Here are some causes I like that you might want to join:

• Advocate that the U.S. government more broadly support Open Source technologies.
• Free your cell phone from the restrictive policies and outrageous fees of wireless companies.
• Tweet your Senator to let him/her know that you support healthcare reform.
• Use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to organize a boycott, like this boycott on Whole Foods in response to their CEO’s editorial against healthcare reform.
• Other causes on Facebook.

Once you’ve picked your cause, head over to Twibbon to display a ribbon proudly on your Twitter avatar.

As I see it, this would mean:

• Build from the ground up rather than the top down.
• Start by sharing and making connections.
• Then let a community emerge that can collaborate to solve the problems they identify as important.
• Large institutions (donors, big NGOs, government) need to facilitate this process or get out of the way.
• Above all, we have to let go of our need to control.

Working this way would certainly require a fundamental shift in mindset. No longer could we design every step of a project in our comfy offices, take them to the field and work the plan, measure and report our results, then leave when the funding cycle is over. But there are already successful models for working in a different way — Kiva and OpenMRS come to mind.

Web 2.0 has exploded because it fills a human need and fits in with natural human behaviors. That makes it less like work and more like fun, and people who are having fun can accomplish a lot. I think we could too, if we don’t let fear of change or of trying something new stand in our way.

I have had a peripheral involvement in OPEN as it has developed, contributing ideas and writing when needed, and I have watched it grow from a germ of an idea with interest. Of course, I do think there will be some natural synergies between the project I am heavily involved in, developing open source HR information systems for managing data about health workers, and the goals of OPEN. I am looking forward to seeing how that all shapes up.

OPEN is all over the web, so if you want to learn more, here are some ways to do so:

• OPEN website
• OPEN on Facebook Causes
• OPEN on MySpace
• YouTube channel
• Follow OPEN on Twitter

The question I have — the one that keeps stymieing me — is how do we capitalize on this trend for our work? We know that cell phones have a larger penetration in Africa and other low-resource countries than computers do. We know that in those countries, cell phones are used for a wider range of activities and text messaging is much more prevalant than here. We know we will have more success if we can build on what folks are already doing and where the demand is rather than trying to get them to accept something new.

But here’s the problem. Living in the U.S., we don’t use our cell phones in the same way they do. I barely use mine at all, and then it’s primarily for voice calls. I rarely text. I never access applications or automated services from my cell phone. To tell you the truth, I really can hardly stand my cell phone. It’s a necessary evil, not a vital tool, for me. My vital tools are my laptop and the Web. I get lots of great ideas for how to apply social media tools to our work because I use them all the time, but that’s not very helpful in places where Internet connectivity is so unreliable. To really start thinking about how we can use cell phones in creative ways, we have to actually use cell phones in creative ways. So far, I haven’t been willing or able to do this.

The other problem, of course, is that in this country, your cell phone is linked inextricably to your provider. This is much more limiting than in other areas where the tool is separate from the service. You have a lot more freedom to change your options just by switching chips. I am looking forward to what may happen when Open Source meets the cell phone, but that’s still a ways off.

I really want to have some fresh new ideas about all this. But I guess you can’t force ideas to come.

But our nonprofit, I have to confess, doesn’t always use Open Source software internally. This is has been a subject of much debate. There are cultural issues — how do you take away Microsoft Office from employees who have been using it productively for most of their careers and ask them to learn something new? There are also support, administration and compatibility issues. We take the same attitude internally that we do when we begin a software implementation project in one of our client countries — we choose what is most appropriate for the context in which we are working, even if that means choosing proprietary software in some cases.

I confess, though, that I wish that we adopted more Open Source programs internally. We do use them where it makes sense, such as for web servers and applications (blogs, CMS, online databases) where there are lots of choices and support is well-established. And I am proud to say that we are using our own Open Source HRIS internally, with plenty of customizations, of course.

I’ve dug up a few links that can help a nonprofit move to Open Source, if it so inclined:

• Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software is a primer for nonprofits from the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative. The updated version was just released in October. It includes case studies, a suggested evaluation process, tips for finding support and some software toolkits.
• NGO in a Box is a collection of Open Source tools, already culled and evaluated, that a nonprofit can begin using right away. It includes everything you need to set up a small or medium-sized office, plus tools for publishing, producing multimedia and using mobile phones for advocacy. If you use this resource, a lot of the hard work has been done for you.
• Open Source Software for Public Health – If your nonprofit operates in the public health arena, this wiki is a great resource to identify tools and resources specific to public health work.

Open Source software makes sense for nonprofits. It’s low cost, getting involved connects you to communities of volunteer support and development, and using it promotes values of openness, collaboration and giving back.