A forthcoming study from the PR firm Porter Novelli finds that most corporations report growth in their web traffic and media attention after they dip their toe in the blogosphere.

These results are not surprising. It is pretty well established that journalists have a greater appetite for blogs than the average Internet user. Successful blogs attract loyal audiences — individuals that can be steered into the rest of the website with periodic announcements or invitations.

Ironically, most of those same firms acknowledge they didn’t start the blog to achieve these goals, but rather to experiment with a hot phenomenon. In fact, about six in ten of the respondents report having no particular goals (63%) or guidelines (57%) for their corporate blogs.

Is there any reason why nonprofit organizations would have a different experience? I can’t think of one offhand.

If you want to stay current on the use of cell phones for nontraditional uses by nonprofits, check out our good friends at MobileActive, a global network of activists and campaigners using mobile phones for civic action and engagement.  Their Web site has lots of great examples and inspiration.

We’ve long been hearing about the ever expanding use of cell phones abroad for more than just phone contact. In some European countries, for example, your cell phone is also your bank card. There is a fascinating article in this week’s Washington Post about importance and prevalence of cell phones in the Congo among its war torn populations.  Link to article (free registration required)

The digital divide is shrinking in new and unexpected ways. Clearly the cell phone is an important delivery medium for nonprofit programs and services. Question is, are American nonprofits taking advantage of that?