Category Archives: #read4change


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Giveaway! Gifts for the SocialButterfly In You

How are you imagineering social good?

As readers know, SocialButterfly is getting a refresh in January with a renewed mission to help bring out the SocialButterfly in you. Post a comment below sharing how you plan to mix passion + purpose for good in 2013. One lucky commenter will win Echoing Green’s book, Work on Purpose, for themselves and a $50 Razoo gift card to support a fellow SocialButterfly’s good work.

Live. Learn. Fly.

Whether you’re looking for a last minute Christmas gift or something to kick-off the New Year, these gifts can help inspire:

1. Knowledge to Help You Thrive

The Social Marketing Quarterly has been a staple social marketing resource as one of the only peer-reviewed published journals focused exclusively on the field of social marketing. With an individual subscription ($59), you receive a year’s worth of the printed journal and 24/7 online access.

 

 

2. Pages to Give You Wings

You are more likely to achieve goals if you write them down. Speaking from experience, taking time for self reflection is vital. Echoing Green’s book, Work on Purpose, guides you through the “how” of combining passion with purpose by providing prompts for you to answer and success stories to reference.

 


3. Inspiration
Role Modelled by Others*

Self described as a movement, Razoo helps individuals and nonprofits spur generosity. Already, Razoo has raised over $130 million for over 12,000 nonprofits through their Web, mobile and social fundraising tools combined with their community giving days and social good campaigns. Find projects to support and you’ll be inspired from the work others are doing and achieving, together. You can also gift the gift of giving.

 

4. Tools to Empower You

One of the best books I’ve come across that combines social marketing concepts on changing behavior with innovative social media strategies is Stanford University’s Jennifer Aaker and Aaron Smith’s book, Dragonfly Effect. It is required reading for my American University students who find it an enjoyable read that energizes their thinking around how we can use our full toolbox to inspire change.

 

5. Ideas for Powerful Stories

We all tell stories. Increasingly, we use a variety of media formats and communication channels to design, craft and share these stories. Admittedly, I haven’t yet read this book yet but it’s on the top of my list for 2013: Storytelling for User Experience. This books screams amo and gusto for the savvy SocialButterfly. According to the book’s website, “[the book] looks across the full spectrum of user experience design to discover when and how to use stories”. #yesplease

 

6. Fun. to Share

While championing social good, it’s important to have fun. Fun.’s album is Grammy-nominated and will help keep you light on your toes and quick on your feet. You might even start dancing.

 

 

 

7. Happiness to Discover

The Happy Movie is an award-winning documentary that dives into positive psychology debunking happiness myths and giving insight into how our most valued emotion. I watched this with my husband, and it’s a great break from your normal routine and brings up questions you may not have visited in awhile. Questions that encourage you to explore what makes you truly happy, on deciphering needs from wants and how to help others be happy.

 

*To be transparent, I consulted to Razoo from 2011 to January 2012 as a contributing writer to their Inspiring Generosity blog. Razoo also donated this gift card in exchange for this link and gave me a $50 gift card as well. All other items are provided by yours truly.

Hold Strong

When you read about events like that in Newtown, MA, it’s easy to loose faith and get discouraged. Don’t let the voice of doubt win. In those darkest of moments, know you matter. Know we are stronger when we pull together and work to understand our neighbors. Know you have a purpose and a light. Choose to let it shine.

We need you.

 

 


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Inspiring Chefs vs. Cooks

image courtesy of gavinbell

Which one are you?

In a recent post announcing his new book, Craig Lefebvre shared the following insight for students of social marketing:

“There are many books to choose from to learn about social marketing. This book encapsulates how I have taught my students, by preparing them to be ‘chefs,’ not ‘cooks.’

Most social marketing texts are good at showing you ways to ‘cook,’ or prepare, a social marketing program with a basic menu of steps and tactics. My aim is higher – to provide you with frameworks you can use to create menus, new combinations of tastes, and most important, to assist you to learn a variety of ways to understand and work with the people you wish to serve…”

You can pre-order Craig’s book, Social Marketing and Social Change: Strategies and Tools for Improving Health, Well-Being and the Environment (I already did!). As a note of disclaimer, Craig and I now work together at RTI International, but if you’ve been following this blog over the years, you know I’m been a fan and pupil of his work for quite some time.

