Implementing Conference Calling And Networking Technology To Aid The Alternative Fuels Mission
By bob letterman
The fuels cause has finally reached a tipping point. The combination of oil prices skyrocketing over $125 a barrel and coal costs doubling has been critical in awakening a new sense of urgency about energy.

With US drivers paying close to $4.05 per gallon of gas and California drivers paying roughly $4.25 per gallon, enthusiasm is increasing for a national agenda to accelerate adoption of fuels. Whether these be hydro, liquified coal, or hybrid technologies, US consumers are finally realizing that our nation's energy independence and economy are totally linked to reducing our dependence on traditional fuels.

It would seem as if the political environment has never been better for the fuels movement. To truly seize this moment, the organizations that comprise the movement would be well served to consider the role of technology in enhancing the cross community networking needed to generate lasting impact.

Indeed, most energy lobbying organizations could experience benefits from adopting new technologies that enable networking. Examples include Rondee's free conference call system which enables scalable teleconferencing as well as online conference calling and networking tools.

First Tip: Utilize online tools to network

The most successful fuels advocacy organizations create networks of supporters who believe in their values and mission. While the term networking often gets an undesirable reputation, the simple reality is these networks can provide significant aid. Today in San Jose, the expectation is that professional folks will have at least a minimal LinkedIn profile.

At the same time, other networking applications such as Facebook are starting to experience usage by more professional users. Such services also provide a relatively simple way of augmenting your network.

Second Tip: Use a free teleconference application

In the last several years, there has been escalating degrees of coordination between geographically diverse fuels advocacy groups. One cause of this trend has been lower flight travel costs – a trend that may now be going the

opposite direction with the leaping oil costs alluded to above.

A separate factor is the flourishing of the sorts of free conference calling services highlighted above. All of these services, including those offered by Rondee work on the same key principle. They give you a personal access number and a toll number to call. If all conference call participants dial the same bridge number and enter the same PIN code, they are placed into the conference call.

Tip #3: Consider technology to enable desktop sharing

Some fuels advocacy groups have far flung leadership groups, and it is impractical to expect in person meetings. Technology is solving this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's showing a PowerPoint presentation displaying the group's fundraising initiatives or a spreadsheet showing the tracking of volunteer participation desktop sharing can be extremely useful for many green groups.

Tip #4: Deploy an electronic news system

It was not too long in the past that sending out an email newsletter was time consuming and difficult. This has now changed. On-line services are making it feasible to create templated and scalable newsletters. These services slash the work load by at roughly ninety percent and in so doing enable green organizations to focus on content development as opposed to delivery of messages.

Fifth Tip Leverage data driven decision-making practices

One of the most important trends recently affecting not for profits in the fuels community has been the increasing reliance on evidence based decision-making. Practitioners can apply the same techniques with simple to use Excel or Lotus spread-sheeting applications to determine what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and reliance on conjecture is being systematically replaced by empirical evidence to support decisions.

Bob Letterman worked on launching the Rondee www.rondee.com”>free conference call service that provides robust teleconferencing.