I am feeling the frenzy too. After reading books like The World is Flat , it’s easy to realize that trends well underway that we should have been on board with at least 3 years ago. Any non-profit serious about longevity needs to be actively engaging its supporters online. It’s time. It can’t be ignored anymore.

That being said, there has never been a better time to just cool it. Calm down. The web is both urgent and attractive right now, but we need to maintain temperance and caution in any strategy we pursue. Of course it’s the future — it has been for years.

Here are a few rules to help us keep our heads on straight:

1. IT’S YOUR CAUSE, NOT THE COMPUTER

Don’t fool yourself: being successful online, whether you’re Obama or the local food bank, is only 10% due to the technology. The rest depends on the strength of your cause.

Obama, for example, had a compelling personal narrative. Do you? Obama had a well-controlled brand. Does your organization have that? Obama also had a captive audience that spanned not only the nation but the world, and had a major presence on every single media outlet for the previous 2 years leading up to the date of the American election. Does your organization have that? Lastly, Barack Obama had a role of historical significance unparalleled in America’s recent history. If your organzation doesn’t have those things, then use the Obama example as your inspiration, not your business plan.

You’ve got more work to do than just “get up there” on the web. It’s wonderful start, and by all means, run with it, but don’t forget to be a well-rounded organization.

2. STRATEGY FIRST, SOFTWARE SECOND

There is absolutely no point in shelling out the dough for an expensive constituent relationship management tool (CRM) or online fundraising solution if you have no internal strategy behind it. If you’re investing in your online giving technology, make sure that you know why you’re doing it.

• Have you found yourself limited by the free tools, open-source software and community-driven social networks that already exist?
• What percentage of your supporters currently give online? Has that number been growing or shrinking?
• Have your past online endeavours shown your supporters are comfortable interacting with your organization on the web?
• What is the impact on your organization if you don’t expand your online initiatives?

Do not swoon at the first software salesperson that comes digi-knocking. Know why you need to grow, before you branch out.

3. PEOPLE ARE THE ANSWER

Web 2.0 is not a machine made up of parts, but of people and faces. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply online. On the web, people gather where they feel connected. You need to reach out to people to meet them where they are, and to give them what they need — it’s not just a matter of dropping your organization’s fishing line into Facebook and hoping for a bite. Software is not going to do the work for you — people need to be behind it, before it, within it. If people are passionate about your cause, their personal endorsements and support will carry you far further than any purchased tool or ad ever will. It’s vital to respect that support by showing that you’re listening. You can’t just set up a new website and expect (or demand) they sign up.

4. EXPERTS ON THE INSIDE

Just like our mothers warned us about taking candy from strangers, the same applies to taking advice from consultants. If you want to develop a web strategy that really works for your organization, it needs to be developed from the inside. Not just because it’s less expensive, but because it’s more relevant and valuable. At your organization, at least one half of somebody’s job should be dedicated to overseeing your web strategy, including social media.

There are so many nuances to how your organization lives, breathes, works, thinks. There’s an equal amount of nuances to how to use the web. Knowing the intricacies of both is what makes a good web strategy work.

5. THE WEB IS WORTH INVESTING IN

As a direct counter-point to Rule Number Two, sometimes you have to pay for services and software if you want to do the job well. Assuming you’ve done your homework and checked out the existing free or low-cost options, don’t be afraid to part with some serious cash if you’re getting a good product. Do the math, do your homework, and make sure that you’re going to be getting an adequate return on your investment…then pay up.

6. JUST DIVE IN

Go to http://search.twitter.com and type in your organization’s name. Read the results: that’s what people are saying about you right now on Twitter. You don’t have to stay on the outside looking in: you as an organization can start participating in that discussion within minutes.

• Dumpster diving online: today’s discoveries
• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• The four-dollar sellout
• The World’s Worst Project Manager
• Overhaul at the Automall

For repeat visitors to this blog of mine, you’ll notice that the old homepage, with its magazine-like template, has been replaced with a new look, one which scrolls endlessly like a conventional blog.

Why? Lately I’ve been focusing more on optimizing user experience by analyzing web statistics. I took a close look at this past year’s usage patterns, and discovered visitors weren’t exploring the original homepage links as I had intended. This redux aims to provide readable full-text content quicker, which will hopefully lead to more engagement with the site’s content.

Here’s a look at what’s been happening since I last published actual words on the Internet:

1. Introducing Aaron Fedora

Friend and local entrepreneur Aaron Fedora recently ran for School Board Trustee in Langley, BC. His presence made a splash at town-hall meetings and debates, but unfortunately as a rookie, didn’t quite get the votes needed to land a seat on council. During the campaign, I had the privilege of helping Aaron out with some campaign advice over the past month, on copy-editing, consulting, and design. I definitely can see that Fedora’s role on council could help the city out — be sure to remember the name the next time a civic election comes around.

