The non profit world

Tomorrow morning I'm starting a real job. After being off work for more than two years it's certainly a bit intimidating. I didn't get laid off, I had quit my previous job, at a well known internet company because I just couldn't stand it. But that's not why I writing this.

In those two years, one thing I did was to sign up with a non profit organization that provides technical professionals, like myself, to other non profits that need help. I learned a few things about that world in my time with them.

First of all, just because it's a non profit doesn't mean there's no money. Staffers have jobs that they want to keep, directors are rewarded in ways including prestige and social status, and there's a whole ecosystem of consultants and advisers looking to make a buck.

One of my tasks was to evaluate and recommend a new software system for an agency that had come into enough money that they needed help keeping track of it. I dove into the "donor management" software market and found a bunch of companies looking to sell their products. I could accept that, after all these companies need to make enough money to stay alive. What I didn't expect, that happened right off the bat, was the offers for me to make money by recommending a certain product. I was told, via email, by two different companies that if I could get the agency to pick their product there was an immediate %15 in it for me and future arrangements where I would the the preferred support provider.

That sounds like a kickback to me, and not only is it unethical, it's illegal. I had no idea this was out there and I had no intention of participating. That was one troubling problem but it was easy to avoid. I just refused to recommend those products and slept soundly.

The bigger problem was what these systems do. Simply put they help you collect cash for your organization. People donate because it makes them feel good so these systems help find ways to make potential donors to feel good. One way they do that is to collect as much personal information about you as they can to create linkages. Did you go to they same school as another donor? Play at the same golf club? Kids go to the same school? Vacation at the same resort? What's your dog's name?

These linkages allow the fund raisers to apply subtle pressures like, "your friend Bob gave us a generous gift", or "your old school is a big supporter" etc. Never said out loud like that but applied with code expressions like: "Oh, we know a lot of people over there" or "he's my uncle's wife's best friend".

Pardon me, but I don't want anyone collecting this type information about me and I think it's wrong to do it for people that have donated some money to an organization. Once you donate you become like a quartz vein in the gold mine that can be followed to great reward. I find the whole idea really creepy and I guess that's why I don't what to participate further. The profit world is a lot more straightforward and in the end honest. Wish me luck in my new job.

Internet Business

When you search for something in Google there is a list of results presented. Did you ever wonder how that list is ordered? Google uses a semi-secret algorithm to decide which site should show up on the top of the list and which second and down the line. Gaming that algorithm is big business and it can mean the difference between success and failure for an internet business. If a person searches for say "basketball shoes" they are much more likely to go to a site and buy a pair of shoes if it appears high up on the results list. In fact being on the first page of the list makes all the difference since people will rarely go to the second page and beyond unless they are looking for something very specific.

I'll let you research how the list ordering is determined, the internet is full of information on that. And there are lots of search engine optimization (SEO) companies that will gladly sell you expensive services to improve your sites listing. Be aware that a lot of the information out there is not very useful. The game is always changing since as SEO companies learn to beat Google, Google in return will adjust their algorithm to result in what they think is a list that accurately represents how the search results should be displayed.

Consider how a small company with good SEO can carve out a profitable niche for itself. For example: airport-data..com. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes on an hourly basis the current weather conditions at airports throughout the country. They are nice enough to present the data in a standard format that is very convenient for others to pick up. That's what airport-data.com does, it's computers grab the data from NOAA's sites and publishes it on airport-data's site. Doesn't sound like much of a business but in fact it's brilliant. The other thing that's on airport-data's web site is advertising. Companies have paid to have airport-data's site littered with ads that they think people looking at airport information will be interested in. Airport-data.com has also been set up to show up high on the Google search results. For example if someone, like me, searches for "weather ccr" like I do for a local weather report, airport-data shows up first on the list, I click on it and get my information and airport-data makes a few pennies from the ads. It's a beautiful little money spinner, the data is free, setting up and maintaining airport-data.com doesn't cost much and the money rolls in.

As you're clicking around the net thinking everything's free and wonderful, take a moment to consider who's making money and the ways you are actually paying. You pay in ads cluttering up your screen and you pay in sluggish response while all this ad stuff happens behind the scenes.

Notes: ccr is the Concord airport near my house.
this article is an interesting overview of web advertising.

Short attention span

It was just a few years back when the oil industry was worried about a lack of trained engineers. Schools were facing declining enrollment in petroleum engineering, geology and related subjects. Some programs even shutdown all together.

