Changing the world in my bathrobe

The annual United Way Staff Leaders Conference is winding to an end in Pittsburgh as I type this. I love the SLC... not only is it a great opportunity to learn about new and emerging trends in the United Way system, but it is an excellent networking opportunity. There are over 9,000 folks working for United Way in this country and we try to connect as much as possible - listservs, phone calls, emails, webinars, newsletters, etc. But nothing can replace actually meeting a person face-to-face.

Those who know me might think that last statement out of character. I live a lot of my life online. And it's not just a hobby, it's what they pay me to do here at United Way for Southeastern Michigan - find ways to connect to folks through online tools. Yet the longer I spend researching and implementing new tools, the more I realize that the power of what connects us online is what it can do for us IRL (In Real Life for those of you that don't speak txtspk). This really came to light for me on Tuesday morning.

My Sun Conure, Petey, knows the sounds my eyelids make when I wake up in the morning. Don't ask me how he knows, he just does. And every morning, the very moment I wake, Petey lets out a screech to remind me I have a pet bird who wants to be let out of the cage to sit upon my shoulder.

For the record, I have managed to remember this fact every single morning for the past five years. Petey, however, is not into taking chances.

So, invariably, my first trip each morning is to my home office where Petey's cage sits next to the computer. I open the cage, Petey jumps on my shoulder and I turn to leave the room, always telling myself to ignore the computer - I don't have "time to waste" and need to get to work. But nine times out of ten I plop down in front of my PC and log on because Heavens only knows what happened in the six hours I was asleep that might change my world. (Patience - never one of my strong points.)

This past Tuesday was one of those days and I found myself checking email way before I had even managed to put on the morning coffee.

The first email I opened came from a presidential candidate whom I hope to support in the 2008 race. The message outlined his position on the war. That was pretty cool in itself - I didn't have to do the research, it was being delivered right to me in a place where I went most often - my email. Even better was a call to action in his email that outlined how I could help support his position. The call to action asked that I email 16 senators that were key to an upcoming vote. By clicking on a link in the email I was taken to a web page that was prepopulated with my personal information (taken from a form I filled out when I joined the candidate's online community) and a form letter to the 16 senators. All I had to do was push a button and it sent my letter of concern off to the 16 senators.

And it gets better... After I sent off my email I was prompted to invite my friends to do the same. I was taken to another screen that asked me to enter my email ID and password and, Viola!, my contacts were imported from my Google mail account. I sent the invitation to about 20 people - some family, some friends and some of who I had never even met but had developed online relationships with through years of blogging.

How cool was that? From the comfort of my small home in Dearborn, wrapped in a bathrobe, with a cooing bird perched on my shoulder... I had written 16 U.S. Senators and invited 20 friends, family and otherwise to do the same. I was knee-deep in advocacy and it wasn't even 7 a.m. yet.

Then I remembered that I had to send flowers to my best friend, Sandie, for her 30th birthday. (The fact that I only remembered this after emailing a good portion of the Senate will be our secret, okay?) Last time I had paid a particular utility bill online I had noticed that there was a special offer from an online florist for this utility's customers. So I logged into my provider's website, clicked on a link and was taken to special site for my utility's customers to shop. When it came time to place my order I didn't have to fill in my personal information - it had been transferred from my utility vendor's site - and I paid for the flowers using my PayPal account, so I didn't even have to get up, find my purse and a credit card. (I did however, have to remember my PayPal password and I'm proud to say that I did even without the aid of my first cup of coffee.)

I decided to send an electronic card to Sandie as well, so I went to the Career Builder site and created a Monk-e-Mail. Not only did I get to pick and decorate the animated chimp that was going to deliver Sandie's birthday greeting, but I was able to call the site (through my internet-run phone system, of course) and record myself singing. My recording was imported directly into the greeting and even though Sandie was far, far away (in Pontiac), I still got to sing to her on her birthday. (Click here if you're brave and want to hear my singing.)

Lastly, I went to Absopure's website, placed an order for four bottles of water and then cruised over to Blockbuster.com because I knew that I was sending movies back that day in the mail and there were a few new releases I wanted to add to my que. By then it was 7 a.m. and definitely time for me to get a move on.

As I was driving to work I chuckled to myself about the multitude of "things" I had accomplished in that hour on my computer. It's phenomenal if you think of it, really. Pre-internet how long would it have taken me to research a candidate's position on a topic, find out how to support that position, craft a letter in support, figure out who to send it to and send it, go to the flower store, place and pay for an order, buy four bottles of water and return and rent new movies? I don't really know the answer, but it wouldn't have been just one hour.

More than likely, however... Pre-internet? I probably just would not have done all of it.

See, I love the idea of being an advocate, of being a good person who sings to a far-away friend and sends flowers on her 30th birthday, of providing my family with healthy drinking water and the latest in movies for entertainment. But the fact is that there are only so many hours in the day and something would have suffered if I hadn't had the ease of the internet to help me through it all. It's the power of what I can do online that makes my life "IRL" so much better... fuller... more satisfying and meaningful to me.

So, that why I'm here at United Way - trying to figure out how I can make your connection with us better, fuller and more meaningful through the power of technology. What can we provide you that will allow you to spend a few minutes a morning making your community a better place to live and work? Is it more information about what we are doing delivered to you where you go most often? Is it a tool that allows you to connect? A blog, a bulletin board, a quick and easy way to donate through PayPal? If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And if you're a nonprofit technology provider yourself, I'd love to hear more about what it is you do to help your nonprofit stay connected.

Looking forward to reading your comments.

Ursula Adams,
Web Design/Administration Specialist
United Way for Southeastern Michigan