2. Google Adsense: My first cheque!

This month, I received my very first payment ever from Google. After a year and a half of running Google AdSense on this site, I finally made enough to receive a deposit of $100! Actually, thanks to the lousy Canadian dollar, the total come to $119. I took my wife to Chambar to celebrate. While it’s probably Vancouver most delicious restaurant, it unfortunately means I now only have about 5% left from the original deposit.

3. Twitter: It’s what’s for breakfast

The Internet’s silliest-sounding service keeps getting more legitimate. Like many of you, I’ve been hearing about Twitter for over a year, but have been steadfastly ignoring it because of how trivial it seemed. However, as of a couple weeks ago, I now consider myself on-board.

So, an explanation: Twitter is a way to transmit tiny, 140-character blog posts to a network of friends, ideal for posting news updates and on-the-go commentary. Twitter played a big role in both the Canadian and American elections, with all major new outlets referring to Twitter users’ commentary to instantly gauge public opinion. Companies and non-profits are finding Twitter to be a great communication tool, too. If you’re a user of Twitter, be sure to follow Union Gospel Mission’s Twitter updates to see what I mean. And while you’re at it, add kevangilbert to your “following” list and say hello.

4. Elbowruminations: Graphic design for everyone

Elbowruminations, your source for Canadian graphic design insight, just got more awesome. My brother Neil and I recently re-launched the site with an all-new design, courtesy of Lethbridge designer and developer Chris Morris. This is a reliable blog is geared to designers and small-business owners, and will supply you with graphic design tips, trends and reviews.

• Harrison Mooney blackens up the blogosphere
• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• The four-dollar sellout
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)
• Life of Pi movie in the works

Anyway, what’s this referral spam I’m talking about? Well, most website operators like to see which websites are linking to their own site, and they check up on their referral statistics almost daily. Referral spam is when malicious and devoted spammers try to get your attention by flooding your statistics with fake links to their own sites.

Normally, I can check out my “referrals” page, and it gives me a nice and easy-to-read list of all the sites that are linking to me. Unfortunately, with the spammers at work, now all I see is a mile-long list of fictional, non-existent, over-the-top porno URLs. Take a look: this is the text-only file of all the sites that have “linked” to me so far in May. As you can see, most of them are ridiculous, bogus XXX sites. None of these sites (the sketchy-looking ones, anyway) actually contain links to my site. It’s all zombie spambot computers sending out signals just pretending to have links there.

LAME. They do this JUST in case I happen to have my blog set to automatically publish the list of sites that link to me, which will in turn boost their own sites’ ranking in Google. Obnoxious, meddlesome and kind of offensive, to say the least. Anyway, stopping this kind of spam turns out to be just as obnoxious.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
- Modifying a file called .htaccess. Tried that, but it turns out it’s an easy way to destroy your website. Don’t do that unless you know what you’re doing.
- Using a plugin called Bad Behavior. Been using that for two months, still no luck.
- Using a plugin called Referrerl Karma. Tried that: it hasn’t been updated since 2005, installation is absurdly complicated for a third-party WordPress plugin, and it’s not even compatible with the latest version of WordPress.
- Asking Metafilter. No help there.
- Reading about it. Nobody seems to have tackled this topic since around Jan. 2006. Informational sites abound on diagnosing the problem, but none on curing it.

Anyway, long story short, I’ve still got spammer troubles, but the website’s back up again. Thanks for your patience, and if you haven’t already done it, go tell me what you love & hate about this website on my First Annual Readership Survey.

• Overhaul at the Automall
• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• Dumpster diving online: today’s discoveries
• Google Adsense = Chambar, and other equations
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)

Anyway, as you know, I’ve been sporting the uniform a seasoned Internet salvage king for some time now, and I trust you’ve trained yourself to check in with me first to see what’s new in the landfill. Today, I bring you a fascinating collection of excellent discoveries which will make you wiggle all over with excitement. Please, take a look:

Item #1: The Corpse Flower is blooming

Speaking of incredibly smelly things that are still somehow captivating, the Botanical Conservatory of the University of California has been cultivating a rare flower called “The Corpse Flower” for over 15 years, and it has just recently started to bloom. The awkwardly beautiful plant got its actual name (Amorphophallus titanium) from the Ancient Greek word for penis, and the resemblance is uncanny: the flower does bear a striking resemblance to the male phallus…crossed with a giant purple fungus. This is an enormous flower, and it’s actually really cool. How could it NOT be? Do you see how many elements of coolness are in this flower’s favour? It’s called “The Corpse Flower,” it’s been growing for 15 years, it’s enormous, it’s shaped like a penis, and it stinks really, really bad. Check it out, on the Conservatory’s site and on Wikipedia.

