Comments on: Convio Open - Why the Convio Facebook Application blows away Causes http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/ the blog of See3 Communications Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:29:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Facebookster http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13715 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:34:08 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13715 Facebookster - Need a Facebook application? Well you've reached the right place. Usually in typical companies you will find information about structure, policies, and ideologies. At *Facebookster*.com we focus on one thing: *Get it done*. Visit Now: www.facebookster.com or www.facebookster.net Facebookster - Need a Facebook application? Well you’ve reached the right place. Usually in typical companies you will find information about structure, policies, and ideologies. At *Facebookster*.com we focus on one thing: *Get it done*.

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]]> by: Facebookster http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13714 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:32:58 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13714 Facebookster - We can provide a full range of facebook application strategy,design, development and marketing for your business. Our service offerings will allow you to maximize and leverage the facebook social graph of 32+ Million users. We have been providing new media strategy, consulting and development for Fortune 100 Clients & Start-ups for several years. Our team of consultants, project managers and programmers are intimately familiar with the DNA of facebook and how to build an application that meets your business requirements. Visit Now: www.facebookster.com or www.facebookster.net Facebookster - We can provide a full range of facebook application strategy,design, development and marketing for your business. Our service offerings will allow you to maximize and leverage the facebook social graph of 32+ Million users.

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]]> by: sara http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13100 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:28:00 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-13100 Has Michael ever used Convio? As a person trapped with my company's decision to use this tool, I am disappointed that people still get so wowed by whatever "new" or cool tool that Convio introduces in their attempt to be the one-stop shop, without paying attention to the fact that key functions of their tools do not work well--or if they do work, it's not without the hefty expense of working with their tech support. I'm kind of irritated by the cursory comments in this blog in general--nothing of great depth here. And I'm not getting the sense that Michael has any real technical background. This event is (like every Convio pitch) full of all the glossy stuff, but dig deep (and I mean into your pockets) and you'll see that it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Has Michael ever used Convio? As a person trapped with my company’s decision to use this tool, I am disappointed that people still get so wowed by whatever “new” or cool tool that Convio introduces in their attempt to be the one-stop shop, without paying attention to the fact that key functions of their tools do not work well–or if they do work, it’s not without the hefty expense of working with their tech support. I’m kind of irritated by the cursory comments in this blog in general–nothing of great depth here. And I’m not getting the sense that Michael has any real technical background. This event is (like every Convio pitch) full of all the glossy stuff, but dig deep (and I mean into your pockets) and you’ll see that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.

]]> by: Allan Benamer http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12689 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:56:49 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12689 Michael, The difference in my approach is that I speak for IT directors on my blog. Your cavalier approach on SLAs reflects that difference. You won't have your career on the line if the Facebook app implodes. It'll be the hapless IT director that won't have recourse to an SLA. You better start saving up for those "mea culpa" lunches now. So Causes is passive? Can you explain then why it is that 300,000 users interact with Causes per day? If that's passive, I'd like to know what is active in your book. Sure, only 5% of Causes users interact with it every day but even that percentage is double that of Razoo's and Change.org and Changing The Present. Having more menu options doesn't equate to more interactivity. Less IS more in this case. I hope you're right about the interactivity issue. I'm not seeing it on my end. There are still plenty of brochureware sites out there. Your comment about an API being better than Causes leaves me shaking my head. APIs aren't better than anything - they're just toolsets. It's like comparing a wrench to a car. What I'm trying to tell people is that ANY product that is going to rely on the API is going to be an Edsel. The API is crippled from a programmer's point of view and Convio needs to fix it. A Causes-beater this is not. I like the Changing the Present app and we agree there. Unfortunately, it only had 600 users when I checked adoption rates for it this week. It's disappointing and the App certainly needs more press. As for the head start that Causes has, it is what it is. [shrug] You or I may want some other app to supersede it but what we want is immaterial. It's the 800 lb gorilla of the Facebook charity apps world. I think it's better to deal with it than to try to build something on your own. At the very least, wait for the API to mature if you're going to build a serious app. Michael,

The difference in my approach is that I speak for IT directors on my blog. Your cavalier approach on SLAs reflects that difference. You won’t have your career on the line if the Facebook app implodes. It’ll be the hapless IT director that won’t have recourse to an SLA. You better start saving up for those “mea culpa” lunches now.

So Causes is passive? Can you explain then why it is that 300,000 users interact with Causes per day? If that’s passive, I’d like to know what is active in your book. Sure, only 5% of Causes users interact with it every day but even that percentage is double that of Razoo’s and Change.org and Changing The Present. Having more menu options doesn’t equate to more interactivity. Less IS more in this case.

I hope you’re right about the interactivity issue. I’m not seeing it on my end. There are still plenty of brochureware sites out there.

Your comment about an API being better than Causes leaves me shaking my head. APIs aren’t better than anything - they’re just toolsets. It’s like comparing a wrench to a car. What I’m trying to tell people is that ANY product that is going to rely on the API is going to be an Edsel. The API is crippled from a programmer’s point of view and Convio needs to fix it. A Causes-beater this is not.

I like the Changing the Present app and we agree there. Unfortunately, it only had 600 users when I checked adoption rates for it this week. It’s disappointing and the App certainly needs more press.

