commons licences. I wondered: how can I incorporate the use of open content ideas and demonstrate their value in the content of the session itself? In other words, how I can walk-the-walk of using or remixing open content in a workshop setting? (more…)

In this era of user-generated content, everyone is creating websites, videos and audio remixes. Brand new digital artifacts are created by linking, embedding and streaming of multiple media sources ‘ each potentially released under its own license. When uploaded to independent media hosts, such as Flickr or YouTube, the content’s licensing may be affected. In a world of mixed media, how do you negotiate the potential minefield of legalese surrounding your content? How can you be creative and stay legal? And how do you protect your own digital creations when you put them out there for the benefit of millions of screaming fans? (more…)

A month or so ago iCommons webqueen, Daniela Faris interviewed me about Creative Commons’ second annual fundraising campaign. As stated in the interview, we chose to focus the 2006 campaign more on our community and raising CC awareness than solely on our financial need.

Since then Daniela, Heather and I have continued an exchange about the importance of our global community and how to best address their needs. We’ve acknowledged that raising money for a cause is always an area of interest so we thought that it would be interesting and perhaps even helpful for me to write candidly about the campaign.

The ideas that I’ve listed below are simple suggestions that I thought could be useful to reference when building your own strategy (more…)

One of the themes that is often raised in discussions within the iCommons community is this: open licensing is great for stimulating creativity for those who want to use it for their own works, but what effect can it have on civil society? How can using resources that are freely licensed make it simpler, better and faster for organisations, schools, NGOs and civil society groups to do their jobs?

In this month’s ‘10 of the best’ (this time, halved), we highlight the following five sites that are devoted to doing just that ‘ helping people get things done, better. And we think they’re doing a great job of it. (more…)

Any initiative that uses ICT as a tool for attaining development goals, for example, improving health care or education ‘ falls under the umbrella term of ‘ICT for development (ICT4D)’.

In November 25 Tech Laureates were honoured at the Tech Museum Awards in Silicon Valley, for using technology to benefit humanity in innovative ways. But not all ICT4D projects are so successful. In fact, since the late 1980s, the sector has been characterised more by project failure than success. Over time a body of knowledge and culture of information dissemination has developed, enabling those in the sector to improve the likelihood of project success by avoiding mistakes, and building on the pioneering work of others. Many case studies have been conducted on ICT4D projects to identify best practices and lessons learned. Drawing on the case study series by Bridges.org, a few of the common best ICT4D practices are described here.

Pre-project best practices

1. Conduct a needs assessment
2. Ensure ownership, get local buy-in and find a champion
3. Identify key external challenges

Project rollout best practices

1. Avoid duplication of efforts
2. Take small achievable steps and stay focussed
3. Stay Focussed
4. Critically evaluate efforts and adapt as needed

Post-project best practices

1. Final project evaluation
2. Disseminate information
3. Make it sustainable (more…)