I guess we shouldn't have worried. The gulf oil spill has brought out engineering talent that we never knew existed. Everyone from Rush Limbaugh, Kevin Costner, James Carville, Colin Powell, and well, just about everyone is on TV explaining what went wrong and why it's still going wrong and how it should be fixed. And why hasn't Obama done anything? And what happened to "drill baby drill" baby Sarah Palin? Maybe she has some ideas, she's usually got plenty.

The internet has risen to the occasion too. This clown offers iPhone apps and other important ways the you can help. That "clown" has a pretty big ax to grind in this situation, he is trying to launch a "cap and trade" greenhouse gas market and is using the publicity for all it's worth.

Our old friends from CrisisCommons (CC) are also trying to get in on the action. Remember them? Can you remember all the way back to January? After the Haiti earthquake the CC geeks swarmed into action, reveling in coding camps to create applications for things like hospital scheduling and infrastructure repair coordination. It's an amazing disconnect between the reality on the ground and the "reality" in the heads of these folks. Check out the "Oil Reporter" app as advertised on CC's front page. It will allow for "virtual volunteers to adopt a span of beach" and do, uh something. Well, not anything physical, like actually clean it up.

It's like watching a school of fish, each with a 5 second attention span. Like the goldfish. "Nice rock, nice castle, nice bubbles, nice rock, nice castle..."

Christianity

Traveling to Italy started me thinking about the fall of the Roman Empire. A multitude of reasons have been put forth as factors in causing this calamity. It's always seemed to me that people pick their favorite reason based on how well it fits as an allegory for modern times. Lead pipes is a favorite with environmentalists, unrestrained immigration fits well for white supremacists, decline in military capability suits hawks, too much reliance on slave labor warms the heart of a trade unionist, moral decay is a perfect fit for evangelical Christians, falling behind in technology is a favorite for engineers, even high taxation has been posited as a reason for the decline which I'm sure is a favorite for Reaganites.

The Roman ruins are impressive when you consider that you are viewing only the leftovers of the imperial capital. One thing really struck me though, there are churches everywhere. Some were built right amongst the earlier ruins, others are scattered throughout the city. There are supposedly 900 churches in the city of Rome having been built from the earliest Christian times right up through modern times.

Here's a brief timeline of the rise and fall of the Roman empire. Things got under way under the rule of Julius Caesar, he was assassinated in 44BC. The empire reached it's peak under Trajan who died in 117AD. At that time Roman rule stretched from England to Iran. The emperor Constantine ruled until 337AD. He had established an eastern capital at Constantinople (Istanbul) and the empire was split in 364AD. Roman was sacked by the Visigoths in 410AD.

So what happened? How did it get so bad so fast and for so long? After all the fall of Rome ushered in the Dark Ages that lasted until the Renaissance got going in the 14th century. Almost a thousand years lost. There was a very significant event that happened just in the middle of the Roman might. His name was Jesus. He taught the worth of the individual. A person has intrinsic value, can have a personal relationship with God and most importantly should follow a moral code of living as handed down from that God.

This guide for living really wasn't going to work very well in an empire. Empires need masses of obedient soldiers, workers, farmers, slaves, and entertainers. The inevitable clash is well documented. I had wondered while looking at miles of paintings and sculpture just where all those martyrs came from? It was so easy, just say the wrong thing, something a missionary had taught you and bang you're another martyr. They turned them out by the hundreds.

In 312AD Constantine converted to Christianity and a year later made it legal throughout the empire. It was a recognition of the inevitability of the appeal of the new religion. And the death sentence for the empire.

Looking at the art from this period the change is striking. At the height of the empire the images are of heroic glory, natural beauty, and architectural wonders, displaying an ambitious optimistic view of the world. What images did Christianity bring? Martyrdom, crucifixion, angels, and tortures of hell. The stolid barrel vaulted Basilica replaced the sophisticated Roman forms.

The organizations that the Christians created were definitely not suitable for an Empire. St. Benedict laid down the rules for a christian monastery in around 500AD. It dictated an aesthetic life with few belongings and fewer pleasures, the focus of all activity was to be achieving an inner purity of soul. Others at around that time were promoting other forms of living totally dedicated to God. Life turned inward. Roman (and Greek) achievements were fossilized and at best kept as unquestionable truths or more often discarded as heretic and forgotten. Any new thoughts were simply ignored or quashed as offering no progress towards the goal of salvation.

There was no room for an empire in this environment. It simply evaporated because no one cared anymore. There were lots of martyrs, no fun, no science, but plenty of death and war. The new religion had destroyed the empire. A thousand years later some light peeked in and maybe by that time the Christians were tired out so the light got a foothold and then bloomed into the Renaissance. After a last burst of artistic agony mankind was released to try to build a new world.

