Geek Boulevard

How to setup a portable server for a nonprofit organization

2008-10-28T13:00:00.001-04:00

I always try to find affordable solutions for the nonprofit organizations I work with. I started this project to help the Children's Ministry of a Church but as the ideas started to pop up I realized how easy it is to have a reliable and economical solutions to manage the needs of both big and small organizations.
Today I will describe on part one of the project how to setup your portable server. Of course you can choose different hardware and software but I hope you will have a good idea on how to deploy a great solution that can solve many problems and improve the quality of service of your nonprofit.
This article was written for the absolute beginner and is not meant to be a detailed technical tutorial for geeks. I just want to explain you how to do things in plain English.

I started by purchasing an Acer Aspire ONE laptop http://www.acer.com/aspireone/ I was looking for the cheapest version wish is an 8GB solid state drive but since they where sold out I got the Windows XP model with a 160 GB hard drive. They are pretty amazing machines and cost only about $350 USD.
My first step was to get rid of Windows and install Linux Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.0.4.1 and I just followed the instructions on the Ubuntu Website at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne
Because the instructions are meant for the cheapest Acer I had to tweak things when it came to the part of enabling the WiFi. The rest is pretty staright forward and I took me about 2 hours to get everything running. If you are not used to Linux this can be a little bit challenging but it can be done. I already have another small Acer One with Windows XP installed and when I got to the end of the proccess I was simply amazed on how Ubuntu runs so much faster and smoothly. In order to have a machine as fast as the Acer Aspire One a few years ago we had to spend 10 times more, wow technology is getting cheaper!

Next we start the fun and we have to install a few things on Linux. I reccomend a software update before we do anything. You can just click the Menu and do an automatic update. Then open a Terminal window and you can just drag and drop these lines of code in that window, hit Enter and you will build your Apache Web Server on a sub-notebook. You will need to run the following commands:
sudo apt-get install apache2

sudo apt-get install php5

sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-php5

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Your web files will now be found in /var/www/ This means that you can put any web application on that folder and access it through the Network. This is now your private web server. After you will install a MySQL server. Again open a terminal window, and use the following commands:
sudo apt-get install mysql-server

sudo apt-get install php5-mysql

sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

You're almost done! You may need to get a new password to access your databases. So now run this command:
sudo mysqladmin -u root password your-new-password
Now you just need to verify if everything is working. So open a web browser an go to http://localhotst and you should see a page saying "It's Working!" this means that your Apache Server is running. You can also type http://localhost/phpmyadmin and this will give you access to the database administration. Great you now have a portable webserver. You could just put the machine on the basement and start hosting your own websites but we will learn how to install some applications to help your nonprofit organization. Try now to access the server from another computer. First you will need to know the IP address of your new server. On a terminal window type>
ifconfig
You should see an address simillar to 192.168.1.101 (this is just an example). When you go to another computer and type that address you should be able to open any website hosted on the /var/www/ folder of your new portable server. On the next article I will explain how can you create an awesome system to check in and out Children from a nursery or Children's Ministry using ID cards with barcodes.

Tony Silveira is a Canadian Web Developer dedicated to nonprofit and business solutions.

How to better organize the time you spend in nonprofit activities

2008-10-02T19:01:00.003-04:00

Time management is about doing the most of such a time span by completing as much as we can in a short period of time. There are great articles written on how to make a list of priorities. I really enjoyed "Getting things done" by David Allen a book that sold millions. His planning model revolutionized textbooks in the main business schools. He defines a five steps we shoud use in management. They can be summarized as: Defining purpose and principles; Outcome visioning; Brainstorming; Organizing and Identifying next actions.

Whether you're an undergraduate or a worker, an employer or an employee, an inventive influence or an industrial whiz kid, you will need to manage your time really well to guarantee the most work done and the top results possible.

When you work for a nonprofit you always need to enhance the manner of doing your job. Creativity will motivate people on the organization. If you have a tendency to delay things you may need to use software to keep things rolling.

I like to use 2 plain internet applications. One is called Toodledo and helps me to do those things that must be done AT ANY TIME. Pretty much self-explanatory. Toodledoo.com is a great way to intellectually accomplish your goals.

Another great tool is called Evernote. This is the perfect inbox for all your thoughts, clips, documents, photos and all the things you can imagine. Get it at evernote.com

Both these tools are a great way to train and build up your time management skills. Best of all they are inexpensive. Your nonprofit will bennefit from from doing the most out of them.

Procrastination, undeniably, is the primary aspect that impinges on production of your team. The problem is, how you can look for the right starting point for a mission? Just remind yourself that it's all in the mind. The obstacles you perceive are merely psychological ones that can simply be beaten with the proper tools.

It's been now two decades that I succesfully work for different nonprofit organizations. Experience tells me that some persons can simply practice helpful time organization while others fright of prioritizing their workflow. Poor evaluation. Some persons truly like to practice good time management methods. However, time management is founded on shaping and implementing the proper priorities, and this involves a fervent managerial skill. Poor decisions will only make matters worse, some persons truly commit poor choices. But you are a winner!

Try to use the suggested techniques that told you about in this article. Even if you don't like them at least you can learn something different and get a innovative insight on how to organize yourself and your non-profit work.

Tony Silveira is an authority in nonprofit websites. Please check his page at http://www.tonysilveira.com He is the creator of Freepreachign.com

A list of 4 Proven tactics to build good nonprofit Websites

2008-09-22T20:57:00.003-04:00

I liked this subject so much that I created a special blog at http://sitesfornonprofits.blogspot.com just to emphasize this special area of expertize. For more that 10 years that I build websites for Churches and other nonprofit organizations. If you run one of these you may consider change tactics. This article is just a very small piece of advice on running a this kind of site.

