News, Notes, and New Stuff

Changing the Look
Blackbaud launched the latest version of our corporate website today. Some different approaches to presenting information, content, and a much bigger emphasis on different types of media including video testimonials and podcasts to mix things up. There is also a focus on presenting some of the stories from across our 19,000 clients. And finally, the new site presents some brand and identity changes that have been in the works. Hats off to the team that put in a lot of hours pulling off this redesign. It's never an easy task.

Changing the Meme
Every year I try and take in a bunch of different concerts. And with each passing year the number of lighters used during the rock ballads continues to decline. Instead the concert air is lit with the luminosity of mobile phones. There was a very telling moment at NTC last week when the air was full of iPhones. I caught a concert last night with a friend and we were simply gobsmacked by an entire venue lit up by phones. I'm waiting for Bono's magic trick from a few years ago to start becoming more common place.

Changing the Location
Tomorrow morning I'll be flying out to San Diego for AFP's 45th International Conference on Fundraising. There are some great sessions lined up for this year and I'm looking forward to the keynotes by Jane Goodall, Bob Geldof, and Kevin Carroll. I'm fortunate enough to be presenting at AFP for the second year-in-a-row and I will be posting my presentation online next Monday.

Changing the Transparency
Next week our product development team will be code complete on Blackbaud NetCommunity version 5.5. In the past, we have done feature review sessions with clients prior to the actual release and they have always been well received. That will continue but I'll also be posting sneak previews on this blog over the next few weeks. There are some really exciting new things on the horizon.