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Every day we become more connected to the rich media around us, thanks in part to the proliferation of fast and reliable internet connections to more and more people. In a given day you’re streaming videos from YouTube, catching the most recent episode of your favorite sitcom streamed from Netflix, and listening to Internet radio to your desk all day long. These services are built on a reliable media distribution network to ensure that valuable content is delivered successfully to us.

Brainmesh is HiDef's weekly get-together in which our team discusses technological innovations and trends, relating them to how they impact great causes such as nonprofits and social enterprises.

Back to another rousing edition of Cause-based Work at HiDef, the team had much discuss in terms of new technologies and innovations that folks should know about. Enjoy!

I recently set up an online donation form for Rio Grande Community Farm, a nonprofit organization where I serve as board member and volunteer. This PayPal donation form was static and made me wonder about the other ways in which nonprofits can raise money with online technologies. After a little research, I found a few new tricks by which nonprofits can connect and accept donations from their supporters. These methods extend beyond just online payments or joining a social network. Check out the new ways nonprofits can collect donations from a mobile device, a text message campaign (SMS), and even social networks.

This week's Brainmesh was a cornucopia of relevant news and views from the team. From tools that are making it easier for nonprofits to create rich content to moves in the market that nonprofits should definitely watch, we've tried to capture some of the most intriguing things happening this week and hope you enjoy.

YouTube's Free Video Editing Tools

YouTube's Free Video Editing Tools

Google just announced a built-in video editor for all users. This announcements makes it really easy for anybody to do the 90% of editing that most need to do when they're trying to get a simple video online and look better than the rough cut.

Brainmesh is HiDef's weekly get together in which our team discusses technological innovations and trends and relate them to how they impact great causes such as nonprofits and social enterprises.

iPhone 4 Announcement Reactions

We opened up discussing the iPhone 4 announcement, from two angles. First, that we are a bit discouraged by some of things that weren't announced at yesterday's keynote by Steve Jobs. For me, two biggies were another U.S. carrier wasn't announced, and that syncing over the air and using cloud technologies weren't discussed (ie, we still must connect to iTunes to do certain things).

Mohammed is HiDef's go-to mobile applications developer, and his take on mobile operating systems is good fodder for discussion as more non-profits mobilize their programs and fundraising efforts.

Brainmesh is HiDef's weekly get together in which our team discusses technological innovations and trends and relate them to how they impact great causes such as nonprofits and social enterprises.

More Google I/O Announcements

Branding is your nonprofit's face to the world. Your brand is much more than a logo--it's who you are and what you do. In many ways, it's like the first sentence of a rich story that you tell to each person that you're cause is trying to reach.

And, as we all know, that first sentence is critical to hooking the reader. It's important that your brand hook us into your cause. Here are a few reasons why branding is an important investment for your nonprofit.

It's What You Are and What You Do

Your brand is often our first exposure to your cause. Your brand should communicate who you are and what you do. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, the same can be said about your brand.

Brainmesh is HiDef's weekly get together in which our team discusses technological innovations and trends and relate them to how they impact great causes such as nonprofits and social enterprises.

In 2009 many nonprofits opted not to invest in building social communities on their main website (ie "house" networks), electing instead to harness the point and click ease of establishing commercial networks: a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account, a Ning network. NTEN’s latest Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report tells the story:

Facebook is still used by more nonprofits than any other commercial social network with 86% of nonprofits indicating that they have a presence on this network… Twitter grew to 60%. Overall, the number of nonprofits with one or more house social networks has decreased... to 22.2%.

Facebook: 86% usage. Twitter: 60%. House networks: 22%. The survey surmises that a high initial investment is to blame for the drop in usage, given the state of the economy.