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Personal Democracy Forum Superlative Roundup

by Kristin Ivie on 2 Jul 2009 2
Personal Democracy Forum (PDF), the largest conference covering the intersection of government and politics, drew about 1,000 people to New York this week for its sixth annual gathering. There were lots of highlights, so I'm just decided to award a few superlatives, but I encourage you to check out the techPresident blog and others for more highlights.
 
Most popular government representative: Vivek Kundra
 With about 80% of the attendees identifying themselves as Democrats, it's no surprise that the many Obama campaign and administration representatives should be well-received, but the real rockstar was the White House CIO, who used his time at the podium for a demo of http://www.usaspending.gov/. The new dashboard displays how more than $70 billion tax dollars are being spent on IT projects by the major government agencies. Kundra, who received a standing ovation, said a blog will be up in the next couple of weeks, so users are invited to provide feedback as they continue to improve the beta site. What a cool example of how web 2.0 technology can be used to facilitate more transparency, accountability and collaborative problem-solving in the U.S. government. As Decker Ngongang of Generation Engage pointed out, it could be interesting to see nonprofits use this model to show how their donor dollars are being spent.
 
Coolest technology demo: Apture
The Apture folks showed how their FREE tool can enhance blog posts and articles by allowing you to add background videos, articles, photos and the like, so readers can access more information without following links away from your site. See an example of how the World Wildlife Fund is using the tool.
 
Most likely to be flooded with new speaking requests: Michael Wesch
 I heard him speak at the National Geographic Explorers Symposium a few weeks ago, so I knew the PDF crowd was in for a treat, but his standing ovation (the largest one, and the only one given besides that for Kundra) demonstrated his ability to speak to the larger cultural impacts of social media. A cultural anthropologist and media ecologist at Kansas State University, Wesch gave an amazing presentation entitled "The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics of Authenticity." He talked about what he and his students have discovered about vlogging, and people's attempts to connect without constraints via YouTube. I also particularly appreciated his analysis of the progression of "whatever" from a 1960s "I don't care. Whatever you think," to a 1990s "Whatever, I don't care what you think," and his call to move the meaning of the word to "I care. Let's do whatever it takes...by whatever means necessary."
 
Best take-away for online organizing: Don't neglect the offline element
 I was reminded a few times, that online organizing is not really an end in itself, it's a tool we should be using to get people connected and active offline. In the "Twitter as a Platform for #Organizing and #Fundraising" panel, Allison Fine and Amanda Rose gave examples of how Twitter was a powerful tool to mobilize people for offline events. Allison Fine discussed the Twitter Vote Report campaign during which voters could help others stay informed about how election day was going, what problems were cropping up, and what was happening on the ground. Amanda Rose explained how Twestival came about, and how 10,000 people gathered offline in 200 cities to raise $250,000. She also mentioned that registration opened this week for Twestival local, a second iteration of the fundraiser taking place on September 12 and allowing each city to designate their own local beneficiary. The idea that we can't neglect the offline piece of organizing was reiterated by Joe Rospars of the Obama Campaign. He said the widely celebrated new media components of the campaign were always linked to offline activities and were never seen as a replacement for traditional methods.
 
Most active tweeter: @abenamer
Thanks to Twitterslurp, the PDF participants were able to watch the twitterfeed in realtime as the speakers gave their presentations. It also created a bit of a competition as prolific tweeters climbed the "Most Tweets" sidebar, but in the end, @abenamer pulled far and away with more than 500 tweets over two days.
 
That just scratches the surface of some of the good stuff coming out of PDF this year. For more takeaways, videos and more than 19,000 tweets covering the two-day conference, visit the PDF Twitterslurp page and the media page.
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Are you a two-faced social networker?

by Kristin Ivie on 2 Jun 2009 19
A Face With Many Colors

As the use of social media in organizations grows, things are getting a bit messy for Millennials. We are having to navigate how to project the professional persona we want - with colleagues, bosses, and potential employers are checking our twitter and Facebook profiles - using the tools that, for us, cannot easily be limited to the professional.
 
We all have things we do and think but wouldn't advertise at work, yet if a colleague requests our Facebook friendship, we can't exactly deny them. We go through breakups, we take unflattering pictures, we sweat when we run 5Ks. We all have opinions on politics and religion. I wouldn't add to my resume or cover letter that I find Will Ferrell extremely funny, my favorite song to sing at karaoke night is Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," and, oh yeah, this is what I look like in a bathing suit. But since colleagues can access my facebook profile as easily as my resume, some of the stuff that, as a professional, I wouldn't mention to my intern, my CEO or my grantee is on the table.
 
