Studying the Political Web

Two reports have recently been issued in the field of nonprofit technology that I think are important to point out. Here’s the first:

In the for-profit dot.com world, the bottom line is easy to measure — it comes down to dollars and cents. For nonprofit organizations, success is more difficult to define. How many people were educated? Informed? Served? Engaged? Activated? How much money was raised? Did legislative policy change? Corporate policy? Public opinion?

The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study is the first of its kind look at the effectiveness of major American nonprofit organizations using the Internet to raise money and influence public policy. The study is a tool that nonprofits can use to measure and compare their online performance to other organizations’ online programs.

Download the eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

Also, a very interesting group called the New Politics Institute has just issued a report in “Mastering New Media Trends”:

Since its founding in May of last year, the New Politics Institute has has produced a series of reports and hosted a variety of events to help progressives understand and master the dynamic 21st century media landscape. Today, we are pleased to release “Mastering New Media Trends,” a fifteen-point strategic checklist for progressive organizations to use to stay on top of trends in television, radio, newspapers and the Internet and when thinking about where, when and how to buy media. The core message is this: if you are buying your advertising as you have in the past you are likely spending ineffectively and paying too much for too little impact. Advertising markets have changed, and in every class of advertising there are now tools available which allow advertisers to purchase more targeted audiences – often at lower cost.

Check out the Mastering New Media Trends report

Author: Rob Goodspeed