Venice

OK, I admit, I really didn't enjoy my visit to Venice. It was too hurried, too expensive and I think Disney could do it better. Today I was talking to my daughter in Las Vegas, and since she missed out on our Italy trip I suggested she go over to the Venetian hotel and ride a gondola.

Her response, "It's just a boat ride through a shopping mall".

Well, I bet the water's cleaner, but other than that she nailed it, the real Venice is a shopping mall and many of the stores and brands you will recognize from your favorite local mall, wherever you live. Coach, Guess, Bvulgari, Camper, Annie, David Tate, Kate Spade, Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci and on and on. Both real and fakes are available. All these names might mean something to someone but to me they just mean standing around killing time. By the way, there are fines for possessing fake merchandise so keep that $50 Gucci bag in the shopping bag until later.

Besides fashion, there is pottery for sale, not just in Venice but all throughout Italy. The amazing thing is that it's made locally, wherever you are, and it all looks pretty much the same. Let me pass along a tip, next time you are in Santa Barbara stop in at the Pottery outlet. Wide selection, good prices and no worries about shipping or carrying it in your suitcase.

Then there's glass. In the lagoon there's the island of Murano. Touts and flyers are everywhere in Venice inviting you to a free boat ride to see the glass factorys. Also the shops that sell glass will gladly arrange for a boat to their factory. Once at the factory expect to be subjected to sales tactics that would make a used car dealer cringe. You're kind of stuck since only their boat goes to their dock so you'll just have to deal with it. Prices are astronomical and bargaining can be very rewarding. I suppose the good news is if you buy it there you know it's not fake and they are efficient and safe shippers. Or go to the glass museum next time you're in Tacoma and get every bit as good quality glassware.

And yes, there is a Disney store in Venice too, right near the Rialto bridge. Sigh.

Wayne's not dead

My neighbor Wayne is a quiet sort, I occasionally hear the bandsaw from his shop or see him over the fence. But I hadn't seen him for a while and then the last few days there has been a lot of activity over there. Cars coming and going, cars that I didn't recognize. Unfamiliar people and conversations in the driveway that I couldn't hear. Gates left open that never were before.

I began to think that Wayne was dead. Maybe these were his relatives, children coming around to close up the house, distribute his things. This was my speculations, like the dog who howls when new people come into house and his master is not to be seen.

It's been quiet on our side of the fence too. After months of rumors and weeks of evaluation, the company announced the layoffs. 620 from the local office, more in other locations. Some of them are people we've known for years and some are strangers. Still, the strain of wondering and then knowing and not telling has been hard on my wife. She's one of those making the decisions and it's made her withdrawn and moody.

But Wayne is alive! I just saw him over the fence puttering around as usual. I daren't tell him what I was thinking, I hope a "how you doing?" will suffice to express my relief.

Venezia

After tagging along after my shopping spouse the next morning we were off to Venice. Thankfully the car was just where we left it, it was supposed to be a safe place but who could know? Back on the A1 to Bologna then eastward to Venezia. For the last few hundred years Venice has had no reason to exist except as a tourist trap. First problem, where to park the car? No problem, they built an island for that, Tronchetto, complete with multi-level garage. From there the Vaporetto runs frequently into town. We bought our tickets and then the lady in the booth closed up and left. A nice gentleman commuting home from the mainland made sure we got on the right boat.

At the boat stop at St. Marks, this is what we saw. The Doge's palace had been completely wrapped in a Bulgari advertisement. Not too classy to my way of thinking but I suppose they have to pay the bills somehow.

Since we had gotten there so late we didn't have a lot of choice on restaurants and we didn't make a very good one, but the hotel seemed nice enough although another 4th floor room with no lift. The next morning we went to check out the Doge's palace. What's there now was built after a disastrous fire in 1574, I wish those old guys had kept their buildings more carefully. Amongst all the gilded ceilings and massive paintings I was pleased to see one of my favorites by Hieronymus Bosch, his vision of life is so true even to this day. We sat in St. Mark's for a drink and then off to the main event, shopping.

I am not a great shopper so I just tagged along. It seemed to me that the center of Venice was just like any modern mall, the same chain stores, just in older buildings. Before I knew it I was on the island of Murano looking at glass. We already have a Murano chandelier and a mirror so I didn't really see the point but there you are. Spouse bought another mirror with a fancy glass frame around it, to be shipped, and before I knew it we were back at the car.