It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Read this before packing

From The Network (or: Shameless Plugs)

Making Ideas Move, The Communications Network's 2015 annual conference, begins in six days in San Diego!

Last-minute packing suggestion: the ComNet15 app, available in the App Store and Google Play. We get it. Most conference apps underwhelm. This one doesn't. We promise. Need more incentive? Over 10% of your fellow conference go-ers are already there.

Before you leave the office, sign up for your appointment at The Lab and meet one-on-one with real live people from the organizations that are rethinking the way we communicate. Hurry, slots are filling up fast.

Wish you could get to the conference a few days early? You can. Check out the #ComNet15 hashtag on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram now. Visit ComNet15.org for the complete conference schedule and an updated list of who's attending and everything else you might need to know (even directions). Visual learner? Check out our Flickr. Prefer to drink from the firehose? See our ComNet15 Storify.

Can't make it to ComNet15? Want to hear ideas, insights, and inspiration from MLK's personal counsel Dr. Clarence B. Jones, journalist Soledad O'Brien, brand new Emmy winner Elliott Kalan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, digital guru Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times, and a stellar panel of sector CEOs interviewed by Stanford Social Innovation Review? You can. We will live stream each and every keynote session.

And, we made you something. Again. The Summer/Fall issue of Change Agent, The Network's new journal devoted to elevating and advancing the field, will debut in San Diego. Want a preview?

Surveying the Field
ComNet15 keynote speaker and California Wellness Foundation President and CEO Judy Belk penned a moving op-ed in the LA Times on the personal intersection of civil rights and California's historic drought.

GaleWiLL Design's Bob McKinnon has authored a fascinating and timely book, Moving Up: The Truth About Getting Ahead in America, that seeks to foster a conversation on inequality. Subscribe for updates.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation's Marc Moorghen released the findings of his USC graduate research project "Is Giving Social? The effectiveness of online nonprofit marketing." Among the findings: viral videos are a fluke, and people would rather give money than time.

And Now, a Word from Our Sponsor

What We're Reading (So You Can Use It)

Get an Audience to Remember Your Presentation | Harvard Business Review
Sequencing matters. Draw connections. Make the audience work.

Why Slack Could Be the Future of Conferences | The Verge
When Slack first came out the thought was that it could "kill email." But as great a feat as that might be, Slack’s ultimate impact may actually be larger.

How Nonprofits Use Social Media to Engage | Nonprofit Quarterly
Only 53% actually follow the best practice of posting issue-centric content to establish thought leadership in their nonprofit’s area(s) of focus.

How The New York Times Gets Over 70% Email Open Rates | Contently
"We thought that there was huge value we could add by thinking much more in terms of reader segments, their interests, and their lifestyles...thinking about what our readers actually want."

Event In a Box | HubSpot
We can appreciate this one: tips on registration, social media, emails, and follow-up.

Dear Ahmed | George Takei's Facebook Page
And that's how you use Facebook people!

17 Speaking Habits That Make You Sound Totally Unprofessional | Inc.
Like, do you laugh when you're nervous? Because that's umm, uhh, not good. Heh. heh.

Culture Report
The American Dream Is Dead: Here's Where It Went | Fast Company
In reality, the U.S. ranks among the lowest of all developed countries in terms of the potential for upward mobility, despite clinging to the mythology of Horatio Alger. The Declaration of Independence may promise us all the pursuit of happiness, but if you're born poor, you're probably going to stay poor.

Behind the Yogi-isms | The New York Times
"It ain't over 'til it's over... If you see a fork in the road take it... "

Pope Francis Addresses Poverty and Climate | The New York Times
"[it is] encouraging you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem that can no longer be left to a future generation."

Tristan's Three Things for Fun

The most embarrassing popular Google searches in each state. Now we know who keeps Nickelback around.
Pew Research lets you test your scientific knowledge against other demographic groups. It's supposedly basic stuff...
A guy rode NYC's longest subway route, and tweeted all 14 hours of it.

Tune Up
Our friends at LA's amazing and influential NPR station KCRW made you a special ComNet15 playlist.

We'd still love to know what you think about our newsletter, so we can improve it. Please take two minutes to complete our survey.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interested in sponsoring the newsletter? Have feedback, upcoming events or news, subway horror stories, or terrible Google queries? Email tmohabir@comnetwork.org.

Follow on Twitter Friend on Facebook Forward to Friend

unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences