Google for Non-Profits Newsletter - June, 2008

[Galen Panger]

Google for Non-Profits Newsletter - June, 2008

We hope you enjoy this update from the Google for Non-Profits team.

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Discussion group

Google for Non-Profits on YouTube

Analytics demystified

Forms in Google Spreadsheets

Google Translate chatbots

Google Earth browser plugin

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Discussion group

You asked for it, and we're happy to announce that on Wednesday, June 11, the Google for Non-Profits group will make the transition to fully open discussion. Now anyone with a stake in making the most of technology in the non-profit world will be able to start conversations and lend their ideas and experiences to the dialogue.

Wednesday's opening will be accompanied by an e-mail from the Google for Non-Profits team that includes a community charter with guidelines for taking advantage of the discussion. In addition, on Tuesday we'll be hosting a conference call for everyone who has expressed interest in "championing" discussion and helping to develop the new community. If you would like to be a discussion champion and have not yet received call details, please reply to this e-mail.

Finally, if you would like to continue receiving updates from the Google for Non-Profits team but for some reason do not wish to participate in the discussion group, visit our announcement-only list and click "Join this group." You can then unsubscribe from this e-mail list by following the instructions at the bottom of this e-mail.

We're very excited to see what thoughts, challenges and ideas you have in store for the coming discussion and hope the list becomes a useful resource for you and your organizations.

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Google for Non-Profits on YouTube

This month, we've launched a new YouTube channel to host Google content created specifically for non-profits. We're up now with our first video, created by the Ann Arbor, MI team to highlight one non-profit's experience taking advantage of the full Google toolbox, and we'll have several more for you in the coming weeks. Let us know what you think by posting your comments to the channel.

We're also really pleased to introduce Ramya Raghavan, YouTube's new Non-Profits and Activism Manager (aka "AgentChange"), who will be dedicated full-time to the cause of helping you leverage the power of YouTube for good. She's up with a new blog post and welcome video, and encourages everyone to take advantage of the YouTube Nonprofit Program. She says, "Take it from a former nonprofiteer--it's totally worth it."

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Analytics demystified

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for understanding the way visitors interact with your website by tracking traffic as it comes into your site, moves through your content and eventually exits to other websites. The information you can gather with Analytics will help you take better advantage of your Google Grant and understand your website's strengths and areas for improvement.

Analytics is a must for any data-driven non-profit. And by setting goals within Analytics, you'll be able to measure exactly how your website is living up to expectations. Learn more about how to track your site's performance in the Google Grants blog's new series, "Analytics Demystified":

Introduction
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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Forms in Google Spreadsheets

In another practical and useful development for non-profits, Google Spreadsheets now allows you to create and send forms for collecting information, feedback, RSVPs and more. All of the information input into your form is automatically collected in a spreadsheet hosted online so that everyone on your team can track the information as it streams in. If you haven't yet experimented with the new feature, Google user Lynnette has created a video with step-by-step instructions for creating a form. Another user, Bob, has created a video demonstrating how you can use notifications to find out when people submit information to your form. Even better, you can embed forms into your website.

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Google Translate chatbots

One of the most exciting projects at Google is our ongoing research and development in language translation. While not yet perfect, the tools have come a long way toward eliminating one of the biggest barriers to making the world's information available to everyone. For international non-profits, the potential for improving both internal and external communications through translation is huge.

Visit www.google.com/translate to translate any text or webpage into your preferred language; click on the "Tools" tab to learn how to make translation tools available on your website. Even cooler is the ability to translate your instant message conversations on-the-fly. So if you don't have time to dig up your old Russian-language dictionary and you need to communicate with your colleague in Moscow, it's now possible to chat instantly with real-time, automatic translation for both you and your Russian colleague. Just initiate a group chat in Google Talk or Gmail chat with you, your colleague(s) and the two Google chatbots translating in each direction. For instructions and a full list of supported languages, visit the Google Talk help center.

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Google Earth browser plugin

Google Earth and your Google Earth layers can now be embedded directly into websites so your visitors never have to leave your site to engage with your 3-D content. If you have an existing Maps API site, you can 3D-enable your page with as little as one line of code. Visit the Google Earth API website, or watch a quick video to learn more.

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That's it for this month's newsletter. Please send any suggestions for the site or the newsletter our way and get ready to jump into the discussion on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading.

Galen from the Google for Non-Profits Team