J!Salesforce Search Functionality Video Tour

J!Salesforce Administrator Video Tour

If you’re from a school, church, or synagogue in the greater DC area, post any help you need this weekend for snow clean up, and we’ll crowdsource the community to help you in your efforts!

All you need to do is follow these simple steps:

1. Go to www.snowmageddoncleanup.com/reports/submit
2. Post your request for help using a title in this format:  “School:  Washington Elementary School” or “Church:  Episcopal Church of Washington”
3. Make sure to specify clearly what your needs are in the body of your report (example: “We’ve got snow covering all our walkways, we need snowblowers and shovels”) and include your location in your report and using the map function.  Also, clearly state when you need people to arrive for help this weekend (example: “we’re looking for 10 people from the neighborhood to come help at 10am on Saturday”).
4. After your report is approved by our team, you can use the link to your report to spread the word.  We’ll do the same on Twitter (using the #72scu hashtag) and on our Facebook Fan page.
5. Keep checking the comments in your report, and encourage others to post their attendance in the comments of your report.

We’ll take these reports and highlight them on Twitter, Facebook, and the Web site!  Let’s clean up our schools, churches, and synagogues one snow shovel at a time!

Here’s a few of our favorite hits thus far.

• Washington Post partners with us on their special Snowmageddon Cleanup Web site.
• NPR affiliate (WAMU 88.5 FM) in Washington DC, Kojo Nnamdi Show: I was pleased to have House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer as my lead into Kojo’s interview with me (skip to 10:40).
• Wired Magazine:  Snowmageddon Site Crowdsources Blizzard Cleanup
• NOS Journaal op 3, the Dutch national television news broadcaster: Video interview at about 7:00 in this clip.
• FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate on Twitter
• New York Times covers our efforts, writes about the open source software we used, saying, “Think about that. The capital of the sole superpower is deluged with snow, and to whom does its local newspaper turn to help dig out? Kenya.”

Check out our site embedded on the Washington Post!

Wow.  Thursday was a whirlwind.  We worked closely with the Washington Post’s digital media team to make editorial and graphical changes to the site in order to prep for the wave of traffic from their online circulation.  Additionally, the great logo that Christopher Doorley made for the site needed to have a little update: announcing the partnership between the Washington Post and PICnet.  Thanks to Ross Nover for his stellar design skills to help update the site’s header and additional illustrations.

It’s been wonderful working alongside the Washington Post team to help spread the word far and wide.  We’re excited to see the continued efforts of the Greater DC community to help each other out of this snow mess.

Since the site, www.snowmageddoncleanup.com was flipped live on Tuesday night, more than 7,000 visitors have come to learn how they can lend a hand in the DC clean up process. Now, with a Facebook fan page and the 72 Hour Snowmageddon Clean Up Challenge, the site has begun to pick up a lot of traction.

The site’s goal is simple: connect those in need with those that have resources.  Got a car that needs to be dug out?  Post it. Got a pair of strong arms that needs a workout after three days of sitting on the couch (most of DC was closed)?  Post it.

Powered by Ushahidi, we’re excited to see how this site, launched with two hours of work, can be used as a model for other emergency or crisis situations that can be utilized by government agencies and NGOs.

While we don’t have enough hands at PICnet DC to clean up the city ourselves, a little bit of crowdsourcing, applied in the right way, just might help us dig out of this mess faster…because snow is only fun when it doesn’t get in the way of trying to get food.

We’re specifically looking for fun individuals from our non-profit sector with experience in the Web development process (Joomla experience is a huge plus).

Our Non-Profit Soapbox platform is a Joomla-based content management system used by non-profits and socially responsible businesses to easily manage their Web communications. We’re looking to keep up with demand by adding the right project management talent to our team.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Read on…

What you’re in for

At PICnet, we provide a unique environment for non-profits to build their online presence. Our high-touch, high-quality service is what separates from the crowd and keeps our client list expanding.

The individual who takes this position will have basic knowledge of the Web development process and stellar communication skills. Juggling multiple projects at the same time is the name of the game, and working alongside Red Bull craving developers brings to life the solutions our non-profits need.

What to bring to the table

Although the position does not require a Web programming background, a strong understanding of the Joomla CMS is definitely helpful. You should have a bachelor’s degree, great references, and excellent communication skills. Experience working at consulting shops is also a big plus.

After all the hard work, you’ll need to be willing to have fun, play putt-putt golf in the hallways, and laugh at least twice a workday. The right applicant will not only have the basic tech qualifications, but will truly enjoy working for the non-profit sector.

You’ve got to have heart. You’ve got to be passionate about public service and the social sector.  Enjoying the sight of three-foot tall penguins in the office is also a plus.

