Notwithstanding the wave of recent publicity, the organic movement is by no means a new movement. In 1940, Rodale, a Pennsylvania researcher coined the term to describe a superior practice of farming which was free of pesticides. And throughout, the organic movement has occupied somewhat conflicting ground. The field is beset by sometimes conflicting regulatory authorities including the Department of Agriculture, states and private bodies.

There are at least tens of thousands of certified organic farmers in the United States. Last year alone, North American consumer spent billions of dollars for organic produce, poultry and meat. And against this backdrop, is an entire industry of lobbyists, advocates, trade associations and ranchers.

So what do all of these seemingly divergent communities have in common? Apart from their shared interest in furthering the organic movement, all can benefit from the use of new technologies.

Indeed, most if not all organic organizations could benefit from the use of new technologies that facilitate teleconferencing and networking. Ranging from free conference solutions including Rondee.com that allow ubiquitous conferencing to new generation email newsletter systems, there has not been a more ideal time to leverage new technologies to further the organic vision. The following ideas are just a handful of recommendations.

Deploy an automated electronic newsletter system

It wasn't too long ago that sending out an electronic newsletter was time consuming and tiresome. This has now changed. On-line services such as Mynewsletterbuilding, Sevista, and Campaign Monitor are making it feasible to create scalable newsletters. These solutions cut the work load by as much as seventy percent and in so doing enable organic organizations to concentrate on content development rather than content delivery.

Augment your online network

The most advanced organic advocacy organizations create strong networks of supporters who believe in their philosophy and mission. While the term networking frequently gets a less than ideal reputation, the simple reality is that these networks can provide significant help to organic advocacy groups. Today in the Bay Area, the expectation is that professional folks will have at least a basic profile page on LinkedIn.

At the same time, other networking applications such as Facebook are starting to see usage by more professional users. These applications also offer a relatively simple method of increase your network.

Use a free teleconference service

In the last few years, there has been escalating collaboration between geographically diverse organic advocacy groups. One cause of this trend has been lower air travel costs – a trend that may now be going the opposite direction with leaping oil prices.

Another cause is the flourishing of free teleconference start-ups. A number of these sorts of free conference call services, including the product offered by Rondee.com work on the same basic principle. They give you a PIN and a toll number to dial. If all conference call users dial the same toll number and enter the same code, they are put into the conference.

Use data based decision-making practices

One of the most important trends recently affecting nonprofit organizations in the organic community has been the increasing reliance on evidence driven decision-making. Managers can apply the same practices with simple to use Excel or Lotus spreadsheeting applications to ascertain what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and reliance on conjecture is being replaced by empirical evidence to justify processes.

Desktop sharing

Some organic advocacy groups have far flung leadership groups, and it is impractical to have face-to-face meetings. Technology is addressing this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's displaying a PowerPoint document displaying the group's development plan or a spreadsheet showing the performance desktop sharing can be extremely useful for many organic groups.

----------
Bob Letterman consults to the free conferencing service that was initially launched by the Rondee.com corporation. Letterman is a leader when it comes to conference calling and related topics of concern to the organic community.