After finishing the Networked Nonprofit, and in responding to some other posts about social media and the Egyptian protests, I have two things to post.
First, after class last week I received an e-mail from a professor of a social work class on community organizing that had a short video about the role of social media in the situation in Egypt. I know others have shared some links to articles and such, so I thought I would add this link: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june11/egyptcommunica_01-31.html for anyone who is interested. As I commented on another blog, it is difficult to really assess the role of social media in this because of how many Egyptians may or may not have access to internet in the first place, information which I cannot seem to find.
Secondly, when I was reading the chapter on "Friending to Funding" I continued to think of World Vision as an example of a non-profit that is using social media in a lot of innovative ways, and is working at being a transparent organization. If you are not familiar with World Vision, you can look at their website: www.worldvision.org. It is an international Christian organization involved in a variety of programs such as child sponsorship, microfinance, agricultural technology, well-building, and more. One of the things World Vision does, that is popular in other organizations, is have a "Team World Vision" where athletes can run marathons or complete triathlons in honor of the organization, having individuals sponsor them to provide funds for the organization. This allows people at any level of involvement to participate in fund raising on behalf of the organization and represent the organization's mission. Team members have their own websites they can set up and the Team World Vision Facebook page updates often and promotes team members to participate in specific races around the world. I also thought of this organization when we discussed varying levels of transparency last week because World Vision as an organization provides regular reports to its supporters through mailings and the website about where the money is going. While this organization is not the extreme of transparent described by Fine, I do think the knowledge about where my money goes through Team World Vision and Child Sponsorship encourages me to continue loyal giving to the organization.
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ReplyDeleteI liked your post on the Egyptian case, because it is a clear example of the capacity of social media power to generate massive moves... and actions! Precisely, this issue was the core of my post for this week. The political and social revolution that is being viewed in Egypt has taken proportions across the Arab world that were unthinkable a few months ago and has evolved at a dizzying speed, thanks (largely) to the social media which has provided a channel for ‘spreading the word’ of the protests, while serving as a unifying substance and multiplier of followers.
ReplyDeleteIf we consider that this process in the Arabian world is likely to be equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall, then perhaps we should be thinking on taking very seriously the social media.