The alternative energy movement has finally reached a tipping point. The combination of oil prices leaping over $115 a barrel and coal costs doubling has been essential in awakening a new sense of consciousness about alternative fuel.
With US drivers paying close to $4.05 per gallon of petrol and California drivers paying approximately $4.20 per gallon, enthusiasm is growing for a national agenda to embrace use of alternative energy. Whether these be wind, liquified coal, or solar, US consumers are finally realizing that our nation's energy independence and economy are inextricably linked to reducing our dependence on traditional fuels.
It would appear as if the political climate has never been better for the alternative energy community. To truly seize this moment, the organizations that comprise the community would be well served to consider the benefits of technology in enhancing the cross community communication needed to generate lasting accomplishments.
Indeed, most alternative energy lobbying organizations could experience benefits from the use of new technologies that enable collaboration. Examples include Rondee's system which enables easy to deploy teleconferencing as well as online conference calling and networking tools.
Tip #1: Utilize web tools for networking
The most successful alternative fuels advocacy organizations create networks of supporters who believe in their values and mission. While the term networking frequently gets a less than ideal connotation, the simple reality is these networks can provide significant help. Today in Silicon Valley, the expectation is that professional folks will have at least a basic LinkedIn profile.
At the same time, other networking applications such as Facebook are starting to see usage by more professional users. Such applications also provide a relatively easy way of developing your network.
Tip #2: Leverage a free conference calling application
In the last handful of years, there has been escalating degrees of collaboration between geographically separate alternative fuels advocacy groups. One underlying reason for this trend has been reduced flight travel costs – a trend that may now be reversing with the leaping oil costs mentioned above.
A separate reason is the availability of the sorts of these systems, including those launched by Rondee operate on the same underlying principle. They offer groups a PIN and a toll number to call. If all teleconference users dial the same number and enter the same code, they are put into the conference call.
Tip #3: Consider technology to enable desktop sharing
Some alternative fuels advocacy groups have distributed leadership groups, and it is impractical to expect face-to-face meetings. Technology is addressing this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's viewing a PowerPoint document displaying the group's development plan or a spreadsheet showing the tracking of volunteer participation desktop sharing can be extremely useful for not a few green groups.
Tip #4: Deploy an electronic newsletter platform
It was not that long in the past that sending out an email newsletter was time consuming and tricky. That has now changed. On-line systems are making it possible to create templated and scalable newsletters. These services reduce the work load by at approximately 90% and in so doing enable green organizations to concentrate on content creation rather than delivery of messages.
Tip #5: Leverage data based decision-making
One of the key trends recently affecting nonprofit organizations in the alternative fuels community has been the increasing reliance on evidence driven decision-making. Managers can apply the same techniques with simple to use Excel or Lotus spread-sheeting applications to determine what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and thus reliance on conjecture and theory is being systematically replaced by empirical data to support decisions.
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