You may have already heard that DIA is getting close to rebirthing its platform of organizing tools in a new user interface we're calling "Salsa".

But you're probably wondering what this Salsa thing is all about and what will it mean for you and your organization. Not only are we thrilled that the "Campaign Headquarters" will look nicer and the tools will be easier to use, we're also excited to introduce several new concepts to the online advocacy/CRM space.

Here's a quick overview of what you'll be seeing in early 2007.

USABILITY

First and foremost, Salsa is dramatically more intuitive for both first-time and experienced users, and has a cleaner navigation that puts the most popular tools within easy reach. It looks sleeker and uses cool new technologies like AJAX to make your experience in the Headquarters faster and more enjoyable. Did we mention the drag and drop reports?! It's HOT!

CUSTOMIZATION

Perhaps the single most important innovation in our new platform is the ability to personalize your experience. Because we work with all kinds of progressive organizations - small to large; local to international - we created the most flexible and customizable solution available.

*You* tell Salsa what you need to do, and how you like to do it. From data entry screens to reporting to the "dashboard" nerve center, everything in Salsa can be crafted for convenience of each different user. We will provide commonly used workflows, but if you're used to a different interface, change it around until you're comfortable with it.

You'll even have the ability to create your own tools using what we're calling "custom workflows". Say you need a ride board, but DIA doesn't provide a stock tool that does exactly what you need it to do. Create your own fields, custom objects, and workflow. Name it, save it, and you'll be all set with a brand new tool.

CUSTOM REPORT BUILDER

You wanted more ability to measure your effectiveness and we listened. With Salsa's rich package of default reports and its flexible custom report generator, all kinds of new data is instantly at your fingertips.

Now, it's easy to manage your membership, graph your financial performance, or drill into your campaign actions. Customize the reports and data you see for your fundraising manager, your ED, your interns, your volunteers, and yourself. You can then save your custom reports to display on your HQ homepage or any other dashboard page for easy access to the information that's most important to you.

TAGGING & SEARCHING

DIA's Salsa is the first nonprofit e-CRM system to fully integrate the power of tagging. Mark your actions, your newsletters, even your supporters just like a flickr page and search on your tags to cluster related data.

Here's an example: You're running a campaign on whales. You'll mark everything from your letter writing campaign to your email blasts to your donation pages with a tag called "whales". You'll then search on that tag to pull up all kinds of reports and aggregate data related to that particular tag. Print that page out and give it to the program person for real-time analysis of how the campaign is performing. Easy and powerful!

To tie it all together, a new search capability including but extending beyond your tags will make everything in the system easier to find.

NEW FEATURES

Campaign Remix: In response to the efforts by Congress to block electronic communications, we've implemented a new behavior for our Campaign pages. In "campaign 2.0," your users will see their "targets" (i.e. members of Congress) populate in real time as they enter their address information, and our form will dynamically pull specialized fields like subject menus from representatives' web forms, logic puzzles, or captchas, when you target Congress. This should make the entire write-your-rep experience smoother and more transparent for end users.

LTE Remix: Our Letter to the Editor tool also got a make-over. You'll find cool new AJAX pages and additional functionality to make the tool more effective. Now you can search for outlets by zipcode, prevent identical letters from going to the same outlet, and rotate letter subjects and content.

You'll also find additional functionality in many other parts of the system including events, personal fundraising pages, social networking type community pages, and editable profile pages.

SCORING

Have you ever wondered what the best way to determine who your top supporters or "super activists" are? Thought there must be an easier and more accurate way to do this? Well now you'll be able to do it in a way that makes the most sense to your organization. You'll no longer need to hack it with arbitrary numbers of actions or donations.

Each supporter will be given a score based on criteria that you determine. You'll be able to view full scoring histories for individuals at a glance. You'll be able to customize your own algorithms, with maximum, minimum, and half-life calculations for every action. Score every action in the system: petitions, campaigns, events, donations, etc. Is writing a letter to the editor more valuable to your organization than a $10 donation? It's up to you.

Once each individual is given a score, you'll be able to group and target messages based on multiple scores. Work with multiple organizations or in a coalition? Use our standard scores to compare list quality between organizations.

*please note that custom scoring will not be available as part of the beta version.

DOCUMENTATION & TRAINING

To complement all our fancy new tools, we're launching a major documentation effort to help support you in the transition. In addition to better documentation, you'll soon see that flash-based training components complete with tips and tricks to enhance your online organizing efforts.

Part of our goal at DIA has always been to help you realize your vision for the potential of technology. We hope that Salsa will go a long way in accomplishing that goal. However, we know that we will only truly succeed if our members have a complete understanding of the tools and how they work. Towards that goal, we'll be launching a series of in-person training sessions for users at all levels in DC, NYC, San Francisco, and other locations TBD.

We are also planning to re-launch our strategy webinars and training sessions in the second quarter of 2007. Stay tuned!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Wow, this all sounds very exciting. When will I be able to check it out?
A: Innovation is a process, not an event. As such, the rollout of Salsa will be a process. First, we'll be sending another email next week announcing the launch of our beta version that will occur this month with directions on how to access it. You'll then be able to login and toggle between the old version and the new to start testing it out.

Q: Can I be a beta tester?
A: Yes! We have a number of organization already signed up to be beta testers, but the more people kicking the tires, the better. Please send us an email (info_at_democracyinaction.org) if you'd like to be a tester.

Q: Will the old platform work as the new one is in beta?
A: Definitely. Both will run concurrently and you'll be able to switch between them.

Q: What should I expect during the beta period?
A: From our friends at Wikipedia: A beta version or beta release usually represents the first version of a computer program that implements all features in the initial requirements analysis. It is likely to be useful for internal demonstrations and previews to select customers, but unstable and not yet ready for release.

Here's what you should NOT to expect. Don't expect everything to be functioning 100% correctly. Don't expect things not to break. Lastly, don't expect that things won't continue to change during the beta period and we gather and implement your suggestions and polish the tools. If something is not functioning as desired, you should switch back to the old system.

Q: How long do you expect the beta period to last?
A: At least two months.

Q: Will you give us notice before switching completely to the new platform?
A: After you've had the chance to test Salsa and we gather feedback from users, we'll continue to enable features and set a date for the switchover from the old system to Salsa. We will also send you an email before this happens so you'll know well in advance when to expect it!

Q: Where should I submit bugs that I find while beta testing?
A: You'll see a link at the bottom of the Salsa interface that says "Feedback/Bug Report". Please use that link to submit bugs.

Q: Will I need to be retrained?
A: The goal is to make the system so easy that anyone can use it without training! However, we want to be sure all our users are comfortable with the new tools, so we're planning a series of in-person training sessions in multiple locations as well as webinars and on-demand Flash modules.

Q: Are you planning on improving your documentation?
A: Yes, it is in progress. Please see the section on "documentation and training" above.

Q: Where can I send general feedback, frustrations, kudos, etc?
A: As always, your feedback and participation is highly encouraged. Please drop us a line at info _at_democracyinaction.org.