The best part about attending client events, well there are several really, but they include things like:
Attending a client event – It’s a chance to say thank you to our client! With over 300+ that we host it gets harder and harder to say thank you as I don’t know many of you personally. A while back we added up a count of users logging in different Tendenci sites just in our data centers (we have three). Just the totals of course with no identifying data, and it was over 1.2 million souls. It makes me proud and also nervous when we tweak the Tendenci user interface!
Attending a client event – I listen and YOU tell us how to improve what is both yours and our product! Yes, Tendenci is fully open source and you can download it from github at https://github.com/tendenci. So there may not be a direct financial benefit. Yet that is truly OK as Tendenci is clearly not just about the money. And a lot of y’all do host with us. We appreciate both the developers who use and tell us how to improve and the clients we host and manage everything for them.
Speaking of feedback – be sure to tell us how to improve the software on our new community discussion forum at http://community.tendenci.com. We talk to a lot of developers on github so the forum is more for…. you know… humans who use the software day to day. What are your needs? What would you like to see in Tendenci?
I’ll do another blog post about the Tendenci community forums soon. (This also means that we now have forums integrated with Tendenci. We found another great Django based open source project named Misago which works great with Tendenci given we also use Django. Next is the single-sign-on server process….
Yesterday, I watched with great interest the Apple announcements coming out of Cupertino regarding the latest products such as the iPhone 6. And, as an almost ‘afterthought’, they brought out the iWatch, a wearable device that goes with you anywhere.
This reinforces the notion that the “Internet of Everything” offers anything, anywhere, anytime, to anyone, and presents some challenges to the IT community – how can we provide content and services to anyone, anywhere, anytime, while at the same time ensure that this data is updated, patched, backed up, secured, and protected from disasters, data loss and corruption? It’s sort-of like trying to pave and re-pave an interstate highway while people are driving on it all-day and all-night.
Here at Tendenci, one of the hindrances to providing site availability 24×7 was literally the hardware these sites were running on. The servers, hard-drives, power supplies, cables, switches, routers, power-distribution networks, even having them all in the same building meant that, if the building lost power, the sites would be down.
So, we began looking for the most effective ways to solve this problem. Rather than re-invent an entire infrastructure to protect us from failure, why not utilize services from someone who has already solved the problem? Hello Amazon Web Services.
Recently, Gartner published a report on Cloud-based services and rated Amazon’s portfolio as “Highly Innovative, agile, and responsive to customer needs”.
By farming out the hardware to Amazon’s distributed architecture, it has allowed us to focus on more important pieces of the equation – new features and innovation, new technologies and subsystems that streamline performance and capacity, and customer enhancement requests we have received from the community.
As the next version of our product design looms on the horizon, it brings with it all of the heart and soul that open-source community provides. Watch for some very cool innovative ideas in this space soon!
One of the things that excites us the most at Tendenci is seeing other people really accelerate open source across all sectors. Not surprisingly we see community building as essential in both academics and in business. Because business… can be just a bit too “business like” when we like to work hard but also play hard. Another thing I love to do is talk to clients. And being open source, and as a company with no commissions but that takes care of our people by doing the right thing, it’s fun sometimes to highlight great open source projects that aren’t directly related to Tendenci (but OK, all of these do integrate with Tendenci as they are all based on Django as well.)
Open Source Django projects that Integrate with Tendenci
How about a community discussion board with karma points, community building, banning of bad guys, rewards for the helpful. It includes a playful board you could say personifies the balance between making a gamified application and what some refer to as gamification. I don’t want a gold coin, but I do like the respect of my peers. Misago is just that. And being Django it integrates with Tendenci which is also Django.
Our implementation of EdX for internal use isn’t quite as pretty but it still shows that we love education. EdX is great to train employees, members of your association, your volunteers and much more. The screenshots below are our actual EdX demo site as well as the one we use internally.
EdX Open Learning Screenshot on Tendenci
Course writing in Django EdX. Oh, and you can import courses from other people as well! Sharing is one of the values of Open Source! But what about course material? How about CNX Openstax! Write your textbook online, let people download it or print on demand. Most CNX textbooks are even free! And of course CNX is also written in Django and Python like Tendenci which makes it part of our big integrated solution that you can deploy OPEN SOURCE. You stay in control.
Is this a trend? Yup. We aren’t the only ones who have noticed. You can read about the growth of MOOC’s or massive open online courses in several tech and education articles and quickly moving into the mainstream.
