The Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco hosted 1,400 do-gooders interested in technology. There were over 100 sessions in 3 days, including "Web 2.0 Philanthropy: Crowdsourcing through the Kiva Developer Program" by Kiva's Skylar Woodward. In case you missed it, here's a description of his session: So now you have a hip, beautiful, and compelling web site for your cause; how do you organize other developers to help you build on that and reach even more audiences? Good software development is hard and volunteered code can often be a nightmare for your organization to handle. What if you could have people build on your work without you even knowing about it?! In January 2009, Kiva launched a developer program to accomplish just this, building on successes with non-tech volunteer programs in content translation, acquisition, and overseas partner relations. We’ll explore crowdsourcing development though a look at Kiva’s program and we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned so far though mistakes and surprises.
Takeaways:
1. How to use a well-formed public API to coordinate outside development. 2. The importance and approach to cultivating your community. 3. Incentivizing developers when financial profit isn’t an option.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
Won’t You Be My Neighbor…And Give Me a Good Credit Rating →NEXT ARTICLE
Volley Ball, Skirts and Celebration! →