evange.LIST

This Blog Has Moved . . .

2008-12-14T19:39:00.004-05:00

. . . to www.evange-list.com.

The siren call of WordPress.org was just too strong, the peer pressure too great, and I'm a glutton for getting in over my head with technology.

All past posts and comments have moved to the new website. The new site is still a work in progress, but isn't everything? On that note, please feel free to send me feedback/suggestions. Ideas from friends are the greatest gift and source of growth.

Thank you, Blogger, for two solid starter years. (It's not you, it's me.)

Catch you all on the flip side.

Peace,
Qui

Be a Voice for Darfur (and meet the new Facebook Petition)

2008-12-02T15:15:00.012-05:00

Will you help me? It will take you less than 5 minutes to read this post and take a stand for justice. Never have I felt more passionately about my work.

Darfur finds itself in its sixth year of genocide. A perfect storm of gender-abuse, child soldiering and rampant murders that has claimed roughly half a million lives from this war-torn region of Sudan.

The good news: President-elect Obama pledged "unstinting resolve" to end the Darfur Genocide. His new national security team includes individuals who are deeply familiar with the ongoing Darfur crisis.
The new team must use their familiarity with with - and passion for - the isse to take decisive action to end the genocide. Ending the genocide in Darfur is a promise that must be kept.

As a part of The Save Darfur Coalition's full-court press to ensure that Obama's administration makes good on his pledge, the coalition recently launched a new campaign: Be a Voice for Darfur. The campaign aims for no less than 1 million postcards to be sent to Obama's attention within his first 100 days in office. Postcard signatures are due by Inauguration Day - January 20, 2009. The postcards will be printed and delivered to the Whitehouse later in the Spring, complete with a rally. An un-dissmissable reminder that this issue matters to Americans, and our President.

You can help by adding your voice NOW.

Sign the online petition at www.addyourvoice.org or through Save Darfur's Facebook petition. (For my fellow nonprofit and social media junkies, the new petition feature on Facebook Causes is a game changer for online advocacy - check out the screenshot at left.)
Spread the word through Twitter (#voice4darfur) Facebook, MySpace, email, and the water cooler. Please consider blogging about this, even if it deviates from your normal topics. (Social media for social good!) This Blogger Toolkit will help you get started.

Via my boss Geoff Livingston's post on Social Media Club blog: "The time to for action is now, and in a year when many of us are suffering financial hardship, we can still make a difference. Signing the petition, tweeting or writing blog posts are great ways to help without expending a lot of cash."

Next Tuesday, December 9 is the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's Genocide Convention. With your help, this campaign can get Darfur past Obama's doorstep and put an end to the genocide before another year goes by. Let's stop being bystanders to genocide.

Thanks for being a voice for Darfur.

It’s never too late to give Thanks

2008-12-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

It's a few days post-Thanksgiving, and we're all coming down from the high (thank you NBER for officializing our year-old recession today). It continues to be a landmark year for "social philanthropy." In fact, 2008 marked what I believe was the first annual TweetsGiving.

This Twitter-driven group hug encouraged people to share what they're thankful for, and donate to a good cause. Spearheaded by Epic Change, #tweetsgiving raised $10,000 in 48 hours to help build a classroom in a school in Tanzania.

Which brings me to what I'm thankful for.

Thankfulness.

It's a simple thought. We have so much to be grateful for, but without gratefulness, no one would recognize blessings of any shape or size. Without the capacity for gratitude, how would we recognize the daily miracles that keep us breathing and functioning, let alone thriving? If I never felt the magnitude of thankfulness, I would never be humble.

This has been a remarkable year in my life. From my mom's journey out of despair into joy, to my professionally rewarding day-to-day, from love to friendships galore, weddings, babies and more. I'm in awe, and yes, humbled. But it hasn't always been this good. And a seemingly life charmed is only a moment from being tested and torn.

Even in the bleak moments, we have much to be thankful for. If we can find the gratitude, we can find beauty. "When it's darkest you can see the stars."

Thank you for being you, and for tolerating the mush. Keep saying "thanks."

Get Your Pixels @ StopPovertyNow.org

2008-11-10T23:07:00.006-05:00

The Grameen Foundation was on top of microfinance before Kiva was a gleam in Matt Flannery's eye. Yet it was Kiva that took the social media bull by the horns, setting the bar high for other microfinance groups (and anyone with a mind to tackle social media/online fundraising). Wasn't it just last Christmas that Kiva had to turn away donations because they were oversold?

Raising money online is not that easy for everyone. (This is my annual "Understatement of the Year.")

That's why I'm so thrilled to learn about StopPoveryNow.org, a new online fundraising effort from the Grameen Foundation.

Grameen is selling A LOT of pixels for $10 a pop. (I purchased part of girl #2's left eye - that's my mom in the photo).

It's the Million Dollar Homepage with a Mission. Like when the Grinch got a heart beat.

This is a superb time to launch a fun donation platform. Word of mouth can take it far. And StopPoveryNow.org might just be the next best online fundraising case study. I hope you'll join me in making sure every pixel is purchased.

Kill Poverty

2008-10-14T20:28:00.006-05:00

It's Blog Action Day (tomorrow) and this year's theme is poverty. I have griped about Blog Action Day in the past (volume of voice does not equate to change). This year there is a bigger focus on action (good), so act. It's time for open source activism, so do your thang.

If you think for one second that a green planet will do any good for a world of souls suffocated by despair, think again.

There are countless ways to kick poverty's ass. If you're reading my blog then you probably want to take advantage of social media for your own cause. In that case check out Skelliewag's 30 tips on for beating poverty with technology (hat tip to Jared).

My recommended action: Learn more about microfinance and do something to further the work of microlending organizations near you. It's not just about Kiva (although they've done a great job raising awareness for microfinance at large).

Grameen Foundation: Check out their FAQs on microfinance. Each year, more than 18 million people around the world die from poverty.
NEST: The 3-legged stool is here. Nest helps imoverished women artisans in developing countries by selling their wares on the open market and giving them micro loans to sustain their work.
See Call + Response with a friend. It's opening week at the theaters. By buying tickets, you will not only help keep it in cinemas longer, you'll also want to thwart modern slavery like never before. I've seen it twice - it's tremendous.

Proceedsf for Call + Response (a 100% nonprofit film) go towards groups working to end slavery. I love the Outpost store for the Not For Sale campaign - proceeds go back, and you're creating sustainable business opportunities for emancipated people. Smart!

Give money. It's a recession. Don't waste money on holiday gifts - give donations on behalf of your loved ones to help your global neighbors. Consider one of the causes above, or anti-genocide and clean water efforts. Poverty takes so many forms, and its perpetually entertwined with health and death. We can fix that.

We really can fix that!

Personal Brand Value or Bust

2008-10-14T20:25:00.001-05:00

The wagons are circling. Every agency, corporation, publication and social campaign is amending its Q4 and 2009 game plan. New value propositions are taking shape in recession's dim light. Editorial calendars and ads are being nipped, tucked.

A fine time to consider your own ROI. Social PR practitioners (all employees), like our corporate bodies, need to earn our keep. While the economy hangs in limbo, call an early Auld Lang Syne to anything less than a clearly defined personal value proposition.

"A personal brand is your reputation. Pure and Simple," so says Ross Kimbarovsky of crowdSPRING. It's the culmination of online and offline digital escapades. The outcome of which - ideas, creativity, connections and energy - builds social capital (a.k.a. your brand equity). Your brand equity is leased by your company.

More than reputation, your personal value proposition channels your identity and personality into a meaningful, measurable value. The reason your company will want to keep you.

Consider the same factors for an enterprise's strategic value prop, with a personal twist. This should be easy - social media is by and large a Downfall Darling.

What is the unmet need of your target market (the company)?

How are you different from "competitors"?

Why and how does your performance successfully increase leads and operation efficiency?

How are you going to build your market share (value) among your target segments (boss, peers, direct reports).

Ultimately, your personal value proposition is what you do in tangible business results. Jeremy Epstein put together some starting KPIs for personal brand value. Shonali Burke (guestblogging for Kami Huyse) reminds us that ROI is about more than impressions.

Scarcity drives innovation, and competition. Don't let your value proposition go slip sliding away.

[Image credit: Mac(3)]

This is a cross post of my October 14 post on The Buzz Bin.

Recession 2.0 | Watch Your Back, Pass the Mic & Mind Your Manners

2008-10-14T20:19:00.002-05:00

"Control of the message" has long been one of the most common potholes in the road to social media success. Tables might turn as those who have resisted now face widespread financial implosion caused by bail fail. Its time to say farewell to cloistered corporate mind sets, instead empowering your people to listen to and connect with other people. After all, employees are a company's greatest asset.

Eyes and Ears: Ask Employees to Listen

Feedback is more valuable than ever, and it's never too late to track conversations. Whether a direct comment or overheard, input from stakeholders should flow across silos and be addressed. [Image credit: "Listening Post" by Fenchurch!]

What mechanisms do you have in place to monitor references of your organization? Is there a point person (community manager) or team paying attention to your brand mentions? Who is responding to feedback and how?

Hands and Feet: Ask Employees to Engage

Your organization might have stellar strategy, tactics and metrics for social media engagement, but it has to give up the microphone. The voice belongs to your employees. It is time to give them leg room to do more leg work. [Image by JosephGilbert.org.]

"What if someone says the wrong thing to the wrong person?" There are countless best practices to help guide the way. The troops don't need to be serving as brand ambassadors on Second Life, per say. But they should be trusted to exude politeness and enthusiasm for your mission wherever they may roam.

Hint: Good Manners Are Free, Fast and Fruitful [Image by Lady_K]

Please: Your network is bigger than you think. Whether asking for a favor or a donation, correspondence should not be limited to email and direct mail. "The ask" can be broadcast by one (or many) to one (or many).

Thank you: Expressions of gratitude should be profuse. ("Nice to meet you" is an alternate form of the common "Gracias.") Recognition and appreciation can lead to higher engagement.

Congratulations: Kudos are as welcome as the sound of your own name. Everyone likes to be affirmed, for both the big and small things.

It's one thing to ask, thank and congratulate through private messages social network. But the true power comes through public requests and public affirmation. Getting name-dropped by mutual friends and followers is more likely to drive a response your way. Who can make this happen quickly? Your employees.

An organic, bottom up networking mentality will be a competitive lever from this day forward. Let go and go learn.

This is a cross post of my September 30th post on The Buzz Bin.

Why You Must Show Up and Shake Hands (like Cirque du Soleil)

2008-10-14T20:14:00.004-05:00

"Influencer relations" demands active networking beyond Twitter and Facebook. Attention spans are thinning, so brand ambassadors (you) have to show up, shake hands and speak well. Be present. Not just online, but out there in the real world.

Basic Networking: Media Events and Tours

Every quarter, one of our clients exhibits at a large media event for the tech industry. Attendance is limited to mostly high-profile reporters and bloggers in a specific tech vertical. The costs of participating are buried by the rich, in-person opportunity to look our media contacts in the eye and put a product and concept in their hands.

Media and blogger tours accomplish the same thing. We've taken several clients to "meet their makers." Each time they come back trailing trophy leads and ultimately landing significant coverage. They took time to show up and shake hands.

Crashing the Blogger Party (or "Bring Them to Your Tent.")

When BlogWorld brought the bloggers to Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil took advantage. Chris Brogan's story about the Cirque experience is worth the read. In a nutshell, Cirque's head of social media Jessica Berlin attended the sessions (and afterglow gatherings), interacting with the influential folks on deck.

When one party grew too large, Jessica played an important card: She invited the group of 100 bloggers to a Cirque nightclub.

The "red carpet" was rolled out in terms of service and experience.

Some bloggers subsequently took in a Cirque show - something that might not have happened without Jessica's involvement.

Jessica followed through by thanking Chris on his blog.

Cirque channels on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace were already in place to catch overflow.

Questionable Motives? Not So.

Cirque's efforts were chalked up as "an appalling attempt at corporate blogger relations" by Brandon Carlos of PR Ninja. ". . .What Cirque has done here is give VIP status to a group of bloggers who otherwise would have had to wait at the back of the line. . . The term blogger relations is quickly becoming synonymous with bribery. It doesn’t take a genius to see right through Cirque motives."

Meeting influencers half way is not cheap. It is smart. Through basic awareness raising and rewarding fans, you can cash in on good networking and word of mouth.

What about you? Do you think deliberate networking and favors are unethical? Where do you go to meet your influencers?

[Image credits: "Shaking Hands" by Aidan Jones and "Cirque du Soleil by Saltoricco]

This is a cross post of my September 26th post on The Buzz Bin.

Involver: Taking Online Video to the Mat

2008-10-14T20:08:00.004-05:00

Online video has been an increasingly hot topic for nonprofits this past year. As fortune would have it, I crashed NetSquared's Net Tuesday meet up while breezing through San Francisco last week. Involver's team of online video demi-gods presented new case studies from Save Darfur and Kiva.

Involver (think "engager" not "revolver") offers an intriguing platform with the goal of "making video marketing accessible to all." The company has essentially widgetized videos. It's one thing to simply embed a video (an ubiquitous feature for most video networks). Then there's Involver shooting the moon, making it "stupid easy" to share and grab, take action and subscribe through their supported videos. Their demo video is a good example.

Involver's Nikki Serapio (who disclosed previous work with Save Darfur), named the problem with video.

Distribution: Getting it out there

Engagement: When presented the right way video is instrumental to taking action

Tracking: Which video viewers are the true enthusiasts who can be engaged?

From the company's website: "Our current self-serve end-to-end platform is the starting point for any marketer planning to create a video campaign for social networks. We let companies build, launch, promote, manage and monitor video campaigns that reach millions of social networking users with the greatest opportunity to convert viewers into customers. [Image credit: Involver]

Building shareability and calls to action into a video = easy engagement.

Using the Involver platform for a few months, Kiva.org garnered video 160,000 video views, 66,000 of which were organic.

The average number of times each campaign member asked friends to watch the video: 12.7

Number of people who added the Kiva video to their Facebook profiles: 1,400.

Creative incentives = more word of mouth.

Save Darfur established a points-based incentive program for their video campaign (e.g., 10 points for passing on a video, 5 points for submitting a photo.)

They found that the people who were forwarding videos, getting points and leaving comments were the same folks who helped offline.

It helps that people tend to care about what others are doing - with thanks due to the meandering, nosey ping-filled feeds of Facebook.

The point, as Nikki aptly puts, is to make a video immediately shareable so it's easy to evangelize.

Similar groups offer platforms for cause-focused videos. Involver's is the first seamless mechanism I've seen that allows you to bundle more than the regular grab and share features of a video widget. Take a look at CauseCast and DoGooderTV (from See3) for more options.

This is a cross post of my September 16th post on The Buzz Bin blog.

Big Hairy Audacious Goals

2008-10-14T20:01:00.004-05:00

Much of a marketer's job depends on working out from a clearly defined measurable objective. Then massaging, fine tuning and scaling to get to Point B. Business objectives and strategy keep us well within spheres of influence but often prevent coloring outside the lines.

Where's the guts in that? The glory of creativity and innovation behind all the pragmatic strategy. A driving force that's worth fighting for on the marketing home front. A daring target that keeps your team - and you - poised for brilliant execution at a moment's notice. The big hairy audacious goal. [Image credit: DP&d]

The BHAG is a term from Good to Great, but our clients own it. When they name the BHAG, marching orders crystallize. It's messy and non-linear, but voracious. Just the ticket for a little magic.

We were given a bold BHAG last week. After confirming several measurable targets for community engagement and development, our marketing contact laid down the cards: "We want to be the leading social media case study for nonprofits." It's big, it's hairy, and it's audacious. Something we can sink our teeth into.

It took a chain of BHAG's to arrive at this particular juncture with this particular project. From my perspective, it started with personal determination.

For years, my own mission has been to help nonprofits and social causes communicate more effectively - most currently through social media. Livingston Communications is taking this vision seriously on a more powerful scale. As a firm, we have decided to become more socially focused. Our aim is to become a social enterprise - one part traditional accounts, one part social causes.

The only expectations we're worried about are our own. And we set the bar pretty high.

Big Hairy Audacious Goal Setting

Set your own mission. A personal BHAG.

Challenge your marketing department and leadership to set a big hairy audacious goal. Realistically, your BHAG must drive core objectives, so set the goal within reach. Nobody ever said the stars are off limits, just brush up on the Hedgehog Concept.

Build your team with people who thrive on the same BHAG. Fire feeds fire.

Say 'yes' to periodic gut checks. Appoint people who are smarter than you to help get your head out of - or back in - the clouds.

Let the world know when you've met your BHAG. Aim even higher next time.

[Image credit for big hair: unknown]
p.s. This is a cross post of my September 9th post on The Buzz Bin.

Thoughts on Social Media Atrophy

2008-09-08T14:53:00.009-05:00

A friend recently asked me how to get over "Qui-tosis."

Qui-tosis. Noun. Aversion to social media despite being fully immersed in social media personally and professionally. Coined by one Andre Blackman.

The pace and ego of the digital world can be overwhelming and downright paralyzing. On the otherhand, keeping your nose to the grind and head in the cloud can lead to . . .
Social media atrophy.

Atrophy is the wasting away/deterioration of cells and tissue. The idea applies pretty well to brains on the Internet. Too much time online and you go cross-eyed.

Apparently I am not the only one who wants to bring it "back to life, back to reality."

So what did I tell my friend when she asked how to remedy Qui-tosis?

Get away from the Internet. When was the last time you went dark? You need at least 3 days and I highly recommend traveling. A mental getaway is easier to launch with a physical departure.
Get away from Internet peers and friends. Instead, spend time with people who don't care about blogs and Facebook. It's a humble reminder that the majority of our world does not run online. This is critical for anyone trying to launch campaigns with audiences who aren't fully plugged in. What matters to them should matter to you.
Get your hands and feet dirty. Less talk, more action. All the dreams you share with others online -make them a reality. Have bodily experiences: cook, dance, garden, jog, swim get a massage, be touched/touch people you love (don't be creepy) and sleep. Bonus points for serving others instead of just focusing on yourself.

Inspiration will prevail. I know you will love Nikki McClure's book, "Collect Raindrops." It will remind you of things that matter to you. Keep the main thing, the main thing.

For my part, I am off on a 10 day getaway with my dispersed community of loved ones. It's so nice to be among the salt of the earth, away from the noise of the Web. (Except of course for this blog post and some Twitter action.)

And congrats again to my friends Genelle and Nate who just celebrated their wedding. They brought together their community of loved ones for 3 days in the woods of Montana. We sang our hearts out, danced our feet off, ate, drank, and found a new kind of communion. THAT is what I want to bring back to my DC community, and my online community.

Be blessed -
Qui

ChangeBlogging: Let the Meme Begin

2008-08-27T23:10:00.004-05:00

Awww yeah. ChangeBlogging. I kicked off this meme on the Buzz Bin two days ago and am re-posting here. We now have:

A ChangeBlogging network on Ning (via Britt Bravo - join us!)
Event details for our October 15th ChangeBlogger meet up in DC with Alex Steed (via Social Butterfly, who also catalogs the history-to-date of ChangeBloggers) and
A need for donations to help Alex travel around the country and visit with millennial activists (please consider chipping in).

If you're on Twitter and have something to say about social good & social causes, use the hashtag #changebloggers.

When Chris Brogran stops the press to summon good deeds, people sit up and take notice. Beth Kanter (with prerequisite trust in spades) raised $3,000 in one hour at Gnomedex to send her sponsored Cambodian student back to college for another semester. The game changing Social Actions widget (below) makes it possible for any plugged in individual to highlight campaigns on a blog or profile. We Buzz Binners are committed to a better place.

The ChangeBlogging meme has arrived. On a meta level - not just the three question blog-a-long at the end of this post. Eyes are shifting from the internal "me" meme to a season of "we" and "us." The winds of change are welcome - and overdue.

A year ago there were about 15 notable nonprofit and philanthropy bloggers. Today dozens of voices regularly discuss community and global change, often in relation to the role of the social Web. (Check out the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Give & Take blog roll for a solid starter list.)

The unofficial and growing network of Changebloggers is another testament to the trend toward good. Changebloggers, as defined by Britt Bravo, are "people who are using their blog, podcast or vlog to raise awareness, build community, and/or facilitate readers/listeners/viewers' taking action to make the world a better place." These actions occur across nonprofits, government, corporations and the general civic sector.

Here's the great news: Social media platforms give anyone with a little reach and commitment the ability to influence, if not outright persuade. You needn't be solely focused on societal impact to afford changeblogger tendencies. It's a question of what are you influencing and to what end?