It feels a little like some social media tools have been hijacked by the professional world. In 2004, Millennials were using Facebook purely to connect with friends, share pictures, personal interests, and now that the corporate and nonprofit worlds are beginning to recognize a value in Facebook for marketing, fundraising, advocacy, they are eager to capitalize on those benefits, our generation's expertise in using the tool, and our robust networks. And I agree that social media can be extremely valuable for organizations, and they help breathe new life into causes and missions. But does that mean pieces of our personal online personas need to die?
 
In some ways, I think letting the personal bleed into the professional has a positive impact. I'm not so interested in following people on Twitter that just read like an RSS feed direct from their organization's marketing department. It's like signing up to see commercials. But I follow @Zappos because he is clearly a person with thoughts that go beyond how he's going to sell me more fabulous shoes. I follow @tomjd and @AshokaTweets because I find them both interesting, but I maintain @tomjd has something that @AshokaTweets lacks. He reaches a new audience with his "personal" tweets but also exposes them to his work at Ashoka.
 
I appreciate that Craig Newmark has a soft spot for squirrels, and even though guides to professional success would tell me to hide any Susie Homemaker tendencies in the workplace, I do enjoy baking. Do we risk losing respect by revealing some of our quirks? Or do we risk more by keeping all of them offline? Will we get to the point where it doesn't matter?
 
So, what's a Millennial to do?
This is something I have struggled with, but I try to walk the line between professional and personal because I think it serves the best of both, but even doing that, there are tricky times. Friends from college might complain that I blew up their twitterfeed from a philanthropy conference, and colleagues probably don't care about seeing the Facebook pictures of the time I met Tyler Hansbrough's dad at the Final 4. That's my approach, but I know others who are adamant about using social media for only professional or only personal audiences or maintain two separate profiles. I don't see a perfect solution. What's yours?
 
Millennials are used to living in an interconnected world, where we share all kinds of information with peers via social networks, including the causes we care about, our spring break trips and our musical taste. It's against my nature to accept that I have to censor myself and try to live in silos that are wholly work and wholly personal. I don't think we can be authentic and still maintain that level of separation, and one day, I don't think it will feel necessary. I think Millennials and their use of social networks can usher in a new standard for transparency where we will all have to start admitting to being human. No, I don't need to know all the skeletons in everyone's closets, but I don't think we can continue to maintain the division between professional and personal lives that our parents had. Won't we all - as individuals and members of the public, private and nonprofit sectors - be better for it?

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Can Ashton and the Twitterazi Really Save Lives?

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 21 Apr 2009 1
Follow me!

Sure, the race to a million twitter followers is “so last week.” But what an interesting week it made for celebrity philanthropy. While the race to a million came to an end with Ashton Kutcher pulling ahead of CNN Breaking News, many in the “twitter-verse” and beyond hoped that celebrities posturing for attention would just go away.  But could this be a new and important trend in how celebrities are using their power to inspire millions for social good?

In case you missed it, here’s how things unfolded.  Last week, Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) realizing he was only a few tens of thousands of followers behind CNN (@cnnbrk) decided to take the network on and create an online movement to help him obtain the first twitter account to reach 1 million followers.  At first, Ashton committed to prank Ted Turner should he beat CNN to a million – but quickly the philanthropic side of Ashton kicked in, and he raised the stakes.  If Ashton beat CNN Breaking News to 1 million followers he pledged to donate 10,000 anti-Malaria bednets during World Malaria Day.  As Nathanial Whittemore asked on his blog Friday, did this have an impact on the results?  You bet it did. 

Not only did Ashton commit to giving back and supporting the great work of Malaria No More but what’s more, he introduced millions (via twitter, plus his appearances on Oprah and Larry King Live) to the idea that every individual can be part of making decisions that lead to global change, in this case the eradication of Malaria. 

Twitter helped raise awareness and launch a movement that got the attention of everyone from my neighbors to Oprah Winfrey. Millions are now aware of the efforts to control the spread of malaria worldwide – and a campaign launched on Change.org last week is giving individuals everywhere an opportunity to get involved in the action.   
 
Personally, I use Twitter because I think it is a useful, engaging way to connect with other people and participate in a global discussion. According to comScore, Twitter more than doubled its users in March, reaching 9.3 million. And this growth is the reason that so many of your friends are now logging on and checking it out – granted, the majority of those folks are probably fans of Ashton or Oprah.
 
