The Social Web has dramatically changed how non-governmental organizations communicate with supporters, donors and volunteers. Even though a large percentage of NGOs in South Asia now regularly use social media in their online fundraising and communications campaigns, few social media practitioners in the NGO sector have been properly trained on how to best utilize sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Many organizations are making simple mistakes that are draining their social media Return on Investment (ROI) – the good news, however, is that these mistakes can be easily fixed.
This webinar begins with laying a foundation for understanding the role of social media in the context of Web 1.0 (The Broadcast Web), Web 2.0 (The Social Web), and Web 3.0 (The Mobile Web), and then moves on to highlight five of the most useful best practices for managing and maintaining social media campaigns. The webinar then closes with an exploration of social media ROI, and introduces a simple system on how to track and report on results.
Date: Wednesday, 12 December 2012Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (Indian Standard Time)Cost: FreePresented By: Heather Mansfield @ Nonprofit Tech 2.0
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Please Note: This webinar is sponsored by Microsoft Citizenship Asia Pacific. To be alerted of future webinars offered free to NGOs, please subscribe to the Microsoft Citizenship Tech4Good e-Newsletter.
By Dony Sukardi
Editor’s Note: Fruit Ninja Developer Dojo was a 2 day seminar organized by Microsoft Singapore and e27. This session gave local game developers a rare opportunity to learn about game development practices and marketing techniques from the founders of Halfbrick Studios, the makers of one of the world's leading casual games - Fruit Ninja - which is played by millions around the world and is available on Microsoft platforms such as Windows 8 and Xbox Kinect.
The Fruit Ninja #DevDojo proved to be a great evening with interaction amongst the participants, sharing their passion on game development. Everybody, including me, was looking forward to getting to know the success story of Halfbrick and its famous game with more than 300 million downloads: Fruit Ninja.
At Microsoft Singapore Auditorium, Shainiel Deo, Chief Executive Officer of Halfbrick, took the stage to give an opening speech where he shared two main points on how to be successful in the industry. First, nail what you’re trying to do. You ought to try to be the best and carefully pick your team. Second, make sure that with every product you build, you learn something from it.
Fruit Ninja might be the game that made Halfbrick known to the world, however, it wasn’t at all their first game. In fact, it was the 15th ever since the company was established in 2001. There is progression and refinement from one product to the next.
The opportunity is here again, even bigger than ever, with the release of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 (WP8). With the very same base code (with very minimum tweaks for WP8), you can now target tablets, laptops, desktops and mobile phones.
Shainiel then passed the baton to Phil Larsen, Chief Marketing Officer of Halfbrick, to present some of Halfbrick’s marketing strategies. The best game marketing starts with the game. Believe in your game when you market it to the public.
He also stressed that we needn’t be 100% innovative. Many times, developers crack their heads trying to come up with something totally new. That is not to say that new innovation is not important. We can also build on existing concepts and add fresh twists to them.
Highlighting the necessity of getting universal, he advises to reach out to as many players as possible, hence targeting different platforms. Such can also be achieved by getting partnerships with other companies while staying true to the gameplay.
Several marketing techniques that contributed to the success of Fruit Ninja were game trailers posted on YouTube that generated millions of views and taglines such as “Ninjas hate Fruits”, and bringing the game to people by organizing Fruit Ninja Master, a competition to find the best Fruit Ninja in Australia.
Phil also brought attention to the games by branding them to increase relevance. Recognizing the effort that Microsoft has put into marketing Kinect for Xbox360, Halfbrick decided to name the Fruit Ninja’s title for Xbox360 as Fruit Ninja Kinect. These things might seem insignificant, however, without knowing it, we buy into them, contributing to the overall success of a product.
For developers who are releasing a title and don’t know what to do, he advise them to try finding a mentor, which has proven to be beneficial. Phil summed up his presentation by reminding us that huge successes are possible. We ought to make every single point of contact count and there is no one secret to be successful.
Phil Larsen, CMO of Halfbrick greeted the audience and introduced Fruit Ninja Dev Dojo.
After a short break, it was time for a technology talk by Richard McKinny, Chief Technology Officer of Halfbrick. Richard demoed Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride on Windows 8. He praised the features that Windows 8 has to offer, starting with Snapped View. It is not immediately apparent on what to do with snapped view for games. Many developers might do nothing more than just place a splash screen or screen saver on that space, waiting for the user to come back to the game, if ever.
Thinking that Microsoft has added Snapped View for a purpose, the team thought of a brilliant idea. Realizing that players of Fruit Ninja love fruits, the team decided to give an unlimited supply of fruits on a conveyor belt. So, if you’re working on your Word document and feel bored or stressed, you can slash the fruits on the side of the screen.
And there are Live Tiles, which might be regarded as normal icons on your Start screen. Halfbrick did not know what they were for at first, but soon fell in love with them. Live Tiles provide re-engagement with users. Halfbrick implemented them on their Windows 8 games: on Fruit Ninja by showing stats on a vertically rotating tile, and on Jetpack Joyride by showing current game missions.
Social is built into the very core of Windows 8. Game developers can code what they want the user to share on different parts of the games by using the default share functionality. In Jetpack Joyride for example, players can share their points or screenshots of the game.
After elaborating on the awesome features of Windows 8, Richard moved on to discuss some game development technologies. With so many platforms to target these days, game developers should try to create their own game engine and avoid platform specific implementations for things that can be done in a cross platform way.
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Dony is a developer, designer and tech enthusiast. He loves gadgets, simple-clean-yet-sophisticated stuff and great food.
Microsoft Japan is committed to empowering Japanese nonprofit organisations through Information Technology (IT) skills and training, and one of the ongoing initiatives that has taken off successfully in the country is the Wakamono UP programme (Secretariat: NPO Sodateage Net).
As part of the programme, Microsoft collaborates closely with a number of nonprofit partners in Japan, with the aim to improve the skills of NPO staff (such as through Train the Trainer sessions) in order to provide technology and training to help young people realise their full potential. In the past two years, around 7,000 Japanese youth have benefitted from the Wakamono UP programme.
“The Wakamono UP programme, led by Microsoft in partnership with non-profit organisations in Japan, such as Sodateage Net, plays an integral role in helping underserved young people gain social independence. This is achieved through combining nonprofit expertise in providing counselling and career support and IT skills training,” said Michiko Miyamoto, Professor at the Open University of Japan and a Wakamono UP Advisory Board member. “We have seen very positive results to date, with the young adults who participate in the programme recording a 10 to 20 percent higher employability rate compared to those who do not join the programme .”
One such person who has benefitted immensely from the Wakamono UP programme is 27-year-old Akira Onoyama, a high school graduate in Tokyo who joined the Kawaguchi Youth Support programme facilitated by the nonprofit organisation Sodateage Net.
Mr Onoyama experienced academic difficulties in a college environment and was unable to secure proper employment after leaving school. Since signing up for the Kawaguchi Youth Support programme in early 2010, he equipped himself with basic computer skills and was accredited as a Microsoft® Office specialist in Excel® and Access®.
These new-found skills not only helped Mr Onoyama gain self-confidence, but also landed him an internship with Microsoft Japan, where he spent a month with the Microsoft Office Pre-Installed PC (PIPC) division. His work ethic, strong customer service approach and empathy toward his colleagues were duly recognised, and Mr Onoyama was later offered a position with IT Agent (ITA), one of Microsoft’s PIPC partners in Japan. Akira is currently successfully enhancing his career at yet another Microsoft partner, IMF.
Mr Onoyama said, “The Wakamono UP programme helped me discover my purpose in life and forge new friendships. If it had not been for the programme, I would not have been able to meet the friends I now have, or have the chance to join the internship programme at Microsoft Japan, which led to my current role. My personal experiences would not have been possible without the right community support – I believe it is important that we continue reaching out to and supporting each other.”
“We at Microsoft Japan are firm believers in the importance of closing the opportunity divide, and we fully support the internship programmes for disadvantaged young people. Having spent a significant amount of time with Akira, we saw great improvements over the course of his internship, especially in terms of his social and communication skills. It is important for Microsoft to provide its full support for such initiatives,” said Jun Munakata, Executive Officer and General Manager, Consumer & Partner Group, Microsoft Office Pre-installed PC Division.
This worldwide developer event will take place 9 – 11 November 2012 in more than 30 locations across the globe, including nine cities in Asia Pacific. For a full list of sites, with more being added each day, visit http://www.microsoft.com/student.
Registration has launched for Microsoft Corp.’s WOWZAPP 2012, a worldwide Hackathon for Windows. Students, developers and entrepreneurs, and other types of developers across countries including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, Chile and Greece will work in teams to develop apps that will be published and available for download in the Windows Store.
In Asia Pacific, WOWZAPP 2012 will be held in nine satellite areas covering:
As two of the eight major countries in the world to host WOWZAPP 2012, events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, are each expecting over 500 developers to converge at these locations.
At the events, students will be provided with the resources they need to build their apps, such as Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, and a free Windows Store registration code, both available through DreamSpark. In addition, students will be able to test their apps, and developer experts and trainers will be available toanswer questions and help participants submit their apps to the Windows Store.
You can follow our WOWZAPP 2012 event online on Twitter at @WOWZAPP.
For more information and to register for WOWZAPP 2012, visit http://www.microsoft.com/student/en-us/wowzapp.
The Children-At-Risk Empowerment (CARE) Association of Singapore is one of six selected beneficiaries of the Dollar Matching programme recently launched by Microsoft Singapore this year to increase its fundraising support to nonprofit groups in Singapore.
Established in 1997, CARE Singapore is a registered charity and a youth development agency that provides school-based social work services, especially in reaching out to youth at risk of academic failure, behavioural problems and delinquency. CARE's work is funded by government grants and donations from corporations or individuals. Donations made by Microsoft and its employees will contribute significantly to enriching the lives of more than 1,000 young people.
Microsoft will match the donated sum made by its Singapore employees (up to SGD500 per employee) to support various CARE projects, which are designed to motivate, inspire and redirect at-risk children toward positive life choices. Microsoft’s donations to CARE Singapore are coordinated by Ammado, one of Microsoft’s global nonprofit partners.
“Microsoft Singapore employees are committed to supporting CARE Singapore in impacting the lives of young people in Singapore. Youth development is a core focus of Microsoft’s community outreach and philanthropy programmes worldwide, and we want to support our Singapore employees in raising funds to sustain CARE projects,” said Yun Seong Yong, General Manager, Microsoft Asia Pacific Operations Centre.
The donation programme will go toward opening up more opportunities for CARE beneficiaries, such as secondary school student JY (not her real name), to develop and achieve their full potential. Abandoned by her parents since she was one, JY resorted to self-mutilation to cope with her emotional problems. The support she received through the CARE programme has helped JY to become more emotionally resilient and adopt a more positive attitude toward life.
Adelyn Poh, Co-founder and Director of Enterprise at CARE Singapore, said, “In the past few years, CARE Singapore has been able to expand our youth development services, thanks to the generous support of our corporate sponsors such as Microsoft. Donations made by the Microsoft Singapore employees will enable ourteam to continue helping at-risk children gain confidence and overcome the social or economic disadvantages they face.”