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Despite the tidal wave of recent publicity, the organic movement is not a new movement. In 1940, Rodale, a Pennsylvania researcher used the word to describe a superior method of farming which was free of pesticides. And throughout, the organic community has occupied somewhat conflicting terrain. The field is certainly beset by overlapping regulatory authorities encompassing the USDA, states and private bodies. There are at least tens of thousands of organic farmers in the United States. Last year alone, US consumer expended billions of dollars on organic fruit, vegetables and meat. And against this backdrop, is an entire industry of professional lobbyists, consumer advocates, business trade associations and farmers. What do all of these seemingly divergent communities have in common? Apart from their shared interest in advancing the organic movement, all would benefit from the use of new communication technologies. Indeed, most if not all organic groups can benefit from the use of new technologies that enable teleconferencing and networking. Whether it be solutions including Rondee that allow standardized conferencing to high touch email newsletter applications, there has not been a more ideal time to leverage new technologies to advance the organic vision. The following suggestions are just a handful of recommendations. Deploy an automated electronic newsletter system It wasn't that long ago that sending out an electronic newsletter was time consuming and difficult. That has now changed. On-line services such as Mynewsletterbuilding, Sevista, and Enewsletterpro are making it possible to use scalable newsletters. These solutions cut the work load by as much as 70% and in so doing enable organic groups to concentrate on content creation as opposed to content delivery. Augment your online professional network The most advanced organic lobbying groups create strong networks of supporters who buttress their philosophy and mission. While the word networking often gets an undesirable connotation, the general reality is that these networks can provide significant help to organic advocacy organizations. Today in the Bay Area, the expectation is that professional folks will have at least a minimal profile page on LinkedIn. Leverage a free teleconference application In the last few years, there has been more coordination between geographically diverse organic lobbying groups. One underlying reason for this trend has been reduced flight travel costs – a trend that may now be going the opposite direction with leaping oil costs. Another driver is the flourishing of free teleconference companies. A lot of these types of including the service offered by Rondee work on the same key idea. They provide you a PIN and a toll number to dial. If all teleconference participants dial the same toll number and enter the same PIN code, they are put into the conference. Use data driven decision-making One of the key trends in the last several years affecting nonprofit organizations in the organic community has been the increasing reliance on evidence driven decision-making. Leaders can apply the same techniques with simple to use Excel or Lotus spreadsheeting applications to determine what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and therefore reliance on conjecture and theory is being systematically replaced by empirical evidence to justify processes. Desktop sharing Some organic advocacy groups have distributed leadership groups, and it is impractical to expect face-to-face meetings. Technology is addressing this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's showing a PowerPoint document displaying the group's development plan or a spreadsheet showing the performance desktop sharing can be quite useful for not a few organic groups.
By: Scott Bailey
Scott Baily advises the solution that was initially conceptualized by Rondee. Scott is a leader in the area of conference calling and related issues of concern to organic growers.
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