Mark Rovner and Katya Andresen shared an unusual take on online outreach at today’s Nonprofit Technology Conference: what can Freud and Buddha teach us about marketing communications? Together, Rovner and Andresen came up with these six simple rules for campaigning:
Crap offline is still crap online. ‘If you put crap on Twitter, it won’t smell any better.’ Really no need to elaborate further on this point.
Your audience is not an audience. Recognize that they’re people, and find common ground if you want them to respond to your call to action. Both Microsoft and Brian Solis have articulated this quite nicely. Net-net: If you don’t need a conversation, then don’t use social media. If you don’t want a shallow relationship, then don’t use broadcast media.
Convey a humbling vision. Or in Buddhist terms, ‘give profit and gain to others, take the loss upon yourself.’ Can you share credit with your supporters and clients? Put the members of your community – your customers and clients – at the center of your marketing story.
Emotions rule. Why do technologists suck at storytelling? Stories are fundamentally emotional, and technologists work in a left-brain community. (I must admit, I was surprised to come up 'right-brain' in the controversial spinning dancer test, though the Hemispheric Dominance quiz claims I'm split-brain.) But overcome your fear of feeling - the consumer’s right brain decides, while the left brain justifies decisions. And for nonprofits, ‘emotion powers the fundraising engine.’ By telling stories with emotional (rather than statistical) impact, you’ll be more likely to connect with your supporters.
Humor is a basic human need. Have you noticed how easily humor can form a personal connection? Try using humor in your next campaign...but make sure to test it out on a funny person before springing your attempt on the general public. There’s a lot to be gained by making people laugh. And even if humor isn’t a fit for you, it’s still a good idea to lighten up in your campaigns. 'If you can’t be hilarious, be hopeful.' Fear messaging only works if there’s a clear and simple solution being offered. Intractable problems are paralyzing.
Keep it simple. Lots of choices + too much noise = paralysis. No matter how many balls (marketing messages) you throw at someone, they will still just catch one...or if you throw too many, they’ll catch none. If you want someone to catch multiple balls, try throwing them one at a time.
As a Sesame Workshop supporter, I recently received this pitch from the organization: cast your vote for bridging literacy at American Express for the (perhaps becoming annual?) Members Project, which gives away $1.5 million in nonprofit funding. If you're concerned about literacy issues, or perhaps just nostalgic, please check it out.
Though I don't normally pass on 'press release' type news, I'm making an exception today. As a common shareholder and advisor to Mission Research, I'm thrilled to disclose that the company has closed on its Series B financing, led by TBL Capital. Mission Research launched as a vendor of customer relationship management software for nonprofits (GiftWorks), and is now entering the small business market with SalesWorks. Congratulations to Charlie Crystle and team!
Mashups for social change? Apparently, you're not the only one that thinks this is a good idea. Last week, 122 project ideas were submitted to the annual NetSquaredMashup Challenge. This week, you (yes, you) get to choose which of these projects will get support.
Brad Garland posted a question earlier this evening on how to best apply his small company's burgeoning interest in charitable works. A quick Seesmic exchange that followed touched on not only what his team had to give (some time and cash on an ongoing basis, and a one-time donation of equipment and hardware), but also what outcomes they were interested in. What change do they want to see in world? Given that change, how can they contribute towards making it? More time and effort will be going into this topic for the team, since that's a big question.
The Bay Area's own Full Circle Fund (of which I recently became a proud member) is seeking grantee nominations for the Technology Impact Circle. The TIC is focused on "digital inclusion" and supports organizations whose work is aligned with the TIC's own theory of change. The five core tracks include:
The Antonio Pizzigati Prize, awarded by the Tides Foundation, recognizes outstanding public interest computing. Specifically, the award process seeks open source software developers that help nonprofits to be more effective in their efforts for social change. The first annual winner of the prize (and its $10,000 honorarium) is George Hotelling of CitizenSpeak. (Flickr photo by kathryn.) CitizenSpeak is a free e-mail advocacy service for grassroots organizations, and is available for download as a CivicSpace module at CivicSpace Labs.
Making an encore appearance at this year's Nonprofit Technology Conference....the PICnet penguins. Lucky attendees woke up this morning to find a bouncy inflatable penguin waiting at their hotel door, with an encouraging note to bring their new friend to open source sessions. A great way to start the day!
