Hi friends ππ» Last week, I wrote about GoFundMe's ill-advised move to create new donation pages for 1.4 million nonprofit organizations without allowing orgs to opt-in first. View that email here. It was a mess. This week, I want to suggest a lesson we can learn from a week of intense focus on GoFundMe about the importance of brand monitoring. This wasn't the first time nonprofit organizations' data was used in bulk by another entity without consent, and it won't be the last either. It's...
21 days agoΒ β’Β 7 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week, news about an annoying new headache created for nonprofit development and comms teams created by GoFundMe. There's an action item here so please read (and if you're a consultant to nonprofits, please share forward this to your clients). Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page GoFundMe creates 1.4 million nonprofit donation pages without asking Over the weekend, a news story popped up in one of my feeds reporting...
28 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
Hi friends ππ» I first shared my guide to choosing a new online donation platform back in March of this year. After running a few more donation platform implementations this year, I made some updates this week to keep all the information current. If you're considering upgrading from that basic PayPal button, or making a change from your current donation form provider, take a read! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page How to choose an...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week, I have some recommended reading for you about how to make sure your organization (and brand) stays VISIBLE as the way people find information changes in this AI era. It's a thought-provoking read, and relevant for communications professionals, executives, and consultants across the nonprofit space. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page How are you thinking about visibility for your organization and brand? The...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» I have a rule where if I've been asked to do the same (or similar) thing three times or more, I should make some quick note to this particular folder in my OS. Typically these requests come from clients or folks in my network. They might be requests for certain website functionality, or a simple "how does this work?" or "what should I do if this happens?" type question. This does two things: It helps avoid me reinventing the wheel and doing research over again when I recognize a...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week, a quick update on that slow-moving internal project of overhauling the Blue Hills Digital website. I'm pleased to report that ... πΊ π₯ ... the new homepage is live now! This is part of a series in which I'm writing about the process of refreshing the Blue Hills Digital website.I introduced the project in my Digital Landscape email on May 20. If you missed it, read that email here! And for updates, keep an eye on the project changelog here. Want links to recent emails...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hi friends ππ» A line from a podcast caught my attention last week: "working with a good web person to do your website throws people into an existential crisis because they don't know what to say ... the web designer isn't going to tell you what to say ... [the designer raises] all these questions ... and they panic, and the website is the inciting event that causes this identity panic." I've seen this first hand on website projects, and on other communications projects too. I want to unpack...
2 months agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi friends ππ» This week, a brain dump of thoughts about SEO in the age of ChatGPT. If you've been wondering whether you still need to pay attention to SEO and you want to hear my π£ opinions, read on ... Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page "Should we still be doing SEO?" I was in a community call with a bunch of other comms-for-good professionals recently, and someone asked this question: "Now that everyone's using ChatGPT for...
2 months agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
Hi friends ππ» It's been a busy seven days! This email has some thoughts from WordCamp US, and pictures of a brand new kitten. What more could you want? Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Talking nonprofit technology at WordCamp US 2025 Last WednesdayβFriday, I attended WordCamp US 2025 which was conveniently located right here in Portland OR. While WordPress has been in my life since maybe 2007 (?? something like that) I'd never...
3 months agoΒ β’Β 2 min read