Looking For An Organization I Can Volunteer For

I’m trying to find an organization I can volunteer my technology consulting services to in Tampa, Fl.. But man, it’s a lot harder than you’d think.

Trying to do a web search for organizations isn’t easy. The organizations that come up don’t really help me decide who I should contact or why.

I tried hitting up the social “community” via Twitter and asked

Looking for a non-profit organization in Tampa to volunteer my technology consulting to. Know of a worthy organization? JbB

But got nothin’ back, no responses. Which is sad because Twitter is ’sposed to be the perfect place for that. (Is the volunteer scene weak in Tampa, Fl? Haven’t heard from any of you…)

I didn’t really think I would have to look hard to find an organization to volunteer services for.

There are plenty of organizations that need general volunteers, but I’m looking to volunteer my skills, ya know? I want to volunteer something that only a very select few can do, and also gain insight and add value to my business. Geeks learn by crackin’ open a manual or spending hours on internet forums. I ain’t a geek… I learn new techniques by actually engaging technology. So by volunteering  my unique skill set, I can gain experience. Learn something like certain older hardware doesn’t work on Windows 7, or learning about how Google Apps is awesome and free for non-profits…

In other words, helping charity organizations helps me. I think I’d really enjoy teaching some inner city youth computer classes or helping organizations that help the homeless harness the power of social media to engage and interact with their volunteers or helping organizations streamline their operation online with Google Apps. I know there are people like me who help charity organizations out there, I read about them all the time in different cities and states, so being in a big city like Tampa, Fl., it’s a shame it’s not easier to connect with organizations like this.

But I’m sure I’ll find something at some point, and when I do, I’ll keep ya updated. And if you know of one, or happen to volunteer and have some advice for me, hit me up via the comments or at twitter.com/johnBbaird. My web site is johnBbaird.com.

Peace, JbB

Tampa Paper Thinks iPhones A Form Of “Social Media”?

I hate news papers, almost with a passion. But I subscribe to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. I think the Business Journal is a great resource to the business community and also is a really interesting source of information.

But check this out… look at the front of the paper, and then look at their “STAY IN TOUCH” area to the top right.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal is smart by listing social media methods on how you can get information from them. They got the usual suspects… Twitter, Facebook, RSS, E-mail… but they also included the social media network iPhone. Wait… the iPhone is a social media network? That’s right, it’s not. The iPhone is a device, a platform… like Macintosh OSX or Windows 7. The reason why they put “iPhone” on there is because they have a mobile version that’s more or less designed for iPhones.

So do I think the Tampa Bay Business Journal should change this, or that this is an incorrect way to display “media forms”, such as Twitter, Facebook, ect? Na… I actually think this is a good idea. It’s actually surprising. It shows a slow change in the way we view devices and connectivity.

Since when do we see a particulate device listed in a way like this? We’re starting to get more and more used to moving out of our “PC” and more into different forms of how we get our information. I think of the Amazon Kindle as another example. Book publishers, retailers, etc are starting to list the “Kindle” as a method for how you can get a book. “Available in paperback, hardback, and Kindle”. That’s stupid, right? The “Kindle” is just a device and it accepts a certain eBook format… why not just say “eBook” and let that be known you most likely support the Kindle format? Or how about just say “eBook Readers”? Because… for one, they may not support all eBook reader devices, and frankly… they don’t care. They only care about the Amazon Kindle because that’s the device almost everyone uses if they have an eBook reader device. There’s ways to read eBooks on competing eBook reader devices, ways to read eBooks on your PC, laptop or netbook, apps so that you can read eBooks on your smartphones, including iPhones. But combine all those sources, and they don’t compare to the numbers using the Kindle to read eBooks. So they care about letting people know, first and foremost, that their book is available on the Kindle.

This is the effect popular, industry-shifting devices such as the iPhone and the Kindle are having. It’s really funny to see a particular device mentioned in the way iPhone or Kindles are… but this is the change that’s happening with our technical society.

One piece of recommendation to any businesses thinking about displaying something like this with their media, product, etc… listing one particularly popular platform or device may possibly alienate people who don’t use the device (iPhone vs. Android for example). My recommendation instead of listing “iPhone” would be to list something like “Mobile devices such as iPhones” or “eBook readers such as Kindle”, etc. That way, you don’t promise to support all devices, but also give hope to people to check out your product on their devices. In the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s case, instead of “iPhone” with a picture of an iPhone, I would have it say “Mobile” with a picture of an iPhone. iPhone users, their main target, would clearly know iPhones are supported, but it’s also not alienating to Android, Black Berry or Palm owners (whether or not they even have a mobile version for them).

Peace, JbB

I’m Going To Be Attending TweetsGiving 2009, Tampa, Fl.

I’m gonna’ be attending Tampa Tweetsgiving Nov. 24th, 2009.

TweetsGiving ‘09 Epic Thanks: Think Cycles Partners with IKEA Tampa to Host November 24th TweetsGiving Event to Benefit Epic Change

TweetsGiving is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. In honor of the people and things that make them grateful, guests will be invited to give to a common cause at events held across the globe. Tampa’s inaugural Tweetsgiving breakfast gathering kicks off a global 48-hour celebration of gratitude in honor, created by Epic Change, of the people and things that make them grateful.

It’s gonna’ be held at my favorite store on Earth, Ikea! If you happen to be near Tampa, Fl., try attending. I’m gonna’ post up info and pictures during the event too from my iPhone, it outta’ be an interesting fund raiser.

JbB