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Chances are good you are either using Facebook or are thinking about it. What proportion of that effort is money well-spent? Are you using Facebook or is it using you? We all have to face the power that Facebook derives from some very powerful network effects. The trick is to make it a tool for your communication strategies, and to not allow yourself to be made into a tool of Facebook's marketing. The key to that is the ability to apply the principles, practices, and tools that make Facebook itself successful (sometimes even using Facebook for this purpose!), and that is what we'll focus on in this workshop. This will include how to:

• tap your single greatest social networking resource: your current stakeholders
• develop clear, fact-driven (not hope or hype driven) criteria for when Facebook is useful
• avoid strategic and material risks of Facebook that will cost dearly in the long run
• design light, medium, and heavy Facebook involvement strategies
• use Facebook for mapping out and capturing social assets
• leverage your existing expertise, tools, and resources

Nonprofits have been using Facebook long enough now that we are starting to outgrow the hype. If you want to take advantage of what we really know, about social networking and Facebook in particular, and if you want to make the most out of your existing resources, rather than put yourself in a position of weakness, then this workshop is right for you.
 

Here is a related article by Michael Gilbert:

• Outsmarting the Facebook Lobster Trap: Three Worries, One Guideline, Seven Principles

"[We] watched yesterday and enjoyed the seminar very much. It was full of highly useful information and perspectives. Many thanks for an informative and enlightening presentation!"

This seminar will be taught by Michael C. Gilbert, the author of Communication Centered Technology Planning, the designer of the Nonprofit Blogging Strategies seminar, and a long time coach and consultant on matters related to information and effectiveness in work and civil society. Michael has helped over 1000 organizations build their communication resources, has conducted over two dozen studies of nonprofit communication practices, and is the Editor of the Journal of Networks and Civil Society. He is also the Editor of Nonprofit Online News, the sponsor and organizer of the Gilbert Authors Network, and the Founding President of the Nonprofit Technology Network. For more information about Mr. Gilbert, please see his bio.
 

Our pre-packaged online seminar here consists of a 90 minute session.

Live Online Seminars: These are presented at a scheduled date & time, broadcast live, and include live Q&A time with the instructor. Live online seminars presented by The Gilbert Center are open registration seminars, which means that anyone can attend. Please see our calendar for upcoming events. You can also read technical requirements and other basic facts for this seminar delivery option. (Please note that our calendar of live seminars only goes out a couple of months and not all topics will show up there.)

On-Demand Online Seminars: On-demand means you can attend at a time that is most convenient for your schedule. It consists of the recordings of the most recent live presentation, and comes packaged with a 30 minute phone consultation with the instructor so you can ask questions about the seminar materials and how they can best be put to use in your particular situation. You can also read technical requirements and other basic facts for this seminar delivery option. The catalog of seminars available on-demand is listed down the right-hand side of that same page, and also the calendar page. (Please note that not all topics are available yet for on-demand viewing. See the On-Demand Info page for a complete list of current options.)

Private In-House Sessions: If you have a group of people to whom you would like to offer training, please consider our private, in-house seminars. Which means you can hire us to present this and any of the seminars listed on this site, as well as custom sessions, for your group privately; online or in person at your location. Please contact us for more information if you're interested.

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