DC: Setting the Stage for ChangeBlogging Results

One of the iDistrict's most remarkable qualities is its focus on community change. As one example, marketing, PR, Web and social media gurus gather each month at NetSquared's Pimp My Nonprofit event. We listen first, then offer digitally-derived insight and ideas, one nonprofit at a time. A meeting of the minds plus a way to contribute locally.

This fall, DC will be one of 35 cities visited by NetSquared's Alex Steed. He's touring the U.S., meeting with millennial activists about "the future of organizing." We won't be letting him out of here that easily, however. Alexandra Rampy (a.k.a. SocialButterfly) is rallying local changebloggers to meet with Steed. Our goal is to unite interested parties around something good (TBD). From there, we can do just about anything.

That's setting the bar pretty high for Valley and NY folk.

If you were here with me, I'd make a toast. Instead - to help formally launch a new wave of social activism - a new meme. Three questions (with my answers):

What is one change - big or small, local or global - you want to see in your lifetime? I'll kick off with a big one. Poverty has to end. There is plenty of plenty to go around. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals are here to motivate.

Who is already working this issue that you think others should support? Microfinance groups, like Kiva but beyond. Opportunity International, Grameen Foundation, Global Giving's microcredit programs, and small micro-enterprise initiatives happening here in the U.S. and abroad - to name a few. Social capitalism at its best.

How are you going to use your Web/tech/marcom skills to further this cause? (Or, what are you already doing that works?)
I have badges on my personal blog for several of the above groups, and support a few of them too. That's not enough! I hope to get more involved with NEST, a local group that provides microcredit loans to women artisans in developing countries, and brings their wares to market in the U.S. They've already dipped their toes into PR and social media but could use some additional support.

Tagged in this meme (we're all changebloggers in some way!): Minjae Ormes, Ike Pigott, Alex Rampy, Holly Ross, Jake Brewer, Josh Chambers, Colin Delaney, Maddie Grant, Andre Blackman, Mark Drapeau, Sarah Marchetti, Ryan Moede, Christian DE NEEF and Kenneth Yeung.

Peace.

Direct Response in an Electronic World

2008-08-27T23:06:00.002-05:00

How do you express the value of social media to direct response gurus? Geoff and I are co-chairing the Direct Marketing Association of Washington's upcoming Electronic Media Marketing Day. We were obliged to co-author an article for the member newsletter - anything to help prime direct marketers for electronic engagement.

Boiling "electronic media marketing" down to 700 words for beginners is a lesson in impact. A strong case is required indeed, especially with an audience of traditionally offline marketers who have all but perfected their processes.

It came down to the return on investment for social media. The following thoughts will be shared with DMAW's readership, but we wanted to give you the un-cut preview (much of this was edited out from the final draft). What would you add?

Cultural norms continue to shift as the Internet evolves. As our interactions change with each other online – and over the mobile Internet – so do our expectations of organizational information. To capture new hearts and minds, communications must play by the new rules of the social web, while intelligently blending traditional marketing calls-to-action.

For the nonprofit, government or corporate entity, this evolution demands focused engagements that can spread. While “viral content” is the goal du jour, there’s another side of the coin: Relevant, mutually beneficial, non-invasive content that proliferates among qualified audiences. Organizations cannot overtly promote; the aim is providing valuable information and community participation. Therein lies the challenge to deliver return on investment.

Producing Results

How do you engage the right people in a meaningful way that produces results? This truly is the conundrum for online communicators within the social web.

If you’ve ever pondered the benefits of creating “the Facebook for food banks,” you’re on the wrong track. Most online communities fail, according to The Wall Street Journal, which found that 35% of the branded communities surveyed have 100 friends or less. Twitter and blogs might not be the right answer, either. Research is imperative to figuring out the best solution, but you can’t start without a goal. In the words of Yogi Berra, “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

Here’s a starter guide to help focus your initiative:

Phase 1: Define the Goal

Start with your objective. The purpose of your organization or campaign. The thing that has to happen in order to achieve your mission.

Then name your primary and secondary audiences – the people who will ultimately influence whether or not you reach your objective, who can reach them.

What is the measurable outcome that will demonstrate that you have reached your goal? You won’t be able to move your effort forward in a cohesive manner without an eye toward this metric.

Phase 2: Research and Understand the Social Media Universe

Do your homework before trying to fit in. Who is saying what about your brand and your issue? Where are they saying it (just blogs or message boards? What about wikis and social networks?). What triggers remarks? What are the communities’ relevant issues?

Hint: The quantity and quality of existing conversation will reveal whether or not you have potential advocates, and how much room there is for you (we’ve never seen a saturated issue), and what topics you can "own."

Understand what will compel your audience to act.

Phase 3: Strategy and Tactic Development

After you have a handle on key opportunities and obstacles, then tackle integrated strategy development. Deliver a value proposition that matches community’s interest - an organizational offering.

Select tactics: For example, influencer relations, a Facebook application, social network participation, or blog.

Hint: This is a defining moment. You can choose to turn away from desires for a podcast series only if you acknowledge the fact that your audience does not listen to, subscribe to, or download podcasts. Similarly, if during research,you discovered a blog that covers your issue and reaches your audience, reaching out to that blogger could have much greater results than starting your own blog.

Infuse personality into the effort. Think social!

Create intelligent, non-intrusive calls to action.

Integrate so social media and traditional marketing support each other. Social media is not a silo.

Evaluate against measurement goals on an ongoing basis. Evaluation is a critical aspect of setting the bar for larger, organization-strategy, resource allocation, and determining the return on investment of your efforts. Use key performance indicators to demonstrate progress against the measurable outcome you originally set.

To deliver social media return on investment, you must integrate. Integration with direct response is complex but has great payoff. Your Facebook, email and mailing lists must converge, otherwise you are left with a branding and awareness campaign. That may be what the organization needs, but long-term relationships require more, specifically self identification by the socially engaged as a party that’s interested in a deeper relationship.

Perhaps most important for the communicator to remember is that this medium truly is social. We’re not targeting potential quotas, rather people who want to be part of something. Help them get there and you can produce a win-win for your organization and your stakeholders.

[Image credits: "Electronic Superighway by Nam June Paik," 01 9Continental U.S.) and 02 (Alaska and Hawaii) taken by Daniel @ 127.0.0.1.

This is a cross post from my August 19th post on the Buzz Bin.

Social Media Does Do More Than It Claims

2008-08-27T22:59:00.002-05:00

Since I published the following post on the Buzz Bin (on August 12), hundreds of us watched as Beth Kanter made a similar fundraising request - and succeeded in raising nearly $3,000 in one hour. Her technique was much more effective than the one I cover below. Just my two cents, of course: It takes all types of outreach to get people's attention on issues.

Jeremy Pepper has requested that consultants prove that social media works - that it can be used for good. Calling out a dozen of some of the most well-known and influential in our flock, he points out what these folks (all men, as an aside) haven't done and/or should be doing by way of affecting change for a particular cause.

Now, I've also called pros to task on using social media for good, too. But it's unfair to assume that social media at large and the people Jeremy listed aren't doing good things. Consultants don't live and die by their social media activity. People DO do things that aren't broadcast across Twitter and Technorati, from donating to volunteering.

"Charity" takes so many different forms. Sometimes it's a monetary gift. Sometimes it's taking 10 extra minutes to listen to a problem. Other times its NOT lambasting someone (in private or public) who really should get their ass handed to them.

We can't assume that people who don't talk about doing good through social media aren’t doing good at all.

And, for the record, a lot of people are doing a lot of good via that wild & woolly Web of ours. A lot of this action is driven by nonprofits/NGOs, which over the centuries have had to deal with more obstacles than merely those presented by social media just to get people to donate a buck.

Civic engagement and open sourced, social media are people-driven - a match made in heaven for advocacy. Social media presents countless opportunities, but an equal number of challenges to match. Progress is being made but it takes time. For years, nonprofit leaders, marketers and consultants have put out rallying cries to dig into this space, and every week this community is learning from each other and refining the process. "The ask" requires trust, and to get in the trust tree, you need relationships, relevance and tact.

Sure, we all have room to do more - and I put myself at the top of the list of people who should do more. But people should be allowed to choose their causes and not blamed if they don't support yours (with all due respect to Jeremy's friend Lisa).

Those of us who are so concerned that others take action should lead by example. It's not just about one cause - it's about getting society to adapt a cause-focused mindset. A tall order that cannot be fulfilled by "social media consultants" alone. Find your own way to help, tell others about it, and invite/encourage them to join you. They might already be a champion for something else, in their own way, and that's okay.

[Image credits: "Time Out!" by threecees & "Urban Optimism" by hoveringdog]

Call + Response: Open Source Activism (Goal Needed)

2008-08-10T20:41:00.007-05:00

A couple weeks ago some friends and I watched the inaugural screening of Call+Response, a rockumentary that aims to halt slavery once and for all. There are 27 million slaves in the world today, which is roughly the same number of people that live in Venezuela or Tokyo. Most of them are kids caught in sex trafficking, child soldiering and commerical trades (our coffee, our clothes).

The movie itself is soul-stirring (watch the trailer here). In a nutshell, it features musicians who have chosen to respond to this issue through song. Many original songs at that, written and performed exclusively for this film. (Imogen Heap's gut wrenching piano performance would have brought me to my knees had I been standing).

That's what singers do. They sing it out. Play it out of them. Put it in the air.

Cornel West, hands down the most fantastic voice in the film, talks of historical and inextricable links between music and human slavery, such as "call and response" among those enslaved during that terrifying era here in the U.S. Stripped of property, possessions and pride, all they had left was their voices. Call and response was their song - one would call, others would respond. And the style continues in every form of song to this day.

This movement, then, is to encourage all of us - not just musicians and singers - to respond to this issue in their own way, to be 21st Century Abolitionists. Founder Justin Dillon calls it "open source activism - we give you the platform, you just lay your code down on top of it." (I'm paraphrasing what I remember from the film.)

Open source activism - I like that. It's exactly what most of society's pressing causes need in order to be remedied. And incidentally, exactly what our beloved social media is good for.

But will it work?

The movie will run in theaters this fall - opening weekend is October 3rd. The website is ready to rock & roll, so to speak, with a blog (not much going on there yet), Facebook/MySpace action, badges, actions, pass along emails, and a live "responsinator" where you can submit your response (a la CARE's Power Circle) and listen to a track from Moby and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal.

But there's no clear call to action other than "respond." While I love (LOVE) the creative liberty to respond as an individual, the unifying goal is not clear. Let's look at it as a strategic brief - and think of how not having a goal would be detrimental to your own mission/objective.

Objective: Get 27 million people out of slavery. Britain did it in 20 years during a time when slavery was as common as the auto industry. So can we.
Target Audience: Everyone who has a brain [I would normally never let "general public" slide but this really is an all-hands-on-deck issue. Judging by the collateral for this project, they're targeting 20's & 30's as do Invisible Children and similar campaigns].
Goal: ? TBD...
Strategy: Enlist the support of influential voices to create a compelling film that will sweep the nation, encouraging a modern day abolitionist movement. Everyone else can do their own thing as long as they respond to the issue and tell their friends to respond, too.
Tactics: Movie, soundtrack, flyers, viral stuff.
Measureable Outcome: Slavery is abolished by 2030.

That's a pretty noticeable gap. Without a very clear goal, I fear this movement (which I fully support, please see Call+Response badge at top right of my blog) will flop on its face.

If my memory serves correctly, there was a brief point in the movie when someone spoke of contacting legislators. THAT is what is needs to be brought to the forefront. It's old-school - "call you're congressperson." But consider, who is the real audience here? The people who curtail the slave trade and punish the slave traders. We're talking about an empire that rakes in 32 billion dollars a year in profits ("more than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.")

So What's Our Goal?
We need to be pointed in their direction with tools for lobbying, rallying, phone/email advocacy and, of course, a specific goal. "Get a bill passed by a certain date" or "Get 100% of Congress to pledge their support to this issue by January 1." Maybe that is what the organizers of Call+Response are leaving to us to determine. Does anyone who knows the advocacy or slave trade space have ideas for an effective, measurable, actionable goal?

This post is not just part of my response - it's my call to you. How can you use your influence to spread the word about this issue?

Call+Response is a nonprofit film, with "100% of profits going to fund global field projects on the front lines of this issue." Please go see it on opening weekend, and if you're in DC, let's go together.

We Are Media: Open Source Brains for Nonprofits & Social Media

2008-08-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

Social media how-to’s and primers have a shelf life of a millisecond, roughly. These blogging tips and social network tricks, while thorough, are usually manufactured by the hands of one or two people.* Quickly outdated, this single-lens content is easily trumped by evergreen collaboration. The latter of which is the calling card of We Are Media.

“Curated” by NTEN (the Nonprofit Technology Network) and Beth Kanter, We Are Media (formerly known as Be The Media) is a wiki-housed, group effort to develop a social media curriculum for nonprofits. It’s a work in progress: the community is tackling one module per week.

According to the site, We Are Media aims to “build this wiki and community into the "go-to place" for vetted resources about social media strategies and tools for nonprofits and/or individuals who work for or with nonprofits and need practical advice about getting started or to quickly access best practices, examples, or experience from other practitioners working in nonprofits.”

The team spirit approach has the potential to torch a time-honored tradition: stale silos of self-education across nonprofit learning. It’s also going to set the bar a little higher for corporate and government brethren, too.

This initiative matters.

It’s a “community of practice.” Learn as you teach; teach as you learn. There is no better way to learn how to move someone up the participation ladder than to dive face first into the environment yourself. Beth is compiling a series of posts on "working wikily," a job not for the fly-by-night practitioner.

The focus is on smarter – not universal – use of Web 2.0. In other words, if the social media shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it. (Or it if does fit, what type, brand and supportive padding is worth it for your feet?)

Tagged content, the living, breathing, searchable beauty of it all.

Back up from a person committed to calling out patterns in discussion and content and figuring out where to throw more spaghetti. In the words of Michele Martin at The Bamboo Project, “As communities develop ever-evolving resources through tagging, blogging, adding to wikis, etc. there's still a need for someone to comb through all that information and help make sense of it, particularly in terms of instructional design.” If only more online community managers possessed Beth's innate ability to do so, we'd see less failures.

Major kudos are due to Beth, Holly Ross (Executive Director of NTEN), and the dozens of We Are Media participants. The contributions made today will help ensure our nation's hands and feet - the social sector - aren't swept away with the tidal wave of Web 2.0.

Rather, they'll have the appropriate gear (from swimmies to wet suits to surf boards) to manuver.

[ Image credit: Surf's up? By 356bunnies ]

*Updated: The How-to's are great, too, so keep reading them! While yes, the ways of the digital world change overnight, you'll find valuable insight to strategic and tactical plays in such resources. Learning comes from all sides.

This is a cross-post from my August 5th post on The Buzz Bin.

Nonprofit Encounters of the In-Person Kind

2008-08-09T10:32:00.015-05:00

Last August was pretty hellish, and a similar forecast is on the horizon for this year's summer wrap. July, however, provided ample opportunities to bond with lovely people over things that matter. I get so much more out of relationships when there's skin on them.

Friends Andre Blackman and Social Butterfly Alex Rampy (and me) joined Jonny Goldstein and Scott Stead for the July episode of Jonny's Par-tay. It was the first time the Par-tay dug into social marketing issues, and a chance for us guests to break it down from our perspectives. I brought champagne, too, because social good is worth celebrating, right?
The Bridge Conference, now with an eye towards Web 2.0, brought together great nonprofit marketing minds for two days for its annual affair. I was only there for Day 1, but that was all I needed to be reminded how desperate nonprofits are for solid social media strategy. And the fact that Facebook is really just a brand awareness tool for the moment.

Case in point: the Nature Conservancy, Save Darfur and Humane Society of the US case studies captured on the Buzz Bin by Geoff and me (here and here). This recap of RIMS' efforts (by Elizabeth Weaver Engel @ the blog Thanks for Playing) might offer additional insight as well.

(I also met a woman named Kieu, pronounced "Q." Fun for me, because everyone either calls me Q, even though my name is Qui prounounced "key.")
NetSquared featured Idealist.org. Amigo Jake Brewer shared some of the ways that Idealist is rethinking what it means to be a connected community servant. A new Idealist website will be launched in about 6 months.

Did you know: Idealist's content is currently 40% jobs and 40% volunteer opportunities. Idealist serves 77,000 nonprofits in 200 countries, has more than 65,000 site visitors a day, and sends 250,000 email alerts every night. Everthing on the site is user generated. You can get it in Spanish (Idealista) and French (Idealiste).
Nedra Weinrich was in town and several of us met up to watch the screening of Call+Response (which is a new movement to end modern day slavery and going to require another post all together). Nedra's local fan club convened when she was in town in June, too.
Twin Tech with Peter Corbett and the usual suspects. We have such a dynamite digital community in D.C. (I keep wanting the term "iDistrict" to take off but it hasn't.) There'a a lot of promise for nonprofit marketers having a higher profile in this space. We need women, too!
And speaking of women, last but not least, spending quality time with solid broads who are making this world a better place in their own ways: Minjae Ormes, Sara Strope, Leslie Bradshaw, Alison Byrne Fields, Virginia Miracle and Kaitlyn Wilkins, and my mom - among others.

Will make a valient effort to maintain this momentum in August!

Jonny's Par-tay 4 Good - Tomorrow Night!

2008-07-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

Come par-tay with Jonny Goldstein and a few DC-based changebloggers on a special "feel the love" edition of Jonny's Par-tay. Andre, Alex and I will be live at 9pm Eastern this Wednesday, July 16, putting social marketing + social media on the table. You can chat with us during the show and ask questions - Jonny has the dirty details.

Who's on tap? In addition to our host Jonny & Scott Stead, producer:

Andre Blackman: a friend and former coworker, who is obsessed with getting our world healthy. (He is going to own space between public health and social media - just wait.) Check out his forward-thinking blog Pulse & Signal and keep tabs on Twitter (@mindofandre)
Alexandra Rampy: a new buddy (through Andre) who is new to DC, newly engaged, and a gal after my own heart. Alex is helping to coordinate the Changeblogger initiative with Britt Bravo, covers do good efforts on her blog SocialButterfly, and plays well with others on Twitter (@SocialBttrfly)
Me: you know how I feel about social good, especially those charitable orgs. Thinking about getting a 501(c)(3) tattoo! I'm also on Twitter (@beautifulthangs)

The three of us are united in many ways beyond mutual adoration for social causes. For example, we all adore Nedra Weinrich, social marketing guru, so be sure to check in on Nedra while you're at it. Hope to chat with you tomorrow!

Volunteer U.0 | Your Time, Talent & Treasure

2008-07-13T20:49:00.002-05:00

This little gem from the Buzz Bin was rounded out with commentary from Idealist.org's Jake Brewer, who wants to see improved volunteer management before additional social networks spring up to connect pro bono service with need. I agree. Read the comments on the original post for Jake's 2 cents and my latest metaphor (online communities = committees).

In the past two weeks, two separate individuals have told me about "a guy" who is planning to create a new social network for volunteers. Maybe its two different guys with the same plan. Either way, said dude(s) might appreciate some unsolicited, pre-build feedback.

Match.com for the social sector: If you've ever thought, "Hot damn, I am the Iceman of social media/marketing/PR," then you, too, have something to offer to this guy. Your ideas, for one. And your pro bono participation.

The volunteer social network in question is intended to connect needs with professional skills. It's so clever, and unprecedented. Picture a place that puts what you're good at side-by-side with what you care about. It's already been attempted to some extent but the current models are flawed.

Sure, you can already search for traditional volunteer opportunities a la Volunteer Match. But imagine a zing bang new community in which you'll be able to do legitimate social networky things, like friend people. Oooh.

Sarcasm aside, the community might provide a priceless matching service: participating organizations could search for professional services beyond their budgets and beyond labor typically needed to stuff envelopes, dig wells and serve soup.

I like your idea, Sir; it could be the ticket for vast innovation. But whoever you are, should you choose to accept this mission (and for the love of all that is good and true in this world) don't create a new network.

There are already several online networks connecting money and jobs with causes. Partner with one of them, and round out the service to include a full menu for "Time, Talent and Treasure." Idealist.org or LinkedIn sure do feel like natural fits.

Collaborating with local clearinghouses of volunteer opportunities will help keep things amicable and geographically relevant. In the District that might be Greater DC Cares and Volunteer Fairfax, among others. (Don't squash the little guy, and don't duplicate services.)

Make it fully user-generated.

To work, the algorithm of the community must allow all involved to crowdsource needs and possible solutions. Some suggested activities to help the flow:

Wiki-washed profiles of causes/nonprofits that need services. Anyone should be able to edit the profiles and rate/review the group. Maybe there will be a ranking system! (Swoon.)
Pass-along tools to forward opportunities to friends ("The Need Feed"). Word of mouth referrals should be easy.
An open comment forum that allows people to comment/live chat about alternative ideas for to solve a problem, and who could be a good fit.

