The Wired Nonprofit 2012

Reflecting Forward and Backward

We recently had Eli Pariser talk about The Filter Bubble, and the challenge of having technology hide information from us online. This Sunday’s NY Times brought Sherry Terkel, talking about “The Flight from Conversation,” where she laments the ability for always-on connectivity to become a substitute for deep, meaningful, interactive, in-person conversations.

In today’s workplace, young people who have grown up fearing conversation show up on the job wearing earphones. Walking through a college library or the campus of a high-tech start-up, one sees the same thing: we are together, but each of us is in our own bubble, furiously connected to keyboards and tiny touch screens.
 

While I’m very familiar with that scene, I don’t consider the ability to tune out distractions and focus with some music a total conversation stopper. And I won’t deny that I enjoy the “sips,” as she calls them, of conversational interaction on the various social networks. But in co-Teaching with Tom and Marcia, and in co-creating this class with all of you, I have experienced some fantastic conversations.

Doc Searls said “We Are All Authors of Each Other,” in which he states:

Informing is not the same as delivering information. Inform is derived from the verb to form. When you inform me, you form me. You enlarge that which makes me most human: what I know. I am, to some degree, authored by you.

I believe we as a teaching team have helped “form” you, in some way, towards thinking about the use of online and digital technologies to get at that human, two-way communications. I state this because I have read papers from most of you, and have noticed the growth from your initial drafts and your outlined thoughts towards serious strategic thinking.

In some cases, I’m seeing the founding or re-formation of organizations intended to help groups in society to connect, learn, communicate, support and share with each other. The medium in this case actually enables the message. If distance, illness, or social standing blocks communication, the plans you have created routes around those blocks and creates new paths to explore. In other cases, I’m seeing clarity and new communications modes for organizations that need the help to connect, fundraise, and raise awareness. 

Reading your plans makes me excited for a more connection-rich future. 

Getting down to the wire

We’re nearing the end of classes and the time when things are due. So I’m going to go “off plan” and instead of previewing material from the next class, I’ll just share a few articles that may actually help you with your final papers. 

We don’t really emphasize search marketing as part of class. However, as anyone who has looked at a typical site’s analytics will tell you, many, many people find you because of search. So, learning about how social media affects search results is a good idea.

Digiday reports: 

Natural search results are very much intertwined with social media. Social media is teaching people to interpret and filter their inputs based on their social network. People trust each other more than they trust branded content. The opportunity for brands lies in cultivating loyal customers so they then go on to market the brand to their friends.

You can read about “Social’s Hidden Power: Search Rankings” for more. While we’re at it, why not use “Social Media to Test Email Subject Lines?” Seems like a great use of social to see what your audience responds to. 

Additionally, we’ve discussed LinkedIn but it often doesn’t rise to the level of ‘must engage in’ when we discuss strategy in class. Perhaps that’s why it’s called “The Forgotten Social Network” in this article. Not only can you run ads that target top executives - you can also make sure your company updates are targeted to specific people. Maybe cause marketing efforts are targeted to top people in companies? Get creative. 

Enjoy your week off, and don’t forget to attend the panel tomorrow night if you can. 

- Howard Greenstein

#wnpNYU Thursday Links: Permission, Leadership, and All That Jazz

Greetings once again Wired Nonprofiteers! Here’s the Thursday serving of linkages from the network related to yesterday’s class discussions. Please read, watch, share, and discuss.

We talked about leadership and its qualities, both inside and outside organizations. This Forbes post by Chris Perry covers examples in the corporate marketing world and talkd about leadership amidst the chaos of social media. His conclusion: “A leadership void, as much as technology platforms and proper planning, creates internal chaos.”

In class this week, also tried to break down the barriers that come along with the concept of separate offline/online worlds, and discussed a holistic, integrated approach to using social media for nonprofits and causes. This post by media sociologist Zeynep Tufekci responds to a David Carr column in the Times and does a good job of taking on that concept of “digital dualism.” Her point: “there is no ‘virtual’ world separate from this world.”

We also talked about the power of giving permission to lead, and of people asking other people to give. Our friend Lucy Bernholz has a terrific post on her must-bookmark Philanthropy 2173 blog headlined “Shaking up the long tail” that delves into the “instant” philanthropy of text-based giving in response to major disasters. People ask others to give, and they talk about it a lot - which provides (even in an instant) that combination of leadership and permission we talked about in class. Writes Lucy:

While the ability to give small amounts of money quickly might seem like a fragmenting force for donations, the energy with which these donors tell others about their donations might serve as some form of “glue” and “direction” – sending donations to a few organizations with the most vocal early givers, for example.

And if you’re interested, here are three fellowships on offer for “young social change makers” in New York.

Finally, in the category of “just because it’s Mardi Gras and a certain instructor was in New Orleans and was hunting up great stuff on YouTube” comes this excellent video that was used to raise money for Preservation Hall. Enjoy (and share)!

[Tom Watson]

Thoughts on Tools

Next week’s topic will be using Social Media tools, both inside and outside the organization. 

Here are a few articles to get you thinking about this subject. Most of these are quite short, so they are going to be discussed next week. 

Mostly External Networking:

Why Slactivism is Underrated

Private Social Networks: How the Peace Corps Is Building a Community of Volunteers Online

InfoGraphic: How Social Media is used by top nonprofits

Twitter CEO: 2012 Will Be the Twitter Election

Tips for your nonprofit to succeed with Google Plus business pages

Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Circle of Nonprofits on Google Plus

On Location Based Service Foursquare (a little tongue-in-cheek): “The Awkward Horror of Knowing Where Everyone Is All the Time.”

Social Media on a Shoestring Budget

Internal Use of Tools

Does your Organization need a Social Media Policy?

Great Info-graphic on how the Air Force decides whether to respond to comments: ROI (Results on Insight) - nonprofit examples of how listening returns value

DC Nonprofit uses Yammer to Build Culture, reduce clutter

Feel free to use Twitter to comment on any of these articles- don’t forget to use the #wnpNYU Hashtag.

(Professor Greenstein)

Likes and Dislikes of Social Media

I like how social media can connect people who have similar interests from anywhere in the world. Social media can also empower those who are socially awkward or have difficulty expressing themselves through direct human interaction. It gives them an opportunity to feel part of a community. Conversely, it is my personal belief, and “dislike,” that social media has impacted the ability or desire of certain users from communicating and interacting in person.

I like how easy smart phones, such as the iphone, allow a person to post to blogs, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, etc. Social media is easily accessible and completely universal. However, I dislike how it can become an addiction and consume a vast amount of time and energy.

I agree with Paloma’s assessment of Foursquare, Twitter and FB. For personal/professional use, I value LinkedIn the most because it is successful at connecting professionals within the same network. I love the different groups and discussion I can join, as well as having the opportunity to view other users’ professional profile and interests. From my professional experience I have gained the most opportunity through networking on and through LinkedIn.

posted by Sara LP.