Implementing Teleconferencing And Communication Technology To Advance The Alternative Fuels Goal

The alternative energy cause has now reached a tipping point. The juxtaposition of oil prices skyrocketing over $115 a barrel and coal prices doubling has been essential in awakening a new sense of urgency about alternative fuel.nnWith US drivers paying close to $4.00 per gallon of petrol and California drivers paying approximately $4.15 per gallon, enthusiasm is increasing for a national agenda to embrace use of alternative energy. Whether these be wind, nuclear, or solar, US consumers are now realizing that our country's energy independence and economy are totally linked to reducing our dependence on traditional fuels.nnIt would appear as if the political climate has never been better for the alternative energy community. To truly seize this moment, the organizations that comprise the community would be well served to consider the role of technology in improving the cross community networking needed to secure lasting successes.nnIndeed, most alternative energy lobbying organizations can experience benefits from using new technologies that facilitate collaboration. Examples include Rondee's free conference call system which enables easy to deploy teleconferencing as well as online conference calling and networking tools.nnTip #1: Use online tools to networknnThe most successful alternative fuels advocacy organizations create networks of supporters who believe in their philosophy and mission. While the term networking frequently gets an undesirable connotation, the clear reality is these networks can provide significant help. Today in the Dulles technology corridor, the expectation is that professional people will have at least a rudimentary LinkedIn profile.nnMeanwhile, other networking applications such as Facebook are starting to see adoption by more professional users. Such applications also offer a relatively easy method of increase your network.nnTip #2: Leverage a free teleconference systemnnIn the last several years, there has been escalating levels of cross-functional integration between geographically separate alternative fuels advocacy groups. One cause of this trend has been lower air travel costs – a trend that may now be going the opposite direction with the leaping oil prices alluded to earlier. nnAnother factor is the flourishing of the sorts of free conference calling services mentioned above. All of these services, including those offered by Rondee.com operate on the same core principle. They offer you a PIN and a toll number to dial. If all teleconference users dial the same number and enter the same PIN code, they are placed into the conference phone call. nnThird Tip: Investigate technology to enable desktop sharingnnSome alternative fuels advocacy groups have far flung leadership teams, and it is difficult to have face-to-face meetings. Technology is addressing this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's displaying a PowerPoint presentation displaying the group's development plan or a spreadsheet showing the performance desktop sharing can be very useful for not a few green groups.nnFourth Tip: Use an electronic news platformnnIt wasn't that long in the past that sending out an email newsletter was time consuming and tiresome. This has now changed. On-line services are making it possible to create templated and scalable newsletters. These solutions cut the work load by at approximately 90% and in so doing enable green organizations to concentrate on content creation as opposed to delivery of messages.nnFifth Tip Leverage data based decision-making nnOne of the most significant trends in the last several years affecting nonprofits in the alternative fuels community has been the escalating reliance on evidence based decision-making. Leaders can apply the same practices with simple to use Excel or Lotus spread-sheeting applications to ascertain what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and thus reliance on conjecture is being systematically replaced by empirical evidence to justify decisions.n