Personal user profiles will be effective if they're specific and searchable, including

Your strengths and gifts (legal, finance, human resources, accounting, media, marketing, SEM, web design, origami, video production, "the digital landscape," etc.) rated on a scale from amateur to master ("I cannot do 4th grade math, but I am God's Gift at php and Rails.")
Your preferred causes (health, microfinance, clean water, AIDS, homeless, arts, farming, GLBT, faith, environment, furry creatures, etc.)
Your qualifications (work/volunteer experience to date) including referrals from others
A wish list of groups you'd love to work with

Trick it Out for Sharing Purposes

The online social network would be best served as a repository of opportunity and people profiles. Content should be "embeddable" everywhere else: other online communities, blogs, nonprofit websites, mobile phones.

I might get a social media yellow card for saying so (see for yourself) but this has the makings of a splendid widget or desk top app. A few ideas:

Pro bono needs near you (tailored to your zipcode, skills and interests)
Crisis needs (disaster response and issue alerts)
The latest needs identified by your favorite organizations
Notices/referrals from friends

Final advice: get the right people on the bus at the right time

Kelly at The Nonprofiteer might have been channeling Good to Great's mantra when she posted yesterday about the need to efficiently recruit board members. First identify goals and tasks, then find the right people. Even if they lack some of the requisite skills, a little upfront training will help them learn the ropes.

With that in mind, the new network should appropriately weight passion - not just map prior experience with specified need. A nonprofit should be able to maximize your conviction to assist with a big fundraising effort, even if you don't have a marketing bone in your body. Not all pegs fit round holes, but there's more room in that hole than you think.

Anyone know the guy? What do you want him to know?

Tools are Only as Useful as Their Users

2008-07-13T20:34:00.004-05:00

The thing I truly love about blogging is how it brings new ideas and perspectives to my periphery. In this Buzz Bin post (from June 24, 2008) I more or less stated that there wasn't much online action related to this summer's midwest flooding, and questioned why this was the case. In the original post's comments, Greg Hollingsworth (Devil in the Details) gave some good insight into why folks choose offline (not online) tools to get down & dirty.

If organizations trust consumers to create programs, and consumers want control, then why aren't more of us taking the reigns? Forget big brands for the moment. Yes, some people will create fan pages for Family Guy and Hot or Not Hotlists for Starbucks. Does this brand loyalty really benefit societal ills? Not so much.

Consider what matters. People are empowered to voice their concerns, harpoon issues, and rally support for pressing matters related to health, environment, education, politics, poverty. But they - we - don't take advantage of this privilege.

Remarkable platforms have been built to further social issues, but lie dormant. It's a reminder that support must start with self-selected community members who are compelled to act.

[ Image credit: source unknown, spotted at Lazy Habits. ]

Take Iowa/Midwest flooding. Craigslist's Iowa pages are virtually devoid of calls to action for monetary/in-kind donations or volunteers. (On the other hand, Craigslist was one of the premier resources for families and service during the New Orleans flood.)

Then there's Social Actions, a platform that aggregates user-developed campaigns across 29 do-good social networks: Care2, Change.org, Idealist.org, Razoo, MicroGiving, and GlobalGiving to name a few. Anyone can post their fundraising campaign to these sites. A search on Social Actions shows nothing on tap for Iowa.

The tools exist, but are untapped. Is there a good reason for this? Perhaps we think the Red Cross has it covered. In reality, the Red Cross disaster fund is depleted, having raised only $3.2 million of the anticipated $40 million it will take to ameliorate flooding the Midwest. Tack that up against the rising price of gas and food.

Another contributing factor in lack of action: people don't know about - or how and why to use - the tools and knowledge at their disposal. Friend Jake Brewer at Idealist.org touched on this recently:

"Where we're very well known, we become even more well known. Where no one knows us (e.g. OK, AL, SD, WY, etc) well ...no one knows us."

Per yesterday's PR Week article on "The Digital Effect," 65.9% of marketers are "very willing" to let consumers play a significant role in shaping their marketing programs. But are marketers willing to educate?

Beyond that, if people are enabled to create communities and tools on their own terms, is the average consumer willing to learn how to do so?

Again, the imperative can't be stressed for anything outside of cause marketing, CSR, advocacy, and social sector/nonprofit-related initiatives. Times are tough. Help your neighbor and educate your community.

What better hour than the present, when user-generated content is King and word of mouth is Lord?

UPDATE - JUNE 26, 5p.m.

A very thoughtful and fresh perspective was contributed via comment on this post from Greg Hollingsworth. I really appreciate his insights about the kind of turn-off-your-laptop-and-get-your-hands-dirty action that has been taking place in his home state of Iowa. For those who don't live in that area and want to help via the Internet, Greg recommends two effective donation channels: Grant Wood Area Red Cross and/or the United Way of East Central Iowa. More on Greg's insider POV here.

The Internet: A Half Century Down the Tubes?

2008-06-18T22:03:00.003-05:00

Just one more cross post before bed! This is my favorite write up for the Buzz Bin so far (from June 17th), because I'm finally being honest about how much the Internet makes me crazy. It's good, but it's bad. This post also marks my "coming out" as a fan of LOL Cats. Sigh.

I'm very thankful to have a boss and coworkers that are pro-authenticity and letting your true voice shine through on the company blog. It's not like that everywhere. Enjoy.

The Internet: A Half Century Down the Tubes?

"I just did a little piece on packet switching and I get blamed for the whole go*d*mned Internet, you know?"
(Paul Baran, "How the Web Was Won.")

It is impossible to escape the Internet. Even when trying to hide in the pages an Angelina-laden issue of Vanity Fair. The folds of this haut-living magazine currently feature an 12+ page spread celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Web.

It’s only the best oral history of the Internet ever written. Spanning Arpanet to eBay to Ning; spotlighting our forefathers Vint Cerf, Pierre Omidyar, Marc Andreessen (and more). A perfectly off-line weekend foiled again.

We’ve come a long way, baby. But the more we know, the more there is to learn – and unlearn. Some might even say that life was a whole lot easier to manage before America went online.

You've Got a Whole Lotta Mail

Raise your hand if you successfully keep up with email. NPR's current ‘crushed by email’ series reminds us that, between work and family, we're inundated with the daily deluge of being plugged in. (Worldwide email traffic, currently soaring at 210 messages per day, will double by 2014, according to the Radicati Group. Big Tech is now eating its own dog food.)

Some of you really do have it together, thanks to Xobni, AwayFind, Getting Things Done, not sleeping or not caring. Nobody can afford to declare email bankruptcy, although Microsoft's Joel Cherkis and Wired's Lawrence Lessig might beg to differ.

It’s no wonder the masses clamor to consume social media: they’d sooner jump off a bridge than deal with retooling the enewsletter and emarketing strategy just one more time. Blogs are sexier than the eternal battle to raise CRTs and evade spam filters.

Corporate Hoohah

On that note, don’t get me started on the ripple effect of the Web on corporate marketing. Verizon just hired a teddy bear that Twitters. Teddy doesn't deal with customer service issues, which puts this initiative at dead zero on the "Good Use of Time" meter.

Faulty Doodads

To illustrate the theory of fallible online services, Google Maps has failed me 7 times in the past month alone. It’s one thing when faulty directions lead to late arrival to your agency’s most important event of the year (and subsequently get you tanked in the dog house by your boss). It’s another thing all together when the same mapping service delivers you an hour late to a dear friend’s wedding (at least I got there for the kiss).

While there’s an element of human error in most technological blunders, does that excuse today’s radical services from reliability? The trusty, beat up Rand McNally atlas now relegated to my trunk used to get me from point A to point B just fine.

"Kids Today"

By far, the biggest oil slick/skid mark at the end of the rainbow/long tail is the impact on younger generations. Kids r submitting school papers w/ txt msg abbrevs, and talking about issues way beyond their years in forums for teens “thirteen and older.”

COPA cannot keepa uppa. Neither can parents. Neither can the law.

Ain't No Stopping Us

None of these - or other - issues can hold the Internet down. Privacy and copyright issues. Increased driving accidents from mobile phone usage. Incorrect self-diagnosis of illnesses. LOL Cats. All spawned by the glorious Intertubes, but we will prevail.

Because, of course, the bounty of the web has also brought us good things. Splendid, knock-your-socks-off wonders. More ways to connect with the people we love and new people that share our interests. The priceless ability to make our voices heard for things that matter. Correct self-diagnosis of illnesses. Many of our jobs. And LOL Cats (don’t front: we’ve all laughed once).

So, a toast! Here’s to the next 50 years of misery, mischief and miracles. To our choice to use the power of the Web for good. To the possibility of connecting face to face, writing complete sentences, and going dark – if only for the weekend.

And if anyone has other suggestions for online direction/mapping services, please save me. Save us all.

Photo credits are unknown.

Bloggers Unite for Stuff, Lose Momentum

2008-06-18T21:46:00.004-05:00

Back-posting from The Buzz Bin. Below is my cross post from May 20th. For the sake of time - here are links to some of my other recent thoughts, too.

“Cohen: we can’t lie.” | PRSA is prssd off - a look at a CBS journalists defamation of PR professionals, from June 3.

The Method: Playing the Part of PR - just a photo of me in a hard core chemical protection suit, from June 10.

Do I feel like I'm cheating when I cross post? Yes. Let's move on.

Bloggers Unite for Stuff, Lose Momentum

When CNN broadcasted promotion of last week's Bloggers Unite for Human Rights movement, my initial reaction was Viva la revolution!

It was May 15th, 2008, the very day that Amnesty International was calling for all bloggers everywhere to simultaneously cover a human rights issue to educate the masses. No time to participate myself, Twitter was a helpful fall back. Dozens of others tweeted and blogged about human rights on May 15th, demonstrating their support of the initiative.

We've seen campaigns like this before, and sadly, watched them fall silent shortly after the main event. The unsustained momentum leaves behind a disenchanting question: What was the point of all that?

Exhibit A - October 15, 2007. More than 20,600 blogs covered environmental topics as part of Blog Action Day. Twenty. Thousand. Blogs! 19 of which were on Technorati's Top 100. Mainstream media picked up the story. It was a tremendous accomplishment, getting so many people - "influencers" - to talk about the same thing at the same time. After contributing a post to Blog Action Day last October, I found myself defending the campaign to my boss (who at that time was Alison Byrne Fields). Alison argued that it was a waste of time.

In effect, she forewarned, "People are already aware of problems associated with climate change, so unless the point is action, then I'm not interested in this load of crap. If bloggers want to save Earth they should stop flying." "But education is key," I maintained. "This blogger campaign is meant to educate."But we're almost in the bottom half of 2008, and there is no sign of Blog Action Day Part II. What was the purpose of all that hype.

Exhibit B - One week ago: May 10, 2008. Pangea Day. Backed by Chris Andersen and the TED Conference, Pangea Day rallied filmmakers to participate in a 4-hour global screening that took place at more than 1,000 locations simultaneously. A "synchronized film festival to . . . foster understanding and peace." 2,500 films were submitted; 12 were chosen for the screening. A quick Google Blog search produces nearly 8,000 blog posts on the event. Newsweek's Brian Bailker honed in on the weak spot of this type of campaign: " . . . the type of person who would tune in to watch the Pangea Day pageantry is probably the least likely to be going around killing anyone in their spare time." Oh. Right. What happens now that Pangea Day is over?

The Value is Self-Education

The true impact of these campaigns is self-serving. All participants (hopefully) learn something about the issues they cover. In the end, that adds up to more potential for commitment. Awareness is the first step, whether you're trying to spring someone from prison, get Gary Vaynerchuck's book ranked #1 on Amazon.com or help an independent musician top iTunes charts.

But We can do More than Bum Rush the Charts.

Why corral bloggers (or filmmakers) if there's no follow through? After you cross "raise awareness" off the list, shouldn't you move on to the next step? The goal is action, advocacy, conversion. Especially when nonprofits are seeing a rise in demand, but decline in resources.

Richard Becker of Copywrite, Ink. helped coordinate Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. He wants to ensure that the campaign "is not just a flash in the pan." Richard says, "It's something we could all think about more often." We need to move beyond thinking.

Who doesn't want Amnesty International to successfully thwart the inhumanity in China, Darfur and Guantanamo Bay? When is the next Bloggers Unite event? What is needed to make an even bigger impact? Please hurry and tell us what our step is: update the homepage, send emails. A campaign for time, money, in-kind donations? Let's give the revolution feet before inertia sets in, again.

Images: "Shannon" by kellykashcrafts and "It's Raining Lucidity" by CoolPhotos.

And The Winner Is....

2008-06-18T20:59:00.009-05:00

The Washington Tennis and Education Foundation!

This extraordinary group won the 2008 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management (and $10,000). The selection committee (steered by Susan Sanow and Margo Bailey, of which I was a part), was looking for a group that went beyond best practices to ingenuity and innovation. We found what we were looking for in 3 Finalists, including Urban Alliance and MVLE, Inc., who both took home Honorable Mentions and $2,500.

Pictured above: Lionel Neptune, Washington Post Company Vice President, WTEF Executive Director Eleni Rossides, and WTEF's Board Chair Rick Edmunds. Photo credit: Center for Nonprofit Advancement

Congratulations to all those who participated, especially the individuals who wrote and coordinated submissions on behalf of their organizations, and my co-reviewers who have logged a lot of hours assessing applicants since last Fall. And of course, congrats are in order for the winning group, which will share their big tips and tricks at a workshop during next year's award ceremony. (A few best practices/tools that were shared by all 3 finalists at this year's program are available here, including a great Donor Stewardship Plan from Urban Alliance.)

The 2009 award will mark the the Fifteenth Year of this partnership between the Washington Post and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement - a membership group for 501(c)(3) organizations in the DC area. And it will be an even bigger and better year.

Maybe we can get mainstream media to cover it. If the Washington Post covered their own award this year, I did not see it. Year 15 deserves at least a blurb, ya hear?

Social Media Soundtrack Vol. 1

2008-06-02T21:28:00.003-05:00

Several stellar suggestions for the Social Media Soundtrack or whatever it's called.

Andre's requests:

If I Ruled the World - Nas feat Lauryn Hill
Touch the Sky - Lupe Fiasco
Comedown - Bush
Ready or Not - Fugees
Drive - Incubus (a favorite)

Geoff's request's

Cypress Hill - Rock Superstar
The Beatles - We Can Work It Out
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams

Chris Brogan's requests (via Geoff's post)(Yes I am poaching a comment)

Jeremy - Pearl Jam
Anyone Else But You - Moldy Peaches
Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton

Add that too my initial recommendations . . .

Hova - Jay Z
Can't Keep It In - Cat Stevens
It's Your Thang - Salt n Pepa

. . . and you've got 14 tracks of pure platinum 2.0 jams, fit for online fighting, fundraising and friendships.

Because all good mixes have 18 songs, I'll kick in these additional bonus tracks, inspired by today's very rap-a-licious jog on the canal.

Can't See Me - 2 Pac (the lyrics are so vile but the beat gets you good and jacked)
Method Man - Wu-Tang Clan ("Hey. You. Get of my cloud.")
Juicy - Notorious B.I.G ("Condos in Queens, indo for weeks, sold out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak")
Body Movin' - Beastie Boys ("Lemme get some action from the back section!")

In case anyone's wondering, my hip-hop love affair simmered down in 2003 when mainstream got lame. I've stayed true to the classics. Volume 2 will have to feature the Roots, Tribe, Talib Kwali and Slick Rick. Yes, I said Slick Rick.

Social Media Soundtrack (feat. Hova, Cat & SnP)

2008-05-13T23:02:00.013-05:00

The digital rodeo needs some beats, a lyrical backdrop.

What is the perfect playlist for this community?

To set the scene, the "community" is constantly plagued by industry in-fighting, which is so disenchanting and not at all sexy. Whether its one A-list blogger defaming another, or nasty comments left by people hiding behind their computer screens, or gurus blacklisting PR firms that are trying really hard to do right by the blogging community, it's tiring! And probably a big turn off for folks who are still trying to understand this space.

I propose that the following artists and tracks imbue a few of the many perceptions, lessons and ideals offered within our community. The good, the bad and the go-go.

The Social Media Playlist - Round 1

Jay-Z, Izzo (2001)

Lessons:
There are blog stars/cewebrities that are more self righteous, played out, indignant and egotistical than you. In some cases, they're also pioneering, well-meaning, ridiculously awesome at what they do, and are here for the long-haul. Kinda like "Rap's Grateful Dead" himself.

Choice Lyric:
"Can't leave rap alone the game needs me | Haters want me clapped and chromed it ain't easy . . . | Not guilty | He who does not feel me is not real to me | Therefore he doesn't exist | So poof . . . vamoose son of a bitch. . . That's the anthem get ya damn hands up (holla at me)"

(99 Problems also hits home with this lyric on busting compatriots for petty crimes: "Son do you know why I'm stoppin' you for? . . . you was doin fifty-five in a fifty-fo'".)

Cat Stevens, Can't Keep it In (1972)

Lessons:
This one goes out to all the idealists in the room. You deserve your spot, now take it and share the love. As Jake would joke, "Make a joyful noise."

Choice Lyric:
"Oh I can't keep it in | can't keep it in | I've gotta let it out. . . | You got so much to say | say what you mean. | Mean what you're thinkin' | and think anything."

Salt n Pepa & E.U., Shake Your Thang (1988)

Lessons:
1. It's your world, play your way
2. Have fun playing with others but watch out for the high-top fade
3. DC's go-go is still the best thing EVER.

Choice lyric:
"Shake your thang, owww | Do what you wanna do | I can't tell you how to catch a groove."

The first 3 tracks have been laid. I leave it to others to remix and name the album. Input from Ryan, Minjae, Andre, Alison, Jake, Leslie and Geoff would be rad; I know and respect their musical tastes. Anyone is welcome to guest DJ.

Image credit: roganferguson. How much do we love that Super Freak is on the turn table?

The Cyclone & the News Cycle

2008-05-13T22:52:00.003-05:00

Here's the post I ran up the flag pole today on The Buzz Bin. (I know, enough with the friggen' cross posts already.) To preface this one: I become disillusioned when my blogger and PR brethren start having words. The discussion skews unkind, people comment brashly and loudly, and it makes this introvert's skin crawl. Here's my miniature soap box on the recent issue at hand (PR blacklisting) - and a plea to focus some of our collective attention to helping Myanmar. Peace - Qui

The greater communications/tech networks are atwitter with another round of pitching rules and regulations. It's a much needed, ongoing conversation, but it's hard to ignore the undercurrent of nay saying and finger pointing (not an uncommon phenomenon in our space.) It seems like such a trivial pursuit when - forgive me - there are bigger burdens in our world at the moment.

We do need to figure out a solution to our pitching woes. Our firm and others are committed to finding the right mix of relevance, timeliness, newsworthiness and the people/publishing channels that would like to spread the word.

Let's pretend that we had PR/blog relationships all figured out. There's another issue at hand. I like to call it "Scott Ward's* Theory on Things that Blow Up." It goes like this:

The point being, of course, we're all fighting for the same small piece of non-disaster pie. Competition is fierce (as it often should be) when it comes to unexpected catastrophes such as Myanmar or today's earthquake in China. The thing you're promoting is also up against anticipated explosions: the recession, the food crisis, the election, to name a few.

We sure do fight for that tiny piece, don't we?

"Pitching in a tightened news cycle" requires a shift in what and why we're pitching, be it to press or bloggers, through calls or emails. Margo Mateas, whose firm trains PR professionals in media training and management, calls it out clear:

". . . We have to understand the cyclical nature of news and the world, and adjust our plans accordingly. . . Now is the time to help people feel more secure, safe and certain."

The how's and how not's of pitching are imperative. Jason, Geoff, Jared and John bring the many facets of this issue to light, and their ideas for reconciliation are worth the read. I humbly add that it goes back to the message and offering itself: if your company or client does not touch on the things that matter to people right now, those people might not care.

We have to appeal to the things that matter - the things that blow up - to stay relevant to the mainstream.

Until we get this figured out, is there a way we - this influential community of communications/tech people - can bring a little more aid to one of the bigger crises at hand? Myanmar is a good place to start, having lost nearly 30,000 of its people in May 3rd's Cyclone. Donations for relief projects are trickling in through Network for Good and Global Giving.

In the spirit of cause marketing and CSR, aligning your company around a bigger, more relevant issue will reap rewards that dwarf the perfectly crafted message to a blogger, and perfect blacklist.

For additional incentive, check out Mark Benioff's score on The Huffington Post, "The End of Philanthropy," and how Salesforce.com is leading the way. Make an impact, make the news.

