Hi all,

Well its time I pulled my finger out and set an agenda for the next couple of meetings. at Our next meeting on 21st October The focus is going to be on "Salesforce things Google"  We will have a presentation looking into Google Adwords for Salesforce, and I am currently putting the feelers out for a speaker on google Apps for salesforce.  - Anyone out there wanting to share how they use either of these online marvels, Please get in touch.

For our meeting on 9th December The focus / theme is going to be making use of email and looking at some of the dynamic services available which extend standard functionality.  Interested in contributions from any of the group who make use of email services for marketing and fundraising activities.

so that takes us up to the end of the year.

all interested in contributing, please email me at
ciaran@uksa.org

I look forward to hearing from you

c. :-)

Issue 2 of our non profit group pod cast is out now.

It's a bit of an experiment requested by members.  We recorded this months meeting.  I have built an enhanced pod cast from the result, mixing it with the presentation slides that were delivered.

My thanks once again to David from Astadia for agreeing to be recorded.

>>Click Here

Also in itunes if you search for Salesforce in their podcast directory.

If you get a copy of Itunes ( which is free) you can subscribe to the podcast so it just gets delivered to you when it goes online.

Working at the moment on some content on Coda to go for Salesforce and Google apps.  Watch this space :-)

regards

Ciaran

Group member Nicole has stepped up to the challenge and posted an Idea on the ideas exchange.  As requested at the last group meeting, please support other group members by voting on the elements they post on the ideas exchange.

The idea is...:-)

Well have you?

its one of those areas its easy not to stray into, but its full of all sorts of hidden gems.
It even has a dedicated discussion board for non profits, Mac users, marketing, custom formula questions. Its one of those things that rewards you the more time you spend with it.

have a look at
http://community.salesforce.com/sforce/board?board.id=Non-Profits

then go wild and post a feedback comment to this post with links to cool stuff you found :-)

Hi all,

just a quick reminder that I still have some space for this Thursdays meeting at London bridge. If you haven't responded to the invite and would like to attend- or perhaps if you have RSVP'd but  would like to bring a friend  please ensure I have emailed names by 2pm on wed 10th, and I'll add them to the guest list.

Security at the london brdge venue is tight, and If I dont have names in advance, you wont be allowed in!

This month we have David Woodhead from Astadia speaking about new features in Summer 08 and winter 08 releases of Salesforce.

Plan to record this as audio for those who cannot make it ( finger crossed that works)

speak with you all soon

regards
Ciaran
email me at ciaran[at]uksa.org

Had a request fro a group member to promote a feature I think would be of use in all sorts of situations.

stay in touch enables you to send out an email with record fields which customers can update.  drawback is, you cannot edit the template used on stay in touch emails.  shame, because if you could, stay in touch could give your customers a link to update their own records, saving lots of time all around.

it has 3000 votes already.  Please- if you think you could make use of it. vote for eidtable stay in touch templates

http://ideas.salesforce.com/search?search_terms=stay+in+touch

lets see what impact we can make on this.

c.

OK, this one isnt of our making, but thought it might be of interest.

Was interviewed recently on Internet marketing podcast which has around 8000 subscribers.  If you want some audio content that helps you use online marketing more effectively, this is a great podcast to subscribe to.  Its in Itunes and has a striking orange logo and is published by Academy internet.

They interviewd me on our use of Google Adwords for Salesforce.

find the interview on the last 15 minutes of this

http://media1.wireworldmedia.co.uk/im039.mp3

Interview recorded over a skype line. Soething we could use for our group podcast.

enjoy
c.

Agenda for Septembers meeting as follows

Location/ CAN London bridge Facility

Agenda
Welcome & Introductions
Presentation by David Woodhead - Astadia, " A look at the Summer 08 Release features and up and coming features in Winter 08 release"
Open forum on how members have put some of the new features to use / best practice.
Feedback on the Podcast
Finalise plan and location for next  meeting
Group Mingle and networking

Please note that I need written confirmation and names for all attending this meeting as security at the venue is tight. If you have emailed me already following the email invite, there is no need to respond again.

Will experiment with audio recording this meeting to share with those who cannot make it or who live hundreds of miles away.

email Ciaran[at]uksa.org

I've been a bit slow on this, but better late than never.

few people asking about limitations for the non profit template on Salesforce. I dont use this, but my understanding of templates is that they do not alter the functionality of the application, they just rename objects to a more user firendly terminology for non profits.

That said, I undertand that because things have been called different names, it causes problems when speaking to technical support. The easy solution is to get familiar with how the template renames standard objects, so that you can speak on level terms with Salesforce technical support.  We have to understand that they deal with many many thousands of different customisations, so if they are able to provide the service we all love, they have to have a common language.  - Difficult at first I know, but take the punge and it soon becomes second nature.

Within the template there is a way of displaying everything with the standard names.

have a look at  http://wiki.apexdevnet.com/index.php/NonprofitSuccessGuide

I also found this, which I havent been through in detail, but for those of you new to the non profit template, offers some great walk throughs with everything labled as you will see it with the non profit template applied

http://www.salesforcefoundation.org/screencasts

Making contact with a guy who was instrumental in the development of the non profit template.  plan is to interview him on the next podcast. Please do email me through with your questions, and I'll digg deep and get answers in the podcast.

Ciaran

Its not too late for those of you still sat on the fence on dreamforce 08 in San francisco

A few people asking me if its really worth it. In My opinion- YES its totally worth it if you can afford the time. Networking and training on a whole new level. I went last year and I'm still buzzing.

if you want to get a non profit discount you can register for $99. A bargain, considering they give you  regular and ample opportunity to eat your own body weight in chicken wings or brownies!

http://www.salesforcefoundation.org/dreamforce08

let me know if you are going.

Ciaran