As for the head start that Causes has, it is what it is. [shrug] You or I may want some other app to supersede it but what we want is immaterial. It’s the 800 lb gorilla of the Facebook charity apps world. I think it’s better to deal with it than to try to build something on your own. At the very least, wait for the API to mature if you’re going to build a serious app.

]]> by: Michael Hoffman http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12688 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:15:29 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12688 Allan, you are mostly wrong. Your points: 1. SLAs. Convio is an ASP. They have infrastructure to run thousands of nonprofit websites, send millions of emails and process hundreds of millions of dollars in donations. There is no infrastructure issue here. 2. Fun stuff. Causes is passive. I would much rather have my advocacy asks, my content, my photos, my organizational stuff than the paragraph I get from Causes. There is no question that they will expand beyond the 15-page site template, and as the API improves I am certain you will be able to build on top of their app, using their infrastructure. 3. Interactivity. Everyone has been drinking the social networking Kool Aid. All the biggies will be there. They will not worry about people talking about them -- they already are. 4. There are limitations to the API they rushed out the door, but certainly it is still, even today, far better than Causes. Causes is a terribly troubled application that provides organizations with no control over who solicits money on their behalf, bad data delivered from old 990s from GuideStar, and it's just boring. Without the head start given to it by Facebook it would be nothing. Clearly, any organization on Convio would be far better off with their own app with their own content than on Causes. The best thing is they can have both, and Razoo and Changing The Present -- which is probably the best of these so far. It won't be long before we could mash up Changing the Present presents with a Convio Facebook app. Allan, you are mostly wrong. Your points:
1. SLAs. Convio is an ASP. They have infrastructure to run thousands of nonprofit websites, send millions of emails and process hundreds of millions of dollars in donations. There is no infrastructure issue here.
2. Fun stuff. Causes is passive. I would much rather have my advocacy asks, my content, my photos, my organizational stuff than the paragraph I get from Causes. There is no question that they will expand beyond the 15-page site template, and as the API improves I am certain you will be able to build on top of their app, using their infrastructure.
3. Interactivity. Everyone has been drinking the social networking Kool Aid. All the biggies will be there. They will not worry about people talking about them — they already are.
4. There are limitations to the API they rushed out the door, but certainly it is still, even today, far better than Causes. Causes is a terribly troubled application that provides organizations with no control over who solicits money on their behalf, bad data delivered from old 990s from GuideStar, and it’s just boring. Without the head start given to it by Facebook it would be nothing.
Clearly, any organization on Convio would be far better off with their own app with their own content than on Causes. The best thing is they can have both, and Razoo and Changing The Present — which is probably the best of these so far. It won’t be long before we could mash up Changing the Present presents with a Convio Facebook app.

]]> by: Non-Profit Tech Blog » Convio Facebook App not recommended for use right now http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12619 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:44:26 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12619 [...] Every so often I read in the nptech blogosphere articles that I consider to be problematic. I just read one today that stated that the Convio Facebook App is better than the Causes App on Facebook. Apparently, the major claim to fame is that people within a Convio Facebook App can now directly sign-in to an organization’s CRM. Another added bonus is that content from a Convio-powered Web site can be integrated with a Facebook App. Unfortunately, you can only run one Facebook app at a time using the Convio tool. [...] […] Every so often I read in the nptech blogosphere articles that I consider to be problematic. I just read one today that stated that the Convio Facebook App is better than the Causes App on Facebook. Apparently, the major claim to fame is that people within a Convio Facebook App can now directly sign-in to an organization’s CRM. Another added bonus is that content from a Convio-powered Web site can be integrated with a Facebook App. Unfortunately, you can only run one Facebook app at a time using the Convio tool. […]

]]> by: facebook » Convio Open - Why the Convio Facebook Application blows away Causes http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12596 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:59:36 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12596 [...] Read the rest of this great post here [...] […] Read the rest of this great post here […]

]]> by: A View from Home » Convio Summit. Day 1. http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12592 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:26:35 +0000 http://blog.see3.net/2007/10/18/convio-open-why-the-convio-facebook-application-blows-away-causes/#comment-12592 [...] As Michael Hoffman shares, the Convio Facebook application is really good. I like it for all his reasons and one more…Convio enables nonprofits to make a Facebook application, and then it gets out of the way. The Causes application is the Causes application, listing your nonprofit within their “envelope.” With the Convio toolkit, to the person adding the application to their profile, it has nothing to with Convio. They…your constituent…don’t care about Convio. They care about your organization and your organization’s cause. That’s the application name they add. It’s a much richer, more thought-out experience than anything I’ve seen for nonprofits on social networks. [...] […] As Michael Hoffman shares, the Convio Facebook application is really good. I like it for all his reasons and one more…Convio enables nonprofits to make a Facebook application, and then it gets out of the way. The Causes application is the Causes application, listing your nonprofit within their “envelope.” With the Convio toolkit, to the person adding the application to their profile, it has nothing to with Convio. They…your constituent…don’t care about Convio. They care about your organization and your organization’s cause. That’s the application name they add. It’s a much richer, more thought-out experience than anything I’ve seen for nonprofits on social networks. […]

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