*Scott Ward might not know I've turned his thoughts into a pie chart, which stems from a media training I attended years ago. He was still with Widmeyer Communications then, but now heads Fifth Estate Communications. The "things that blow up" principle was great advice then, better now.

Personal Digital Covenant

2008-05-13T22:41:00.002-05:00

Another cross-post. I published this on the Buzz Bin last week, but think I did it all wrong. What I mean to say is, "Obviously, encouraging your employees to engage in the digital space has great potential, so encourage them to take baby steps, rather than hinder them." What some Buzz Bin readers heard was, "Force your employees to blog." Not my recommendation. Regardless, it was a helpful discussion. I would love additional thoughts on how to help on-the-fence staffers take practical first steps towards developing their personal brands online. What do you think?

Do you have strategy-envy over the groups that have it together in the digital badlands? You should.

Zappos takes its shoes the extra mile with more than 250 diligent, twittering staffers, all part of a full-immersion dive into Twitter sanctioned by blogging CEO Tony Hsieh.

Everyone at the Indianapolis Museum of Art is down with integrated social media, too - even the curators.

Photo credit: "Envy" by Bright Star

It's your job to follow suit & get your own team on board.

Arthur W. Page Society's "Authentic Enterprise" states that one of the four must-have responsibilities of Chief Communications Officers is to provide "Leadership in enabling the enterprise with 'new media' skills and tools."

The digital lifestyle is one part enterprise ambassador, three parts personal brand. Even if you have one of the mythical blogging CEO's on your side, and even if your efforts are endorsed by the board, you still need the hands and feet of your organization to take interest and initiative. [Photo credit: "colourful" by partykitten77]

How about setting a mandate for engagement? Really. Don't forget to be encouraging and provide incentives. Take it one step further with this [draft] of a "personal digital covenant." (These are initial ideas to simultaneously rally and rein in the faces of your organization. Suggestions for improvement are very welcome.)

Personal Digital Covenant

I choose to support [The Company's] desire to become more relevant in this digital age. I promise to give my best shot at upholding the following tenants of progressive online engagement, and will encourage my colleagues to do the same:

I won't hold us back. Even if I'm fearful or a lazy sack, you have my blessing to try this out, for the sake of all of us. I'll be honest about my concerns, which I expect you to address. (If you don't address them, kiss my support good bye.)

I'll ramp up. In the spirit of "not holding us back," I will give this a whirl. If it is my first foray, I'll sample and ask questions, committing to at least one new space in which I'll regularly play. Maybe LinkedIn is good enough for now.If I'm feeling frisky, I'll find friends on Facebook, del.icio.us or Digg something ("and be dugg in return"), and maybe even tweet on Twitter.

I do not have to be - and will not be - everywhere, all the time. There is real work to be done, obvi. Besides, the novelty of my online know-how will wear thin over time, especially if the bubble bursts or people think I'm screwing around.

It won't kill me to read or comment on blogs. I've experienced much more pain in my life than setting up a Netvibes account. In fact, if I feel so inclined, I'll start my own blog on something that I personally care about. Of course I'll abide by [The Company's] Blogging Guidelines, which exist to help me blog smarter and cover my tail. If you don't support my blogging ambitions, I need a new job.

I'm not the Lord of 2.0 Craft. There will always be people who know more about this stuff, innovate cooler ways to put it into action, and have more digi-friends than me. At best, I will try to learn from them and share what I know with others. At worst, I'll ignore you and everyone else.

Lindy Dreyer

"Any association that refuses to adapt and leverage their community in this new medium is at risk."

Public Relations by Association(s)

2008-05-13T22:28:00.004-05:00

Yep - I'm still cross posting from the Buzz Bin. Here's my post from April 29th.

Last Friday's conference for PRSA's Nonprofit/Association section, "PR 2.0: Riding the Social Media Wave," was a big draw for the District's 501(c)-something crowd. You might not know many of the attending groups, but this could change as they move into the digital era. Hey, the train doesn't leave the station without the caboose!

Is it a "Wave" or a Slip-n-Slide?

Without question, the association world is taking strides in public relations and marketing. As with other sectors, you'll find plenty of hemming, hawing and urgency here. (Photo credit: brodiemanlsue)

As membership-driven entities, associations often know what their stakeholders need before the members themselves have a clue. Sometimes it's the other way around. And depending on the association, the members may or may not keep in touch before and after in-person events. Oh, the limitless possibilities to stay in touch with members, foster dialogue with each other, and create useful knowledge-sharing channels for all. It's no surprise that most of PR professionals at this event represented associations.

I was lucky to speak alongside Jeff De Cagna, who could tell you a thing or two about the slip-and-slide nature of the association community's group effort in this area. Jeff keeps associations on their toes through his private practice, Principled Innovation. He also yells at his audience.

During his presentation on the adoption of social technologies by different demographic groups, Jeff paced among the crowd, weaving through tables and chairs, pleading (if not preaching): "We have all these tools, but we're scared to death of them. [You say] 'Oh my God! The members might actually talk to each other!!' I say, 'FANTASTIC.'"

Jeff recently launched an interesting formula to help clients strategically approach social technology: P.R.E.P. (purpose, readiness, experimentation, practice). It could very well apply to your own issue at hand.

Influencing Leadership

Later in the day, Jeff joined my mild-mannered panel with Melanie Miller, VP of PR for The Sugar Association, Inc, moderated by Aaron Ellis, Director of Communications for the American Association of Port Authorities. (Pictured below - Aaron's standing.)

We wrapped up the event with a frank discussion on senior leadership hurdles to adopting social media. It comes down to one secret: you have to do whatever it takes to get people on board.

Present the facts: find your audience online, see what your competitors are up to, and point out opportunities to improve the situation.

Highlight examples: the people who are doing this right want to be spotlighted; use their work as case study and to help expand the comfort zone.

Provide a personal experience: Have a wary CEO who doesn't get it? Set him up with a blogging platform, LinkedIn account or other hands-on training wheels.

Daryl McCullough (Paine PR), Brian Reich (Echo Ditto) and Howard Mortman (New Media Strategies and his delightful blog, Extreme Mortman) also spoke. Brian is a new personal hero: check out his blog, Thinking About Media.

Among those in attendance: Mark Coindreau, PR Manager of the the American Payroll Association, Amanda Bednar (another PR Manager) for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, and Elizabeth Griffin and Jennifer Hardy from Catholic Relief Services. Thanks to all those who brought great questions and commentary to the forefront.

Looking for more association resources? Take a look at ASAE's Acronym blog and Jeff's wiki about social media for associations. They'll help you maneuver the plunge.

Social Sector: June School is in Session

2008-05-10T08:30:00.005-05:00

Several DC- based, nonprofit/cause-focused events coming up in June. Don't miss out!

Social Marketing University: June 2 - 4.
Nedra Kline Weinrich of Spare Change (pictured here) brings her program to DC. "This is a great introduction to using social marketing to bring about health and social change." If you can't go for the full event, you have the option of registering separately for the Next Generation Social Marketing Seminar on June 4th. Get details and register here.

UPDATE (5.12.08): anyone who reads this blog will receive a $50 discount off the full registration price by entering the discount code 'QUI' on the online registration form. (Thanks, Nedra.)
The 2.0 Nonprofit: June 3 & 4.
"The National Assembly and Idealist.org have teamed up to offer you a unique technology event where the nation's trend-setting technology folks including Google, Salesforce, Facebook, Network for Good and others will share their bag of tricks on how to make this new technology work for you." The event will be held at Google's DC offices and at the new Newseum. Details & Registration.
Blog Potomac: June 13, 2008
"The premier social media marketing event for Washington, DC." Hosted by my firm (Livingston Communications), VigetLabs, and WordBiz.com. Get ready for some advanced discussions with a great line up of speakers. Details here | Register here.

Quien es mi Blamigo? (Who is my blog friend?)

2008-05-07T21:18:00.002-05:00

The following is a post I wrote for The Buzz Bin on April 22, so the latter half is outdated. Still want to show love to Jared, Jamie, and the lovely Jocelyn, who game me the book.

Did you know Jamie Lee Curtis writes children's books? She's penned nearly 10 of them, including "Is There Really a Human Race?," a story of a boy who wants to know, "Is the human race an obstacle course? Is it a spirit? Does he get his own lane? Does he get his own coach?" The babies and kids in the story run around in circles trying to win friends and influence people, until the book concludes with the boy's realization: the human race is not meant to be won at all.

(For what it's worth, I chose this image of the book cover over a video of JLC's hilarious True Lies strip tease - Not totally SFW.)

A copy of "Human Race" was gifted to me last month. It came to mind yesterday after I read Jared Goralnick's poignant post: "Avoiding the online popularity contest to seek a deeper connection." Jared is a true blamigo. His willingness to call out those who fake "frolleague" (friend + colleague) status in exchange for the spotlight is appreciated. We humans are a special breed. Gives us the tools, we'll build empires for ourselves. Give us the Internet and some tricked out AJAX platforms, and we're still building empires to ourselves. We all want to win the human race, in one way or another.

Call it what you will: popularity, pretentiousness, pride. Far be it from me to name names or deny my own fallibility here. If you are, indeed, atop a mountain of supporters/friends/followers, then do what we tell our clients: stay grounded, keep in touch, engage your fans, and be a conduit for change that's bigger than yourself. Thanks to the online powerhouses who are already doing this (you know who you are). To overstate the obvious: I would not be working for Geoff if he didn't practice what he preaches.

Thursday's Tech cocktail DC is one of countless opportunities make new blog friends and determine the best way to keep in touch. I'll be engulfing a few real world friends in hugs and meeting new blamigos - hope you find opportunities to do the same.

(Above: Jared at last week's Pimp My Nonprofit: Global Giving, hosted by Net Squared at Affinity Lab. If you see Jared at Tech cocktail DC, be sure to ask him about PSO.)

You're a resource. Don't repel, appeal.

2008-05-07T21:11:00.002-05:00

The PR pro is a gateway to information; the journalist is a gateway to visibility. The couple is entangled in an epic saga of deadlines and details. Yet, is the scale balanced?

A lot of time and energy is spent luring journalists to the story and sustaining the courtship. (Photo spotted at Birdsasart.)

Finding the message. Tricking out the release. Crafting the pitch. Getting attention. Constructing a provocative newsroom. Exploiting the sexiest medium.

Aside from journalists, bloggers, investors, members and prospects are also benefiting from this ceremony. You should do whatever you can to keep them coming back for more. Brilliant content powered by social media tools can add a lot of charm (although a lot of corporations are still making limited use of new media in communications).

This includes adding the ability to comment on news items and multimedia assets. As reported by eMarketer earlier this week, “US Internet users clamor to express their opinion online, judging by a Forrester Research study conducted in the third quarter of 2007. More respondents said they wanted Web sites to offer 'user ratings and reviews' than any other site content or functionality.” (See chart.)

How do journalists display their own allure?

With last-minute phone calls, of course. If you’re not devoted to press inquiries, this can derail you every time. It might not feel like a mutually fulfilling relationship. (Thanks to Larissa for the excellent video.)

But there is another way. Presenting: a quasi-social network for reporters seeking input. If I Can Help A Reporter Out (www.helpareporter.com) is a potential Craiglist for the media industry. Two or three times a day, publicist Peter Shankman sends out a digest of press inquiries to registered users, who can then make a judgment call on whether or not a response is warranted. PR Week has the details.

It’s free
It’s got a renegade feel (started as a Facebook group)
“It now has about 5,000 members that get a three-times daily e-mail containing two to 10 reporter queries.”

Denise Wakeman at Biz Tips Blog thinks HARO is a goldmine: “I read Help a Report Out emails as soon as they hit my email box because media inquiries usually require a quick response.”

Sounds like a little more balance could be on the horizon. HARO's network will only be as good as the quality and quantity of interactions it facilitates, so spread the word to your PR and press colleagues. PR pros like to band together anyway. Cavorting with journalists in a Craigslist fashion could be good for everyone.

This is a cross-posted from my April 18th post on The Buzz Bin.

What's on your sleeve?

2008-04-17T10:12:00.002-05:00

If you also think this photo is beautiful, leave a comment telling earthbyapril as much.

I did.

It's such a great image.

Just Means: Means Good Business

2008-04-16T21:11:00.004-05:00

At least, as far as I can tell, they mean good business - the socially responsible kind.

I checked in on Justmeans (www.justmeans.com) after receiving an anonymous comment on a recent post, asking for my opinion on the network "as a social media platform for corporate social responsibility initiatives."

In truth, you can skip my unbiased assessment and go straight to Allen Benamar over at Non-profit Tech Blog for his glowing review. Allen digs right into the heart of JustMeans potential, despite YASN (Yet Another Social Network) syndrome among nonprofits. He also shares some insights from Martin Smith, founder and CEO of Justmeans.

For good measure, here's what I have to say. You'll have to judge for yourself.

As far as I know, Justmeans has been in the works for a while, on the periphery. They recently launched their new site - and this might be the group's coming out party.

This somewhat dated press release from last September states that the purpose of Justmeans is to "promote socially responsible career choices." The network was started in partnership with the Boston College Center for Corporate, the head of which (Bradley Googins) was quoted as saying: "I believe JustMeans will soon become the leading provider of talent for companies creating value beyond the bottom line." Intentions are further relayed on the site's homepage: "Justmeans is a social media platform that rallies both companies and individuals around social responsibility."

Welcome to "the niche"! There are many groups already connecting do-gooders to jobs with good causes: Idealist, Nonprofit Oyster, Opportunity Knocks, others. And Care2 is also about connecting people by issue and with like-minded companies. However, maybe - just maybe - Justmeans is focused on people who are dedicated to improving CSR initiatives globally. That would be a niche. And maybe a miracle.

A few indications this just might work:

About a dozen Ashoka Fellows comprise the team behind the Justmeans. Ashoka is good people.
There's a flood of resources on the site, events, jobs, blogs - a lot of this content is still being populated.
Justmeans membership "grew by 40% in March (thousands of members)" according to Phil Cubeta at Gift Hub.
Ann at Capitalism4Good applauds Martin's efforts to make the site open source.
Socially responsible companies want the best people, and will get them. Ryan at SocialMediaWorx (who happens to be the smartest most handsome man in the world) just posted today about Nau's efforts to change the word through the Code of Corporate Citizenship. If companies like this want a networking portal for talent, they'll create a damn good one.

Just because traffic and inbound links to the site are still relatively low, these numbers could very well start soaring if Justmeans plays in the right spaces and truly gives their members control.

So, I say give it a try. What harm can it do if you're a person - or company - trying to find the right fit?

10 Commandments for Business Blogging

2008-04-14T18:39:00.003-05:00

Thou shalt not ignore this post by Mr. Tadeusz "I have 3 z's in my name and you don't" Szewczyk, the white hat of SEO, blogging the show from SEO 2.0.

Tadeusz (and others) beat me to the punch on a "10 Commandments" of blogging post, but he pretty much covers it all. I also like his closing disclaimer -

"Now will following these 10 commandments make you a great business blogger? No, they most probably won’t on their own, but without them your business blog will fail. To stretch my commandment metaphor: It’s not enough to play by the rules, you need faith. With blogging it’s more about the enthusiasm or the passion."

Read Tadeusz's full post for a full explanation of the 10 Commandments for Business Blogging. These guidelines are relevant to any organizational blog; not just those run by corporations.

Use your real name
Disclose what company you are working for and what exactly you do there
Blog yourself
Do not sell, inform
Do not “blog” press releases, tell stories
Engage your audience
Use casual language not corporate newspeak
Do not demean others, especially competitors, but deal with criticism and other issues of your company
Do not make your employees vote you up
Do not hide facts when you describe something

Other blogging commandments are available on Letters Home, ThinkHammer, and Unconventional Marketing Blog ("Thou shall not take the lord’s name in vain, 'Oh, Googledammit!'”). Mix and match as you please and make these guidelines a part of your organization's blog policy.

And check out my Seven Deadly Sins of Social Networking for a rework of the classic no-nos for further jaunts into the wilderness.

Social Media for Good, Not Evil

2008-04-13T21:05:00.003-05:00

Anyone out there working or volunteering for societal benefit? This post is for you. Future posts will be for you, too, if there's interest – there's plenty to share about do-good strategies.

Recent discussion on this blog (and elsewhere) regarding social media in-fighting might drive skepticism or paranoia into your heart. As proven day-in and day-out, people and organizations that put their necks "out there" run the risk of being lambasted online. (Photo credit: "Paranoia" by disneymike.)

Nobody wants to scare you away from becoming a 2.0-friendly nonprofit or association. Indeed, the need for charitable, government and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to engage smartly in digital dialog is greater than ever, given the state of our economy-at-large and the boundless potential to do something about it.

Take Heart, and Notes

In her April column for Fundraising Success, Katya Andresen - VP of Marketing for donation/volunteer marketplace Network for Good and sorceress behind Nonprofit Marketing Blog - reminds us of a lost art: selling to souls. In brief, missions get better mileage when their messages are focused on the audience's interests and needs. Social media tools are simply a conduit for engagement and feedback. This should not be earth shattering knowledge, but here's an excerpt of Katya's advice just in case.

Lay your ego to rest. ". . .are you really connecting with your list and its feelings, or are you just talking about yourself all the time? Nothing turns off a list like narcissism, and nothing turns it on like showing your emotional side and appealing to its perspective."

Stop playing copycat. "Focus on your audience and what they want (instead of what other organizations are doing) and [be] your unique self in front of that audience. Don’t throw wristbands and blogs at your audiences unless that’s what they want AND unless those things are completely aligned with what makes you special in your audiences’ minds."

This servant/listener mindset does not naturally parlay in the self-focused form of citizen media. However, it will always trump the norm if you keep an ear toward your audience. Fortunately, most potential donors, volunteers and members of social cause groups have something in common - a bleeding heart on their sleeve.

Images courtesy of indieshirts, discography and fussybaby.

So what motivates these people? Katya teamed up with Mark Rovner (Sea Change Strategies) at NTEN's 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference to discuss just that.

Their session, "The Seven Things Everyone Wants: What Freud and Buddha Understood (and We're Forgetting) about Online Outreach," revealed the 7 Deep Human Needs all marketers need to keep in mind - especially anyone filling out a Form 990. Keep these motivations on hand when planning your next nonprofit/social cause campaign:

Need 1: To be SEEN and HEARD

Need 2: To be CONNECTED to someone or something

Need 3: To be part of something GREATER THAN THEMSELVES

Need 4: To have HOPE for the future

Need 5: The security of TRUST

Need 6: To be of SERVICE

Need 7: To want HAPPINESS for self and others

Ask yourself why you support certain causes or ideas. If Katya's right (and she is), "No one here said, 'I gave or volunteered because of a tool,' like email or Twitter. You supported a cause because of how it made you feel" (per Britt Bravo's recap of the session - which includes an excellent overview of all 7 needs as they pertain to your marcomm efforts).

Will you ignore or leverage these needs? By listening to and learning from your audience, you can help redeem the "social" in social good, social media, and social movement.

Those who feel they must, go ahead and mock 'the hippies.' We're quite busy caring about bigger things than ego-bashing, but appreciate your heartfelt concern all the same. Peace.

Cross-posted from my April 8th post on The Buzz Bin.

My "Media" Does Not Bring All the Boys to the Yard

2008-04-13T21:02:00.004-05:00

If you're in the social sector, then it might help to incorporate feedback from your constituents in all your communications activities. Brings a new meaning to "social media," no? The following is a cross post from my April 4th post on The Buzz Bin.

I’m a dreamer, too. But when Steve Rubel says, “All media is social and all social is media,” it’s time for respectful disagreement – or clarification. Most of the debate in response to Steve's plea to "kill the phrase social media" took place through commentary on his post, which is worth checking out if you haven't already.

Yes, social media qualifies as media. In the U.S., bloggers more or less have 1st amendment support on this, as noted in my breakdown on last September’s FEC ruling.

But no, not all media is inherently social. It should be. Even so, we’ve long drawn lines in the sand around our professional territories and tools for concrete reasons.

Starting with the medium itself. For example – and you’d think this would go without saying – print and broadcast are not always conducive to two-way exchanges. So while both channels are effective in their respective spaces, neither is intentionally “social.”

Each medium is unique, further differentiated through targeted approaches via PR, marketing and advertising, but also has the potential to be fluid. Yesterday’s report and subsequent press release are today’s blog post and Reddit hit. YouTube takes an ad to new heights using both broadcast and social media. Other ads, bolstered by SEM, can take social strategies further (and vice versa). These are solid practices still unknown to and unused by - gasp - a lot of people, including too many practitioners.

