Skype is a terrific tool. It is a software based phone that allows VoIP calls anywhere in the world. If you place a Skype call between computers--your computer and the computer of the person on the other end--the call is free. It costs pennies a minute to call to a cell phone or land line.

Skype will allow you to do video calling, share documents, and IM others on the Skype network.

How can a nonprofit use Skype? I think it can be particularly useful when working on collaborative projects. These projects could be technology based or not.

I have have been playing with Blinksale.com for invoicing recently. It is an online invoicing PO system that allows you to track invoices that are due, past due, and so forth. It also allows you to send thank-you's after a payment is made. It is designed to allow you to print an invoice that has been sent to you. You can set payment terms and repeat invoices automatically.

If you work in a very small nonprofit and are looking for a simple but powerful invoicing system, I would check it out. It is free to use lightly--3 invoices a month and has reasonable rates if you need to go beyond that.

It was bound to happen.  Since sites like YouTube, Revver, and Flickr started providing API access allowing reasonably easy embedding of functionality and content into other sites, we have seen some amazing mashups.  With a little programming know-how, some pretty sophisticated systems can be built at a fraction of the cost.