Strategy Blog: Post

M. Jackson Wilkinson - Strategist :

Here’s a simple postulate to consider: active moderation is a bad idea for anyone who wants a dynamic discussion on their site. 

Base your practice on the 80/20 rule.  Hopefully 80% of your content is good, in which case you should give new posts the benefit of the doubt, and not actively moderate.  If more than 20% of your content is something you’d want moderated away, then you have bigger problems.

Continue reading "You’re Moderating Your Site to Death"

Kevin Vigneault - Project Manager :

The best poker players are great at thinking on the margin. They completely forget about pocket Jacks when the flop is Ace, King, Queen (though it wouldn’t take a pro to lay down that hand).

You should have the same mindset about your startup. You should be getting your money in when the odds are in your favor and check or fold when they aren’t.

Bad card players chase. They get behind and start to make bad decisions hoping to recoup their losses. This same behavior can be seen in entrepreneurs and it’s completely understandable – they’ve put their lives and passion into a vision.

If you want to be a great entrepreneur though, you’ll have to learn to think like the pros. Remember, you make money by playing well over many hands, not by throwing all of your chips in on a risky bet.

Stephanie Hay - Project Manager :

The Agile process allows us to balance tangible deliverables with other feature requests that evolve naturally. Always keeping in mind the end user is super duper important to our process; but, sometimes a project can slow amid additional design iterations or unanticipated development requests that become priorities.

That’s the beauty of Agile!  It understands that a project is living and breathing.  The challenge to project managers, however, is to articulate that shifts in the natural ebb and flow of an engagement can (and normally do) affect timelines and budgets. It’s essential that we help capitalize on this flexibility within reason so clients can best walk the line between personal opinions and the almost limitless design and development opportunities for users.

With thorough research and planning, a high degree of transparency in our work and daily communications internally and externally, and a commitment to understanding the history and goal behind each project, we are setting the stage to truly enjoy the final result and this flexible, creative process.

Stephanie Hay - Project Manager :

Trying to navigate the sensitive communication involved in keeping a project within scope in the early stages of your relationship with a client can be tricky.  When a client begins to ask for bells and whistles beyond the original discussions, but doesn’t want to compromise on budget or timeline, it’s essential that project managers be comfortable pushing back.

Being honest early in the relationship that some seemingly “simple” changes can dramatically affect the bottom line or the launch date will set the stage to promote effective communication. Just as we—a dynamic, full-service web consulting company (and a fabulous one, at that)—are accountable for the quality and deliverables of our work, the client must be responsible for making informed choices.  She can’t do that if, instead of openly mentioning the impact of those decisions, we quietly scramble to try and accommodate her requests.  Keeping mum until the critical final stages can lead to the client *understandably* wondering why the project is late and over budget.

On the flipside, allowing for some flexibility whenever possible shows the client that her wishes are being weighed realistically.  Committing to five small changes might push the limits of the budget, but their effect on the overall relationship with the client could be priceless—particularly if that flexibility and nimble reaction leads to future work.

Learning to balance this desire to please with the realistic constraints of money and time is a challenge project managers wrestle with each day. But our long-term relationships with clients—and their ongoing commitment to our company—is dependent upon us demonstrating the utmost integrity and honesty during a site build, especially when we have to say “no.”

Kara Davis - Project Manager :

If you are a registered 501(c)3 organization and are set up in the GuideStar database, here are three free and easy ways to start accepting donations online. Free + easy = you should be using them all.

1. Accept donations on your Web site through Network for Good or Just Give
   These services collect donations and send tax receipts to your donors, then pay you at the end of each month. You will be able to download contact information from any donors who have not asked to keep that information private. They each charge a moderate fee to cover credit card processing and overhead.  Network for Good offers a basic option (free to set up + 4.75% per transaction fee), or a customizable option (one-time setup fee + $29.95/month + 3% per transaction fee). Just Give does not offer a customizable option, but is free to set up and charges only 3% per transaction to cover credit card processing costs.


2. Set up a Charity Badge on sixdegrees.org
   Donations made through the badge are processed by Network for Good. You can post the badge on your site and provide code for supporters to post it on their sites, blogs, and elsewhere. (4.75% per transaction fee)


3. Set up a Cause on Facebook
   Project Agape and Just Give have partnered up to allow you to set up a Cause that can accept donations on facebook.com. First, you’ll need to create a Facebook account. Then add Causes to your profile and start your own. Other Facebook members will then be able to join your cause and contribute. As a bonus, you’ll also be building a community around your cause! (4.5% per transaction fee)

6/18/07 - NOTE: I’ve amended this post to add in the per transaction fees for each option. In the examples above, about 3% per transaction can be expected to go straight to credit card processing fees.

Robert Tolmach of WellGood LLC also wrote to offer up ChangingThePresent.org as an option to list giving opportunities. On Changing the Present, donors can list and promote their favorite charities and causes, while nonprofits can offer specific gift options. (3% plus $.30 per transaction fee).

If you have any recommendations for other services (chipin.com or change.org, for example), please post a comment.