Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

• Urban Studies and Open Data

  Date: 2009.11.30 | Category: In the News, Technology | Response: 1

  

  Our newest addition to the team- Mike Dror

  A few weeks ago Anil mentioned that if a picture can tell a thousand words, an interactive map can tell a million. Viagra sale Levitra achat Not bad. I think I’m in the right field of study. Levitra contraindicaciones Over the counter viagra Cheap viagra online

  My name is Mike Dror and I’m an Urban Studies student at the University of Toronto. Levitra pill I’ve been interning at Framework for the past few months as part of a seminar titled Urban Experiential Learning, where each student is placed at one of various urban organizations that range from small, non-profit organizations such as Framework, to larger public service institutions such as a Toronto City Councilor’s office.

  The major part of my internship involves a long term project whose goal is to build on aspects of the Civic Footprint programming through the use of interactive mapping. A few weeks ago this project received a huge boon as the City of Toronto (finally) launched its open data set catalogue, following Vancouver’s example. The catalogue includes previously-unavailable data that can be used within Geographic Information Systems for analysis and display.

  I’ve already felt the impact of Prospecto levitra the launch, both at Frame work and within my own Viagra sin receta work. Viagra levitra Purchase viagra Pastillas levitra Viagra alternatives For a personal research project on the relationship between transit availability and demographics I’ve been using the newly-posted TTC Routes and Schedules data. For Framework I downloaded the Wards shapefile that contains boundaries for Toronto’s forty-four wards, a data set I could have used a month ago before Viagra for women I tediously drew them out myself, with far less accuracy. Brand viagra

  The point is this. Online levitra The catalogue received almost four thousand visits on it s fir Levitra pas cher st day and over fifteen hundred download s in it Kauf von viagra s first week. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at how we can use these to target information on organizations and resources through interactive mapping towards those who need and want them. Purchase viagra online Viagra bestellung Check back soon for an update. Kaufen viagra Levitra prix pharmacie

• The Black Crowes and Appy Awards – Highlights from Dreamforce 2009

  Date: 2009.11.26 | Category: Technology | Response: 2

  I just returned from the 2009 DreamForce conference in San Francisco. Over 16,000 people attended, making it one of the largest cloud computing conferences in North America. Accenture was there. Viagra sin receta Viagra levitra Viagra sale Levitra achat Google was there. IBM was there. Levitra contraindicaciones Cheap viagra online Twitter was a premier sponsor. Pastillas levitra An additional 250 other small cloud vendors were there as well. Kauf von viagra Colin Powell spoke at the keynote. Brand viagra The Black Crowes sang at the gala event. Levitra pas cher Over the counter viagra It was awesome.

  We use Box.net for our FTP File sharing needs and EchoSign for our e-signature services. Levitra pill Purchase viagra Prospecto levitra These two services plug into Salesforce. com very nicely. Viagra for women Viagra alternatives The Salesforce.com AppExchange (App Store) is the enterprise version of Apple’ s App Store. Online levitra Kaufen viagra Most of Salesforce.com’s third party apps can be installed within hours by our team of non-technical people. Our modest integration got us into the Power of Us Appy Awards:

  “Appy Award nominees are recognized for transforming their business with the power of cloud computing. Viagra bestellung Appy Award recipients are nominated based on their innovative usage of Salesforce CRM or the Force.com platform in bringing new levels of customer success to their sales, marketing, partner, service, support or IT organizations.”

  
  

  From DreamForce 2009

  We didn’t win. But it was cool to see our logo so big on the same stage that the Black Crowes played on. Purchase viagra online And it fuels our interest in technology solutions – open source or not – that provide us the most resource effective way to reach our mission.

  Salesforce.com will be launching Chatter, a new tool that brings social communication to enterprise software. Our team has looked at it and can’t wait for the release. It is going to change the way we work as a team. Levitra prix pharmacie Aloha!

• Thoughts on the “Good Enough” Revolution

  Date: 2009.09.09 | Category: Organizational Pilates, Technology | Response: 0

  I recently came across an interesting article by Robert Capps in Wired titled Online levitra : When Cheap and Simple is Just Fine".” href=”http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/17-09/ff_goodenough” target=”_blank”>”The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple is Just Fine”. As an organization that makes a strong effort to stay on top of the latest technology trends and tools, this article made me stop and think about our current uses of hardware and the requirements we have to operate efficiently. Brand viagra Purchase viagra Prospecto levitra

  As the article describes, products like the Flip Camera have “stunned the industry”, offering “cheap, fast and simple tools” that are extremely popular. The article points to several examples of customers moving towards easy-to-use tools that offer most (if not the majority) of the functionailty we need at a price that cannot be ignored (as is the case of cloud computing, where many software tools are free).

  Capps outlines three elements that participants of the “Good Enough Revolution” are focused on; ease of use, continuous availability, and low price. Cheap viagra online As he explains, “Thanks to the speed and connectivity of the digital age, we’ve stopped fussing over pixel counts, sample rates, and feature lists”. These elements resonate with what we’re building as a non-profit organization, and our goals to be an open-source organization (where our volunteers, staff, stakeholders and fans can participate and collaborate).

  As tech tools continue to become the method for which we produce great work (instead of becoming the work itself), do we need flashy options and endless capabilities (and lengthy trainin Levitra prix pharmacie g courses?) or do we need software that allows us to create, produce and remix awesome work without huge start-up times (and costs). I vote for the latter. Viagra sin receta Purchase viagra online As Shel Holtz has said in regards to social media, “It’s not about the tool, it’s about the conversation”.

  In evaluating new technical tools for our organization, I am faced with questions like “will our users pick up and start using the tool without much training Viagra for women ? Is it accessible and in the cloud Viagra bestellung ? Is it collaborativ Viagra alternatives e? I look for tools that can complete the task (ideally quicker and easier than desktop software), that don’t demand a huge learning curve, and at times, ones that have a “cool factor”.

