Pending legislation will align Canada's anti-spam laws with the rest of the developed world. you need to be aware of it.

Perhaps it is because of the current economic climate, but I have noticed a significant increase in unsolicited e-mail newsletters in my in box lately. These are e-newsletters from what I would have considered to be reputable businesses. In some cases I know the sender. Yet despite the source or intent, all of these messages are spam, just like those offers of a diploma, 'quality' watch or a better sex life.

A client, Micah House, a nonprofit agency serving refugees, has been struggling with ways to effectively communicate information to its volunteers and supporters about information that can change daily. Volunteers who cook and serve meals to guests needed to know how many guests to cook for. Also, there is a need to send out requests for material needs. For example, guests often need furniture or help with moving when they get their own apartment. Sending out daily e-mails was not the answer. Not only was it burdensome to the staff, but many volunteers did not check their e-mail frequently enough.

Then, one day not long ago, I was sitting in on a presentation about social media at the Association of Fundraising Professionals' one-day conference, Fundraising Day, in  Toronto. There was the solution! Twitter! The micro-blogging service just might do the trick. If you know Facebook, then think of Twitter as having just the status, or 'What's on your mind', field on a Facebook page.  It's easy to use, works on multiple platforms (web, RSS feeds, or on your cell phone) and can keep people informed quickly. Not only that, but it has the potential to communicate in new ways to the agency's existing audience and communicate to a new audience as well.