The growth of MOOCs and online courses
How do you track all of those students if you are a giant school? Well, how about Django-SIS? Yup, manage an entire school, even alumni with django SIS (School Information Systems).
School Information Systems – School Management Software
When I joined the Tendenci team a year ago, I had just finished my PhD in Linguistics at Rice University. While I loved lecturing, researching, and expanding college students’ young minds, I felt like I wanted to do more outside the ivory tower. I had plenty of experience in public speaking, academic research, and formal writing, but I was pretty green when it came to the world of technology. Sure, I had done a bit of marketing for our graduate linguistics society and the Italian club. I even maintained a static HTML journal website throughout high school (before LiveJournal was a thing). But let’s be real–I didn’t even know how to clear my browser cache.
Needless to say, the learning curve was steep and grueling. Lucky for me coming straight out of academia, I was used to steep and grueling learning curves! I was quickly thrown into the world of website project management. I was meeting with clients, collecting DNS info, and making CSS changes.
Within a few months, I was put in charge the Programming Team. It became my responsibility to look after the product, ensuring feature updates responded to our clients’ requests and reported issues. I was crowned “client advocate” and a passion for user experience grew in me. One of the best parts of my job has been calling a client to let them know that we’ve implemented a feature they suggested or fixed a bug they uncovered. We love our clients here at Tendenci, and it was such an honor to foster such a unique relationship with them.
After a whirlwind of a year, I am moving on to my next adventure (or moving with the cheese, as one of our required New Guy readings goes). I’ll be combining my expertise in language and communication with my newly gained web marketing knowledge to step up as Marketing Manager for a local engineering solutions provider. Having been raised by an engineer who had a passion for precision and efficiency, I’m looking forward to working with folks of the same engineering mindset. Learning a whole new industry will be intense to say the least, but after all, one doesn’t go complete 6 years of doctoral study because they hate learning. 😉
At Tendenci, I’ve had the opportunity to work with the most brilliant developers and project managers in Houston. They’ve inspired me and guided me, and I’m so glad to call them my friends. Our clients are lucky to have such a caring, thoughtful team of Tendencians that work for them.
I’ll be working with the Tendenci software in my new position and for that, I am absolutely thrilled. I have an idea of what’s in store (don’t worry–I won’t leak any spoilers), but I am especially looking forward to see where Tendenci goes next.
Tendenci was honored to be invited to speak at OSCON (the Open Source Conference) this July in Portland to run a work shop on the accessiblity challenge in software and web applications.
CEO of Tendenci, Ed Schipul was joined by blind motivational speaker Rachel Magario along with moderator Becky Leven from Tendenci to run a workshop examining some of the challenges and tackling workshop participants own individual projects on the accessibility front.
What would it take for you to give away $6 Million worth of source code?
What types of road blocks would you expect in the transition from a marketing company with a proprietary software to an open source software company?
These are questions that our CEO, Ed Schipul explored in his talk at SXSW V2V in Las Vegas where he was invited to speak for the SXSW V2V annual conference.
Big themes that emerged from the talk were cultural perspectives of “open source” vs. “proprietary” thinkers, the value of focus within a company, and serving the client above all else.
Opportunity Houston 2.0 is a 6-year marketing/fundraising initiative focused on lead generation for economic development organizations in Houston.
Its predecessor raised $40 million and created more than 600,000 local jobs.
McLane was an engaging speaker; funny and energetic. He spoke about improving Houston’s growth and external image.
Turning Points
McLane addressed the turning point that exists when big ideas surface. In the early 20th century, Houston was not as big or populated as it is today. Believe it or not, Galveston was the biggest city in Texas and still might be if not for two movements towards Houston’s expansion:
Houston is attractive because it provides opportunity: new jobs and a promising place to live. According to McLane’s research, today’s youth look for a place to live, then find a job. Millennials are interested in a city that fits their lifestyle and interests such as outdoor activities, nightlife, restaurants and attractions. This is a shift from before when people would first find a job within their industry and then willingly relocate, without truly evaluating the city itself.
City Image
Opportunity Houston 2.0 has implemented programs to develop the city as a whole with these areas of focus:
Better communication in the realm of work-force development
Creating / attracting educated people to run businesses
Improving Houston’s image, nationally and internationally
Amongst internal and external perceptions of Houston, there are some hiccups (weather and traffic) every Houstonian is familiar with. But contrast those with a thriving job market and economy coupled with a vibrant nightlife, there’s no reason not to love Houston!
When event organizers plan fundraising events, they meticulously plan out details regarding location, accommodations, logistics, and fundraising goals, but it’s also important to formulate a strategic plan for connecting with your online community.