Horses for Courses
"Social media" is not limited to a tool set, nor is it a phenomenon exclusive to the Internet. The online and offline, digitally kind can and should be tucked into other forms of media to foster community, comment and sharing. All these forms – print, broadcast, digital – fall under media relations.

We’re still a long way off from being universal in our social skills. Rather than belabor medium, find the mix that touches all relevant avenues to [insert your goal here].

Marking terrain and seceding based on boundaries of medium is a strategy-killer. And we all know what shoddy, segmented strategy leads to – anemic, pointless tactics.

Until we all settle on a better way to be (and a better word for) "social": What’ll it be? Isolated or Integrated media?

Getting it Together: Multiple Media Assets

2008-04-13T20:58:00.002-05:00

Greetings from one scattered, multi-media bound Internet user to another!

Since we're all caught up exploiting various digital tools for personal use - and for our organizations - it might be worthwhile to explore how to manage the toy box. If you're juggling more than one company-branded, digital property (a blog, a forum, feeds, multimedia assets, social network profiles and so on), then it's time to drop a little Elfa in the equation.

The benchmark: Dell Community. This site aggregates every available opportunity for engagement and feedback regarding Dell offerings. Checking them off: customer testimonials and reviews, discussion forums, blogs, co-creation points (i.e., IdeaStorm), podcasts, videos, RSS, and Dell's Information Portal, TechCenter wiki, and Second Life presence. All that housed in one spot, eliminating the need to dig through tedious layers site navigation to find connection points.

All that's missing is information about how to directly connect with employees online -an undertaking that's probably more manageable for smaller shops like ours.

Not to suggest that we have our ducks in a row. On this blog alone, a visitor has his/her pick of many options to keep in touch with our team - but half of what we offer isn't available, and the channels available are strewn across several pages. Did you know that you can follow/friend Larissa, Geoff, Marinel and me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? You would have if you'd visited the Buzz Bin's About page. But that still won't get you to Geoff's podcast or events we host, like Blog Potomac. We have work to do, too.

Viget Labs got this spot on with their recent website makeover. Staff profiles feature their latest tweets along with links to their latest blog posts and personal blogs - not just links to individual social network accounts.

Viget also nailed multiple blog management. The group offers four distinct blogs, one for each of Viget's "labs" (strategy, design, development and marketing), all of which are re-capped on a fifth (and founding) company blog - The Four Labs Blog.

Each blog has unique content, bloggers, and aesthetics, and attracts visitors independently of one another. To keep it together, the blogs are integrated through 1) the company blog and 2) each other - in a consistent fashion.

For example, from VigetEngage, the firm's online marketing blog, you can access a menu of other blogs through icons in the top right corner (see image at left). It's the same on every blog - graceful flow, great design.

In case you need the case, re-organizing digital properties is smart for several reasons:

It's Alive! Getting your assets in one place will force your team to keep fresh content on the table. Stagnant content should be revived or archived.

It Multiplies! However you index your digital offerings, the catalog of content will make you want more, and ultimately encourage the addition of more corporate and staff assets.

It's All In One Place! One-stop shopping is good for journalists, potential clients/partners/employees and others - and that's good for business.

It's Searchilicious! Start syncing your content and watch the machine work it's Pacman magic. You'll find that stronger assets will help deliver additional hits to other offerings through increased web traffic, downloads, blog hits and more. The rising tide lifts all boats.

A few cautionary words in closing, inspired by a frank remark by Viget Lab's newest employee, Ryan Moede (Digital Media Strategist and VigetEngage blogger): don't waste you're time arranging and re-arranging the puzzle if you're going to half-ass it, or if you have weak content. You won't master the jigsaw without the right pieces in play.

Regulators, mount up.

Cross-posted from a my March 25th post on The Buzz Bin.

Mas Evange.List

2008-04-13T20:36:00.004-05:00

In an attempt to round out my online presence, I've started up at a few new watering holes.

Twitter: @beautifulthangs - Twitter is "micro blogging," which to me means 1) lazy 2)easy. It's also turning out to be an excellent networking and "getting to know/stalk you" tool.
Tumblr: beautifulthangs - I started the Twittter acount to post about things I felt were beautiful, but quickly learned that the amount of chit-chat on the site would derail my so-called meme. Tumblr on the other hand serves this purpose really well: I can post about beautiful stuff all the live-long day; my online scrapbook of breathtaking moments. And it's all mine: you can read but you can't comment (a mixed blessing).
The Buzz Bin: www.livingstonbuzz.com/blog - With the new job, I am also blogging every Tuesday on the firm's blog, The Buzz Bin. We focus mainly on 'new PR', and I'm pleased by the amount of substantive conversation taking place through comments. I'm going to hit the 'social sector 2.0' beat and discuss the intersection of new and old media as it relates to integrating soup-to-nuts strategy and tactics. I love my new job, by the by - my boss is totally Level 5. Here's a little more about the new 'work me' and the kind of nurturing culture I've joined. We want to work with more nonprofits and social causes - more to come!

Finalists | WaPo Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management

2008-03-26T08:35:00.004-05:00

We have 3 finalists for the Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management! A lot of great groups submitted applications for the process, and those below simply rise above in terms of best practices and innovation.

MVLE, Inc. - Mission: "to create futures one person at a time for people with disabilities through employment and support services."
Urban Alliance - Mission: "to prepare young adults from under-resourced neighborhoods in Washington, DC for the world of work and a life of self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and meaningful paid internships."
Washington Tennis & Education Foundation - Mission: "to improve the life prospects of DC-area youth, particularly those from lower-income communities, by providing athletic, academic, and life-skills activities that teach discipline, build self-esteem, and improve academic performance."

During this next month, those of us on the selection committee will be visiting these nonprofits in order to meet key players on their boards and staffs, and learn more about what they're up to. The site visits will help us take what we've read on paper and see if it matches up to (and beats) what we envision.

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 21, in conjunction with a best practices workshop with past winners. I'll post the details when I have 'em!

Selamta & the Human Capital Foundation

2008-03-22T18:58:00.004-05:00

Ever get so fired up about something that you want to turn the world upside down?

That's how I'm feeling about the Human Capital Foundation - a group unknown to me until two days ago. Talk about a noble cause.

The Foundation is supported by the Human Capital Institute (HCI) - a for-profit company elevating strategic talent management on a global level. The Foundation takes HCI's contributions even further, addressing entrenched issues that typically work against developing workforces in emerging economies: AIDS and poverty to name a few.

While talking shop with HCI's team on Friday, founder Mike Foster shared the story of Selamta, one of the Human Capital Foundation's core programs. To hear Mike tell it is enchanting and galvanizing. My nuts and bolts version is this:

Selamta runs out of Ethiopia. Not unlike SOS Villages, Selamta repairs the family unit through community homes for orphaned children - in this case, mostly AIDS orphans. But it's not an orphanage - at Selamta the children have their own clothes, their own toys, and can fetch their own snacks from the fridge.

Selamta is helping approximately 50 kids across 6 different center. Each center is a home within an Ethiopian neighborhood. The centers exist in an effort to keep orphaned siblings together in their native country, rather than separating and redistributing them to new American homes. Selamta finds children and their siblings, and after the children have been stabilized emotionally, nutritionally and physically, they'll find themselves working on family values, becoming brothers and sisters to each other and paired with mothers. Mothers who were marginalized by AIDS, but through Selamta learn about health care, AIDS prevention, and how to be a mom. Eventually, Selamta will rent a house in the neighborhood for a Mother and about 7 of the children, creating their "life-long forever home."

School is paid for, too, and Selamta kids are #1 in their classes. University is sponsored if they score highly enough on exams.

Mike says, "We treat them as our children, not wards of the state."

Mike and his wife Carol are adoptive parents to 4 Ethiopian children. They are personally invested in Selamta's cause, with a passion that is as contagious as it is sincere. As someone who has for years wanted to one day adopt a child - with her sights set on Ethiopia - I am ripe for hearing and spreading Selamta's message.

If you are, too, then stay tuned - we'll be helping them out and you'll have a lot of opportunities to get involved.

In the meantime . . .

Consider donating through the Human Capital Foundation: http://www.humancapitalfoundation.org/hcf/hcf.home. $100 will cover a year of schooling fees (tuition, uniforms and books) for 25 children; $500 will provide a month's worth of food for 50 children in the Selamta centers.

You can also sponsor a child, and Renee shares more on her experience at her blog, "Our Ethiopian Adoption Story."

And of course, check out the Human Capital Foundation's new blog and video about Selamta to learn more.

By the way, Selamta means "be at peace" - something I hope you'll do this Happy Easter Sunday.

Seoul was sick

2008-03-16T08:54:00.007-05:00

But I'm sicker. Something about "yellow dust from China overtaking South Korea every March" coupled with a long flight home. My voice disappeared and I've been feeling like friggen' Ariel (you know, the Little Mermaid, before the curse was lifted, obvi). Thankfully, I didn't fall ill during my vacation, nor during my first week on the new job - ever the convenient employee. Tomorrow is Day One and I'm thrilled.

I've been unplugged and heavily drugged most of the week, but have dutifully uploaded photos from the trip to Flickr. Enjoy.

www.flickr.com

MySpace Causes in the house

2008-03-16T07:46:00.003-05:00

A lot of nonprofit professionals have asked the question, "which is a better vehicle for my organization's message, Facebook or MySpace?"

For a while now, I've tended to suggest that Facebook is the lesser evil. It has more features - like the popular "Facebook Causes"application, through which users can create/join a cause and recruit additional members and donors. Plus, Facebook seems to draw a more "serious" crowd, while MySpace caters to new artists and scary people from your past.

Too bad, I thought, because MySpace has a lot of freaking people on board (about 300 million now).

Well as I live and breathe, just this week MySpace opened up its platform to allow users to create their own applications on the site - following a successful move by Facebook this past year. Here's the full list of MySpace Apps. A "MySpace Causes" app was added as a part of this, and currently has ~380 active users, a number that is sure to escalate as word gets out to the thousands of nonprofits (and their supporters) currently profiled on MySpace Nonprofit Organizations.

I'd say the playing field just leveled out a bit.

The key to making the Causes app a success - regardless of where you're playing - is to first solicit support from your supporters. They're your easy sell, and will help you reach critical mass. The nature of Facebook (and now, MySpace) alerts will spread the word for you; each supporter you recruit will be multiplied.

You can focus your heavy lifting elsewhere, like strategy, and let your fans invite others to the party.

Kimchi in space | Qui in Korea

2008-03-02T22:27:00.009-05:00

While plans are in place for freeze-dried kimchi to accompany Ko San - the first Korean astronaut in space - on his virgin voyage, I too am about to embark on a big first. South Korea or bust. I fly out tomorrow morning to visit these guys, who are in Seoul teaching English. My suitcase runneth over with baking pans, oregano, cinnamon, size 10 women's shoes, pillow cases, beef jerky, "non-watery lotion," and other commodities they've gone without since October. I love being a big sis.

My limited knowledge of Korean culture comes by way of dear friends like Diane, Donna and Minjae; I'm really looking forward to learning more. So far, I know that the trip will include

A jimjil-bang (quoting my hilarious brother Trevor: "we'll talk about it when you get here.")
A trip to the DMZ (". . . we can talk about that, too"). I actually had to ask Trev what the DMZ is. Yep. Not so much like the DMV...or is it? Pretty sure we'll see a nice metaphor out of this.
No canine consumption. I know how to say/spell 'dog' in Korean (thank you Minjae) and it just ain't happenin' folks.
Perhaps some wi-fi in the park.

Okay then. Na-Juung-eh-bayo! (I think that means "See You Later.")

Sermon on the Mount | Do Good Networks

2008-03-02T22:27:00.002-05:00

There's a lovely parable about millions of people being fed by only five loaves of bread and two fish. In the world of 'do good' social networks, it seems like the opposite is occurring: there are numbers untold of these communities, all trying to 'feed' the same people the same thing. Something doesn't add up.

I've had great discussions with several folks at these networks and have tremendous respect for what they're doing. Are they trying to figure out their respective niches? But of course. Are they eager to collaborate? I think so. Why does any of this matter? There are still boat loads of people that have no clue what "Idealist.org" is, let alone an awareness that they can donate to volunteer/work for, or promote the hell out of causes that matter to them.

Maybe I can help a little. (Maybe.)

Over the next several weeks (or months), I'm going to attempt to 'interview' the folks at these networks that I've grown to respect so much. The goal is to give them one extra place to voice their thoughts, dreams, goals, needs. Here's my short list, in random order, and I hope they don't mind that I'm posting this quite preemptively:

Jake Brewer, Idealist.org
Heather Mansfield, Change.org/MySpace Nonprofit Organizations
Eric Rardin, Care2
Barbara Kelly, Ammado.com (the new 'kid' on the block - Barbara is great)
Roshani Kothari, OneWorld.net
Rebecca Carpenter, Razoo
I'd also love to touch base with ThinkMTV, Youth Noise, and Facebook Causes. Know anyone?

There are many other players that no doubt have plenty to add to - and are already forming - this ongoing discussion. Big donation portals: Network for Good, Global Giving, Guidestar. The 'Nonprofit Guru' bloggers, too - of which there are also almost too many to count these days. It's all part of a relevant dialogue that has never been more timely.

Hope whatever comes out of it is meaningful and insightful.

Group hug, left to right: Andrew Cohen, Forum One Communications; Eric Rardin, Care2; and Barbara Kelly, Ammado.com at last week's "Social Sites for Social Good" event.

Jovid Foundation 2.0

2008-02-29T13:30:00.011-05:00

This week I visited the Jovid Foundation for a conversation with the EDs of the Foundation's grantees. We talked about how social media can be used to reach new and existing audiences to get more donations, members and volunteers.

Jovid grantees, pictured in random order: Calvary Women's Services, Make Piece/Make Peace, Inc., Jubilee Jobs, Inc,, Dinner Program for Homeless Women, Coalition for Economic Empowerment, Beyond Talent, Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, Visitors' Services Center, Mentoring Today, Prison Outreach Ministry, and Literacy Volunteers of America.

Most of these groups work to stymie poverty for adults in the DC area, specifically through workplace development (e.g., job placements, support, training, etc.) They have a noble cause, and there is boundless potential for this group to make the most of social media tools.

More sharing among grantees in sight?
Bob Wittig, who works at the Foundation and heads up the grantee gatherings, remarked that "the nonprofit sector battles a stigma that people in it don't share stuff. But the amount of trust and sharing [Jovid's grantees] have done has dispelled all of that."

Sharing, you say? How novel. Good thing that's what social media is particularly well equipped to help with.

I'm not aware of any foundation that is hosting a group blog for and/or with its own grantees. If Jovid Foundation hosted a group blog on workforce development, imagine how much peer-to-peer learning could take place outside their monthly get togethers. Furthermore, if it was an active, thoughtful discussion, it could garner a lot of visibility for these groups. And it would be a lot easier for them on the whole - well, easier than each of these charities hosting their own blogs that are about the same thing (e.g. workplace development). You think competing with other groups for print space is tough? Things don't change when you take it online.

Here's a good illustration of why charity-blogging (solo or with a group) is crazy valuable. This anecdote comes courtesy of Bob, who used to work for the Academy of Hope.

Once upon a time (probably within the last couple years), Oprah's foundation wanted to fund an adult literacy program in DC. Someone on staff did a Google search for related keywords. Academy of Hope's website surfaced in the top 10 search results. The foundation staffer clicked on the site, and Academy of Hope ended up receiving $250,000. That was just through website. A blog platform provides even more thought leadership opportunities, and will help rank you even higher in search results. The end.

Anyone know of a foundation-sponsored group blog for grantees? Think it's a good or a bad idea?

Burying the Lead Under February Events

2008-02-27T10:09:00.011-05:00

I made it out to a few DC social media events this month, and there are a couple more on the horizon before gears shift in March. Let's hear it for nonprofit 2.o.

Recent events

Pimp My Nonprofit - Net Squared DC's February Meet Up - we met last week at Google's DC offices to offer tips and advice to Oneworld.net as they implement Drupal's open source web platform into their website. Jared Goralnick has the details over at Technotheory, along with photos of the two of us on a Google Safari - stalking Google logos and playing on Google furniture. Good to have buds like this.
Social Media Club DC - Aaron Brazell spoke about major league blogging and how it can be achieved. Aaron is the Director of Technology for b5media, and more significantly, the voice behind the popular blog Technosailor. (And even more significantly, someone I count as a friend.) Two great quotes from Aaron worth writing down:

"The value of your brand is who consumes it. If no one is using it, or thinks it's crap, then your brand has no value."

"Bloggers are products of our environment. The impact you have is based on the impact others have on you."

The February gathering was held at Viget Labs, which as an aside, is the proud new employer of my honey - Ryan - who starts next Monday doing what I do: social media strategy and marketing. Congrats, boo.

Brian Williams, head of Viget labs (center) with his
newest employee Ryan Moede (right) and Aaron Brazell.
Social Sites for Social Good - About 150 (?) nonprofit professionals turned out at Tuesday's seminar at the National Press Club. I spoke on the first panel about the Department of Health and Human Services' Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog, alongside Stephanie Marshall, Director of Pandemic Communications at HHS (part of our road show).

Our main points were
1. If you want to reach your target audience online, you don't have to build your own online community or social network.
2. Yes, your target audience is probably on MySpace or Facebook, but it's also likely that they are congregating in smaller, niche communities. Like the online pandemic flu community known as "flublogia," dad blogger circles, and boomer blogger networks.
3. Working with bloggers and these communities is not adversarial - it's smart. Word of Mouth is the most trusted and effective form of communication, and it will go much further if you pass the mic to people who are already invested in and advocating for your cause.
Other panelists included Janice Nall, director of eHealth Marketing at CDC, who spoke about the agency's plans for mobile, Second Life, and other digital engagements. Heather Mansfield of DIOSA Communications - the Director of Online Communications for Change.org - spoke about her role creating and maintaining MySpace Nonprofit Organizations. After hearing what Heather had to stay, I rescind anything I've ever said about MySpace falling off the map - they're not going anywhere. Especially after they open their platform and MySpace Apps emerge. Ivan Boothe spoke about Genocide Intervention Network's Facebook efforts; Jonathan Coleman spoke about the Nature Conservancy's strategic use of Digg to promote social news.

Smart presentations all around, and they will be available on SlideShare soon (photos here). The event was hosted by Forum One Communications - they offer regular Web Executive Seminars that are more than worth the nominal fee.

Left to Right: Chris Wolz, head of Forum One, Janice Nall,
Ivan Booth, Jonathon Coleman, Qui Diaz, Stephanie Marshall.

Upcoming Events

February 28th (today) - I'm joining The Jovid Foundation's monthly roundtable discussion with it's grantees; Executive Directors of DC-based nonprofits that help local residents get out of long-term poverty and become more self-sufficient. Right now, these nonprofit leaders don't understand web 2.0 - but want to. In less than 6 hours, they'll hopefully have the information and motivation they need to dive in.
March 5th - Mashable.com will host its second DC networking bash. The MashMeet DC REMIX will be hosted at home-sweet-home Ogilvy PR, and I've been coordinating the event with Mashable's Adam Hirsch. You can register here. The $20 ticket covers food and beverage, but the networking is priceless. Mashable is, after all, one of the most popular blogs out there (ranked #8 overall by Technorati).

We should have a great turn out, especially from the local bloggerati: Shana Glickfield a.k.a. The DC Concierge; Peter Corbett, iStrategyLabs; Andre Blackman, Antibio.tech; a few folks from the Viget Labs team (Josh Chambers, Spec.ta.cles; Samantha Warren, Bad Ass Ideas; Ryan Moede, Social Media); Steve Field, The D-Ring; Geoff Livingston, The Buzz Bin; and possibly Jim Long of Verge New Media.

The American Red Cross's blog - Red Cross Chat - will be represented by Wendy Harman and Jennifer Lubrani. Rad.

That's a wrap for February.

What does March hold? A new job. I'll be joining Geoff Livingston's PR Firm (Livingston Communications). Geoff has been a mentor to me since I met him last year, and I am thrilled to grow with his team. It's been an incredible run with Ogilvy PR's 360 Digital Influence Group. I'm coming away with the utmost respect for John Bell's vision and the team's work - not to mention wonderful friendships. My last day is this Friday, but my DI tatoo will last forever.

America's Giving Challenge - It's a Big Deal

2008-02-25T18:46:00.004-05:00

A lot's happened while I've had my head shoved up my agency's - ahem - this year. Like the single largest, most successful online fundraising effort in our nation's history.

America's Giving Challenge - the fruits of a partnership between Case Foundation and PARADE Magazine - proved not only that a boat load of people care about a wide spectrum of causes, but that they're willing to interrupt their daily online interactions to fight for donations for those causes.

Check out Beth's post for an overview of it all - she diligently kept a diary on the Challenge, worked hard to promote her cause - and she won. So did others, and the stats are mind blowing.