The not so fine print

• Position will be in-house, at our Washington DC, Dupont Circle location (no consultants please), blocks away from our CEO’s favorite burrito shop
• Salary commensurate with experience
• To apply, please send cover letter and resume to jobs{at-sign-here}picnet.net, attention Ryan Ozimek. Include your salary history/requirements.
• In resume or cover letter, explain your past work experience in either the non-profit or public service sectors. Also, please list any content management experience you’ve had, particularly any you’ve had with Joomla.

One of the most exciting trips I’ve been able to make this year was earlier this fall when I traveled around the world to Mongolia for their Joomla!Day. There was a great mix of attendees in addition to the usual Joomla! Enthusiasts; including B. Dolgor, the head of the cabinet secretariat for the Mongolian federal government; USAID Mongolia; Mr. T. Altansukh, leader of the Mongolian translation team; and university students.

I was pleased to give one of the keynotes again at this conference and emphasized the impressive achievement of the Joomla! community in Mongolia translating the entire project into Mongolian. I also celebrated the successful adoption of Joomla! across all federal agencies with B. Dolgor. After sharing information from the Joomla! leadership team on the future of project, we highlighted the community’s  potential to make an impact on the global Joomla! community now that they had overcome their biggest obstacle: language barriers.

Next steps for Mongolian Joomla! Community users is to help small businesses through this powerful open-source software, as well as to increase transparency in the federal government. Joomla! Can be an empowering tool that leads to a new way of life – and that’s something we can all be proud to be part of.

Read more about the conference here.

Check out a video interview of me in Mongolia!

There are few events where I get such a great opportunity to meet key individuals in the community, and learn as much hands-on information, and this year’s Dev Summit came through once again. The event was held in Oakland, Calif. from Nov. 18-20, attended by non-profit software developers, evangelists, and technology users.

I was fortunate to speak with Nate Aune from Jazkarta and share stories about building successful businesses around open-source software and the non-profit sector.  I  also had a chance to engage in discussions with Michelle Murrain of OpenIssues, who shared her thoughts on the open-source CMS landscape for the non-profit sector. Ron Severdia, a member of the Joomla! leadership team, also spoke to the group about  design principles and the upcoming Joomla 1.6 user interface.

There were so many more great folks there that I want to give shout outs to, but there is so little time to say thanks to all of them! Aside from hearing from some of these great people, I spoke on a number of key topics, including open-source CMSs, utilizing cloud services, the Joomla! project, and open-source business models that could support our sector. I was most impressed by the terrific feedback and engagement in the open-source business models session, where participants helped share lessons learned and best practices in achieving success while also building sound business models.

You can visit the event wiki to see all the great notes taken during the sessions.

So before we all take off to our Thanksgiving gatherings with friends and family, filling ourselves with turkey or tofu, I wanted to take an opportunity to share my thanks to those that have helped keep the PICnet flag flying high in 2009.

First and foremost, many thanks to my PICnet team. These hearty individuals have dedicated their work lives to help organizations fundraise and gain thought leadership through the fog of uncertainty in a difficult year. I couldn’t ask for a better team, and I’m thankful for their never-ending commitment to our sector and the PICnet Salon Experience.

Of course, none of us would have jobs if we didn’t have stellar clients that make the world a better place. We learn as much as we teach, and I appreciate the opportunity to have our company provide services to those changing the world, working in the field and on the front lines, one mission at a time.

I’m thankful for our partners and PICnet advocates. Great companies like Free Range Studios, Big Duck NYC, NPower NY, Democracy in Action, Salesforce.com, and Jessica Weber Design (there’s more too!) stand side-by-side with our team to provide critical communication and design services and tools for our community. As individual firms we can achieve good results, but as collective teams we can achieve great success for the sector.  Building bridges continues to be a core foundation of all our work, and we look forward to continued success with our partners and advocates.

Finally, I’m thankful for the continued contributions and success of the Joomla! community, and all the other open source communities that allow us to provide stellar tools to our organizations. Without these open source projects, our non-profit sector wouldn’t have the rich abundance of affordable tools we see today.

What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My presentation focused on open source content management systems (CMS) with two perspectives:  that of a company looking to invest in CMS software, and that of a business looking to build a solid business model based on providing services around open source CMS software.  I provided a little snapshot of PICnet’s history, moving from a pure consulting firm to one providing our flagship Non-Profit Soapbox product, while sharing some lessons learned and paths to success.

Many thanks go to our friends at iMasters, who put on this great conference, and who were gracious hosts during my stay in Sao Paulo.  I’m looking forward to next year’s event!