Picks of the Week: July 31 - August 6, 2011

Website of the Week – Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship

A research and education center based at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) promotes the entrepreneurial pursuit of social impact through the thoughtful adaptation of business expertise. Numerous nonprofits are adopting the language and tools of business and some are actually converting to for-profit status. At the same time, for-profit firms are competing directly with nonprofits by moving into social sector arenas, ranging from education to economic development to environmental conservation. This rash of sector-blurring activity has created an opportunity for leading business schools to have significant social impact by constructively exploring the adaptation of business concepts for the social sector. CASE was founded to capitalize on this opportunity while building upon a deep respect for the talent, passion, and dedication of the countless individuals who have devoted their lives to working for the common good. For more information about CASE and to access related resources, to go: http://www.caseatduke.org.


Publication of the Week -- Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley, and C.C. Chapman

From the publisher: Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other publishing platforms are giving everyone a "voice," including organizations and their customers. So how do you create the bold stories, videos, and blog posts that cultivate fans, arouse passion for your products or services, and ignite your business? Content Rules equips you for online success with a one-stop source on the art and science of developing marketing content that people care about. This coverage is interwoven with case studies of companies successfully spreading their ideas online-and using them to establish credibility and build a loyal customer base.

• Learn the art of storytelling and the science of journalism
• Find an authentic "voice" and craft bold content that will resonate with prospects and buyers and encourage them to share it with others
• Leverage social media and social tools to get your content and ideas distributed as widely as possible

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Federal Expenditures on Children

Kids' Share 2011: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children through 2010, a fifth annual report, looks comprehensively at trends over the past 50 years in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Key findings suggest that the size and composition of expenditures on children have changed considerably, but children have not been a budget priority. Federal expenditures on children in 2010, were 11 percent of the federal budget, slightly higher than in 2009. This increase is temporary, however, with the children's share of the budget expected to shrink to less than 8 percent by the end of the next decade. Absent reform of current law, federal spending on children is projected to fall over the next several years, whether measured in real dollars, as a share of the federal budget, or as a share of the economy. Between 2010 and 2015, for example, outlays on children are projected to fall from $374 billion to $339 billion, a decline of 9 percent. As the temporary boost in spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) comes to an end, federal spending on education and certain other programs for children will fall dramatically. To download the report, go to: http://www.urban.org.


Resource of the Week – Using Social Media Platforms to Amplify Public Health Messages

In partnership with Ogilvy PR, Alexandra Hughes of the Georgetown University's Center for Social Impact Communication researched and developed a white paper that examines how to leverage the opportunities social media provides by identifying tenets and best practices for public health-driven social media, as well as provides insights into how to reach and engage key consumer and provider audiences. Using Social Media Platforms to Amplify Public Health Messages was informed by a review of the publicly-available public health and social marketing literature, strategies and tactics employed by public health campaigns that have successfully utilized social media to affect audience attitudes, behaviors and/or awareness of an issue, and one-on-one interviews with public health, social marketing and social media subject-matter experts across the country. To download the white paper, go to: http://smexchange.ogilvypr.com.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Run PowerPoint 2010 Slide Show in a Window

Have you ever wanted to be able to run a PowerPoint slideshow in a window? This can be done by adding a button to the Quick Access Toolbar. Here’s how:

• Click the File tab on the Ribbon
• Click the Options button at the bottom
• Click Quick Access Toolbar in the left pane
• Under Choose commands from, select Commands Not in the Ribbon
• Scroll down and select Slide Show in a Window
• Click Add to add this button to the Quick Access Toolbar
• Click OK

To run a slideshow in a window simply click the "slideshow" button on the Quick Access Toolbar.