A taste of what caught my attention recently includes E-commerce, Images, Artistic Innovation, Misinformation, Social Media, Religion, Climate Change, Community, Frameworks, Measurement, Board Effectiveness, Duty of Care, Board Composition, Succession Planning, Conflicts of Interest, Governance, Federal Spending, Weather Disasters, and Brand Ambassadors.
One of these scoops might be the inspiration you did not know you needed or have been looking for.
01)
7 Essential Tips to Boost Website Conversions Using Images
What Caught My Attention: “Conversion is a crucial aspect of every business and service website. High traffic or visitor numbers mean little if they don’t translate into engaged and loyal customers.
Think of your website as a digital storefront. Just as with a physical store, you want visitors to enter, browse, and ultimately make a purchase or take a desired action. However, unlike a physical store, your website can’t offer a tactile experience – letting customers see, touch, or try products. That’s where images come in.”
- Author(s): Ivanna Attie
- Published: 2023-10-10
- Source: Hongkait
- Tag(s): E-commerce, Images
02)
Ours Is the Least Artistically Innovative Century in 500 Years
What Caught My Attention: “We are now almost a quarter of the way through what looks likely to go down in history as the least innovative, least transformative, least pioneering century for culture since the invention of the printing press. There is new content, of course, so much content, and there are new themes; there are new methods of production and distribution, more diverse creators and more global audiences; there is more singing in hip-hop and more sampling on pop tracks; there are TV detectives with smartphones and lovers facing rising seas. Twenty-three years in, though, shockingly few works of art in any medium — some albums, a handful of novels and artworks and barely any plays or poems — have been created that are unassimilable to the cultural and critical standards that audiences accepted in 1999. To pay attention to culture in 2023 is to be belted into some glacially slow Ferris wheel, cycling through remakes and pastiches with nowhere to go but around. The suspicion gnaws at me (does it gnaw at you?) that we live in a time and place whose culture seems likely to be forgotten.”
- Author(s): Jason Farago
- Published: 2023-10-10
- Source: NY Times
- Tag(s): Artistic Innovation
03)
Elon Musk Deletes Tweet Telling People to Follow Antisemitic Account for War Updates
What Caught My Attention: “In the since-deleted tweet, Musk encouraged his nearly 160 million X followers to follow accounts known for spreading lies… One year after Musk’s takeover of X, the social media platform has dissolved its trust and safety council, reinstated right-wing extremists and peddlers of misinformation previously banned from the platform, censored journalists critical of Musk (they have since been un-suspended), and reportedly saw an increase in hate speech on the site — the billionaire threatened to sue the researchers documenting the rise in hateful tweets.”
- Author(s): Charisma Madarang
- Published: 2023-10-08
- Source: Rolling Stone
- Tag(s): Misinformation, Social Media
04)
Survey: US Religious Groups Do Not View Climate Change As A Crisis
What Caught My Attention: “Overall, 27% of Americans say climate change is a crisis, just a few percentage points up from 23% in 2014. Among the nation’s religious groups, beliefs on the severity of climate change have not shifted significantly. In fact, among white evangelicals the view that the Earth is in crisis actually dropped — from 13% in 2014 to 8% today.
No religious group topped one-third of respondents agreeing climate change is a crisis. American Jews were the most likely to say so at 32%, followed by 31% of Hispanic Catholics, 22% of white mainline Protestants, 20% of white Catholics, 19% of Black Protestants and 16% of Hispanic Protestants who say there’s a climate crisis… While religious Americans mostly agree that climate change is caused by human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, here too there are exceptions. Nearly half of white evangelicals (49%) still believe climate change is caused by natural patterns in the environment.”
- Author(s): Yonat Shimron
- Published: 2023-10-04
- Source: Religion News Service
- Tag(s): Religion, Climate Change
05)
Three Community Data Frameworks You Should Know
What Caught My Attention: “What Happens When The Metrics Change? If one of your key metrics rises or falls by 20% in the next three months what will you do differently?
I’ve asked this question over a dozen times and I don’t think I’ve ever received a great answer.
Most people reply with some version of ‘we will look into it’.
This is the problem with measurement. Measurement without action is redundant. If you’re not going to do something with the data, why bother collecting the data?
If the only thing we’re doing with data is producing reports, we’re missing out on a huge opportunity to improve our communities.
You should measure your community not just to see if what you’ve done has worked, but to see what you can improve.
But this requires adopting a few simple frameworks. Here are a few we use in our work which might help you too.”
- Author(s): Richard Millington
- Published: 2023-10-03
- Source: FeverBee
- Tag(s): Community, Frameworks, Measurement
06)
Lessons in Nonprofit Governance from the Screen
What Caught My Attention: “I’ll be presenting a session at the 2023 NAAG/NASCO Charities Conference this Wednesday, October 11. The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and the National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) are holding the Conference virtually this year. You’ll need to attend for the pop culture references I may draw from, but below are some of the main substantive areas I’ll be discussing.
- Collective Authority, Individual Responsibility
- Collective Authority, Individual Responsibility, Duty of Care, Duty of Care During Difficult Times, Duty Of Loyalty, Conflicts of Interest, & Confidentiality, Duty of Loyalty & Mission, Values, and Ecosystem
- Delegation, Trust, and Reliance
- Board Composition
- Board Resignations, Disqualifications, and Removals
- Succession Planning
- Prohibited Private Benefits
- Governance and Charitable Solicitations”
- Author(s): Gene Takagi
- Published: 2023-10-03
- Source: Nonprofit Law Blog
- Tag(s): Board Effectiveness, Duty of Care, Board Composition, Succession Planning, Conflicts of Interest, Governance
07)
2023 FEMA Disaster Relief Fund Extreme Weather Climate Aid
What Caught My Attention: “An analysis by the Brookings Institution found that less than 14% of FEMA’s major disaster funding between 2005 and 2021 has gone towards disaster preparedness projects. A separate report from the US Government Accountability Office found that of more than $11 billion that went into making communities better-equipped to resist natural disasters between 2010–2018, 88% was awarded after disasters struck.
“Increased disaster spending is as much a reflection of underinvestment in resilience as a failure to appropriate adequate disaster recovery funds,” said Daniel Kaniewski, who was in charge of resilience for FEMA from 2017 to 2020.
The Biden administration has acknowledged the problem and pushed up climate resilience funding. Around $2.3 billion in grants was made available for communities grants towards resiliency projects via the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program in 2022, but that represents less than 10% of overall federal funding through the DRF.
In 2020, a new grant program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) set aside more funds for pre-disaster projects. Preparation for future disasters is increasingly important.”
- Author(s): Rachael Dottle and Leslie Kaufman Edited by: Brian Kahn and Alex Tribou
- Published: 2023-09-29
- Source: Bloomberg
- Tag(s): Federal Spending, Weather Disasters
08)
How to Recruit Brand Ambassadors: 8 Tips You Should Implement
What Caught My Attention: “Building a strong brand requires more than just a great logo, product, or service. It also needs a community of dedicated ambassadors who are passionate about spreading the word and advocating for your brand.
Recruiting brand ambassadors can significantly impact your marketing efforts by boosting your message, increasing brand awareness, and driving customer engagement. They can help you leverage social proof to showcase the positive experiences of people using your product or service.
Knowing how to recruit brand ambassadors can offer numerous advantages for your business.”
- Author(s): Catherine Kimani
- Published: 2023-07-25
- Source: Constant Contact
- Tag(s): Brand Ambassadors
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