11 Mobile Website Design Best Practices for Nonprofits-Part-1

 With 90% of your nonprofit’s supporters and donors now accessing the Internet on multiple devices every day, nonprofits really need to prioritize mobilizing their Web content.
 Ideally, your nonprofit’s CMS (content management system) has been updated to include responsive design, 
but the problematic reality is that most CMS services commonly used in the nonprofit sector are as behind on the Mobile Web as the nonprofits are themselves.

That said, the following excerpt from Chapter 9 of  Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits will help your nonprofit get started with launching a mobile website or at the very least get the idea percolating and higher on your priority list for 2013.  To learn more about launching a mobile strategy for your nonprofit, please see the upcoming webinar How Nonprofits Can Successfully Utilize Mobile Technology and Mobile Fundraising.

It’s ironic how Web design has come full circle. In the 1990s, websites were utilitarian in appearance and structure. Slow dial-up Internet access required that websites be as simple as possible for faster loading. A basic banner at the top, nonimage links for navigation, and text pages with few photos were all that the Internet could handle. During the 2000s, with the rise of broadband, came an onslaught of highly designed websites with Flash and JavaScript, pop-down navigation, and pop-up windows for slide shows, videos, and calls to action. The evolution of Web design aesthetics over the last 10 to 15 years has been directly correlated with the increase in speed of Internet access. Today, for the exact same reason, we’re starting from the beginning in mobile website design. Until we reach 5G or 6G speed, mobile websites will have to be very simple to avoid long, frustrating download times.

1. Keep Design and Navigation Simple
Navigation and secondary pages should be limited to five or less. Mobile users like things simple and can be overwhelmed by a multilayered mobile website. Be sure to feature a “Home” link prominently. Require only up and down scrolling, never left to right. The content background should be white with black text. You can add some color to your mobile website through navigation bars and images. It’s also common to provide a link to your “desktop” version in case the user has a tablet and wants to browse your “real” website. If you choose to hard-code your own mobile website, the standard width for a mobile website (as of 2011) is 320 pixels.

2. Limit the Use of Images
A simple banner at the top of your mobile website with your nonprofit’s logo and name is a good starting point. Make sure that it links to your mobile website home page. From there, do not use images for navigation, and limit news articles to one image. Fortunately, if you are using your blog’s RSS feed for mobile Web content creation, tools like MoFuse automatically shrink image sizes for faster loading and browsing. All images should be small and should be in either .jpeg or .gif format.

3. Feature Fresh Content Prominently
With the exception of mobile pages created specifically for group text messaging and QR code campaigns (donate, petitions, polls, and so on), most people will browse through only the fresh content on your mobile website. They’re looking for news and campaign updates, not detailed information about your nonprofit’s history, programs, mission, and values. A mobile website should not be modeled after your desktop site. The two have completely different purposes. So, make sure you feature your fresh content first (your blog feed) and calls to action after that. In time, as word gets out about your mobile website, the number of visitors will increase. Some may even bookmark it for browsing regularly. Currently, much of this browsing occurs on lunch breaks, while traveling to and from work, and while standing in line at the DMV, the grocery store, the airport, and other such places.

Read More

10 Fun Ways to Feed Your Mind this Summer

 

1. Learn a new language

Summer is a great time to learn new things, why not study a new language?  There are plenty of free online tools to help you such as Duolingo that will guide you through learning Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese.  Once you’ve got some phrases down, check out a language learning meetup group in your area and test them out such as the French Language Meetup Group where local French language and culture lovers meet up for conversation and fun.  For more online resources for language learning check out 10 Good Sites & Apps for Learning a New Language.

2. Register for a MOOC – Massive Open Online Courses

Through free online courses offered by universities and educational programs you can study anything from the philosophy of the ancients to fashion and pop culture!  Check out this easy to use directory of over 10,000 free online classes here at the OEDb, or see a listing of 375 free MOOCs from great universities from Open Culture.

3. Watch Videos from Recent Conferences

Whatever your field there will be major conferences and events in which the latest and most cutting-edge developments and projects are discussed.  Much of these sessions can be found online either through YouTube or directly on the conference website.  Here are over 650 videos from the SXSW conference – the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin.  And here’s over 1,500 TED Talks, a global set of conferences presenting the most innovative ideas in the research and practice of technology, science, and culture.  

4. Create an Awesome Summer Reading List

The Goodreads application is chock-full of recommended reading lists including both Fiction and Non-Fiction book lists as well as lists for particular genres such as teen and horror, etc. You can also create our own.  You can also check out the Amazon Best Sellers as well as the ALA’s Recommended Reading page which includes links to ALA’s literature award winners and various notable reading lists for all ages.  But some of my favorite reading lists have been spotlighted in ALDirect such as 22 Pandemic Books to Read Before the H7N9 Virus Kills Us All , 20 Books for the End of the World, and Top 10 YA Books that Buffy fans will want to read .

