While reading the Networked book, I had a lot of "aha" moments, and a few "well, of course" moments, because I would consider myself to be right in the middle of the social media savvy spectrum. After reading, I have one comment and one question...
First, one of the most important sections in the book was the chapter that discussed creating a social culture. I agree so much that becoming a Networked Nonprofit, and using social media effectively requires so much more than just setting up a Facebook page, making some "friends" and moving on. I have seen non-profits use social media to varying degrees, but many are ineffective. Administrators rarely update pages or information, the sites cannot be found through general searches, and information found online is very limited. However, I have seen others use social media very effectively, such as a church using the "events" tool on Facebook to let members know what is happening at church, pastors uploading sermons as podcasts online, and more. I think if non-profits want to use social media to advance their message or cause, it is important that the organization as a whole learns how to use and embrace social media as means for change.
Secondly, I remember last semester, as we discussed various social entrepreneurs, many of us had that "it would never happen to me" feeling. We learned about people who seemed to make a lot of connections based on "luck" (although more went into the equation than happenstance alone) and wondered how that worked. While reading, I had similar thoughts - many people and organizations we read about seemed to just get lucky by knowing the right people who would continue sharing their causes and help them raise piles of money for them. So, my question, to bring it a little more close to home, is this: Has anyone in the class has ever been more directly involved in any of these bigger projects of using social media to bring in funds or other support for an organization?
Kristen
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI have not been involved with social media campaigns to raise funds. I know both the Tioga County Historical Society and Museum and the Apalachin Library have facebook pages; these are organizations I am involved with.
I think it’s a little bit harder for these two organizations to create successful social media campaigns because like Fine and Kanter say, you need dedicated people beating the drum till community momentum picks up. Both of my organizations are small and staff is stretched already. Both organizations also have very “traditional” boards that are hesitant to hand the reigns over to others, and they like proposals and request forms. Decisions are made slowly over a period of several months sometimes! So your statement on organizations needing to learn to embrace these tools is very true. Our board members are good dedicated people, but this traditional decision making process can be a hindrance to social media campaigns.
As I also mentioned in response to Matt’s post, sometimes the “cause” required for viral-like attention needs to be emotionally gripping. “Our Library needs more Book-on-CD cases!” is not as emotional as “Support your local Women’s Shelter!” I am wondering; if there is no staff to guide a social media campaign, and a board will not allow volunteers or the public to steer one, or worse, that there seems to be no one outside the organization interested in taking on/supporting a social media campaign – does this mean the organization is ineffective to some degree? I know the Apalachin Library does not really have an effective social media campaign, but we do have a lot of people using the library. And our Director was given the Finger Lakes Library System Outreach Award in 2009 for her Reading Buddies Program. So the library is doing something right!
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteIn China, the not-for profit or public organizations, such as church, the have a local organization to manage them for the number is too big. The core organization balance everything for them and publish news to public and members. This way could help not to miss important information. On the other hand, not-for-profit organization is new for Chinese people, this management system provide public a good opportunity to learn and understand more.
Talking about the network, we often focus on how big our social network is. But I think how much information we can get is more important in practice. Weak ties can provide us with surprising information sometimes.
Thanks for your blog.
Ying Zhang
There is a link that I want to share about creating a social culture:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slideshare.net/vanhoosear/creating-a-social-culture
A powerpoint slide that I found interesting!