In my half, (viewable on SlideShare), I discussed basic tips and tricks to help event organizers make their fundraising events successful.
Three things to keep in mind to make sure your event participants come back year after year are:
Personal relationships drive event fundraising success.
Your organization can significantly influence participant behavior.
Think of the event as an engagement tool to lock in a relationship.
One tangible takeaway for the audience was an event planning checklist for your online strategies. I thought it would be helpful to share it with the rest of the internet! Read on for a detailed explanation of each point. You can download a printable PDF from our website.
6-9 Months Before Your Event
64 percent of participants don’t know to raise funds.
Mobile Optimization
According to Mashable, 17.4% of all online traffic is mobile. If your site isn’t mobile optimized, your event could be missing out on a possible avenue of promotion. Additionally, if participants can’t access basic information about parking and registration on their mobile device, they’ll be less likely to participate again next year.
Template Emails
If you have participant teams fundraising for your event, give them tools to make their jobs easier. Did you know that 64% of participants don’t know that they should be raising funds? Creating email templates for team leaders is a great way to make fundraising easier for everyone involved!
Share Last Year’s Highlights
Past events can be an ill-used marketing medium. Don’t be afraid to resurrect last year’s stories to remind people how great this year is going to be.
Engage in a relationship with your event participants
Share Personal Stories
If your event had beneficiaries, then tell their story. People like to hear about the real people. Show your audience that you’re real and so are the people you’ve affected!
#Hashtag It!
Both Twitter and Facebook use hashtags (#) to aggregate data and content. Establish a hashtag for your event and begin using it to keep track of all your event data and content. That way, you can search for it and event attendees can participate by “hashtagging” posts during your event.
3-5 Months Before Your Event
Pre-Generate Content
Organizing your content ahead of time can really free up your time on event day. As speakers, giveaways, or certain events are locked in, pre-write content about them that you can save and share during the event for increased engagement and exposure.
Continue Sharing
As you continue preparing for your event, continue sharing speaker announcements, past anecdotes, and news. Don’t forget to continue sharing highlights and personal stories. It’s always a good idea to link folks back to your website so they stay engaged with your organization.
1-2 Months Before Your Event
Schedule Your Content
Remember that pre-generated content you’ve been sitting on? Now’s the time to use it. Create a schedule for sharing all those wonderful words online and then put someone in charge of that said sharing.
Photography
Designate, volun-tell, or hire someone to be in charge of photography and create a shot list to document the event. Use photos in your promotional materials and on your website to tell your organization’s story!
Participants are looking for a community, not just to raise funds.
During Your Event
Share Everything!
Just because the event is here doesn’t mean your job is over. Keep using your hashtag and make sure you share announcements and event updates or changes.
Engage, Respond, Act
When people are using your hashtag and talking about your event, you need to be involved. Show that what people are saying is important by responding to what they say. Come up with a plan for how you will respond to social media–both negative and positive feedback need responses!
1 Week After Your Event
We must build relationships of trust.
Say Thank You
Use your online mediums, whatever they may be, to say publicly say thank you to all the volunteers, attendees, and various participants. Send personalized thank you notes to the speakers and participants. It’s a nice extra touch and they be flattered. It show that you put in extra time and that you actually care.
Share Your Photos
Sharing photos should be a two-pronged attack.
Use your social outlets to post a few “teasers” of the photos you took
Store the photos on your site and include full album links on your posts
This way, you’ll share relevant content on social media anddrive traffic to your site.
Share Your Content
If you have any photos, blogs, whitepapers, infographics etc. create a schedule for sharing those to continue exposure and keep people talking about what happened at your event.
1-2 Months After Your Event
Analyze, Analyze, Analyze
Use traffic tools to analyze traffic to all of your sites or online portals. You can use these free tools to ensure accurate results:
Gain insightful feedback from your event participants by sending out a survey. For example, if folks complain about the parking at your event, when it comes time to market your next event, fix the parking situation and let participants know that they helped to make the event better!
Plan Ahead
Use your newly-gleaned analytics to plan ahead for next year by maximizing your strengths and minimizing your areas of weakness.
Additional Resources
You can download a formatted checklist of all these steps in PDF format at on our website.
These 6 experts will go into depth about how to leverage, engage and collaborate with Millennials. If you’re attending 14NTC, you can find the event details here.
What If I Didn’t Go to 14NTC?
Never fear! This talk will be livestreamed at 3:30 EST/2:30 CST so you won’t miss a thing.