Item #2: Same-scale subway systems of the world

This is a rad visualization tool: with 1 pixel representing 7 km of track, an enterprising web user has generated to-scale, same-scale maps of various subway systems across the planet. Ranging from complex, haphazard shapes, to remarkably simple systems, this page is super fascinating. Vancouver’s SkyTrain system is even on here! From above, it’s shaped vaguely like an SUV traveling up a mountain. That’s compared to, say, Boston, which looks like a headless stick-man running away from a spear. Awesome.

Item #3: PSST! Pass It On

Ever played that game with your friends where you start drawing a picture, then pass it on to the next person to continue? This is like that. Only with movies, created by animation and video-making gurus. It’s an incredibly trippy voyage into video madness, with bizarre effects and a medley of nonsensical storylines, from a carrot vs. celery war in the garden to a boy finding another dimension inside his bubble-blowing device. If you’ve got some minutes, you should spend them watching some of these videos.

Item #4: Tornado photos to make you cry

Last Friday, a tornado utterly gutted the town of Greensburg, Kansas, leaving virtually nothing standing. This collection of aerial photos by Jaime Oppenheimer displays the damage. Believe it or not, only 9 people died in this mess.

Item #5: Did they just dig up Herod’s tomb?

Could it be that archaeologists have discovered the burial place of Herod, that vicious old New Testament king who killed all children under the age of 2? South of Jerusalam, atop a flattened hilltop and somewhere within the palace complex, a smashed limestone sarcophagus decorated with ornate rosette has been found. Scholars and historians and diggers alike are clapping their dusty hands with centuries-old joy.

Thank you for attending this informal online museum presentation of things I found in the dumpster that impacted, interested or internetted me. Please return now to your homes and loved ones, and have yourself a nice warm shower.

(End note: I just realized that I came across every single one of these links thanks to the devoted link-blogging the Metafilter people. I must give credit.)

• 6 Rules for Online Fundraising for Non-Profits
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)
• Overhaul at the Automall
• Google Adsense = Chambar, and other equations
• Posts from other places

Paul McLean will eat your soul

Approximately seven minutes ago, the Calgary Flames were eliminated from the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals by the Detroit Red Wings. The city fell silent and wept into its pillow. All across the prairie town, the Red Mile turned blue, as thousands of Flames fans untied their western-style jersey collars and retired their cowboy hats for the next season.

What they do not yet realize is that the only reason the Red Wings won was because of the incredibly evil, voodoo-infused, world-dominating, devil-worshipping moustache worn by Detroit’s Assistant Coach Paul McLean. I took a photo of him during the 1st overtime intermission. The look in his eyes and the bristles on his ‘stache are all violently, vehemently, viciously screaming I STOP AT NOTHINGS TO EATS FROM THE STAMLEE CUP! (The ‘stache has horrible grammar) So ends a very short-lived playoff season for all whose hearts were tied to the Calgary Flames. Blame it on the moustache.

• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• Dumpster diving online: today’s discoveries
• Life of Pi movie in the works

The giant, loud-mouthed band called Modest Mouse have unleashed an album just a few days ago, and it’s called “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.” Their lead single is called, confessionally, “Dashboard.” It’s a very great song to listen to when you want to dance, or even if you don’t want to dance. The Mouse has also released a very special music video to go along with this song. It was created by a studio called Motion Theory, and features a tavern full of sea-faring old men with beards swapping tales about their adventures, and the lead storyteller is none other than lead Mouseketeer Isaac Brock, who wears a very nice beard, and his hands grow into tentacles, and then becomes a microphone. You can watch the new Modest Mouse music video right here. You can also read about the process of making it, right on the filmmaker Motion Theory’s website. To give proper credit, I found out about it thanks to Justin at Motionographer.

2. There’s a popular radio show called “This American Life,” and somebody animated a segment of it recently.

This is a story about kids in elementary school who invented fake movie cameras out of paper towel rolls and boxes. It’s a fascinating story, it’s cute animation, and it’s well-told. “This American Life” is a smart, inventive show, hosted by Ira Glass and broadcasted from Chicago. Unfortunately it costs money to hear, which is why I’ve never heard a full episode, but this (free) segment should give a good glimpse about why so many cool people are into it. I imagine it’s a bit like “The Vinyl Café,” only with nothing to do with Dave and Morley.