So, how do we keep the conversation on Twitter meaningful and relevant? For me, Twitter has inspired blog posts, introduced me to new people in the social media and social change space, and given me a place to connect and learn from others who have been at this for much longer than me.
 
As Nathaniel said in his post last week, “it's easy to be cynical about this, but what if we thought about it different. Changing the world is damn hard, and the responsibility we owe this planet and the billions of people we share it with should never be taken lightly. But there are lots of incredibly easy ways that even normal folks can save lives, and we should never let the difficult of the big picture stop us from making incremental change along the way.”
 
As my colleagues and I are thinking through some new programs at the Case Foundation, we often think about how celebrities can help spread the word and influence others to take action.  What have your experiences been involving celebrities in your campaigns and outreach? At the end of the day, does a celebrity endorsement of a product or cause even influence your decision?
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Front Row Seat to SXSW Via Twitter

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 18 Mar 2009 1
SxSW Interactive 2009

As SXSW comes to a close, I have lived vicariously through the tweets, blog posts, and Facebook status updates which have all served as a gentle reminder that I’m not there. Let’s be honest, I have a bit of SXSW envy. For the past five days the SXSW Interactive Festival has featured a plethora of engaging panelists, digital creatives and visionary technology entrepreneurs, all in an effort to celebrate some of the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. At least that’s what I surmise from the 140 character tweets I’ve come across this past week. 

Here are a few of the highlights (with a social media/social change bent) that I enjoyed watching from my seat here in San Francisco.
 
ROI Poetry Slam: When’s the last time you learned how to measure your ROI through a good poetry slam?  Yeah, me either. But, Beth Kanter, Danielle Brigida, Holly Ross, Wendy Harman, Carie Lewis, David Neff, and Katie Paine - used a poetry slam format, to present how they are using social media at their organizations. You can check out the slam here.

Social Media for Social Good at Stubb’s: There was a time not so long ago when the thought of having a nonprofit gathering at Stubb’s BBQ during SXSW would have made traditional SXSW attendee’s ROFL. But this year, James Pulver helped bring together some of the leading social media for social good innovators  to share their thoughts on what's next for nonprofits including Stacey Monk, David Armano, Scott Goodstein, James Young, Beth Kanter and Randi Zuckerberg
 
Pledge to End Hunger Campaign: An innovative collaboration between Tyson Foods and Share Our Strength brought attention to the nation's struggle with hunger through the Pledge to End Hunger Campaign.  With a goal of 5,000 people taking the Pledge by the end of SXSW, Tyson Foods committed to donate enough food to feed 560,000 children in need. The three states with the most people signing #HungerPledge will each get a truckload of food sent to a food bank in their state.
 
SXSWi Web Awards: A mix of well-known and relatively obscure websites walked off with trophies Sunday night at the South by Southwest Interactive Web Awards. Here are the nominees and winners of the 2009 SXSWi Web Awards in the Activism Category (which included greens and nonprofits).
  • Tweet Congress [WINNER!]
  • Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge
  • I Am Second
  • Just in Queso
  • Sunny Side

Whether you were on the ground in Austin or tuning in from the comfort of your couch and MacBook…what were your favorite moments as captured by Flickr, TwitPic, Facebook or others?

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Let the Twestival Begin!

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 12 Feb 2009 1
Front of the Asheville Twestival Flier

Perhaps there is nothing more exciting for those of us in the social media for social change world than witnessing the culmination of today’s highly anticipated Twestival. This grassroots, citizen powered approach to addressing the world water crisis is in many ways unprecedented and opens the door for an entirely new way of taking global action. With 175 events happening across the globe to benefit the nonprofit charity:water, Twestival is like an overly active petri dish brimming with learning opportunities for the nonprofit world.

So where do we begin? Interestingly enough, Twestival comes to light just shortly after Porter Novelli released a survey which found that 70 percent of Americans care deeply about a number of causes, from protecting the environment to fighting poverty, and improving schools – but, less than 20 percent had done anything to better those causes in the past year. In fact, on most issues, just one in 10 Americans had put time or effort toward improving the problems they cared about. This brings me to my first question. Will events like Twestival provide a deeper connection to the world water crisis? What is the plan to engage individuals after they have enjoyed a cocktail, shared good company, and have been introduced to the important work of charity:water?
 
Twestival’s success is largely due to a tremendous grassroots effort which began in the U.K. just a couple of months ago. According to a very thorough post chronicling the event by Beth Kanter, there are guidelines of how the city organizer’s run the event, but it’s not a template. The Twestival organizers didn’t want to dictate what they did or how much money was raised. As my colleague Eric Johnson so aptly pointed out last week, welcome to the world of fundraising 2.0.
 
