Tech Trends Best Practices for 2014 Jane

Tech Trends & Best Practices for 2014 Jane Zhang, Executive Director at Tech. Soup Canada Director of Online Services at the Centre for Social Innovation Slides and presentation prepared by Joyce Hsu

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? 3 D Printing Chef. Jet, the first restaurant-approved food printer, uses water to melt sugar into shapes. Unfortunately the samples didn’t taste very good, but the technology is there. 3 D Printing can now be used for printing customizable prosthetic limbs.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Wearable Technology Google Glass is a hands-free, optical head-mounted display that shows and captures information. Fit. Bit tracks daily activity, calories burned, sleep & weight. The data is uploaded wirelessly so you can check progress via mobile or an online dashboard.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Wearable Technology The Hövding is a wearable technology that relies on advanced motion sensors to employ airbags for cyclists.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Robotic Technology The Parrot AR Drone is an app-controlled helicopter, equipped with a camera. Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices with i. OS & Android operating systems are compatible with Parrot AR Drone. Amazon is experimenting with Prime Air, an unmanned aerial drone that aims to deliver packages in 30 mins or less.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Even More Advanced Robots ACM-R 5, an amphibious snake-like robot from Hi. Bot Corp, Japan is designed to aid in search and rescue operations. Tawabo, a robot tour guide at Tokyo Tower, speaks Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Even More Advanced Robots Google’s driverless car is a project that involved developing technology for autonomous cars. There are currently 3 states in the US that allow the testing of automated vehicles.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Modular Phones Motorola’s Project Ara aims to develop a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphone.

What is the World of Tech Offering in 2014? Virtual Reality Oculus Rift is an upcoming virtual reality headmounted display. Consumer version is expected to become available later this year.

However … These cutting-edge technology trends are unlikely to impact your charity’s day-to-day operations in 2014.

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #1 Responsive & Adaptive Design Why is this important? Mobile devices are overtaking PC sales Bet. Chemy Ventures, May 2013 There are 1 billion smart phones in use and this number will grow to two billion in two years Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2013 Your website needs to be optimized to respond to any device your supporter is using, otherwise your call-to-actions, important content and donation forms may be missed

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #1 Responsive & Adaptive Design What’s the difference? Responsive web design is a single template with flexible images and fluid grids Pro: Easier and cheaper to implement Con: Pages load slower, content not fully optimized Adaptive web design utilizes scripting to adapt to various sizes Pro: Pages load faster, content and web design fully optimized Con: Requires advanced knowledge of Java. Script and CSS You can also combine both responsive and adaptive

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #1 Responsive & Adaptive Design Resources to help you get started: Free Responsive Templates HTML 5 & CSS: HTML 5 up, HTML 5 Templates, CMS: Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla Email templates: ZURB, Antwort, Campaign Monitor Coding resources for creating adaptive design Less. Framework Stack. Overflow

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #2 Dynamic Data Why is this important? There is an oversaturation of static infographics on the web – people are becoming dull to the medium moz. com/ugc/infographics-are-dead-long-live-infographics

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #2 Dynamic Data? Dynamic data combines both static images and text (searchable content is better for SEO). Create dynamic data where users can watch, click and really explore your data

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #2 Dynamic Data Good Examples Why Your Brain Craves Infographics neomam. com/interactive/13 reasons Air Bn. B’s Annual Report airbnb. com/annual

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #2 Dynamic Data Good Examples Google’s Think Insights Databoard think. withgoogle. com/databoard War. Child Holland Annual Report annualreportwarchild. org

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #3 Modular Technology & Integration Why is this important? Modular technologies and a good integration strategy will determine how agile and “futureproof” your nonprofit can be – especially with little or no internal IT support. The modular approach allows you to: Customize your tech solution to fit your needs Better integrate with existing technologies

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #3 Modular Technology & Integration Customize Your Tech Solution to Fit Your Needs Taking a modular approach to CRMs will help your nonprofit find the best fit for your needs without paying for features that you won’t use: Sumac offers add-ons that have distinct functionalities. All of the add-ons are useful, but not all nonprofits need them (i. e. , course registration add-on, case management add-on, etc. )

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #3 Modular Technology & Integration Integrating with Existing Technologies Think about how to integrate the technologies you are using to improve efficiency. Salesforce, integrates with over 250 applications, including Event. Brite, Social Media, SAP, Oracle EBS, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #3 Modular Technology & Integration A Few Tools that allow Modular Design Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) Civi. CRM Salesforce Sumac Content Management System (CMS) Wordpress Joomla Drupal

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #4 Hybrid Cloud & Internal IT Infrastructure Why is this important? Allows all nonprofits (including healthcare organizations) to enjoy benefits of both: Benefits of the Cloud: User-friendly, self-service features without expensive IT resources Benefits of Internal servers: Store sensitive information that cannot be hosted outside of Canada If your nonprofit has not set-up a hybrid cloud/IT system, design your cloud service usage with a hybrid future in mind and make sure future integration is possible

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #4 Hybrid Cloud & Internal IT Infrastructure What it could look like: Highly sensitive information hosted internally (e. g. patient information) Productivity processes on the cloud (e. g. , meeting minutes, collateral materials)

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #4 Hybrid Cloud & Internal IT Infrastructure Cloud Productivity Tools Cloud Productivity Suites Dropbox Office 365 for Nonprofits Smartsheet Google Apps for Business Huddle Zoho Evernote Skydrive Google Docs

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #4 Hybrid Cloud & Internal IT Infrastructure A Word on Data … Technology has made data collection and data sharing very easy. As a nonprofit, consider: What kind of data are you collecting? (And why? ) What can you accomplish with the data that is freely shared? Are you contributing data to the sector/larger mission? How are you collaborating with other nonprofits on a national and international scale? Read more on Tech. Soup Canada’s website: Under Blog > Take The Next Step with Data Sharing for Nonprofits www. techsoupcanada. ca/en/community/blog/take-the-next-step-with-data-sharing-for-nonprofits

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #5 Mobile Beacon Based Sensors What is it? Essentially a wireless sensor network that can be used for routing, monitoring and tracking. Why is this important? Gives nonprofits the potential to create more engaging experiences and to improve operations

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #5 Mobile Beacon Based Networks Example: Geofencing is a virtual perimeter around any geographic area. It can be used by nonprofits for: Improving event participants’ experiences (e. g. , attendees could automatically check-in to an event zone using a geofence app, you can send a phone alert/notification to an event attendee when they enter or leave a geofence area) Keeping track of your nonprofit’s assets (e. g. , your office manager can receive a notification when a laptop leaves your office)

5 Tech Trends for Nonprofits #5 Mobile Beacon Based Networks Example: Apple’s i. Beacon is a transmitter that notifies nearby i. OS 7 devices of their presence.

Best Practices There are certain trends in the use of technology that are essential for success: Content Marketing & Curation Targeted Communications Data Informed Decisions

Content Marketing & Content Curation The “spray & pray” approach is no longer effective when it comes to marketing. Good content marketing & curation is the best way for your nonprofit to build brand loyalty and engage with your supporters.

Targeted Communications Donors and supporters have different motivations to give and different experiences interacting with your nonprofit. Speak to them properly to inspire positive responses. Loyal Donors don’t want to read “Let me introduce you to our mission” Prospects don’t want to read “As you may know, we’re raising money for … ”

Data Informed Decisions

Questions? Comments? Jane Zhang, Executive Director at Tech. Soup Canada Director of Online Services at the Centre for Social Innovation Slides and presentation prepared by Joyce Hsu