La Solidaridad

Beth Kanter is a premiere nonprofit technology consultant working with nonprofit organizations in the effective use of technology for social change. She specializes in the use of social Web tools such as blogging, wikis and networking sites to support nonprofit activities in the areas of training, evaluation, research and development.

She writes for www.blogher.org for their nonprofit and social change sector, www.techsoup.org, and for www.netsquared.org, an organization that aims to remix the Web for social change. She also runs a professional blog at beth.typepad.com and her Cambodia kids. She is on the board of Sharing Foundation, an organization with development projects in Cambodia. You can also find her at www.bethkanter.org.

You have a long history of being a non-profit technology consultant but your formal training was really in the arts. What was the defining moment for you and why did you decide to jump-shift?

When I realized that I wasn't going to make a living playing first flute in the Boston Symphony, I went around and interviewed orchestra managers. I asked them how I could get a job like theirs, they said "practice, practice, practice." One told, "Learn how to type, honey." I learned how to use an IBM electronic memory typewriter using a metronome. I learned how to type very fast and that's how I got my first job. I quickly advanced beyond typist, but the skill has helped me a lot … I never looked back or regretted not being a professional musician.

How important are the online tools for nonprofits today? Can you provide me some examples where online tools significantly changed or improved the effectiveness of a nonprofit campaign?

I think nonprofits must have an online presence today -- given that the Internet is so integrated into our daily life, particularly in the developed world. The question isn't whether to use online social networking tools or not and if so, which ones. Above all how to do so effectively. That requires thinking strategically, thinking about outcomes and results before jumping into the tools. There are lots of examples on places like techsoup.org.

Blogging is also in the forefront of nonprofit technology.

Can blogging really change the world? Do you think blogging is more effective than having an actual Web site

I would not necessarily say that blogging is on the forefront of the nonprofit tech world. I don't think blogging can change the world, but I think it can open a conversation that can lead to some change. Personally, I think the interactiveness and connectedness of blogging is far more effective than a static Web site.

What for you is the best online tool today for a nonprofit?

It totally depends on what the nonprofit wants to achieve, their audience, and their strategy. You can't think about the tools first. Outcomes come first, then strategy, then tool. Part of what I blog about is experiments with the tools. Right now I'm looking at widgets -- can they be used to strategically build a community or conversation.

With all the tools available today, do you think an individual can affect social change through using Web 2.0?

Again, hard to say -- it's all so new. But read this amazing case study.

You are also a contributing columnist at Netsquared.org. How important is the Netsquared.org contribution to nonprofits.

I'm biased because netsquared is paying me to write for them. But, given that they are just one of very few places where there is a focus on Web 2.0s, nonprofits and social change, I would say the project is very important.

(Photo courtesy of Beth Kanter)
Article and interview by Tuesday Gutierrez