As an all-volunteer effort organized outside of the nonprofit’s direct management and control – is it now charity:water’s role to step back in and provide some guidance that will keep these individuals active and engaged in the long term? Is it the role of the grassroots organizers? Or will this simply be another well intentioned experiment that fails to see its full potential.  My hope is that Twestival has figured out the “special sauce” for deeper ongoing engagement – and I challenge them to prove all of the naysayer’s wrong!
 
There’s no doubt that nonprofits and NGO’s across the country and around the globe are standing by and taking note.  Twestival is a game changer in terms of its reach, its magnitude and the fact that it’s being driven entirely by volunteers. So, what should nonprofits take away from this online experiment? If anything, there will be a renewed interest and heightened awareness by nonprofits in finding the most appropriate ways to leverage their own social networking tools.  It’s not enough to build a facebook fan page, or have a static twitter feed and hope that people find you.  Organizations are powered by individuals and their personal relationships – and in order for real social change to take hold there needs to be a balance of  these elements. 
 
Twestival presents a unique opportunity to harness social media and effect social change, but it's important to not lose sight of the true goal - afterall, 1.1 billion people around the world don’t have clean water.  I commend the Twestival organizers for bringing attention to this critical issue and look forward to taking a deeper look at the lessons the nonprofit sector can learn in most effectively deploying social media strategies in the future. 
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What's Filling our Hearts, Our Minds, Our Feeds?

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 28 Jan 2009

Just as I was compiling this list, I had a funny exchange with @RosettaThurman about the sinking feeling you get when you begin "cheating" on your blog for Twitter. It seems I've fallen into that trap as evidenced by my lag in blog posts this past week, but increase in twitter activity. It doesn't mean there isn't a lot of great stuff filling our heads and hearts here at Social Citizens.  In fact, we’re having trouble keeping up with all of the great Social Citizen-esque examples popping up in Twitter feeds, FriendFeed rooms and yes, even our in-boxes. Here are just a few articles that have caught our attention.  What's filling your feed? Read more »

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Tweeting the Inauguration

by Allison Fine on 12 Jan 2009 4

A week from now the world will be descending on Washington, DC for the inaugural festivities.  The NPR Social Media desk staffed by Andy Carvin will be repurposing the guts of Twitter Vote Report for use on Election Day for attendees to share their travel and inauguration experiences.  

So, if you're in DC next week, or on your way, use use the hashtag  #dctrip09 to describe your roadtrip in and  #inaug09 on Inauguration Day to share your experiences. Tweet it or use the really cool iPhone app that will enables you to report and automatically map where you.

Also, for the latest help in planning for the big day you can follow twitter.com/inauguration for up to the minute details.  What are some other ways you're using Twitter to share the Inaugural festivities more broadly? Who else should we be following?

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The NFL, Texting and Safer Communities

by Allison Fine on 5 Jan 2009 4

My husband shared this fantastic op-ed from the Times with me the other day.  In short, the NFL is arming fans with a text number so that they can report unruly and vulgar fans to security quickly and privately.

This is certainly a huge help to fans, particularly with children in tow, who want to enjoy a game and not hear beer-sloshed men spew obscenities nearby. But now imagine what else can be done with text messaging to make communities safer. What if your neighborhood in East Baltimore is being overridden by drug dealers? Here's a way to report it quickly, safely and securely to the police. And kids can report other students bringing weapons to school. Read more »

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Give Thanks, Tweetsgiving Style

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 25 Nov 2008 1

Earlier today I tuned in (via my laptop, of course) as marketing consultants Chris Garrett and John Haydon shared tips with nonprofits on how to best navigate social media – namely Twitter, Facebook, and the wild world of blogs. Not surprisingly, the number one question from online participants was where/how do I get started, and when will it pay off?  Read more »

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Putting the "Mo" in November

by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 21 Nov 2008

Sure, the economy may have you down, and fundraising for anything these days may seem like a daunting task, but don't forget to have a little fun with it. Earlier this month, my husband's colleague, a self-proclaimed "Mo Bro" (a.k.a. Charlie), sent around an email to friends and family, asking for their support as he set off to grow a little facial hair.

Why you might ask?  Because the month formerly known as November has turned into...you guessed it, "Mo-vember" for thousands of men across the country and around the world.  But it's not all fun and games. So why the extreme behavior? Read more »

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