August 14, 2010, Issue No. 4/2010

In this issue:

1. Upcoming Classes for Fall
2. Debunking Rumors Online
3. DCN is Transitioning to Plone 3
4. Are There Social Benefits to Internet Use?
5. Media and the Internet
6. Nonprofits and Social Media Tools
7. City Commissions

1. Upcoming Classes for Fall
Davis Community Network is currently assembling its fall line-up of classes. We will offer classes on SimpleSites, social media, e-mail list management, web calendar and lots more. Updates will be posted on our website, newsletter, and Facebook.

2. Debunking Rumors Online
Where can you get the truth about Internet and Facebook rumors? The next time one of them comes around, you can check with one of these sources: http://www.snopes.com/ and http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/.

3. DCN is Transitioning to Plone 3
While this will be an invisible change for many of you, those of you maintaining websites with DCN will soon be able to enjoy an even more powerful, flexible Content Management System that allows non-technical people to create and maintain information using only a web browser.

4. Are There Social Benefits to Internet Use?
How the Web Is Affecting Social Relations -- this is part of a Pew Research Center series that captures people's expectations for the future of the Internet, in the process presenting a snapshot of current attitudes.

5. Media and the Internet
Read the latest data and trends on how media consumption has changed since 2000 -- "News is pervasive, portable, personalized, participatory -- and a social experience.... Consumption of news, information and entertainment has radically changed, and not just online."

6. Nonprofits and Social Media Tools
How does one decide if or what social media tools will be appropriate for one's organization? Idealware.org has just published the free "The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide."

7. City Commissions
As a local nonprofit DCN sometimes has the opportunity to communicate information of general interest to local residents. Here we would like to assist the City in spreading the word about vacancies on many City commissions. In particular we should mention the commission that deals with issues that are part of DCN's mission. The Telecommunications Commission advises the City Council on issues concerning the digital divide, community uses of the I-Net, pending legislation and more. If you are interested in participating in local government in this way you can find information about this commission and others at http://cityofdavis.org/cmo/commapp.cfm