We are all guilty. You too.

We have all used Excel as a database, even though it’s really not a database program. Real database programs take training - Excel, however, can make you that call list in the blink of an eye. So you use it. There’s more: many of us have used Photoshop for making pamphlets and posters, even though it’s not actually meant to do either. Worse, we’ve made pamphlets in Word.

The mind reels! Or maybe it doesn’t, because frankly tech tools are made to be subverted. Especially by non-profit staff who are on a grant deadline, and just need a way to get this poster done, fast.

So you can imagine how happy I was to discover ways that people are subverting our new best friends - Youtube, Twitter and Facebook - for fun and non-profit.

Oxfam, The Global Call to Action Against Poverty, Comic Relief, Save the Children, and others are teaming up with YouTube and Black Eyed Peas’ frontman, will.i.am to launch a new song and video. The song will inspire individuals to take action and hold their leaders to account for their Millennium Development Goal commitments. The launch coincides with the UN High Level Event on the MDGs being held September 25th, in New York. The inter-agency campaign team is blogging their experience as they build and launch the action.
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I recently wrote about Tu Diabetes' use of Twitter and the strategies the online community has employed to find and engage with new people.  Today, I want to take a look at another social media tool Tu Diabetes is using successfully: YouTube.

I wanted to share with the NetSquared community a recent success we experienced at the Diabetes Hands Foundation.

By getting in the radar of YouTube's Nonprofits & Activism channel, we were able to get the video below (called "Drawing Diabetes: Diabetes Through the Eyes of Children") to be featured on it, resulting in more than 26,000 views.

We are very happy with the results and highly recommend making sure you contact the people (Sending them a Message through their YouTube channel page, once you have a video for their consideration) managing their Nonprofit Vlog.

There are already numerous nonprofits that are using YouTube to raise money -- yours could be next. One way is through membership in the YouTube Nonprofit Program. Nonprofits who apply and are accepted have the opportunity to embed a Google Checkout button on their YouTube channel and viewing pages to drive fundraising.

Josh Berry, an American surfer and activist fighting to defend the Chilean coast, talks to us about how the Internet allows him to be mobile throughout Chile and why Facebook is helping Chileans rally to defend their ocean.

The YouTube Nonprofit Program has a new Nonprofits & Activism Manager, Ramya Raghavan, whose job it is to help you leverage the power of YouTube for good. How awesome is that?

Check out her introductory blog post, AgentChange, Reporting for Duty, and her video introduction.

Welcome, Ramya!

Thank you kbaird for the photo!

Maryrose Dunton, the Head of User Experience at YouTube, spoke to Net Tuesday San Francisco this week about the YouTube Nonprofit Program (be sure to check out the new look of their landing page).

Here are a few notes from her presentation:

The April 8th Net Tuesday San Francisco will feature The YouTube Nonprofit Program. Maryrose Dunton, the Head of User Experience at YouTube, will present. The event will be from 6-8 PM at the TechSoup/CompuMentor offices at 525 Brannan St., Ste. 300 in San Francisco.

Please RSVP on Meetup, Upcoming or Facebook.