5. Play an Educational Game

Remember Highlights?  The hidden picture game that was strangely addictive and could almost always be found at the dentist’s office?  Well, now it’s online and available as an iPad app along with many other brain-tingling educational games such as Math Ninja, Monster Physics, Civilization Revolution, and more.  Online eduational games are available for all age ranges from kids to adults.  To find some check out 30 of the Best Educational iPad Games, 50 Free Online Educational Games That Are More Fun Than You’d Think, and 50 Great Sites for Serious, Educational Games.

6. Learn how to play an instrument

With all of today’s online resources is easier than ever to take up a musical instrument and learn to play it for free, or nearly free.  There is a surplus of tutorial apps available for both iPhone and Android devices for nearly any instrument. For example if you wanted to learn the violin you could check out the Learn Violin app for iPhone, the Magic Fiddle iPad app, the Violin Lesson Tutor for Android, or FiddlerMan on your desktop.  There’s also a wealth of free YouTube videos offering instruction on the violin and other instruments.

7. Listen to Some Smart Podcasts

Feed your brain some educational podcasts from academics, researchers, and experts that you can listen to on the way to work, school, or at the gym.  Here’s a giant list of University & College Podcasts – Free Educational Podcasts to keep you busy.  And if that’s not enough check out 13 Smart Podcasts That Will Feed Your Hunger for Knowledge and Ideas and the The Top 5 Podcasts for Smart People.

8. Download Free Audiobooks

The leading provider of audiobooks is Audible which offers over 100,000 downloadable audiobooks, but there are also plenty of apps and websites which provide audiobooks for free. More than 3,000 public domain audiobooks and eBooks are available at Books Should Be Free.  There are also several mobile apps available with packages of audiobooks contained within such as the Free Audiobooks app for .99 cents which has nearly 5,000.  Here’s a great list from Open Culture: 525 Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free, and an article discussing the best websites for free audiobooks.

9. Install Educational Apps on Your Tablet

Thousands of educational apps such as the Khan Academy library of over 3000 free videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and hundreds of skills to practice, Shakespeare in Bits, Star Walk, Monster Anatomy and more.  Check out Apple’s Education Apps section, 48 Free Education Apps Sorted By Grade Level, and the Next Web’s 12 of the best educational apps of 2012.

10. Read Free eBooks

There are so many ways to download free eBooks for your iPad, Android tablet or other mobile device, why ever pay for an eBook?  You can easily search for your local library on OverDrive to see if they are offering free e-Books via their subscription service.  You can also check out this post I wrote in November linking to 5 e-Book Collections with Over 100,000 Free e-Books.  And if that’s not enough, check out: 225 Free eBooks: Download Great Classics for Free and the 20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks.

Read More

Improving your Memory

Tips and techniques to help you remember...

...you know, that thing... I forgot.

Great for students...but other folks could benifet from these tips, as well.

Having problems forgetting appointments, to-dos, errands, feeding your children and pets, picking up after yourself, getting out of bed... not to mention forgetting birthdays, and even anniversaries?

If you are like many people, you will often find yourself forgetting something. In an age of computers, PDA’s, and many other devices - this my be ok for some folks, unless you forget where you put those devices. Others may want to increase their ability to memorize things - luckily there are a few creative ways you can improve your long and short term memory.  

Use your Senses & Be Aware

Practice creating vivid images/concepts in your head - using all of your senses. Analyze your surroundings by sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. Being aware all of your senses will give your mind more ways to associate (and thus remember) when it is time to recall something.

This is like form of meditation -- which is good for your brain in a variety of ways. 

Practice this tip of simply being more aware of your surroundings everyday and you will find your general memory greatly improved.  

Don't worry, be Mindful   

There has been a lot said about the power of positive thinking. Recently, a huge bandwagon of new-age positive thought = positive outcome theories have been on tips of everyone's tongue from Oprah to your local convenience store clerk. Just do a Google search for "Law of Attraction" or "The Secret" if you aren't in the cult loop.

Negative thoughts fog our minds, but clearing out the negative and focusing on the positive also improves memory & concentration.

Stress is a big brain buster, so minimize stress and negative thoughts to keep your wits. 

Apt Quote: “What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of rescue. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer.” - Douglas Adam

 See the Future  
Have trouble remembering to-dos, appointments, meetings, deadlines, birthdays and other future events?

Here is the secret: When you know you have an upcoming event you don't want to forget, picture yourself at the event. What are you doing, who is there, what does it smell like? Imagine the event...even better: imagine yourself taking the steps that lead to the event.

For example... let's say tomorrow you have to call the someone. Picture yourself in your home/office, picture yourself picking up the phone, imagine dialing the number and talking to the person of the other end. 

Associate 
 Association is among one of the easiest and most used tools in learning. This is the process of taking the information you wish to memorize, and linking it mentally to something else that is natural to you. When learning something new, try to associate the new concept with one to which you are already familiar. 

Couple association with being aware using all of your senses and you will have a higher rate of successful recall. 

Chunky like your mom 
 Chunking information is a great mnemonic method to remember multiple items. Many people naturally use chunking to remember phone numbers: Instead of thinking "17342876642" we chunk it as 1-734-287-6642.

The concept of chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. If you are a sucker for classic works in the history of psychology (I know, who isn't?) you can read the whole original paper here. 

 Write it Down

We generally think of "writing things down" as a means to NOT have to remember something. The paper does the work for -- we just need to remember where we put that piece of paper...