3. Simon Rich wrote a funny piece for the New Yorker about children’s impressions of grown-up talk.

The New Yorker recently featured a very enjoyable article by Simon Rich, titled “The Wisdom of Children.” In it, he recounts how as a kid, he imagined what was going on at the grown-up’s table. Example:
GRANDMOTHER: Did you see the politics? It made me angry.
DAD: Me, too. When it was over, I had sex.
UNCLE: I’m having sex right now.
DAD: We all are.

4. A new Wes Anderson film is being released for people who like movies with Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman that are shot in India.

It’s called The Darjeeling Limited, and in addition to starring the above three actors, it also has Natalie Portman in it. I encourage you to read the full article on India Today, because you’ll find out that Bill Murray has been reborn as a talking albino leopard, and that the production team painted entire trains for the set. It sounds amazing. I credit the discovery to Jason Kottke of kottke.org.

5. Timbaland has been stealing music from an unsigned Finnish artist.

It’s true. Hip-hop’s production darling has lifted some cute Nintendo-style grooves from a Finnish artist called GRG, and applied the tunes to Nelly Furtado’s single “Do It,” as well as his own “original” ringtone collection. Thanks to bugmuncher’s post on Metafilter, you can listen to before-and-after snippets, and decide for yourself if you’re mad, happy, interested or just indifferent. Any one is fine.

That’s all the interestingness I can handle for today. If you’re looking for more things to do or think about, don’t forget to come up with some clever taglines for “The Ultimate Tagline Tournament!” that I’m hosting. You could a win a very special postcard from Airdrie, Alberta! I’ve already received a couple smashing entries from Harrison Mooney and Dixon Wixie, and you should make sure you get in on the action. Also, don’t forget: YOU can add artists’ albums and tour stops to the “Upcoming Releases Project,” which is a very very small-scale attempt to provide internet people with an easy way to find out when their favourite music is coming to town (or to their music store.)

• Swedish people have heartbeats, too.
• Please Begin Dancing Now (A YouTube Playlist)
• Things That Should Be Invented But Haven’t Been Yet
• Additional awesomeness around the web
• The Next Big Things

Currently pursuing his Masters in English at Trinity Western University, Harrison is also a good friend of mine. You can drop by Harrison Exists and read his debut post, an exploration into the “emblackening” of Fall Out Boy.

An excerpt:

“Kanye West’s remix of this song is designed to baptize the song in blackness, making it acceptable for the uneasy and self-conscious Negroes of the world to listen to it unashamed…Is the black lifestyle so sacrosanct that we have to emblacken elements of white culture in order to enjoy them?”

• The four-dollar sellout
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)
• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• Google Adsense = Chambar, and other equations
• Problems in paradise: an update

I’ve channeled the power of WordPress, selected a theme called Beautiful Day, and implemented an easier, better, faster, stronger way to do the web. The new system will allow me to manage and update this website with far greater regularity than before. Now, all I have to do is find a way to turn my imaginary readership into a real-life cyberspatial audience…

• Redoing your WordPress site in 2009
• Problems in paradise: an update
• 6 Rules for Online Fundraising for Non-Profits
• Dumpster diving online: today’s discoveries
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)

Originally, M Night Shyamalan, the director behind Signs and The Sixth Sense, was slated to handle the directorial role for Life of Pi. Thankfully, M Night dropped out to produce Lady in the Water instead. Said to have been “the perfect person” to handle LoP, we all know it would have just been another suspensful, dimly-lit spiritually-infused allegory with a twist ending if M Night had done it. Life of Pi, as you know, is a suspensful, dimly-lit spiritually-infused allegory with a twist ending AND a tiger, so it’s probably best for somebody else to handle it.

After Shyamalan, they were hoping it would Alfonso Cuaron, the man behind Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but “they” were subsequently disappointed when he too gave the big thumbs-down. If you are wondering who “they” are, it’s Life of Pi producer Gil Netten. Don’t worry that his most noteworthy credentials include mediocre pulp like Fever Pitch and Dude, Where’s My Car?, the role of a producer is simply to locate and hire the right talent to execute a concept. In the end, it’s the director who sets and tone and style, and in our case, Jean-Pierre Jeuner will be relying on the same Editor, Cinematographer and Costume Designer as he did with Amélie. This means that Life of Pi is bound to have not only a juicy flavour, but a coherent and sound artistic vision.

• Calgary Flames lost because of a moustache
• Top 10 Best Movie Trailer Remixes Ever
• The Best Things I Know About Right Now (on Friday, March 23)
• The Longest Poem in the World
• Volkswagen Ad: Gene Kelly Redux