  Maybe more importantly, the Good Enough Revolution is successful because it allows organizations to get started in using the tools now, and then adapt Pastillas levitra and grow in the future. Levitra pas cher  Picking up the “Good Enough” tools and running without a strategy isn’t the rea son why they are Levitra pill so popular.  In fact, using too many tools without a plan is a surefire way to confusion, disorganization and duplicated processes. Levitra contraindicaciones  Instead, organizations should look to “Good Enough” tools as a way to excute strategies and projects without commitments to expensive software, training and extended planning. Over the counter viagra  Get going, experiment and adapt.

  It’s interesting that Capps writes, “As more and more industries move their business online, they too will find success in Good Enough tools that focus on maximizing accessibility. Kaufen viagra It’s a reflection of our new value system. Viagra levitra Viagra sale We’ve changed.”  At Framework, it is clear that our values lie with accessibility and open-source. Levitra achat  What do you think about the Good Enough Revolution? Are there some features that the “quick and easy” tools can’ t provide for you Kauf von viagra ?

• Open Source Learning

  Date: 2009.08.26 | Category: Technology | Response: 0

  Reading Anya Kamentz article “Who needs Harvard” (Fast Company, September 2009) has ignited thoughts on how we learn and the type of education opportunities available in an age of technology and innovation.

  The article suggests education should no longer be a closed society accessible by the elite and wealthy.  Technology has enabled sharing of information across timezones and provided opportunities to obtain knowledge without having Over the counter viagra to sit in a classroom. Viagra for women Kamentz cites the “edu-punk” identity; a growing movement of high tech do-it-yourself educ Levitra achat ation models. This article provides detailed information about the challenges with adopting a new post-secondary education model and examples of those who have found success. Take a moment to check it out. Viagra alternatives

  When we look at new funding models, communication methods and employment opportunities that technology has enabled, it’ s time to Viagra sale start thinking about education, how we learn and the choices available for what Viagra levitra we learn.

  Rethinking education goes beyond bringing technology into the classroom – since as Kamentz points out, the Gen Y’ers have already done that.  It’s about rethinking how we learn, accessibility and the types of content being provided. In an online world that caters to personalization and hyper-specialized content, it makes sense for students to dictate and remix programs to suit their specific interests, skill sets and career objectives. Levitra pas cher

  “Technology has changed the productivity equation of every industry except education”.

  The article highlights several institutions who are working towards accreditation and who have formed programs with low operating costs – some utilizing volunteer professors and free to view course-ware online. Pastillas levitra  There are also sources like Academic Earth - which offers lots of free online content from leading Universities. Viagra sin receta Viagra bestellung These new education models relate closely to open-source and crowd-sourcing values that we promote as a non-profit organization. Online levitra Prospecto levitra Kaufen viagra Learning and education can be reshaped by technology and by people who acknowledge that open-source learning is the key to moving higher education into the 21st century. Kauf von viagra Levitra prix pharmacie

  It also makes sense that we take a closer look at the programs offered in post-secondary educations and match those skill sets with Cheap viagra online those needed in the non-profit sector. Levitra pill Brand viagra Levitra contraindicaciones The Course Research project completed by my colleagues and Framework volunteers takes an interesting look at the course offerings related to the non-profit sector and the professionalization of non-profits.  If we are to move forw Purchase viagra online ard in creating good, building change agents and recruiting top talent to this industry, we must take a look at what is being taught about the non-profit sector.

  The article is a great read and really got me thinking about the relationship between technology, open-source platforms and education, as well as tied together the work Framework has done with the Course Research project.  What do you think, and what are different ways that you have self-taught Purchase viagra ?

• Message is the Medium

  Date: 2009.08.21 | Category: Technology | Response: 0

  Here at Framework, Kaufen viagra we’ re p Prospecto levitra retty big music fans. Online levitra In fact, if we don’t respond to a colleague’s question or comment, it’s not because we’ve st aged Levitra pill a silent war, but more likely because the sound is turned up way to high on our music players. Purchase viagra online Viagra precio Pastillas levitra Luckily for this team, our musical interests are complimentary; there are r Levitra achat arely any arguments over Justin Timberlake versus White Stripes. Cheap viagra online (White Stripes would win, right?).

  For this casual summer Friday, we thought it would be fun to introduce you to a  tool for broadcasting and discussing your individual musical tastes. Viagra sin receta Brand viagra Purchase viagra Levitra prix pharmacie Blip.fm is a Twitter-meets-music stre Viagra sale aming site. You can “Blip” (similar to tweet) your songs and send a message out to the world (or your dedicated group of listeners). Blip.fm  streams music that is already available and live from other sites across the internet.  In most cases the music is not hosted by blip.fm.  You also cannot download the songs illegally, helping with copyright concerns. Levitra contraindicaciones Over the counter viagra Kauf von viagra

  As a fun volunteer or staff building exercise, consider setting up a blip.fm channel and adding songs that are reflective of your organizational culture.  Blip. fm is an interesting tool for discussing music with your audience, stakeholders or volunteers. Viagra levitra Viagra bestellung It could be another way to build your organization’s identity, and add some character to your online presence. Viagra for women

  I thought I’d ask the team which song they think best describes us here at Framework. Levitra pas cher Viagra alternatives The results:

  Amanda: Journey: “Don’t Stop Believing”

  Anil: Bob Marley: “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)”

  Emily: Odis Redding: “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa”

  Jen: Ting Tings: “Great DJ”

  Theresa: MGMT: “Time to Pretend”

  You can listen to (and send props to) our team’s playlist by visiting our blip.fm channel. Happy Friday!