But, writing things down has another effect: you clear your mind and take away the stress of "having to remember", and by doing so you actually have more room in your noggin for remembering stuff. I know that explanation wasn't scientific, but it works.

To-do lists are championed by business gurus and soccer moms alike. Try writing everything down for a week or two and see how much this improves your memory & focus. A great digital tool for "writing things down" is provided by a website called Nozbe.com -- I recommend it for clearing your head and also organizing your thoughts. 

Comments on Improving Memory

Do you have your own tip or special technique that helps you remember?
If you can remember it, please post it below ;)

Read More

Biometrics Technology

Biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data. In information technology, biometrics refers to technologies that measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns and hand measurements, for authentication purposes.

 The most widely used biometric technology uses fingerprints. Fingerprint scanners measure the unique, complex swirls on a person's fingertip. They can even accommodate cuts. The swirls are characterized and produced as a template. At least four counties in California, including Los Angeles, use fingerprint technology to reduce welfare fraud. Spain uses it for its social security card and it's soon to be expanded for use in handing out pension, unemployment and health benefits. Adaptive biometric Systems aim to auto-update the templates or model to the intra-class variation of the operational data.
 The two-fold advantages of these systems are solving the problem of limited training data and tracking the temporal variations of the input data through adaptation. Recently, adaptive biometrics have received a significant attention from the research community. 
This research direction is expected to gain momentum because of their key promulgated advantages. First, with an adaptive biometric system, one no longer needs to collect a large number of biometric samples during the enrollment process. Second, it is no longer necessary to re-enrol or retrain the system from the scratch in order to cope up with the changing environment. This convenience can significantly reduce the cost of maintaining a biometric system. Despite these advantages, there are several open issues involved with these systems. For mis-classification error (false acceptance) by the biometric system, cause adaptation using impostor sample. However, continuous research efforts are directed to resolve the open issues associated to the field of adaptive biometrics. Biometrics and Security: The need for effective security, implemented efficiently, is manifest in today’s world. Individuals must be identified to allow or prohibit access to secure areas—or to enable them to use a computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or mobile phone. Biometric signatures, or biometrics, are used to identify individuals by measuring certain unique physical and behavioral characteristics. Virtually all biometric techniques are implemented using a sensor, to acquire raw biometric data from an individual; feature extraction, to process the acquired data to develop a feature-set that represents the biometric trait; pattern matching, to compare the extracted feature-set against stored templates residing in a database; and decision-making, whereby a user’s claimed identity is authenticated or rejected. The Biometric Consortium serves as a focal point for research, development, testing, evaluation, and application of biometric-based personal identification/verification technology. The Biometric Consortium organizes a premier biometrics conference every fall. Information about past conferences, current government and standards activity, a bulletin board service, and other biometric resources can be found throughout their web site at www.biometrics.org

Read More

Chinese institute develops 100 megapixel camera

A Chinese institute claimed to have successfully developed a 100 megapixel camera which could produce high-resolution imaging in the fields of aerial mapping, disaster monitoring and intelligent transportation systems.

The IOE3-Kanban camera was developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences making it China’s highest pixel camera, CAS said in a statement.

 The camera is capable of producing images with 10,240 x 10,240 pixels, the statement said.

Moreover, it is small and light, with its widest part measuring only 19.3 cm, state-run Xinhua quoted the statement as saying, adding that it can be used at temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees to 55 degrees centigrade.

Its high sensitivity and high dynamic range (HDR) features mean it will be useful in high-resolution imaging in the fields of aerial mapping, city planning, disaster monitoring and intelligent transportation systems, the statement said.

Intelligent transportation system is aimed to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management, enabling various users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and ‘smarter’ use of transport networks.

The camera is equipped with advanced optical systems, camera control systems and high-capacity data recording systems, and it has proven successful in a recent trial use as a part of a national aerial remote-sensing system, it said.

The institute also developed an 81 megapixel camera during the 10th Five Year Plan period (2001—2005), and the latest achievement took the researchers two years to develop.

Read More

Ramadan Kareem

Each day during Ramadan, Muslims across the globe abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, or participating in anything that is ill-natured or excessive from dawn until sunset.

Ramadan is a exercise for the community to improve oneself. Fasting is prescribed through time and through all faiths and religions to teach human being patience, tolerance, and perseverance and to become self aware. So everybody who is able will exercise fasting from dawn to sunset."
Those who sick, elderly, traveling, or women who are pregnant or nursing are permitted to break their fast and make up for the missed days at a later time. Children do not fast before the age of puberty.
By abstaining from food and drinks, not using foul language and not having immoral thoughts or gossiping, you learn to understand and be tolerant. You become aware of the blessings you have around you. Muslims families view Ramadan as cleansing--it`s like you almost go through a purification and end up a better person." During Ramadan, 
Muslims request forgiveness for sins in the past, pray for direction and aim to cleanse themselves through self control and great acts of faith.
To improve yourself part of becoming self-aware is being aware of poor people and what hunger is.Families invite people into their homes, and invite poor people for iftar and give distributions."

Read More