So, what does it mean?

The below video is an excellent reminder of how quickly and powerfully the world is changing.

After watching this, I had a few thoughts relating to nonprofits and technology when they showed that final question, “So what does it all mean?”

Flexibility and adaptability are key
In the coming years, many potential donors could increasingly be foreign, speaking English as a second language, with differing cultures and values.
With such rapidity of change, a personal connection and individual human stories become more vital than ever.
If your systems, software and processes are not agile and adaptable, they will be obsolete.
No one can predict what 2 years will bring, much less 10. Couple that with the proliferation of communications channels and we begin to see that there will be no ‘dominate’ channel. Facebook and Twitter are not the future, but are important so long as people use them to communicate.
The Internet is not a channel, it is a technology for information and application sharing based on a protocol that contains countless communication channels.
The nature of human beings does not change nor do basic needs (survival, love, purpose, creativity), but the avenues and means of meeting those needs is changing more rapidly than ever before in human history.

In one sentence, the agility to be continually learning and innovating is essential in the 21st century. New models are emerging everywhere and old axioms, though still proclaimed, are already dead. If your processes, systems, software and operational ethos are not dynamic, open and collaborative, you will not thrive and may not even survive. But, if they are, you will not only be successful, you will be a catalyst in one of the most exciting moments in human history.

This entry was posted on January 22, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Fundraising and Donor Relationship Management, Innovations for Nonprofit Organizations. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: agile, facebook, flexible, future, Open, twitter

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One Comment on “So, what does it mean?”

Marly Silverman Says:

January 23, 2009 at 12:39 pm
This is an amazing video! The statistics listed are powerful as they present a “Brave New World” that is in my opinion exponentially geared (hopefully) to change the non profit world to be more efficient in reaching goals in accomplishing the mission.

As a native born of Brazil, now a proud American, I am quite mindful of the fact that being able to speak several languages, access to technology tools, and smart use of people networks worldwide, have all allowed the small non profit organization I founded to be effective with a very small budget, but very creative in what we do daily.

I have a small web site that is already outdated based on the widgets, net applications, social internet environment now in existence. At the tender age of 54, I am having to learn about all these things and with it comes a whole new “jargon” – language that can be overwhelming. What do you do? We did and we continue to establish several partnerships and one which is developing rather nicely, involves bringing in a worldwide social network – that is naturally organizing itself – demonstrating diversity, creating opportunities and bringing hope at a much faster exponentially pace. I can communicate with individuals from as far as New Zealand, Japan, Brazil, Spain and more.

As the U.S. grays at a considerable pace, (and the newborns are not catching up with this rate) the tech world will have to face this challenge too: to create and provide tools that are accessible to the baby boomers who will be around for another 20-30 years.

So I suppose, my thoughts can be incorporated and should be part of a new “Did You Know”? video that would say: to be continued…

In Good Health and In Beauty,

Marly (Marla) Silverman
Founder
http://www.pandoranet.info
cfsknowledgecenter.com

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