John C. Ronquillo » Blog

Tweets of the Week – July 22, 2011

John C. Ronquillo — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:16:49 +0000

I’ve skipped the past couple of weeks while finding a place to live in Chicago, so the pickings are slim (well, that or I didn’t spend a copious amount of time on Twitter this week). In any case, three interesting reads this week that caught my eye. Enjoy.

@ianwilhelm: MT @GlobalChronicle: China pledges more than $460M to improve Tibetan #highered as controversial anniversary nears http://chroni.cl/pvr2Es
@post_lead: Paul Light of @nyuwagner on the nonprofit sector’s haircut http://wapo.st/rkGvRo
@cpreston: Ideology in the nonprofit newsroom – Pew study bit.ly/pme3XG h/t @davidccolby

Tweets of the Week – July 1, 2011

John C. Ronquillo — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:43:07 +0000

Despite the fact that I was caught up in my dissertation defense for most of the week, I still wanted to share some tweets. There’s a little bit for everyone, including statistical software nerds (said with all affection, as I am a Stata user), social network wonks, and of course interesting stories for the nonprofit folks. Some of these are must reads…I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

@Stata: Announcing Stata 12, ships July 25. bit.ly/jUbA28
@istr_brenda: ISTR journal Voluntas just accepted to ISI-Social Science Citation Index. First impact factor to include volumes 2009, 2010 and appear 2012.
@InesMergel: Companies are erecting in-house social networks http://nyti.ms/m8TK8m #gov20 <- Too bad #FedSpace died…
@JimmySW: Massachusetts, others eye new model to fund social programs bo.st/k2eKH6 via @BostonUpdate
@pndblog: Two-Thirds of #Nonprofit Executives Plan to Leave Jobs Within Five Years, Study Finds http://bit.ly/iy7gJK
@usdnonprofit: Becoming For-Profit, Wanting to Keep Nonprofit Perks http://ping.fm/FaesO
@ericstreiff: How should a nonprofit measure success? It’s not as simple as measuring financial results. http://ow.ly/5rEN9 #nonprofit
@npquarterly: This year, we play by new rules. Your guide to nonprofit-focused federal budget advocacy http://owl.li/5tQbD

Tweets of the Week – June 24, 2011

John C. Ronquillo — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:45:44 +0000

I’ve seen others share their “Tweets of the Week” elsewhere and I’ve always wanted to follow suit with my own collection. I figured it might be a good way to wrap up all the tweets that have been interesting and useful to me during that given week and to share them, in hopes that they will be equally interesting and useful to you.

@lauratomasko: RT @COF_ Browse the 138 Social Innovation Fund subgrantees by org, focus, location, intermediary, or funding level. bit.ly/iKavWF #SIF
@npquarterly: Social impact bonds get lots of good press, but what is the full story? http://ow.ly/5mOWf
@IUPhilanthropy: #Giving to #charity grew after TWO years of decline. Learn more in new Giving USA report http://bitly.com/gusa2011
@SSIReview: Why has there been an absence of participation in government programs from large private, philanthropic foundations? http://ow.ly/5nc0E
@nedgington: What social entrepreneurs can teach nonprofits: http://bit.ly/l2oZls #socent
@npquarterly: Remembering the nonprofits the IRS purged (without mourning too much) http://ow.ly/5nSBo
@p2173: Thanks to @knightFdn for shoutout on this paper series from @macfound “Evaluating Innovation” + 4 more for #philanthropy bit.ly/l2mt2B
@pbuchanan_cep: Esther Duflo on why data matters: bit.ly/8fyMro
@robreich: Worried that the disappearance of 275K charities in the US is a problem? You shouldn’t be. Here’s why: http://bit.ly/lke9HW
@nedgington: The Problem with Social Entrepreneurship: http://bit.ly/lG79k2 What do you think? #socent

Nonprofit Management? There’s an app for that.

John C. Ronquillo — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:18:35 +0000

Earlier today, the Chronicle of Philanthropy gave a brief review of three new nonprofit apps for iOS (Apple iPhone and iPad) and Android operating systems. One of these apps (and the only one of the three profiled on both platforms) is the Nonprofit Manager’s FAQ from Jossey-Bass/Wiley. Designed to assist nonprofit managers as a quick reference, the app lists a variety of questions on various topics such as mission and strategy, leadership, and human resources. Questions such as, How is strategic thinking different from strategic planning? then follow, with answers that are taken from Jossey-Bass/Wiley titles, which you can also read more about.

Admittedly–and as much of a technophile I proclaim myself to be–I have wondered about what real utility certain apps offer. Apps that allow you to donate or to “volunteer” by doing certain things on your smartphone (e.g. PocketPhilanthropist) have often come under the “slacktivism” label. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but I can also understand where the criticism comes from. I feel, however, that the Nonprofit Manager’s FAQ is a good venture into the world of web 3.0, and that it offers something practical that other apps don’t in terms of some quick learning. I view this app, in particular, as a potential teaching tool in terms of leading discussions stemming from the FAQ, and may very well incorporate it into some of my class discussions. As it is a new development, the app has its limitations (but don’t they all?) and probably has some room for improvement in terms of subject areas and comprehensiveness of issues, but this is a good first step.

There are others apps out there such as the VolunteerMatch iOS app that seem very useful in terms of information. Other apps I might put under this category are the Nonprofit Quarterly app which links to the publication’s online stories, and the ONE Campaign (also profiled in today’s CoP story). As a disclaimer, though, I must admit that my use of all these apps, save FAQ, is very limited, so don’t take my word for it. Check them out yourselves, and I’m sure you’ll see the potential I’m talking about.

What are your thoughts? How can apps better serve the nonprofit sector? Who or what organization would you like to see develop an app?

A foray back in…

John C. Ronquillo — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:39:12 +0000

Some time ago, I decided that for the sake of staying committed to the tasks I had before me (primarily, finishing my dissertation and getting a job), that I would put blogging on hold. Now that I’ll be starting a new job this fall and I am about to defend my dissertation, I figure I might as well ease my way back into blogging, which has grown exponentially among scholars.

When I started my first “academic blog” back in 2007, the number of academic or research oriented blogs that I was aware of seemed modest. Quite candidly, I knew a few scholars who thought that blogs were relatively faddish, not knowing how great they could be for disseminating small portions of research and other information.

Fast forward four years, and the number of scholars with blogs is quite healthy. Add to this the ever-growing number of Twitter users, and it appears that these forms of media aren’t so trendy anymore. Now, they are the norm.

Consider me an early adopter heading back into the mainstream.