Online Volunteering Technology, Tools, and Tips by Randy Tyler

Monitor Your Web Site Visitors in Real-Time as They Click Through Your Site, for Free

Who is Visiting Your Web Site Right Now? Non-Profits, You Can Quickly and Easily Know

Billed as providing what Google Analytics does not, Footprint allows you to view your visitors as they click through your Web site in real-time. Any visitor's click path history through your site can also be viewed along with referrer, search engine terms used to arrive at your site and visitor profile (including city, country, company, IP address and first and last visit).

 How to Track Your Site Visitors Using Footprint

After you provide a working e-mail address, account password, the domain you want to track and preferred timezone, you will receive an e-mail message containing the JavaScript-based tracking code. The tracking code must be placed just before the closing body tag on each static html page that you want to monitor (if your site has dynamically generated pages, paste the JavaScript in your dynamically generated footer for quick site-wide placement). Footprint can also be used with any content management system (CMS) such as Wordpress, Joomla, Blogger or Drupal as well as secure (https) pages. After you have added the tracking code, log-in to your Footprint account to review extensive information about your site visitors, including any live traffic on your site.

Visit the following URL to create your free (currently) Footprint tracking account:
http://www.footprintlive.com/live/sign-up--one-step-signup.html

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Quickly Turn Your Favorite RSS Feeds into PDF Newsletter

Gather Rich Content from RSS Feeds, Turn it into a PDF Newsletter and Have it Delivered via Scheduled E-mail, for Free

In yesterday's post I highlighted how to use Zinepal's ( http://www.zinepal.com) free level of service to easily create PDF, Kindle/Mobipocket and ePub formatted E-Newsletters to help keep your donors, online volunteers, employees and/or board members engaged. Tabbloid.com ( http://www.tabbloid.com/me) provides an even quicker way of creating a PDF-based newsletter from an RSS Feed. Simply add your desired RSS Feed's URL and choose your e-mail delivery schedule. Although Tabbloid's extremely easy method of creating their PDF newsletter comes at the expense of options, such as the lack of ability to select specific content (for your targeted audience), formatting and formats, their user-friendly, free service requires little time and effort to produce.

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Easily Keep Your Donors, Volunteers Informed with RSS to PDF, Kindle, ePub

Click here to download:

Online-Volunteering-E-Newsletter-by-Randy-Tyler.pdf (84 KB)

How to Easily Create PDF, Kindle, Mobipocket and ePub Formatted E-Newletters and E-Books for Your Online Volunteers, Onsite Volunteers, Employees, Board Members or Donors from an RSS Feed

Keeping your donors, employees, board and/or online volunteers informed via an e-newsletter can be time consuming. In fact, the time involved may be preventing you from developing such a communication tool. However, if you currently have a blog and/or subscribe to other interesting web-based content (as long as such content has an RSS Feed, such as your Twitter RSS Feed or a Google Search), such posts (content) can be easily and quickly re-purposed into a PDF-based newsletter or eBook format and e-mailed to your donors, board members, employees, onsite volunteers and/or online volunteers. Providing your RSS Feed content in Kindle/Mobipocket, ePub and PDF formats enables you to reach a wider audience, whether offline or online (wired or wireless), in a method most convenient and accessible to your targeted audience.

To easily create your PDF-based E-Newsletter (as well as Kindle/Mobipocket and ePub formats) using Zinepal's ( http://www.zinepal.com) free level of service , all you need to do is:

1. Create a free Zinepal account
2. Add your Blog's RSS Feed (or additional RSS Feeds if you want to add more content): to ascertain the URL of your Blog's RSS Feed (or the URL of any web-based content with an RSS Feed), place your cursor over the RSS icon (which is usually a square, orange graphic), right click and select "copy link location'"
3. Select Content: using the checkboxes, select the relevant content you want to provide to your target audience (whether they be your online volunteers, onsite volunteers, board members, employees and/or donors)
4. Customize and Create your Zine (PDF-based E-Newsletter) Using the Zinepal Tabs:

• Name Your PDF E-Newsletter: give your Zine an interesting, attention-getting title
• Order and/or Remove Your Items: if you want to change the order of your content, just drag and drop your items (at this point, you can also delete any item from your PDF based e-newsletter by clicking the "Remove" button next to the specific item
• Delivery Tab: select the "Delivery" tab if you want to make your zine public or have your zine e-mailed to you
• Keywords and Introduction Tab: if you choose to allow your zine to be shared publicly, add the appropriate keywords so others can easily find your zine; add an introduction (which will be automatically placed at the beginning of your PDF-based e-newsletter)
• Logo and formatting Tab: Using Zinepal's free service, you cannot add a logo but you can choose your zine's  title, story and text font; under this same tab, you also have the option to hide your zine title, hide your story sources, hide the default page header and/or hide your story authors and dates
• Preview: click the preview button to see what your formatted PDF e-newsletter will look like
• Create: if you are satisfied with the preview, click the "Create" button, which will create a two column PDF-based e-newsletter from your RSS Feed's content (you also have the option to download your e-newsletter in Kindle/Mobipocket and ePub formats).

