Peace of mind is so cheap these days...

I read an article on CNN.com today about an online data backup service called Carbonite, undoubtedly named after the substance in which Han Solo was frozen in the original Star Wars trilogy. (I'm so nerdy, I just might cry.) For $5 per month, users can back up an unlimited amount of data. Though this solution might not be ideal for large organizations requiring an extensive disaster recovery plan, Carbonite seems like the perfect fit for small arts organizations requiring an inexpensive way to ensure the safety of their valuable data.

Read the full CNN article about Carbonite and other online backup solutions here.

Check out the Carbonite Web site.

It's easy!

Do you notice anything different with today's post? Let me give you some hints. I used a word processor, but it wasn't designed by Microsoft. I was able to write, edit, and spell check this document with one on line tool. I used ZohoWriter.

ZohoWriter is an on line word processor with many added features. You can create a document, format it, and edit it (with spell check) all on line with ZohoWriter's WYSIWIG editor. Once you created a document you can access it and share it with others from anywhere. All you need is your Internet browser, thus less emails with attachments to keep track of. To keep your documents private just lock them while they're in shared mode. When you are done you can export your documents in different formats such as word, txt, html, or pdf. ZohoWriter even periodically saves your documents so they don't get lost when your PC decides that it wants to shut down by itself.

ZohoWriter can also post a document directly to your blog. No more editing in one application just to cut and paste to another.

It's all so easy! Yay!

Online social networking...

The social networking site MySpace.com was recently named the top single U.S. Web site in a report by the Internet traffic measurement firm Hitwise. The report states that MySpace accounted for 4.46 percent of all U.S. net traffic for the week ending July 8. The site reaches about 52 million unique visitors per month.

A lot of arts organizations are setting up MySpace pages, where they are able to post blog entries, upload photos, and develop friends lists that can be used for announcements about events, exhibitions and performances. With a very young user base, MySpace is the ideal place to connect with individuals years before they'll ever buy a ticket.

Another upside of MySpace is that it's completely free -- no strings attached. An organization can post schedules and streaming video previews at no cost, so it's almost senseless not to build a page and start cultivating your friends list just as you would a donor pool.

The only question about MySpace is its effectiveness. It's a relatively new concept for arts groups to use the site to build their audiences, so there isn't enough data available to prove that an organization can increase its attendance by X or Y percent.

Still, MySpace is free and easy to use, so there isn't much of a barrier to entry for arts managers that want to do their own evaluation.

For questions about setting up and updating your MySpace page, visit the MySpace help section.

For more information about customizing your MySpace page, visit ModMySpace.com, a site that features tutorials on everything from basic HTML to tweaking the MySpace layout.

New Domain Lookup Service Launched

Though this will be of interest to just a handful of readers (most people don't think much about Internet domains), I thought it was worth a post anyway: According to a piece on Wired.com, one of the Web's best technology news sites, a new domain lookup service called OpenDNS launched today. Among other things, the service automatically corrects typos entered in browser address bars and detects known Internet scams to provide an elevated level of safety.

Click here to read the full Wired news article.

Or click here to go directly to the OpenDNS Web site.

What is Web 2.0 anyway?

The concept of “Web 2.0” has been touted as the “solution” to any number of non-profit management issues. Though the term has been used to mean a wide range of things, in general, it’s the idea that the Web is no longer about one-way information flow, but a dynamic portal where users contribute, comment on, revise and maintain data contained on Web sites. Think of the difference between the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (first generation Web site) and Wikipedia (Web 2.0).

TechSoup, through its NetSquared project, is categorizing the tools most commonly associated with Web 2.0 (blogs, RSS feeds, wikis) as the “social web” because of their ability to affect social change. Although I wasn’t able to attend, I heard wonderful things about the conference they held in May -- we had a MAM grad student who came back revitalized and excited by the possibilities for of Web 2.0 for the arts sector.

As John Falk and Beverly Sheppard point out in their excellent new book, Thriving in the Knowledge Age, the dawning of the “Knowledge Age” has resulted in increased public interest in museums and other cultural institutions. The book points to the new challenge for cultural institutions: can we adapt to this new landscape and become “bottom-up” entities?

The Web is a good place to start.

How do we “customize” arts experiences so that users feel the same kind of buy-in as they do with their other leisure activities? NFL.com has a “My Team” section on its front page that I can customize, when I browse over to Fandango.com I see “Cary’s Favorites” on the right side of the screen, and Amazon has been giving me recommendations for years.

How do we reach the people who truly care about our missions? Google has based its business model on only advertising to people who have indicated interest in a product or topic while MySpace links bands with their fans in a very personal way.

Blogging allows us to communicate frequently and informally with our constituents; creating an “Audience Reviews” section on our Web site allows our visitors to have a voice; hosting discussion forums lets us tap into what’s top of mind for our members.

What works for one organization may not work for another – we all have different audiences who will each have a unique response to an initiative.

One final word… It’s important to carefully consider the time commitments involved in starting any Web 2.0 initiative. Planning new online initiatives should be done just as strategically as for “bricks and mortar” programs.

We’d love to hear about how your organization feels about Web 2.0… Please comment.