Wow! We’ve had a lot of traffic on this site lately. We’ve gone from 78 subscribers on 10/11 to our all-time record today of 121 subscribers (patting myself on the back).
If you’re a new subscriber to this blog, I just wanted to re-iterate what this blog has always been about:
This web site is a â€safe†space for all those harried non-profit IT directors/sysadmins/developers to share experiences and wisdom regarding the IT non-profit sector. While consultants and vendors are more than welcome to engage in comments, we prefer comments from the non-profit worker/manager/director.
To that end, I would like to start writing more stories that achieve a laser-like focus on the work of the nonprofit tech worker. I’ve noticed that my traffic has spiked heavily the more I write about Blackbaud’s Raiser Edge as not too many people blog about the product (not surprisingly). Does this mean I should write more about Blackbaud? Feel free to add a comment to this post that outline what kind of stories you’d like to see from me. Think of me as your Story Butler hehe.
I’ve also installed a ratings system for every post. Please use it. It’s a quick way for the members of the Confessions (dare, I say it?) community to signal to me where they want the editorial direction of the blog to go.
Also, this is another plug for the nptechhelp list. I plan to send any little tidbits I learn about to the nptechhelp list. If it makes sense, an item will appear on the nptechhelp list BEFORE it appears on this blog. Send e-mail to nptechhelp-moderator['at']groups.nten.org if you want to join. Make sure to include contact information so that we can verify you work at a non-profit and that your position is as a nonprofit tech worker at a 501c3. The list is up to 24 participants and counting.
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Why do you expect not too many people blog about Raiser’s Edge? I have done a bit, but not a lot, because it just sort of ticks over. I help people with queries as well as Queries. I do the odd routine task. I could blog about the tips and tricks, e.g. “ctrl-O” to quickly open the Open dialog box, but I’d feel pressure to do that regularly.
I think not too many people blog about Raiser’s Edge for various reasons. I think the major one is the one you cited. Raiser’s Edge doesn’t make people excited. They’re JUST consumers of the software. salesforce.com consumers are big fans of the software. You’d never see a Blackbaud blog similar to the one for salesforcewatch.com. Anyone want to pay for the blackbaudwatch.com domain?
Traditionally Raiser’s Edge users have tended to use various forums to express their opinions about the product (there are at least three different forums – two of which are non-Blackbaud run). With a larger user base it is easier to receive feedback instantly from a forum than a blog. It has also been techies that lead the blog world. My guess is that the average RE user is less tech savvy than other programs. Maybe now that blogs have become more accessible we will see more RE blogs.
David Zeidman
Zeidman Development
http://www.zeidman.info
I’d have to agree with Dave, as I run one of the afore-mentioned Blackbaud product forums. I would argue that those in the DBA-type posititions are rabid and passionate about the software. It is the core user community of 4-5 person shops who process hundreds of $20 donations taht aren’t excited. They don’t have the time of the resources to really start to look at exploiting the capabilities of the systems Blackbaud offers.
Yeah, you’re right. The DBAs like the software but I just had a funny conversation with yet another user of Raiser’s Edge. This time it was over Thanksgiving dinner (yes I know, I guess I can’t get work off my mind). This user was laughing when I suggested that people might get excited about the new version of Raiser’s Edge. She pointed out that she doesn’t know anyone who is excited about it now.