Good management of Effective nonprofit web sites boils down to a matter of right resolve of priorities for maximum efficiency of your internet presence. Below are 4 established web management tactics regarding identifying and chasing the correct priorities for a great nonprofit website.

1. Don't ask for money!
This kind tactic is actually motivated by many Church and religious style of web sites. The website goal should be just promotional and if you need to receive funds it should be done just by addressing your sympathizers and not the general public, unless you are The UNESCO or other main stream organization.

2. Make it simple to your readers!
Most organizations understand the power of sharing information about their mission on the Internet, as they watch the effect of their campaigns without any kind of control. A good website can extend that writing beyond their own organization, and talking addresing the general public or others interested in the work of that association. Your written counsel will not just go to those who already know you , but also to those who do not know you yet. Simplicity is the best thing you can do in order to get your message spread. Create a simple but effective nonprofit website with appealing pictures and neutral colors.

3. Hire a Real Webmaster
An effective way to engage groups and individuals in the mission you care about is excellence.
Your public needs to perceive it on your web presence.. Many nonprofit websites are doomed to fail because of lack of professionalism.
Show some credibility! Think your whole advertisement through your member's perspective. Learn that a bad website is even worse than doing no website at all.

4. Create Feedback
You need to create a free customized feedback form for your website. Others ways to get people to show their opinion is through a poll.
I found very efficient also to send a survey to your sympathizers . You public relations need to reflect the quality of the services you provide in your Association. I found helpful to have some freebies on nonprofit websites. People really like to get free stuff on a website. You can then create a mechanism to get their personal contact information and build your email listing.

The bottom line of engaging your community in this way, using these 4 proven methods given in this article, is that your audience will be getting a preview of your work, by showing them precisely what your message is all about. And that web marketing can have a far greater effect than you expected.

To know more about Non-profit websites visit NetGifted

Some of my Favorite Web Applications and resources for Freelancers

2008-09-20T17:42:00.005-04:00

So to help all you f out there I compiled a small list of resources, categorized up for your benefit. I know a lot more resources but I tried to give you my 3 favorites for each Category.

I know I left out some of the most popular because I wanted to know something different from Backpack or SalesForce...

If you’re caught up in the web work rat race and don’t know what to do next, here are some ideas:

Invoicing

When you don’t invoice, you don’t get paid, so it literally pays to stay on top of your billing. Here are some great Websites:

Freshbooks - http://www.freshbooks.com - Canadian based comany, simply the best online invoicing.
Harvest - http://getharvest.com - Track time, log expenses, invoice clients, keep track of account receivables and revenue.
Billing Boss - http://www.billingboss.com - FREE is good!

Project Management and CRM

These resources will help you stay organised

Heap CRM and Torch CRM - http://wbpsystems.com - My favorite CRM and project managment
Toodledoo - http://www.toodledo.com - a great ToDo list with iPhone support
VTiger - http://www.vtiger.com - I tried both Sugar CRM and Sales Force. I really prefer VTiger because of simplicity.

Stock Libraries

Templates, Photos, Flash files

Istockphoto - http://www.istockphoto.com - Royalty free stock photography, videos, and illustrations for $1 - $50
FlashDen - http://www.flashden.net - A great resource selling stock Flash, audio, video and fonts for as little as 50 cents
Getty Images - http://www.gettyimages.com - A bit pricey, but again if you want quality you need to be able to pay for it.

Business Tools

Resources to help with your business

Google Apps - http://www.google.com/a/ - Communication and collaboration tools from Google. My favorite email server!
Paypal - http://www.paypal.com - Online payment system. The easiest way to do business on the internet.
Jasar - http://www.jasar.com - This is a website just for Canadians. The best Canadian Corporation Agency, period!

Web Tools

Tools to get you on the net

Dreamhost - http://www.dreamhost.com - I tried a lot of companies but Dreamhost is still my favorite.
Mosso - http://www.mosso.com - Advanced hosting at a reasonable price
Godaddy - http://www.godaddy.com - Best registration site that I know.

Web sites

Netgifted - http://www.netgifted.com - this is my company....eheheh, I had to put the link somewhere
Joomla - http://www.joomla.org - My favorite web development platform.
Rapidweaver - http://www.realmacsoftware.com - sorry windows guys, this will only work on a Mac. The easiest web site creation tool you can find.

Jobs

Elance - http://www.elance.com - A great tool for all kinds of freelancers
Craigslist - http://www.craigslist.com - find almost anything. great classified adds
Job pile - http://www.artypapers.com/jobpile - a great job list agregator

I know that I could do a great list like the one you can get here but these are my favorite choices.

Book Reccomendation - The 4 Hour Work Week

2008-09-15T08:39:00.000-04:00

I want to reccommend an excellent book by Timothy Ferriss called "The 4 Hour work Week" lso described as Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.

Serial entrepreneur and ultravagabond Timothy Ferriss has been featured by dozens of media, including The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, NBC, and MAXIM. He speaks six languages, runs a multinational firm from wireless locations worldwide, and has been a popular guest lecturer at Princeton University since 2003, where he presents entrepreneurship as a tool for ideal lifestyle design and world change.

I first got the Audible version but Ii liked it so much that I immediately bought the e-Book. SInce the book has a lot of web links it gets tedious when we have to listen the narrator spelling a lot of URLs.

I was really impacted by the reading and highly reccomend it. Please click here to see it at Amazon.com

Among other things you can learn:

How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"
What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office

Great Book, a "must have" in your bedside table, real food for thought!