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Is Your Web Site Accessible Around the Globe? Check Now with Free Online Tool

If you are a non-profit organization recruiting online volunteers from around the globe (or an NGO targeting or serving a global audience), it would be helpful to know if your Web site is accessible from countries around the world. A free online tool called Just Ping ( http://www.just-ping.com) aims to do just that. Just Ping will ping (send data and wait for a reply) your Web site from their 38 globally-dispersed check points. The results page shows packet loss (data) and ping times to your Web site from the various checkpoints. One caution in using this test: For security reasons, servers may be configured to ignore a ping. Thus, your Web site could still be accessible from a specific country even though a ping did not initiate a reply.

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Reach Your Online Volunteers with a Tweet and a Chirp - by Randy Tyler

Click here to download:

Add-A-Tweet-Voice-Msg.mp3 (1014 KB)

How to Easily Enrich Your Tweet with a Voice Message Using  Chirps

Reaching your online volunteers via Twitter's 140 character limit may be inadequate. However, adding a voice message to a Tweet allows one to move beyond the 140 character limit while adding rich emotions to your Twitter message. This audio recording provides a brief overview as to how you can use Chirps free service (www.chir.ps) to easily add a voice message to your tweet.

To learn more about online volunteering, see http://www.RandyTyler.org or e-mail RandyTyler@gmail.com.

What is Online Volunteering or Virtual Volunteering? A Rich Definition by Randy Tyler

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A-Rich-Definition-of-Online-Volunteering-By-Randy-Tyler.wmv (3396 KB)

At one level, virtual volunteering (also referred to as, for example, online volunteering, e-volunteering, Internet volunteering, cyber volunteering, inclusive volunteering, volunteering without barriers and borders) is volunteering via the Internet.

At a deeper level, virtual volunteering reflects a much larger and richer social phenomenon, as reflected in Randy Tyler's definition of online volunteering (which was conceived by MYS's Online Volunteer Program Developer, Randy Tyler).

Geoff Edwards, an MYS Vancouver-based online volunteer, brought life to Randy's definition in his voice narration and Toronto-based MYS Online Volunteer, Svitlana Chepurna, visually illustrated Randy's definition of Virtual Volunteering in the Flash-based Video.

See the link above to download Randy Tyler's rich definition of online volunteering.

For further information, please contact Randy Tyler www.mys.ca/volunter or directly at:

Pioneering Online Volunteer Program Developer, Presenter and Trainer or RandyTyler@gmail.com.

CBC TV Newsworld Interviews Randy Tyler About Online Volunteering

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CBC-TV-Interviews-Randy-Tyler-About-Online-Volunteering.flv (15401 KB)

As part of a day long special about volunteering in Canada called the "The Kindness of Strangers", CBC TV Newsworld Interviewed Randy Tyler About Online Volunteering.

For further information www.mys.ca/volunter or contact Randy Tyler directly via pioneering online volunteer program developer and presenter or e-mail RandyTyler@gmail.com

How to Use iTunes to Play Podcasts - An Instructional Video for Non-Profits

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How-to-Use-iTunes.wmv (17973 KB)

MYS announces the release of an iTunes instructional video entitled "How to Subscribe to and Play Podcasts Using Apple's iTunes". Podcasts, which are downloadable audio or video files, are a productive way to learn about trends and issues that impact online volunteering within non-profit organizations.  iTunes, the dominant free podcatcher available for both Windows or Macs, allows the non-profit user to easily subscribe to a podcast publisher's feed and then have the episodes delivered automatically to their desktop-based podcatcher (iTunes) where they can be played when released. Whether the consideration or concern is, for example, Internet security or the use of an application, free podcasts are available to assist a non-profit organization develop their online volunteer program.

MYS extends their thanks to Ireland-based Online Volunteer Becky Heaman for  producing the video and to Alberta-based online volunteer Gail Drinnan for video distribution.

Download the "How to Use iTunes Instructional Video" from the above link, now.

For further information, please contact Tandy Tyler www.mys.ca/volunter or directly via Online Volunteer Program Developer, Trainer and Presenter or RandyTyler@gmail.com

Five Ways to Use Video Mail with Online Volunteers

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Using-Video-Mail-with-Online-Volunteers.mp3 (6843 KB)

How to Use Skype with Online Volunteers - An Instructional Video

Click here to download:

How-to-Use-Skype.wmv (6814 KB)

Although Skype states their VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) application is relatively "easy to download, install and use", a visual tutorial may help those with installing and using this program for the first time. As apart of the best practises publication about Online Volunteering being developed by Randy Tyler, MYS has facilitated the creation of many how-to videos.

MYS is pleased to share a video tutorial that provides an overview of how to download, install, configure and use Skype for Windows. MYS extends their thanks to online volunteer Yu Cheng, who now lives in China, for creating the approximate nine minute video.

Download the "How to Use Skype with Virtual Volunteers" instructional video from the link above, now.

For further information, please contact RandyTyler www.mys.ca/volunter or directly by visiting Online Volunteering or e-mail RandyTyler@gmail.com.