While the average donation was about $25 - not a lot - it added up. Nearly 50,000 donations were made to roughly 600 charities during the campaign's two-month span. Network for Good and Global Giving - the two groups through which donations were fed - saw top gifts of $9,700 and $5,000 respectively.

The eight winning charities - which each generated an average of $48,500 in donations - were awarded an additional $50,000 from America's Giving Challenge. That's a lot of cash.

Now consider how all the exposure from bloggers, Facebook Cause users, and mainstream media helped spread the word. This campaign wiki features a running list of blogs that picked up the event - a level of coverage that is indicative of the enthusiasm folks have for such a 'big give' effort.

Still skeptical fundraising through social media? Hope that changes before the Challenge continues next year.

Little Blog of Horrors

2008-02-13T08:24:00.002-05:00

Evange.List has become my Audrey II.

Word to the wise: a blog is a beast that always needs feeding.

Creative maneuvers:

More voices: ask people to guest post on a regular basis
Advance posting: write entries ahead of time and then pre-set them to post on future dates
Repurpose other stuff: like feeds for your del.icio.us tags, Flickr images, or twitter tweets

Do as I say, not as I do.

Fun House Photos

2008-02-02T14:33:00.000-05:00

Just for fun, these are photos of me, Laura Halsch and Graham Gunn taken with Graham's laptop before we escaped the office last night. We had a blast.

www.flickr.com

People in DC are NICE

2008-02-02T06:51:00.000-05:00

For reasons that I won't go into here and are actually not very exciting, I just took a brisk, 30-minute walk from downtown D.C. to my place in Georgetown. I started at 6:30am, so the following events took place in the dark (and on eerily empty streets).

Unexpected Encounters on an Early Saturday Morning in the Sleeping District:

The owner of a small eatery/cafe smiles as he opens shop for the morning, wishes me a good day, pauses, and nicely asks if I'd like to come in for a cup o' joe. I'm alone so I politely decline and keep moving, but I'm warmed by his genuine offer.
A woman, dressed for the office, passes me and offers a pleasant smile; I reciprocate.
Having declined coffee only a few blocks earlier, I'm now craving a misto. I stop at the new Starbucks on 22nd to see if they can get it right (the Starbucks near my office does not understand "foamy misto.") It's warm and well-lit inside, and the barista/os are downright cheerful. They not only know how to make a legit foamy misto, they're also down with exchanging a few laughs and sardonic comments with me, a new patron.
Misto in hand, I pass the Walgreens that's about to open. The lights are blazing against the bright white interior, where about 4 people are busy building the framework for the new store. Based on Walgreens' magical commercials and what I know of their employee policies, I'm really glad they're moving to the neighborhood. For me, it's a brand that exudes joy.
Next I pass the restaurant with the fountain outside with a name I've never noticed. I peer inside. Chefs/staff are bustling about the stainless steel kitchen, Ratatouille style. It's early but they're obviously in their element and happy to be there. (Look at that - "they're/their/there" in one sentence.)
Finally, the firehouse. A fireman is out front and calls out to me - he noticed my sweatshirt is from Messiah College - a sweatshirt you don't see every day in DC. It turns out he went to Shippensburg (Ship U), grew up in Carlisle, and all together appreciates the beauty and bleakness of central PA that I, too, experienced during my 5 years of studying and gainful employment in that random region.

That's it, but isn't it darling? The only thing that could have improved this walk would have been if everyone burst into choreographed song and dance to U2's "Beautiful Day" or a la Bjork's manufactured musical "I've Seen It All" (Dancer in the Dark).

On a more introspective note - which I'm entitled to seeing as I'm sipping my misto and blogging at 7am on a Saturday - these are the people and character that I miss every day on the exact same path, which takes me to and from work. I miss all this because my head is either down or in the clouds.

It's been so gloomy lately, what with the dreary coldness of winter and my exceptional lack of work/life balance. I managed to forget that there are people who get up earlier than me with better attitudes and prepare this city for all it's hardwork, production, and productivity.

The walk was a blessing and a reminder. It's enough to make a girl want to wake up before the sun every morning. (I probably won't follow through on that, just fyi.)

Update - 9:30 am
I just walked back downtown to the office, reversing the path I took only hours ago (which is a straight-shot on M Street if anyone is wondering). The streets are busier - more cars, more people - and nobody paid attention to me or to anyone else. Before dawn, we were forced to recognize each other. I also had to look and go inside buildings to access light. Now, the buildings seem quiet amid the day's noise - the light and action is outside. Whoever is doing whatever indoors goes unnoticed when the sun's up.

(Ugh, enough with the deep thoughts already.)

Profanity: #1 Vice & Missed Opportunity

2008-01-30T22:31:00.000-05:00

This post is Rated R for Adult Language.

Take a tip from Skinny Bitch: curse words are cool. At the very least, they get your attention. Maybe they'll get you some new donors.

Profanity Livens & Lightens Things Up

I had no interest in reading Skinny Bitch, the book that tells you to "stop being a moron and start getting skinny." It was given to me by my friend Jennifer Proccopio, and while my initial reaction was to balk, my interest was piqued after reading the first page. Check out this excerpt from chapter 1, when the authors are trying to convince readers to completely overhaul their diets by giving up everything unhealthy, from soda and coffee to wine and refined sugar. Not an easy sell, but they make their point:

"...Your junk food has a shelf life of twenty-two years and will probably outlive your fat, sorry ass. Now, before you decide you're so smart because you only buy fat-free snacks, get a hold of yourself. Whenever you see the words "fat-free" or "low-fat," think of the words "chemical shit storm." Read the ingredients. Do you really think sugar or hydrogenated oils or eggs or milk won't make you fat? Sober up, asshole."

The broads who wrote this book will change lives with their straight talk and candor.

Profanity Prevails in Online Chatter Anyway, Sooo....

Some of the most entertaining blog conversations are cesspools of filthy language. Fellow fans of Gawker and The Superficial might agree that the tempo of talk on these blogs is driven by frequent references to Superfish's "wang," name calling (mostly derivatives of "ass" such as "ass hat" and "ass clown") and general snarkiness resplendent with words that would make your grandma weep.

Anyone who wants a laugh should now take a moment to watch this vid on CrunchNotes, which shows what would happen if conversation at company meetings played out like it does on blog comments (also Rated R - for gratuitous crassness).

In Conclusion

We spend a lot of time dodging bad words in public settings that might come back to bite us in the tuckus, but maybe it's time to loosen the tie. Especially when we apply this to causes and missions that need to relay true urgency. Do groups fighting to reduce HIV, poverty, crime, violence have anything to gain by ditching the grantwriter/PR propaganda and going straight for the big guns? It might turn off a lot of folks. It might be a turn on for those who want to get behind nonprofits that kick ass and take names.

You've got nothing to lose but the conservative donor. And you can always wash out your mouth with soap.
I'm one to talk: profanity is my Big Vice but I've managed to keep this blog Rated PG by sticking to frick and frack (until posting this, of course).

Phil in the circle

2008-01-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

Phil Hanson is rad.

Why? For starters, he creates absurdly meticulous and ephemeral works of art, tackling each job in anywhere from 6 - 96 hours non-stop. He films himself creating - and demolishing - his art, timelapses his videos into 2 - 4 minute clips, and then posts them to his YouTube Channel and website (www.PhilInTheCircle.com). Oh, and he enjoys a global fan base.

He even has a heart. Check out this powerful message about fair trade featuring Phil's portrait of a Ugandan boy painted on Starbucks cups. He supposedly donated all proceeds generated from sales of the print to a charity.

What's the point?

Somebody oughta tap this guy to promote their cause.
Look for other YouTube stars who could promote your cause.
Find astonishing talents in your own networks of members/volunteers/clients and help them establish a reputation on line. Then exploit the connection to promote your cause.

8 random things about me

2008-01-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

One of my 2008 goals for this blog is to participate in more memes - and stick to memes that are relevant to nonprofits and Web 2.0 in some regard.

What better meme to start off with than Crazy 8 for 2008, a tag that comes courtesy of Andre Blackman, the blogger behind Antibio.tech (and friend).

I like how Tiffany from Personal PR frames it up: "Since blogging is so much about relationships, I think it’s really important for bloggers to share who they are as a part of the process. It makes you more transparent, and it makes what you have to say more relevant, authentic and valuable when people really know where you are coming from."

Here's to letting it all hang out for the sake of relationship-building:

I am currently on day 3 of a colon cleanse, which is not as gross as it seems, and means that I have not consumed solid food in nearly 72 hours (and, surprisingly, I haven't been that hungry). Last year it was a gall bladder cleanse (amazing) and friends, a liver cleanse is on the horizon. Trendy cleansing is bad; purging toxins that deplete your ability to manage stress is good. Truly, I am a huge freakish advocate for smart detox, and am seriously contemplating starting a second blog about it. My friend Genelle - the massage therapist in Montana who was raised in Alaska killing and canning her own salmon and has never used a microwave - is to blame/thank for all this hippie hoo-hah.
All time favorite movie: Labyrinth. Has nothing to do with David Bowie in tights although how funny is this Flight of the Conchord's parody?
I'm a member the Divorced Kids club - my parents divorced in 2004 and it was awful. Despite the experience, I am now much closer to my brother Trevor. All the divorce stress led to odd physical symptoms . . . which eventually led to holistic treatments (see #1). Again, good stuff to get you through long-term run-ins with crisis/pain.
This Thursday my mom, Susie, is graduating from her nursing program as a Registered Nurse. She's gone through more hell and high water (#3) in the past half decade that anyone else I know, and I am very, very proud of her. I'm taking the day off work to hop from ceremony to ceremony and clap my hands off.
I have guilt complexes about the following: not volunteering enough; not blogging enough; not living abroad/traveling more; breaking the heart of my ex (it was years ago but was one of those "shot heard round the world" separations.) None of these are things that time/action can't remedy, but I'm short on both.
I regularly attend, and love, church.
One day, I would like to adopt a child (or multiple children, even). I'm not sure it's in the cards, but Ryan is open to the idea, and that, I suppose, is the first step.
The last movie I saw in the theater was Atonement (yesterday with Geoff, thanks buddy) and I liked it so much that I might go see it again tonight. Although I think they miscast Briony's late-teens character.

You can also learn about 50 things I love if you're curious.

In the spirit of relationships, I'm going to tag some wonderful women who I helped inspire to start blogging this year. Jocelyn, Colby and Marnie, you're up. Anyone can add their "Crazy 8" in a comment here, too (or pick it up on your own blog).

2008 Nonprofit Academy Awards

2008-01-01T17:28:00.000-05:00

This year marks the 14th annual Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. ("Do Good Grammies" sounds more fun, no?)

Offered in partnership with the DC's Center for Nonprofit Advancement, the membership association for local nonprofits, the award is not intended for the biggest & wealthiest charity on the block. Rather, it seeks out the most brilliant diamond in the rough; one managing to turn management issues into day-to-day triumphs (in areas such as finances, resource development, diversity, governance, etc.).

Susan Sanow, the Center's Deputy Executive Director of Programs, has been running the Award all 14 years. She's giddy about the fact that the New York Times has replicated the program.

"It's a great accomplishment with the two largest newspapers in the country are recognizing and honoring excellence in nonprofit management."

Following presentation of the award, the winner's best practices are presented to other applicants, and shared more widely after the fact. Per Susan, "One [nonprofit] wins, hundreds benefit."

I've worked with Susan in the past and was eager to join the Selection Committee for this year's award. We're in the midst of reviewing applications* right now, and to say it's inspiring work would be a bit of an understatement. It's not enough to say that the rounds of planning and delivery that nonprofit staff and boards go through each day to to serve their communities is astounding. It's not enough to say that the submissions I've been reviewing are equally astounding, or that I am humbled.

But I like how Susan expressed her own gratification: "If there's nothing else I do in my life, at least I know this is done."

The winner will be announced in late Spring. The hard work goes on all year.

Happy 2008 to our nation's nonprofits.

(And, as an aside, Happy One Year Anniversary to this here blog.)

*Applicant names withheld for confidentiality

Facebook Apps - DIE (?)

2007-12-18T14:59:00.000-05:00

There's a rallying cry going out to stop meaningless Facebook apps.

This video

+ the Facebook group "This has got to stop" (started by Evan Poteet, a highschooler in Indiana) are pleading:

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE
I DON'T WANT TO BE A PIRATE
LEAVE ME ALONE

POINTLESS FACEBOOK APPLICATIONS ARE RUINING FACEBOOK"

Evan's 'anti-dumb app' group already has 400,000+ members.

Per my post on the agency blog, this presents an excellent opportunity for nonprofits/advocacy groups to step up their game and give people useful tools that can have an impact. Can CSR initiatives do a better job of promoting social causes with a Facebook app? Most definitely.

I'd personally like to see a Facebook app with the latest Microfinance news, the GlobalGiving index, or volunteer opportunities in my community. Hope to see more quality and less fluff in the New Year.

Telling questions

2007-12-11T23:25:00.000-05:00

Her: "Are you blogging about the kerosene heater?"

Me: ". . . No . . ."

Her: "Are you blogging about sex?"

Me: ". . . No . . . "

The lessons:

While I do not and will likely never blog about either of those topics, I certainly COULD if I wanted to and it would be perfectly acceptable. Anyone thinking of starting a blog related to indoor heating systems, horizontal activities, or unrelated topics should by all means get to it.
Clearly, if my own housemate is asking these questions, I need to do a better job of promoting my blog and what it's about.

Thanks Jordan.

Can I get a Witness!

2007-12-11T23:11:00.001-05:00

Having always figured that, although nonprofits are well behind the curve on marketing and social media, there are other sectors (ahem, government) that are destined for an eternity of colorless communication, I was shocked to learn the following last week:

There are government people who understand social media.

And they all attended the recent Social Media for Government conference. I was there to give a talk on the Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog - a 5 week blog that my agency worked on for the Department of Health and Human Services. A week later, I am still giddy from meeting people from the FBI, CIA, IRS, NIH, CDC, NOAA, DHS, the Holocaust Museum (and many other state/federal groups) who are totally down with digital media - or at least trying to be down.

All this and much, much more in my other post, which includes some really sexy statistics on government blogging.

A** Berries in the Snow

2007-12-06T23:05:00.000-05:00

They look so innocent, don't they?

These are the last of 'em. I hope.

Dive Deep

2007-12-06T09:52:00.001-05:00

Be not the slave of your own past - plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience, that shall explain and overlook the old.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks Sara Strope - consider that tattoo.

(Photo courtesy of Canadian Veggie via Flickr.)

Seven Deadly Sins of Social Networking

2007-12-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

I recently had the privilege of spending an evening with the fantastic women of the Junior League of Annapolis to 'breeze through' the in's and out's of social networking. That is, giving them starting points and constructive advice to get in the game for themselves, but also on behalf of JLA.

Their interests and goals for understanding social networks were all over the map: design, economics, military, foster care, retirement, teaching, being a mom, and so on. A couple moms wanted to learn how to keep up with - and an eye on - their kids in the digital world.

While no interest is too small/big for social networking, it can be difficult setting general ground rules for social network etiquette when there are, frankly, so many from which to choose ("~~Where~~ Wear a condom" doesn't quite cut it, does it?)

Seems like a good a time as any to lay down the "Seven Deadly Sins" track I've been planning. Hope this helps put some skin on the "no-no's" which might deter the average Joe/Jane from dipping their toes into social neworks. Enjoy!

The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Networking

Sin #1 | Gluttony
Overindulgence is apt to occur once you pave your way in a new social network environment, especially if this is your first foray. Immersion is helpful but only to the point of gorging yourself - marked by the bloated sensation one gets from stalking friends and discussions into the wee hours (we've all done it). Kill the vice: Try to avoid becoming a mouse potato by pacing yourself.
Sin #2 | Envy
Because of the 'popularity factor,' you will inevitably find yourself coveting others' ability to work the social networking scene, be it by their number of friends, photos, or widgets. Kill the vice: It's the quality, not quantity, of relationships you're building that counts.
Sin #3 | Greed
If you're green with envy then you're also probably hoarding with greed. One of the biggest favors you can do for yourself in a social network setting - or anywhere within social media for that matter - is share. Kill the vice: It's a big "give a penny" jar out there. Share your knowledge, connections, contacts, resources.
Sin#4 | Sloth
Putting yourself "out there" is a great first step, good for you. It doesn't count, though, if you set up your profile, ping a few friends, and then walk away. This is how things end up for a lot of folks who have good intentions but then find themselves too busy or (gasp) lazy to maintain their online image. Kill the vice: The beast of burden has to be fed if you want it to carry you into the future, so try to hop online at least every few days to see what's new (days, not minutes).
Sin#5 | Wrath
Although the medium (the Internet) has changed, words are still weapons in this place. People fling derogatory remarks every which way, jettisoned by the fact that word of mouth will carry them further than ever before. And it's public, so poo pooing can be feisty when people want to save face. This ain't Vegas, baby - what happens online stays online for all to see. Kill the vice: Stay upwind of downward conversations, and similarly, rise above anything directed at you by giving a diplomatic response.
Sin#6 | Lust
People are nice enough. Sometimes, online, the mask comes off. Lines between flattery and flirtation blur, and it can be tough to spot inappropriateness in email let alone on your Facebook Wall. You're responsible for your conduct, and everything is traceable. Kill the vice: Don't say anything online that you wouldn't want your boss or mother to read; watch out for pervs and preds; keep it in your pants.
Sin# 7 | Pride
Make no mistake, social networks are driven by egos. Millions of egos. They provide a forum for exhibitionism which often strays far from that healthy shot of self-confidence one gets from having friends and making impressions on new people. Kill the vice: Your voice is an important addition to the millions that are already screaming for attention, so own your niche with a little pride . . . and a lot of perspective.

That's a rough cut. Would love recommendations for how this can be even more useful.

Especially from the JLA-ers, because nothing is getting in your way.

(Special thanks to Kristin DeMarco for making our event happen!)

Donations: Working Hard for the Money

2007-11-27T22:50:00.000-05:00

The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington just released a solid report: "Beyond Charity: Recognizing Return on Investment - How the Nonprofit Community Impacts Greater Washington."

Check out WaPo's article on the report: "Charities' Value to Economy: $9 Billion."

Chuck Bean states
"Through nearly 100 examples, Beyond Charity reveals some of the many ways in which nonprofits raise the quality of life for all of us in Greater Washington, and are the lifelines to our most vulnerable neighbors. As you know, return on investment is about more than dollars and cents. When local nonprofits collaborate with government, business and concerned citizens in pursuit of a common goal - a stronger Washington-area community - everyone profits."

Thanks to Chuck for taking time to share the news. Congrats to him and his team.

The Takeaway (hello, PR jargon): This is great data for nonprofits to have on hand to support their year-end giving programs. But more importantly, in quantifies what consumers need to know in order to be compelled to give: GIVING MATTERS.

Peeps who would like to take advantage of this ROI through their holiday giving should check out charity gift cards from Network for Good and Global Giving. Order them for the dollar amount you want; the recipient chooses the charity that gets the cash. Ain't none of my loved ones gettin' crappy presents they don't need this year.

Ginkgo abolition in my own backyard

2007-11-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

A good day, my friends. The following letter was distributed by one of my (apparently) activist neighbors, asking us to sign and fax (fax?) a copy to DC Council Member Jack Evans. Which, of course, I'm going to do. Why? Because my friends, the reign of The Ginkgoes is finally over.

Note: there's no mention of the funky stank that defines our true intentions. (We Georgetowners must uphold tact and diplomacy.) Those are just details; consider it signed.

Council member Evans:
We deeply appreciate the new procedures that the District of Columbia has taken to minimize the amount of fruit produced by the beautiful Ginkgo treen on the streets in our neighborhood.

For decades, the District has resorted to spraying the female Ginkgo trees each spring which has had a barely noticeable impact on the amount of fruit each tree produced in the following fall.

This year, the District began a new program of injecting each treen in the spring and, while the trees have never looked lovelier, the amount of fruit produced by each tree is negligible. In fact, many trees have produced absolutely no fruit.

As a result, we are no longer concerned about the fruits acids eating into our car's paint or causing people walking on our sidewalks to slip on the fruit which had dropped from the trees in such numbers that one couldn't avoid stepping on them.

Some years, it was so bad that people took their houses off the market until the "ginkgo fruit season" was over!

Please express our sincere appreciation to those in the District Government who are responsible for the new Ginkgo tree injection program. We can't tell you how pleased they are with the result."

We win.

I'm Guy Kawasaki's Ghost Blogger

2007-11-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

Or so one would think, judging by what Technorati is currently displaying:

So many shades of wrong, starting with the fact that yesterday, Technorati listed Guy as the author of my blog. I didn't get a screen grab of that snafu, though.

