When it comes to online tools for nonprofits, NGOs, schools, government programs and other mission-based organizations to use with clients, volunteers, employees, donors and others, I have strong feelings about some being better than others.
(What?! Me?! “Strong feelings”?! Surely I jest…)
Here is my super-simplified views on such:
| Flickr | > | (for photo sharing) | |
| YahooGroups | > | LinkedIn groups | (for discussions & networking) |
| Google Groups | > | LinkedIn groups | (for discussions & networking) |
| YahooGroups | > | Google Groups | (for discussions & networking) |
| Google Calendar | > | Yahoo Calendar | (for private use or sharing with others) |
| Thunderbird | > | Microsoft Outlook | (for reading email on a computer instead of the cloud) |
| Firefox | > | MS Internet Explorer | (for web browsing) |
| NeoOffice | > | Microsoft Office | (for documents, spreadsheets, slide shows/presentations, etc.) |
| > | (for networking with other agencies) | ||
| Girl Guides of Canada Facebook page | > | Girl Scouts of the USA Facebook page | (for networking with other agencies) |
| Girl Guides of Canada Twitter feed | > | Girl Scouts of the USA Twitter feed | (for networking with other agencies) |
Okay, those last two aren’t tools – they are organizations. But I’m blown away at how awesome the Girl Guides of Canada organization is on Facebook and Twitter, as opposed to their USA counterpart, and I think compairing their social media use, side-by-side, is a really great tutorial on how to effectively use social media to engage, not just broadcast.
Okay, let’s see your list. Keep the “why” brief.
Another comment deleted before I could approve it. Not sure what’s up with that. This time, it was from Michael Keizer:"Thunderbird > Outlook. True if you only look at reading email, However, I use Outlook as my contact manager using the Business Contact Manager extension, as my planner and diary through the agenda, etcetera. So in the end, Outlook > (Thunderbird plus a whole slew of additional tools) "And that’s the way I like it, Michael. I don’t like the Outlook Business Contact Manager nor its calendar function. Never have. And I really like using non-Microsoft products, because they play so much better with others, whereas Microsoft tools are geared towards people who use only Microsoft Tools. Thanks for replying! Let’s keep the greater than>less than theme though, okay?