Stephen Blyth's Blog

Over the years I’ve prepared articles on social media, run workshops on how to run websites, blogs and use online tools, and various other things web.

Help yourself. I’m sharing these resources freely in the hope this will help organisations working for the environment and social justice be successful online. All my work is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand License.

See the archives page for a full list of all the blog posts I’ve writtten, sorted by category and date.

In this section:

Special feature on accessibility
Beginners guide to getting started with ….
Newsletters
Presentations and training workshop materials (Updated 9 May 2012)
Publications and articles

Special feature on accessibility

Immediately after a major health set back in June 2011 which has has left me coping with a visual impairment (see “An unanticipated hiatus”), I’ve gained much practical experience of the realities of accessibility. I’m writing about what I’m learning as I go:

Mac OS X accessibility tweaks
Audiobooks are a saviour
Why I didn’t get an iPad
Reading again on a Kindle

Beginners guide to getting started with ….

Listed here is a very short list of the best resources about running websites, using social media, and IT more generally. Also see my list of community ICT resources on the right.

A guide to manaing ICT, NCVO UK. General guide produced in 2008.

Community Resource Kit – Chapter 12: Information Technology (March 2011), CommunityNet Aotearoa. Overview/ primer touching on most aspects of IT use within organisations.

Tech Beginner’s Guide: Healthy and Secure Computing Workbook (2007), TechSoup

The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide (2010), Idealware

Website owner’s manual: the secret to successful websites (2010), by Paul Boag, UK.

Newsletters

Every quarter (or so) I send out a short email newsletter so you can easily stay up-to-date with my work. Sign-up up to the e-newsletter.

Newsletter back issues:

Issue #2, 9 March 2012
Issue #1, 7 November 2011

Presentations and training workshops

The future of the book: a reader’s perspective, and co-producer too!!, lecture to 222.496 Visual Communication Design special paper students, School of Design & Fine Arts, Massey University, 9 May 2012

Choosing the right online spaces to support your unique network(s), workshop at Connecting Up New Zealand conference, 26-27 April 2012, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland.

Give your website some TLC webinar, free online webinar hosted on GoToWebinar, broadcast from Whanganui A Tara Wellington, 23 March 2012

Choosing the right online spaces to support your unique network(s), Comm2Comms network, Whanganui A Tara Wellington, 30 November 2011

Give your website some TLC: a triad of usability techniques workshop

Connecting Up Australia, 1-3 June 2011, Melbourne
Connecting Up NZ, 27 May 2011, Wellington and 30 May, Auckland

Fine-tune how you harvest information workshop, Engage your community Conference, Wellington 28 & 29 April 2011

Getting the most from the can.org.nz website, workshop at the Cycle Action Network Do, 31 October 2010

Getting a great website for your organisation, e-rider training series workshop, Whanganui-a-tara Wellington (June 2010)

Blogging within an organisation, and all that jazz, Whanganui-a-tara Wellington (March 2010)

Getting the quality website your organisation deserves, EYC conference workshop (November 2009)

“Virtual networks and digital forums”, presentation with David Barrow (Communications Manager, NZFVWO) for the ACE (Adult and Community Education) Winter Series, 23 June 2009, Petone.

“A toe in the water …{revisited}”, presentation to Comms2Comms network, Wellington, 27 May 2009

“So many ways to skin a cat”, presentation to Connecting Up Australia 09 conference, Sydney, 12 May 2009

“A toe in the water {revisited}”, presentation to Fundraising Institute of New Zealand Central division learning lunch, 21 April 2009

“Spreading the word: telling your story using video, podcasts, blogs & more” presented to Engage Your Community conference, Wellington, 4 September 2008.

Beyond surfing: finding stuff on the web, Wellington (June 2008)

Connecting Up 08 conference, Brisbane, 19-20 May 2008. Two workshops:

“Riding into a headwind: setting up a new IT support and advice service”

“Online project management tools: making choices and making it happen”

Using wikispaces to support projects workshop, Hamilton (April 2008)

Web 2.0 introduction (October 2007)

Unitec Diploma in Not for Profit Management stakeholder communication and image management course notes, Wellington (October 2007)

“Families on the Couch: heading online to hearing from New Zealand families”, presented to GOVIS 2007: Innovation in ICT conference, 9-11 May 2007, Wellington. See video version on GOVIS richmedia website or slides.

“How can the Internet be used to support community building?” workshop, Community Development, Human Rights and the Grassroots conference, April 2004, Melbourne

“Harnessing the Web: Tools for Community Groups”, presented to Connecting Communities Conference, 3-5 November 2003, Wellington

“A Long and Winding Road: Community Organisation ICTs Uptake in Aotearoa New Zealand”, presented to: Electronic Networks 2002 Building Community, fifth Community Networking Conference, 3-5 July 2002, Melbourne

“Where Everyone Knows Your Name? CommunityNet Aotearoa website case study”, presented to “GOVIS 2001 – An E-Govt Odyssey” Conference Duxton Hotel, 2 May 2001, Wellington

“Sustainable Cities – the Citizen Participation Process in Wellington around the ‘Our City – Our Future’ initiative”, presentation to “New Perspectives for a New Millennium conference, Political Studies Association, 1999, Wellington

Publications and articles

“Hanging on your every word?” article on social media, published in FINZ on Fundraising, Issue 71, August 2009.

“A toe in the water – using social networks for your cause”, published in the September 2008 issue of “Fundraising in New Zealand”, republished courtesy of Foresee Communications.

“What are people saying about me online?” article submitted to the Not for profit management magazine July 2008 issue.

“An e-government response to the climate change crisis: tapping into citizen creativity”, Think Piece contributed to “New Zealand E-government 2007: Progress Towards Transformation” report, published by State Services Commission (SSC), June 2008

“Shifting to a sustainable city? Citizen participation in Wellington’s Our City – Our Future Strategy”, a summary of my Masters thesis, 1999.

“A leap into the unknown?” article, published in “Political Review”, May/ June 1993. An article about Ted Trainor’s vision for evolution to a radical ‘conserver society’.