Also annoying that posts this outdated are showing up as recent posts in my list 'o favorite blogs.

Good thing I don't rely on Technorati for anything more than the 30+ hours of dedicated blog research I do each week.

But I would be proud to write for Guy. So I'll take it.

The Google Serenity Prayer

2007-11-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

For those tracking the OpenSocial/SocialAds face off, stop by Fake Steve Jobs and read "Eric Schmidt's Serenity Prayer" for the laugh of your life.

Now is Gone

2007-11-12T22:20:00.000-05:00

Pictured Left to Right: Geoff, Me, The Book
(at the Now is Gone launch party last Wednesday)

Congrats to Geoff Livingston for launching the already triumphant Now is Gone, a primer on social media. I'm swooning over Brian Solis' PR2.0 manifesto/intro - man after my own heart - and, knowing Geoff, expect great things out of the book.

Now is Gone is undoubtedly going to serve as a road map for anyone who is trying to make heads or tails of Web 2.0 and marketing/public relations in the glitzy digital era. Nonprofit pros should pay close attention: you can block and tackle that wonky marketing plan and fruitless media relations strategy for a mere $14.95 - or only $10.17 on Amazon.com. (If you're cheap, be cheap about the brand of granola bars in your emergency preparedness kit. Splurge on smart books.)

Order your copy now if you want to get it by December - Now is Gone is a top 10 book in it's Amazon category and Amazon already ran out of stock once.
For more: check out Geoff and Brian's podcast on the 7 Principles of Community Engagement (which is, incidentally, a terrific example of taking off-line content and repurposing it for the Web).

E is for "Emotional"

2007-11-09T10:15:00.001-05:00

Their flight leaves today at 12:11pm Eastern.

My bro Trevor and his girlfriend Kristin are off to South Korea today. They'll be teaching ESL for the next year. It's exhilarating to know that the experience will undoubtedly rock for them, and I'm crazy jealous that I can't go, too.

Also, I haven't cried this much since . . . well I cry a lot but this is very sad. The way I'm carrying on (tearing up while Kristin sews a patch on her luggage, full on weeping as I drive back from Dulles) you'd think he was off to war. I'm glad I have people in my life to miss. Get it together, Diaz.

I told these two they should blog about their trip so they can actually get jobs when they return to the U.S. I wonder how many blogs are about teaching English in foreign countries? Could be a great story.

I'm very proud of you, Trev. Be safe, take care of your woman and stay south of the freaking border.

Nonprofit Marketing - the good ol' days

2007-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

OBVIOUSLY, marketing gigs are different depending on the work environment, and culture has plenty to do with the type of organization you're working for - nonprofit, corporation, government agency.

While some things never change, (office politics, people who don't "get" what you do), other elements vary drastically. Marc Sirkin's spot on assessment of the top 10 nuances of a nonprofit marketing career makes me smile. (Those were the days.)

In particular, I like when he says "Sometimes, it's really hard to execute ideas (even really good ones)." That's a way to put it.

But also, after mentioning the difference in pay, Marc says "who cares - you get to make a difference in the world." Yes sirree.

Peter Deitz: About Micro-Philanthropy & Social Actions

2007-11-02T18:02:00.001-05:00

Peter Deitz was in the District this week. I got one hour with him at Java Green. Happy Day.

I've been seeing the name "Peter Deitz" pop up more and more among the nonprofit blogging gurus. He recently launched Social Actions (formerly "foik"), a resource for cause-oriented people who want to learn about online campaigns related to their issue/cause/passions, a concept that continues to drive buzz. The new Canadian Citizen (congrats!) is based in Montreal and has been on the road for a month and a half, so naturally, I was thrilled to meet with him this week. He had great things to share about the future of social media's impact on social causes.

Social Actions, as it turns out, is different from the "do good" social networks I've written about here in the past (and which I've claimed are not distinctive enough).

Social Actions is not creating campaigns, it's aggregating campaigns. At last counts, that's 1,400 individual "social actions." Like Orbitz does for flight bookings, Social Actions points advocates (and would-be advocates) to other sites which create engagements via groups, petitions, meetings, and fundraising initiatives.

I'm doing [Social Actions] to fill a void, Peter says, "using my intuition and knowledge of web 2.0 tools to build something useful for the philanthropic community . . . I have no agenda. . . It's an educational tool for how to engage with a campaign, and allowing 'amplifiers' to build their work and spread word of mouth."

One of the ways the site accomplishes this is by enabling visitors to email campaigns to friends and grab widgets or feeds that can be embedded in their own sites. Social Actions "Top Ten" includes feeds for new projects, programs, drives and proposals for groups like GiveMeaning, Fundable, GlobalGiving and Kiva, and you can import those feeds onto your own blog or Facebook profile.

Those "innovators in person-to-person fundraising" create much of the content that was originally aggregated in order to bring Social Actions to life. "GlobalGiving was the only one to have RSS when I started," says Peter. He now aggregates approximately 130 social actions through GlobalGiving, and wants you to get involved and promote your involvement.

Peter: "People can show the world how they're being active. You can show people your track record."
Me: "Doesn't that seem vain?"
Peter: "Vanity has always played a role in philanthropy. These social media tools show people where your interests lie. We're moving into a more values-based economy . . . a derivative of that is showing what we're going with good giving."

The site will eventually feature peer-to-peer editorializing on these issues related to health, education, animals, the environment and more, through topic-specific blogs. Peter's intention is to provide a neutral - but informed - perspective from experts and other interested folks, like he does so on his own blog, About Micro-philanthropy. I agree with Peter: "Donors who go to ['do good' social networks] don't get the full context of those issues."

His blog, by the way, is all about raising money online. Holla! I asked Peter what "micro-philanthropy" (small, direct giving) means for the donor, and he pointed out that it's different from larger scale giving in that it's strategic and you can track your impact over time, even if it's on a small scale. "It's about not consuming as much and giving more, being an active giver rather than an active consumer. And that's the reason I'm here - to make it easier to give - actively, intentionally."

Peter's June 2007 benchmarking study analyzes stats of online fundraising campaigns by SixDegrees, ChipIn, Firstgiving, GiveMeaning and JustGive.org, and was a springboard for development of Network for Good's new report on Wired Fundraisers (which I wrote about last week).

Thanks, Peter, and hats off!

Give a penny . . .

2007-11-01T17:31:00.000-05:00

"Why is it a penny for your thoughts but

you gotta put your two cents in?
Somebody out there is making a penny."
Steven Wright

Photo by pintavelloso via Flickr

Word of Mouth Spreads Like Wildfire

2007-10-24T12:48:00.000-05:00

It takes fire to start an inferno. Need a light?

The elements are upon us again, and time around we're playing with fire.

This morning I received the last in a line of text messages from friends in Southern California who I needed to confirm were okay. People are displaced, avoiding smoke and traffic, and looking for ways to help others. Erik Lokkesmoe, Ryan's dear friend, lost his home and church but his family is staying is relatives, Nedra Weinrich is giving blood, Nicole Robinson is still planning her wedding, Stephanie Meier is keeping her baby indoors, Max Gonzales is grateful for prayers, and so on.

I'm sitting on my duff in D.C. wondering how I can help, but confident that Americans will rally around this with support and donations, just like the time New Orleans was underwater. I'm also thinking how shameful it is that we don't parlay that benevolence with day-to-day needs.

Ah, but we can, and we are, through the wildfire of word of mouth (WOM). (What can I say, pessimism doesn't wear well on me).

People trust WOM more than newspapers, consumer opinions and web sites. If you support a Facebook Cause, have forwarded a petition to friends, or have asked others to donate to your cause or cure, then you are a purveyor of WOM.

Katya Andresen just sent over a new report from Network For Good about this phenomenon: “The Wired Fundraiser: How technology is making fundraising ‘good to go.'" The report reveals that "superactivists" [edit: on the new network Social Actions] reach an average of 150 people and raise approximately $9,000 each (finally, PROOF!) and covers

What happens when regular people with a cause take world of mouth to cyberspace
Why marketers and fundraisers should care; and
What they should do about the rise of this amateur yet effective Wired Fundraiser.

Here are the highlights, with thanks to Katya:

1. When Wired Fundraisers Talk, People Listen: Wired Fundraisers are regular people with a cause and a keyboard, and they are proving highly effective at fundraising for their favorite charity in an ever-widening personal sphere of influence online. That’s because today, the messenger matters even more than the message. People trust messengers they know, like friends and family. These messengers naturally communicate in the most effective ways – through personal means, in a conversational tone, and with great stories. A promotion from a charity can’t compete with that level of intimacy, authority or authenticity.

2. Not Every Wired Fundraiser Is a Champion: The successful Wired Fundraiser has a relatively rare combination of true passion and a means to lend a sense of urgency to their cause. Not every Six Degrees fundraiser or Facebook Cause is a winner, but a proud few – the superactivists - are very effective, raising $9,000 on average and reaching 150 people.

3. Technology Gives the Wired Fundraiser Special Power: Widgets and social networks make personal fundraisers more effective for four reasons. Widgets – bits of code that enable you to generate and place content anywhere online, including on Facebook pages or blogs – make it possible for personal fundraisers to take their message anywhere they communicate online, including social networks where messages spread very efficiently. They make it possible for the fundraiser to evangelize in their own way, in their own words. Because they make fundraising so easy, widgets attract a new group of fundraisers. Importantly, widgets also make it easy and convenient for friends and family to give instantly, when they feel an impulse to give. That means more donations to more causes.

4. Smart Charities Embrace the Wired Fundraiser: Technology enables anyone to be a fundraiser, anywhere online. The control over the message is in the hands of the Wired Fundraiser. Wise charities see this as something to embrace rather than something to fear. They tap into the opportunity to spread their message further, by new means, via new messengers.

The full report is available here.

Network for Good brings it full circle by making Wired Fundraising possible through its Six Degrees program, which enables people to raise money for their preferred causes through badges and widgets for their blogs. They've just released a new widget to help support victims of the wildfires sweeping California.

That, friends, is a flame worth fanning.

Hug a tree, or something!

2007-10-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

I nearly forgot that today is BLOG ACTION DAY. My genius ideas for green living are below. But first, a quick overview.

In recent months, some smart bloggers gave thousands of fellow bloggers marching orders to organize around a fun experiment: get everyone to blog about the environment on the same day (today, October 15th).

So this is terrific, obviously, because over 15,000 blogs (including yours truly) pledged to cover environmental issues today, and according to everyone's self-reported reader stats, that's about 12 million blog readers that will hear an environmental message today. I look forward to hearing the long-term impact of this effort - likely the most successful of it's kind.

Some bloggers have tied the subject in nicely on their otherwise non-environmental focused blogs.

I love Rohit's (colleague at Ogilvy) post via his Influential Marketing blog about 7 ways you can eat differently to impact climate change. (I learned about Blog Action Day through Rohit).
Ryan at CyberNet talks about his 5 most energy-efficient gadgets.
J.D at Get Rich Slowly (a personal finance blog) tells us to cut back on consumption, but if we must consume as consumers do, to "embrace imperfections" by buying organic food and hand-crafted goods
Hypebot summarizes posts about green resources for the music industry

So what are my tips/resources for green living? I'm working on a small scale, but I humbly suggest making these changes too, if you aren't already:

Walking to and from work every day, rain, shine, hail, or hangover (I'm lucky that home and work are within 1.5 miles of each other. And I'm just joking about that drinking on work nights thing)
Carpooling - if you make your boyfriend pick you up if you have to drive somewhere - especially if he's in route or if you're on the way - that is better than taking 2 separate vehicles
Buying Seventh Generation products (trash bags, toilet paper, napkins, etc - trusting that they're not using used ply for the "new" toilet paper)
Using energy-efficient light-bulbs (don't get the "bright white light" bulbs - they'll make your bathroom look like a florescent-lit cafeteria. Not cool in the morning).
Recycling everything (wine bottles, cereal boxes, roommates endless issues of the Financial Times which she chooses to ignore every morning when while leaving the house, leaving them for me to pick up and whoops, did that fall into the recycling bag again?)
Drinking out of the same water glass for a 24 hour period, and dumping old water into the plant beside your bed. Seriously, this is a daily routine for me.

Obviously I'm not an expert here. But I did watch Inconvenient Truth and I'm sold. Hippity-hop to it.

Blogging Withdrawal

2007-10-13T19:41:00.000-05:00

So busy. No time to blog. Feel empty inside. Must stop by and say hello. Hello.

Update: Ryan calls this stage "the dark abyss of guilt." Agreed.

Coming Soon: Network for Good's Gospel of Social Networking

2007-10-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

Goodness gracious, it's been nothing but "online communities this, social networking that" among the nonprofit gurus this past week. History is being made.

Katya even alluded to an upcoming section of Network for Good's site which will school nonprofits on social networks. This is good, very good. If anyone is to write the playbook, it should be her/them.

I wonder -

Will the magical section be an intro to establishing a nonprofit's identity on [insert favorite social network here] as an agency or through individuals? (Hoping it's the former).
Will it break down the altruistic civic space into palatable morsels that define not only jargon, but the various networks that exist and what each is best used for? (Well, they're all the same right now, so I suppose that's arbitrary).
Furthermore, will Katya's team be able to keep this puppy updated? It's an evergreen kinda thing.

Good luck, Katya, and let us all know if there's anything we can do to support this.

ThinkMTV: another toy in the sandbox

2007-10-03T11:08:00.001-05:00

Todd Cohen of Philanthropy Journal (and his Inside Philanthropy blog) recently posted about the fray that is the online civic space, and how nonprofits need to "get with it." Heck yeah, brotha! Here's his post. Todd mentions that ownership issues often intimidate nonprofits from diving head first, and I would add that it's also a matter of being overwhelmed. Weren't we all just trying to figure out how to launch a web site and e-newsletter yesterday?

Todd also points out this doozy: Stephanie Strom's article in the New York Times on MTV's forthcoming attempt to join the ranks of "do good" social networks by starting ThinkMTV, a community for activists. I am infinitely surprised to learn that this project is backed by the Case and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations. Ami Dar of Idealist is quoted as saying, "“If Gates and others want to collaborate with MTV instead of Idealist.org or organizations like it, there is literally nothing I can do about it.” (Ouch. Who wouldn't want to collaborate with Idealist?)

As if the wild world of online activism wasn't dispersed enough, now we've got MTV's big guns in the mix, seemingly diverting funding from those who have been at this game for years. I know if my skin is crawling, then there are many more purists out there who are gearing up in pitchfork & lit torch mode.

I have already come full circle on this issue, however. ThinkMTV presents yet another opportunity for all of us (nonprofits and do-gooders alike) to shout from the rooftops about what we care about, no? It brings some brains, brawn and cold hard cash to the table, so let's do the open arms thing (and exploit it to the fullest). I'm not saying I'm going to join. . . but I might.

Update: Just read about the International Rescue Committee's upcoming online community - smart move. Check out Marc's post (npMarketing Blog) for the skinny.

Broadcast Your Cause on YouTube

2007-09-28T14:49:00.000-05:00

Those cats at YouTube/Google are bleeding hearts, too.

YouTube launched it's brand new Nonprofit Video Program on Wednesday. 501(c)(3)'s can submit their videos and get added to highly (HIGHLY) visible rotation of "Promoted Videos" on YouTube's homepage and Nonprofit Channel.

From the YouTube blog:

"Several nonprofits are already using YouTube in their outreach; in fact, 13 of them helped us launch the program today and we're featuring videos from each of them right now on our home page. Nonprofit organizations have also used YouTube to run video contests, broadcast celebrity endorsements and launch innovative video campaigns inspiring people to produce videos on the issues they care about."

Smart nonprofiteers who jumped on YouTube before this program developed include March of Dimes and American Cancer Society.

Seems like a no-brainer. You have a good cause, you have some not-too-shabby footage of your mission in action, you upload it for free and promote the new, easy-to-embed video on your website, and of course to your constituents and fans, and bam. Your nonprofit is starring in it's own show. Apply here.

I Heart Beatboxing

2007-09-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

Presenting Bobby McFerrin's baby boy Taylor
on the Adam's Apple:

(click image to view video)

File this under "Things I wish I could do but I can't because I'm a chick."

From Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine, the baddest hip hop vlog around.

I Heart Networking

2007-09-24T23:50:00.000-05:00

However exhausting it may be. Last week was a quadruple-header, and I'd be remiss not to recap some highlights:

Tuesday 9.18 | Pandora DC meet up. I blogged about this already, suffice it to say that it was the most diverse group of people I've ever encountered at a networking event in DC (a big deal, considering this city is incredibly diverse by nature).

Wednesday 9.19 | Spoonful of Sin launch party at Flashpoint Gallery. The event featured fabulous confections from the new dessert club, which - if you join - will deliver one bite-sized confection by a DC pastry chef to your door each month. Roland Mesneir, chef to the White House for 26 years, Spoonful's spokesperson, and the embodiment of Ratatouille, attested that he will be posing nude with Santa on December's dessert box. Rowr.

An impromptu lady blogger circle convened, featuring my coworker Kaitlyn Wilkins and blog pals Andrea Morris, Alice Marshall and Geoff Livingston (the token male among all the female CEOs in attendance, and PR wizard behind the curtain for the event). I nearly melted after having the opportunity to chat with Debbie Weil, author of the Corporate Blogging Book. A blogger I admire greatly in the flesh. A good thing I don't blush easily. Debbie and Geoff are rallying together to start a DC Unconference called BlogPotomac. Rad.

DC Blogger Meet Up (the planned one) - After overdosing on desserts, I met up with pals Shana Glickfield (the DC Concierge) and Aaron Brazell (Technosailor - notice that's a lowercase 's' in Technosailor - Aaron politely asked me to "stop humpbacking!" the name of his blog.) Other cool folks were there, too.

Aaron, Shana, Moi

Thursday 9.20 | Refresh DC's September gathering featured a breakdown on widgets by Will Meyer of Clear Spring. Who knew widgets could do so much? Will is making his deck available to the Refresh community and I hope to capture some highlights here. In the meantime, I'm getting on board Justin Thorp's Ning revolution to unite DC tech/social media folks.

Geez. That's a wrap.

Dating terminology

2007-09-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the same room as friends Jordan and Donna who are watching Da Hills (say like "Da Bears"). I don't watch this show. But Donna has shared some fun dating lingo a la lame boy who shall be referred to as "Texas" (because he is from a U.S. state - not Texas - but we can't say which one), and I thought it'd be fun to catalogue said terms:

NCMO (non-committal make out) - noun. When you just want to suck face, man!

Slow Fade - noun. A deliberate and gradual back slide out of a burgeoning relationship. Texas did not give Donna the slow fade. He dropped off the face of the earth. But she don't care.

Giving A Guy The Heisman - verb(ish). A blocking maneuver used to deter lackluster prospects.

The Acorn Effect - movement: a term coined just today by our friend Allison who describes being asked out four times in one day at MIT (lots of boys, few women) as a bunch of squirrels scrambling for limited nuts.

White Trash Stash - noun. The mustache on grimy men at dive bars. (Courtesy of Jordan.)

Sexual sorbet - noun. A rebound intended to cleanse the palette.

I love to learn.

They're baaack

2007-09-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again.

Just yesterday I found myself dreading the impending and epic stank that comes with living on a Ginkgo-lined street in Georgetown. So naturally, while walking to work this morning, there it was, right at my feet. The first ginkgo nut to fall in Georgetown.

A** Berry Season has officially commenced. It's just a matter of weeks before my street, car, and nostrils are brimming with the nasty odor of all nasty odors. Mourn with me.

Update: I pulled the card for "Ginkgo Trees" while playing Apples to Apples this weekend. The card states, "An Asiatic tree, Ginkgo biloba, known for its fan shaped leaves. We can't remember what it's good for." I'll tell you what it's good for.

Pandora is Generous

2007-09-18T21:36:00.001-05:00

Pandora, the free music service which customizes its song selections for you, is traveling around the U.S. to meet with their local listeners. Just to say thanks. So thoughtful!

I'm a fan, but a bigger fan after attending the DC meet up this evening.

What's wild to me is Pandora's unceasing dedication to helping you discover new music. They're so dedicated, in fact, that after trying and failing to charge users $3 per month, they realized that the approach wasn't an effective business model and stopped.

That's a big disconnect for a lot of organizations, especially diligent nonprofits who think they know what their constituents need, based on the expectation of funders. Sometimes you just gotta give it away to get what you want. As Katya - who heads up marketing for Network for Good - recently pointed out, being relentlessly generous often provides a better return anyway. "We give away loads of free trainings and information here at Network for Good—and wouldn’t you know it, a lot of the people who get things for free decide to become paying customers of our other services."