It's a well-established Web 2.0 trend that people are gathering themselves into
online social networks. Mobilizing these individuals and communities into action, however, is still an emergent practice. At N-TEN's 2007 Nonprofit Technology Conference, folks gathered to share best practices on how to not only effectively spread a message using social networks, but also drive people to take action. These seven tips are worth noting:
Videos, film, animations, and mashups have emerged as effective vehicles for mobilizing individuals around social change. Participant Productions, Jeff Skoll's production company, has had a significant impact in this area by funding projects such as Syriana or An Inconvenient Truth in conjunction with social activism programs. To showcase this technique being used at a smaller scale, N-TEN and See3 are sponsoring the first-ever NTC Video Competition
The Nonprofit Technology Network's annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (I am on the steering committee) is seeking nominations for its inaugural "Innovation Plaza" highlighting best-of-breed use of technology by nonprofits. Nominated candidates must be a 501(c)(3) organization, and yes, you can nominate yourself. Selected candidates will be invited to demonstrate their application, thereby sharing best practices and earning exposure.
The NTC will be held in Washington, DC from April 4th - 6th. Folks interested in the Innovation Plaza can both get more info and apply online.
Two companies that I'm involved with need to fill key positions ASAP. The first, Mission Research, is looking for a Software Product Manager to start immediately. (Disclosure note: As a former exec at/current advisor to Mission Research, I have a personal equity stake. So I really would like to recruit a great PM.) Here are the basics:
If you're a nonprofit techie, or if you're interested in helping nonprofits, please help us to shape the 2007 Nonprofit Technology Conference, hosted by N-TEN. (I am on the steering committee for this event.) The agenda planning process is in full swing, and we are looking for speakers and sessions.
The artist in residence...the writer in residence...the vlogger in residence? My old pal Freeman Murray has an interesting new creative proposition. Freeman is purchasing an eco-friendly residence in San Mateo, and creating a Video Blogger in Residency program. The basic idea:
Hurricane Katrina relief veterans Grace Davis and Sara Ford were joined by tsunami aid activist Dina Mehta in discussing best practices for bloggers delivering tangible aid to communities in need. each of these speakers brought a different perspective:
Instead of a lazy Saturday slurping down chai, my weekend kicked off with a panel on political blogging and social change at Vloggercon in San Francisco.
Citizens are beginning to demand more openness and transparency from their leaders. As Dan Gillmor noted yesterday, the individuals who used to be the audience are now becoming co-producers. People are attracted to participation; they like the power of co-creation, the opportunity to do more than simply write a check. In this NetSquared dialogue, Micah Sifry of Personal Democracy Forum asks: How can nonprofits thrive in this environment?
Vince Stehl from the Surdna Foundation, which was instrumental in the creation of TechSoup, moderated this panel on nonprofit revenue strategies at NetSquared.
The ecology of human rights organizations is immensely complex. As Patrick Ball of Benetech walked through the quantity of players and social dynamics at NetSquared today, it became clear that developing technology for the human rights community is an intimidating challenge. (Disclosure note: Omidyar Network is a funder of Benetech.) On one end, there are local, grassroots groups with sensitive information to share. Ball had useful advice for folks trying to bridge these groups with larger efforts via technology:
Howard Rheingold, Paul Saffo, and Lucy Bernholz spoke out on disruption at today's NetSquared conference. The conversation and Q&A toured a variety of issues, but one salient bit related to the issues of leadership that came up at this weekend's WineCamp.
The erosion of real-world community is a compelling topic. As our culture has evolved lifestyles away from the community interactions that were driven by churches, stay-at-home parents, etc., we've failed to come up with replacement connections that are pervasive, cross-generational, cross-cultural, and real-world. New community networks were discussed at this weekend’s WineCamp.
One of the recurrent themes that came up at this weekend’s WineCamp at Ferriere Vineyards (our wonderful host!) was the concept of storytelling. In particular, one arts educator wanted to explore how participatory media and collaborative storytelling could lead to community engagement.
Amidst all of the conversations on Net Neutrality, a related issue has gone unremarked: the variable pricing of e-mail communications. There are a number of solutions being tested that address the deterioration of trust around e-mail communications. One of the more controversial is AOL's new Certified Mail system:
