This month's Net2 Think Tank question is: How do real-world (offline) events fit into social media conversations and campaigns?

My thinking: Social media conversations and online campaigns create whole new models for bringing together & powering the progressive movement. Although at core: People coming together in the real-world are key to fueling how we organize for change. We need real world events to be a central part of our online organizing. We need offline events to meet each other, bond eye-to-eye, and forge the collaborations that will make our social networks stronger, better connected, and ultimately transformative.

So - a major question is: How can your online community also support events in the real world? What kind of offline events are the best fit for your community? And what real world event models can you learn from or partner with? Well, let's look at five different event types and see if one or more of 'em sparks some ideas for your community!

Every month, the NetSquared Community comes together offline at Net Tuesday events around the world to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate to help the local community. Our local organizers are volunteers dedicated to helping create local opportunities for learning, sharing and using technology to make a difference. In this Organizer Spotlight series we bring you interviews with organizers from around the world.

We're happy to introduce: Amy Sample Ward!

Google 'launched' Google Wave about two weeks ago at the I/O Conference. It's continued to create quite a stir on the blogosphere, Twitter, and YouTube (2 million+ views!). Check out the 80 minute intro. video or read this TechCrunch article for an overview. 

Through Google Wave, Google seeks to change the way we communicate and collaborate online. I think it's worth pausing, though, to reflect on the Google Wave team's process around how they communicated and collaborated with the community to get us to this point. How might the Google Wave team have done things differently to better position themselves for world-changing success? And what are lessons we could learn for our world-changing projects?

Over the last year, a lot has changed in how we access social and environmental information about the products we purchase. A small but growing army of mobile apps have flourished that now help consumers make more informed and "green" decisions. What makes mobile apps so innovative in this space is their potential to help consumers access crucial data at the point of purchase. The idea behind mobile apps is that you can just whip out your cell phone, look up a product while you shop, and make more informed purchase decisions.

These apps raise a lot of interesting questions around best approaches, collaboration, and potentially the limits of mobile technology. Before we dive into the questions, though, let's review some apps!

Today, at the NetSquared N2Y4 Conference, The Nonprofit Commons faciltated the Health Panel Expo - an online event in Second Life to showcase recent developments in health care research, and to connect efforts in fighting disease and creating a cooperative and supportive environment for patients and their providers.

Read a great summary of the event on the Anita Borg Institute blog by BJ Wishinsky!

Photo by dotpolka

There seems to be an elephant in the social media for change room - and it's one I think it would be good to acknowledge, discuss, and ultimately deal with.

There's only about 24 hours left to make sure your green mobile project is eligible for the Yahoo! Green Award! 

As part of this year's N2Y4 mobile theme, Yahoo! is looking for innovative uses of mobile technology that will inspire people to use social technology to help the environment. Using Yahoo! APIs is a plus but not necessary.

The most innovative green technology project will receive a $5,000 Yahoo! Search Marketing award.

Time is of the essence: there is only one day left to submit your project to the Microsoft Mobile Development Challenge!

HopePhones, a new campaign, launched today that enables anyone to provide health services to those in the developing world – by donating your old cell phones!

It could be there's a lot nonprofits can learn from open-source projects!

Open source projects are amazing models for mass collaboration. Many an open source project bring together crazy amounts of developers, often from around the world, and together these developers collaborate to solve problems and build open software solutions that we all benefit from. Contributors are more members than volunteers and everyone takes on different roles that make a difference.

So what can nonprofits & social change organizations learn from the world of open source development that could help them engage their members on a deeper level and create a bigger impact?