And all that free music Pandora is giving away has led to 40% of Pandora users actually buying more music.

I'm not a Pandora user, being in a musical dry spell and all. But when I come to my senses, I will join the ranks of 80 million loyal and grateful Pandora users. Because Pandora is not only smart - they're generous. And I sweat my free Pandora t-shirt (the third free T-shirt I've received this week. Weird.)

Thanks for mega Pandora fan John Bell for evangelizing about the event and encouraging me and my fun new friend (and colleague) Kaitlyn to get our Pandora on tonight.

Regulating blogs? My Fanny.

2007-09-14T16:20:00.000-05:00

Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds.

- Albert Einstein

Blogs are media, but that doesn't mean we'll be subject to censorship anytime soon.

Unless it's by employers who don't want you to blog. Do you want to work for someone who censors you?

Just some late-day Friday thoughts stemming from Geoff, Sarah and Colby.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

2007-09-12T07:48:00.000-05:00

The fearless Geoff Livingston (blogging guru and lucky for me, friend) of Livingston Communications and Now is Gone, brought me further into blogdom by giving me the opportunity to guest post this morning on his blog The Buzz Bin.

The post, as it happens, is about the recent hullabaloo over the FECs determination that blogs really do qualify as media, and what that means with relation to politicized bloggers. Well, bloggers in general. (You can read it here: "Bloggers, You May Now Plead the First.") The ruling signifies an important juncture between "new" media and the old guard of PR - journalists. In at least some formal sense, we're now on the same team.

The other day, I stumbled upon a spot on post by Placeblogger's Lisa Williams which delves into her recent Come to Jesus moment with the press.

After encountering the First Amendment engraved around the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association last month, Lisa realized she was in the middle of an "interfaith dialogue" between the Church of Journalism and the Church of Blogs. Here's her take:

"To say that I’m not a journalist isn’t enough: it’s not about where the paycheck comes from. It’s about the fact that I don’t share all the values commonly shared by journalists. The church of Journalism’s holy trinity: Objectivity, accuracy, The First Amendment. Blogging? Authenticity, transparency…The First Amendment.

So at least we have something in common. But billions of pixels had been flipped about what we didn’t have in common, and the criticisms corresponded to the creeds of the critics. Bloggers aren’t objective, said the journalists, they can’t be trusted to be accurate with their newfangled electronic First Amendment Machines! They do not do Real Journalism, it is said. Beware, o Reader! Turn Back!

Bloggers fire back, mocking the media’s weirdly stiff and animatronic presentations, crafting classic blogospheric rants about failures of transparency – unrevealed biases, a hidden world of flacks and unnamed sources. Comment threads end up looking like Pentecostal revivals with the great pseudonymous horde witnessing and occasionally speaking in tongues: “l33t! Woot! First Post!”

Let us break bread together, we First Amendment faithful."

Ah, fellowship. It's not going to come easy: bloggers want full protection by the First, which we now have from the FEC. But we also want to operate as independent media, freed from the rules of the press. I so look forward to watching things unfold.

Andy's memorial

2007-09-11T15:22:00.000-05:00

Metrodad's tribute to his friend Andy, a memorial that will stand for a long time. No words.

Charity Date Auction

2007-09-10T18:17:00.000-05:00

Several of my close friends are hosting a charity date auction this Wednesday, 9/12. All proceeds go to Pediatric Care, a nonprofit serving children living with HIV/AIDS in DC.

About 15 guys and 15 gals will be auctioned off with fabulous date packages. Tickets are $20 in advance (includes a drink ticket) or $25 at the door. Order tickets online and/or view the site.

Or you can pre-bid $48,000 for the private jet-party for 8. Hey, that's a deal.

I just bought my ticket and look forward to watching nice people get pimped out to strangers. Hope you can make it (and by that I mean I hope you’re not a loser who doesn’t want to save the kids).

You Can Blog if You Want To (sung to the tune of Men at Work's "You Can Dance if You Want To")

2007-09-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

A wonderful thing happened the other day. My girl Colby (the "amica stretta" with whom I recently traveled to Italy) started her own blog.

What followed is a great teaching moment about blogging lingo, i.e., the correct use of the terms "blog" and "post." (People mix them up all the time, which drives me a little bonkers.)

Here's the awesome conversation that ensued after Colby told me what she was up to:

Me: Yay! You're blogging! What does 'leggiamo' mean?

Her: Let's read! I'm going to have an epic blog about ["Eat, Pray, Love"]. Maybe another book. Hahaha

Me: Blogging lesson number 1: you blog on a blog via blog POSTS, not blogs. (common misuse, lol.)

Her: Lol

Me: I can't wait to blog about your blog! (hope that's okay)

Her: Absolutely!! But would you post or blog?

Me: Ah, excellent question, grasshopper. You can post (verb) or blog (verb) interchangeably.

Her: Gotcha. You can post or blog to a blog but you can't write a blog on a blog, only a post. :)

Me: Perfecto. My life has meaning.

My work here is done. Well not really, but that sounds nice.

(Colby is not a social media geek, but she is an engineer, the fastest Googler in the West, and the most frequent commentator on my blog. If she doesn't totally know what she's doing in this space yet, she will learn uber fast.)

The takeaway from this is how Colby got in the game. After months of developing a taste for this type of conversation through commenting here and reading other blogs, she decided to blog about something she enjoys a lot: reading.

Her blog Leggiamo (like she said above, Italian for "let's read") is a testament to the fact that anyone can and should consider blogging a legitimate form of communication, be it a one- or two-sided conversation. And you can make it about whatever toots your horn. (Only 2 of Colby's first 5 posts are related to reading, for example. And Lord knows I stray from my social media focus all the time).

Here's to all the places you'll go with your blog, Colbs!

Online video: Punch Drunk Babies

2007-09-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

So what is online video good for? How about a little comic relief after sitting in your dimly lit office all day on a Saturday? Ryan just sent me the latest discovery in a chain of hysterical videos, all of which feature laughing babies.

Script: Laugh, rip paper, laugh, fall over (repeat). Oh, and go ahead and collect 1.5 million views and 2,000 comments while you're at it there, little Ethan.

Which caused me to revisit my favorite laughing baby video (try not to pee your pants).

And of course the really creepy 5-headed monster that is awkward enough to be funny, and slightly endearing.

And then I found this one of a baby cracking up over his daddy's Wii skills.

(This is a relatively new phenomena for me. We saw a baby at Target last night getting his laugh on while riding in a shopping cart. I was like, "No way! They cackle like that in real life?!")

There's more to online video than this. But the main reason people play on sites like YouTube is simple, really: entertainment.

I just happen to be highly entertained by drunken-ish little tots with giggling problems. What's your poison?

Get your blogger ethics while they're hot!

2007-09-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Friends and fellow bloggers, lend me your ears (and tongues):

"Pitching" bloggers teeters on taboo, and there's a growing concern over ethics related to blogger outreach. My colleague Kaitlyn Wilkins (smart chick) has painted the lowdown well, and I encourage anyone who is reading this post to stop and read her post now for an overview of the issue at hand.

Essentially, my team (Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence group) is facilitating some decisive and proactive action on behalf of bloggers and those who conduct blogger outreach alike: creation of a blogger “code of ethics.”

To be brief, this is an important step towards developing social media strategies which don’t squelch influential bloggers who can only stand so much “pitching.”

We've drafted a preliminary code of ethics for blogger outreach, which you'll find below, and we're asking bloggers and those who conduct blogger outreach to contribute their (your?) valuable thinking to the conversation that has already started. Easy enough to do - just read the post and add your comments. The code of conduct will be revised in 2 weeks based on feedback.

To be certain, the time for such an effort is now. And collaboration from both bloggers and nonprofit/agency contacts is key. If you agree, then I ask that you share this humble and transparent effort through your own blogs and with people you know who need to be at the table. Frankly, I think we should all be at the table.

Ogilvy PR’s Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics

We reach out to bloggers because we respect your influence and feel that we might have something that is “remarkable” which could be of interest to you and/or your audience.

We will only propose blogger outreach as a tactic if it complements our overall strategy. We will not recommend it as a panacea for every social media campaign.

We will always be transparent and clearly disclose who we are and who we work for in our outreach email.

Before we email you, we will check out your blog’s About, Contact and Advertising page in an effort to see if you have blatantly said you would not like to be contacted by PR/Marketing companies. If so, we’ll leave you alone.

If you tell us there is a specific way you want to be reached, we’ll adhere to those guidelines.

We won’t pretend to have read your blog if we haven’t.

In our email we will convey why we think you, in particular, might be interested in our client’s product, issue, event or message.

We won’t leave you hanging. If your contact at Ogilvy PR is going out of town or will be unreachable, we will provide you with an alternate point of contact.

We encourage you to disclose our relationship with you to your readers, and will never ask you to do otherwise.

You are entitled to blog on information or products we give you in any way you see fit. (Yes, you can even say you hate it.)

If you don’t want to hear from us again, we will place you on our Do Not Contact list – which we will share with the rest of the Ogilvy PR agency.

If you are initially interested in the campaign, but don’t respond to one of our emails, we will follow up with you no more than once. If you don’t respond to us at all, we’ll leave you alone.

Our initial outreach email will always include a link to Ogilvy PR’s Blog Outreach Code of Ethics.

Grazie.

Eat | Pray | Love

2007-09-05T19:44:00.001-05:00

Last night I returned from 2 weeks in the land of all things laid-back and luxurious: Italy. Everything is sexier in Italy. Even book titles: Il Diavolo Veste Prada (The Devil Wears Prada). Buono a Grande (Good to Great).

During my trip, I read the highly praised Eat, Pray, Love (or Mangiare Pregare L'amore) by my newest shero, Elizabeth Gilbert.

In this fabulous leisure read, "Liz" shares an insightful theory which I fully support: every location has a word which describes the collective "hum" of it's people.

Rome, a.k.a. SEX, is linked to this word because sex is all anyone thinks about in Rome. (Although the only thing I was thinking about when I was in Rome was that the Devil actually wears Havaianas - my feet paid dearly for this jaunt.) Naple's word is FIGHT, New York's word is ACHIEVE, Los Angeles goes by SUCCEED.

Liz says people have word's, too. I think mine is BEAUTY. Not because I'm beautiful (I'm certainly vain but not that vain) but because I am emotionally ruled by all things which are beautiful, even beauty in suffering. (If you saw American Beauty and cried over the trash-bag-blowin-in-the-wind scene, then my definition of BEAUTY in this context might be your word, too). Beauty = hope.

Photo of me swooning over true Italian beauty: scarves.

We got into this discussion over dinner in Taormina. I think Ryan's word is AWARE or RELEVANT. He always knows, and is always in touch.

Ryan on the ferry to Sicily, perpetually clairvoyant.

Colby - my oldest and dearest amica stretta (literally and figuratively a tight friend, tight as skin) - is not an enigma to me, but her word is difficult to nail down. Something to do with RESOLUTION. She is a problem-solver but in the most generous sense, not just because she's Type A.

Colby's navigation got us around the twisty Amalfi Coast safe and sound. Here she stands just outside Positano.

As a true blood Napolitano, Josey's word lies somewhere between SMACKDOWN and PLAY.

Fun and fierce looking Josey on a bench in his hometown of Napoli.

Tell me, what's that word of yours? Could it be EAT, PRAY, or LOVE?

How do you say "Peace Out" in Italian?

2007-08-20T20:05:00.000-05:00

I'm "out of blogosphere" until September 5. My hard-earned vacation will be spent in Italy, and I'll be much too busy eating, sleeping and sipping wine in vineyards and on the med coast to blog. However, I do my best thinkin' about social media when away from a computer, so there should be plenty of pent up pondering ready to pour out once I'm back.

In the meantime, check out the blogs on my blog roll ("Shameless Evangelizing") for some of the best this arena has to offer.

Itinerary
Italian Countryside or Bust: Sicily, Cinque Terre, Almafi Coast, Capri . . . also swinging through the big cities (Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples).

People

The significant other (and fellow social media whore)
The BFF since childhood
The BFF's significant other

No really, be jealous ;o)

Photo of 5 Terre's Vernazza courtesy of h2okatcher via Flickr

Fellowship of the Blues

2007-08-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

"You're the strangest person I ever met, she said & I said you too & we decided we'd know each other a long time."

My dear friend Jocelyn Harmon is blogging (and I will refrain from making jokes about hell freezing over because really, it was just a matter of time).

Jocelyn and I like to teach each other things about life, love, marketing/communications, and the screwed up nonprofit economy. She tells me nice things about smart people she loves, is an avid reader, shares a strong affinity for the Story People and for some reason thinks I am wise beyond my years. (LOVE HER). She also says I am the one who inspired her to start blogging. I am thrilled that she's in the game!

Jocelyn's the Director of Marketing and Development at NPower-DC, and her new online dwelling is aptly called "Nonprofit Technology Blog." Beyond being incredibly insightful and forthcoming, Joc is funny, articulate, brave and a fellow BLUE ("relational communicator"). Here's to your bright blogging future, peanut!

Death by Meetings

2007-08-17T16:55:00.001-05:00

Exhibit A: screenshot of my August work calendar

Evidence which - in my experience - makes an important link about something that PR agencies and nonprofits have in common. Dave Barry puts it well:

"Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot actually masturbate."

But they're also what make vacations really swell.

Foray into Facebook

2007-08-15T22:20:00.000-05:00

After doing enough research on Facebook, I finally acquiesced yesterday and joined the second largest social network in the world. I'm a latecomer to MySpace, too, having plugged in back in March (ish).

The reluctance to join in stems from my skepticism about the big free-for-all that comes with "putting yourself out there." Having a blog is enough exposure for this introvert! But I'm into some smaller social networks. And in the end, things are what you make of them: MySpace has not been the burden I once thought it would be simply because I don't take it very seriously. No offense to those who are uber engaged, of course.

So I set up a Facebook account but haven't created a profile. It's unfortunate that, after signing up, I inadvertently invited every email contact I've made since 1999 to friend me. It was a complete accident: Facebook makes it way too easy and the wording is misleading. There are a few people who will inevitably question the invite when they receive it, based on years of estrangement or the rare (I mean RARE) falling out. But alas, all are welcome. I'm already getting some confirmations from people, and it's nice "hearing from" folks I haven't connected with in a while. Not to mention validating that they remember who I am!

If I had my druthers, I would have been much more sneaky about my entrance into the Facebook frontier, selectively and strategically seeking out those friends with whom I really want to engage. As it happens, that ain't what this party is about.

So, a toast! To being naked and vulnerable to old friendships and semi-strangers! May they find me an asset to their Facebook network even though I am currently without profile.

And may all of us be willing to dive in to the unknown, whether through joining a social network, commenting on blogs (or blogging), or trying the "crab" at Cafe Asia. (It was not crab.)

Social media is a slow motion water balloon to the face

2007-08-13T15:45:00.001-05:00

. . . But my job ("buffer" or "bouncer" comes to mind) is to keep it from feeling that way.

Thanks to Jeff (aka Cap) for forwarding this.

Farewell Omidyar.net - Bienvenido Razoo!

2007-08-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

Thomas Kriese :: Omidyar Network

In response to the question: "Why do you do what you do?"

"I understand that I do what I do for my daughters, so that the bubble of love I raise them in won't stop at my front door, nor at the corner, nor at the end of the pavement. I do it so that this world will be a better place for them."

In the summer of 2004, Thomas Kriese spoke at American University's Institute for Strategic Communications (which was held in tandem with that year's Silver Docs festival) about Omidyar.net - the social network buoyed by Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. I fell in love. First with Thomas, who is this cute west coaster who was a geek like me and loves his daughters. Secondly with his network. Omidyar.net has been a pioneering community for do-gooders to connect with people who care about similar issues and, ultimately, vie for funding from Omidyar Foundation. The complex but super-ahead-of-its-time platform gave users points to distribute to one another based on quality and number of comments, and to a first-timer would seem intimidating. I was lucky enough to be at Thomas' presentation, and having a first-hand demo of the platform lead to a little fanaticism on my part. Hence the photo of Thomas (above) sitting 3 feet from my face to the right of my monitor at work.

While I've been little more than a "lurker" on Omidyar.net, as opposed to the more active participants, I am no less saddened by its dissolution than the some 20,000 members who have recently come to learn, via this message from Thomas in July, that Omidyar.net is, in essence, dissolving. They're smart cookies: the experiment affirmed the power of ugc (user generated content) and now, with the proliferation of other cause-oriented social networks, they are sending their advocates out to be productive on other platforms. It's the end of an era, and Social Signal summarizes the flagstone moment well.

But when one fly dies, 10 come to the funeral, right? Not that Omidyar.net is comparable to an annoying insect. The point is that there really is a wealth of new blood in the veins pumping the now seemingly plentiful cause-oriented online space.

For example, after recognizing similar inroads and missions, Zaadz - a community for the socially conscious - is joining forces with other communities for the socially conscious (Lime, Conscious Enlightenment and Gaiam), as Omidyar followers have been quick to point out given that their ship is . . . well, I disagree that sinking is the appropriate term, but you know what I'm saying.

Maybe it's a stretch to say that those communities are socially conscious - while a few of them are focused on green living, there's a heavy emphasis on personal well-being which is cool but doesn't totally fill Omidyar's void.

I'd venture that microcosms such as Social Edge, Care2, Idealist and Razoo will keep the Omidyar-ers engaged long after the network shuts down camp for good on December 31.

Social Edge, beholden to the super hip and innovative Skoll Foundation, focuses on all aspects of social entrepreneurship and lets the grooviest of the thought leaders in the field stake their claims and step up to the mic on Social Edge blogs, message boards and feature articles.

Care2, the body of almost 8 million bleeding hearts (nonprofit and corporate pros alike) is an extravagant - yet devoutly generous - hub for people who want to stay connected around similar causes or issues. They hold great happy hours with mariachi bands, but beyond that, provide tools to create and distribute issue-specific ecards and petitions. And holla! - they give you your own email account, profile and Care2 toolbar (like the Google toolbar people!) to stay as connected as possible to the network. I love people like Justin Perkins who do the work for me.

Idealist.org aka Action Without Borders is a rockstar for social causes. They renovated their site earlier this year (I blogged about this months ago) and have created a fantastic web2.0-esque zone to champion any and every mission. They're best known for nonprofit employment searches (yes, you can find your dream 'give back' job there), but they also have a solid base of members who are promoting their campaigns and talking about what's hot, whack and actionable across various groups. I'm pissed that I can't join now that I no longer work at a nonprofit, but how's that for INTEGRITY? Good for them.

Might I also add that Idealist can be read three ways: "Idealist," "Idea List" or "Ideal-ist," which harkens to the nature of the name of this blog: "Evange - List" (or "Evangelist").

FINALLY, Razoo, the newest social network for "people who care" hit the scene officially-ish on August 1. About 200 people including yours truly attended their happy hour tonight at the Play Lounge, and while I missed most of the festivities, people seem to genuinely want to make their new network succeed. Me, too. Nick O'Neill of the un-freaking-believable blog AllFacebook.com (which is only 2 months old but already receiving 1,000 site visits a day) is Razoo's "web guy" and, since I met him a few months ago at a DC gathering of Social Media Club, one of my new professional paramours. Nick and I agree that Razoo has its work cut out in terms of finding a niche against the other groups in the mission-oriented mafia (listed above), not to mention those who have already found their niche (i.e., Network for Good, which is striving to own the online fundraising/donation space).

I hope Razoo and the others hone in on their distinct niches so that the evicted members of the Omidyar family aren't aimlessly scattered to the 4 corners of the world. And I hope that anyone who is considering development of a new "make the world a better place" online community will look to the ones that already exist first, to see if there are opportunities to collaborate rather than be redundant. Like my boss-lady (Alison) says: there are a lot of social networks who have no friends.

In the meantime, my absolute best to Thomas and his crew.

And for the record, I am proud of my dual crushes on Thomas and Pierre, thank you very much. The brothas know how to love mankind.

Here’s the deck from the training at the Center this a.m.

2007-08-09T14:56:00.000-05:00

Imagine showing up to give a training on blogging and not having internet access. ‘Doh. (Did everything I could to make that happen, to no avail).

Jocelyn Harmon (my old flame, I mean boss) and me gave a presentation at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement this morning. She and I have a rag-tag history from serving as the dynamic duo "communications department" at NCNA (which with a staff or 7 pulled together the national Nonprofit Congress initiative last year). So not having internet – or the correct cables for the projector – was not a catastrophe for us.

However, it prevented us from sharing great blog tools and case studies with the eager minds in the audience. Like somebody pointed out: you have to have good content in order to get on without your deck. Hopefully, we did.

For those who attended this morning, and anyone else wondering whether blogging is right for you, the deck we had every intention of using is available here.