May we all aim to be masters of our kitchens, especially the messy ones.


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Read to Think

Sometimes, direct instruction is helpful. Like when learning how to cook or change a flat tire. But when it comes to learning about social change, I learn best from those that challenge me to think. This includes blogs.

Last night, Debra Askanase of Community Organizer 2.0 tweeted that she was working on a blog post highlighting blogs to read in 2011. In her tweet, she asked for people to share their own recommendations. I shared the following:

In response, Debra asked me: What are two blogs that get you thinking? Two of the blogs I followed-up with are:

  • Assetmap: New to the market, Assetmap is the platform that former Change.org’s Social Entrepreneurship blogger Nathaniel Whittemore is working to get started. The blog covers the topic on “how social capital is transforming business, culture and social change.” Not surprising, its posts give me lots of think about, chew on and explore.
  • Health Populi: Authored by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, often takes on complicated topics, events and news and breaks it down by highlighting evidence and data. With  “Health Populi’s Hot Points,” key take aways are provided that connect the dots of application through added analysis. It also gets me thinking of how the “what” of a news story impacts the “how” of everyday life and work.

Now it’s your turn–In the comments, name two blogs that get you thinking. This way, we can give our RSS readers a refresh for 2011.

Telling the Story of Change

May’s #read4change topic is “Stories of Change,” looking at the concept and use of storytelling in creating change. Teaching us is young William Kamkwamba, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

On SB, we recently talked about the cost of dreams, and Kamkwamba is a true testament on not giving up on his dream despite his challenges. On May 26 at 8pm EST the @read4change Book Club is meeting via Twitter to discuss Kamkwamba’s true story as told in the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. If you are feeling overwhelmed about how one person can make a difference, then this book is for you.

If you are interested in:

  • The effect and influence of storytelling,
  • Examples of strong storytelling from different organizations,
  • Messaging and its relationship with storytelling,
  • The role of innovation in creating change,
  • The application of innovation versus invention,

…and much more, then we invite you to join us.

Ways to Get Involved

  1. FOLLOW us @read4change on Twitter.
  2. DISCUSS the book by joining us on Twitter the last Wednesday of the month, May 26 at 8pm EST using the #read4change hashtag.
  3. VOTE on the book we should read in June. The topic is economics.

UPDATE: Stacey Monk of Epic Change will be our special guest for May’s #read4change chat. Stacey and EpicChange do an amazing job at using storytelling to share the mission of their Tanzanian partner, Mama Lucy. Most recently, Epic Change launched to ToMamaWithLove.org, using the Web to connect your story with Mama Lucy’s.

The Social Round-Up

You all seemed to like this last time, so here we go again. I want to make sure I provide the best links for you–links that I feel deserve your time and attention. So, this won’t be every week. It may be every other week…or every month.

Onward.

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Social Change

  • Stories of Change–20/20 Predictions: For Ashoka.org’s third Stories of Change eBook series, Ashoka asked its social entrepreneurs to think about what the world would look like in 2020. And to follow-up that question, Ashoka asked them what each would do in the next year to move us closer to their vision.
  • A Wiki of Experts: The WeAreMedia project put together this “Expertise Map,” offering a long list of people who are passionate about doing good. If you are looking to connect with good people, this could be a good starting point.
  • The Other City: This film sets out to explore DC–the other side of DC, the side with an HIV/AIDS rate equal to Africa. If you are in DC, be on the lookout as I’m thinking we should get a group together to go to the screening once its announced.

Social Marketing

  • The Dragons of Behavior Change: If you read my “Awareness Fever” post, then you will want to read Craig Lefebvre’s follow-up post. In this post, Craig takes the conversation to the next level. Say, everyone around the table agrees to focus not on awareness–but on behavior outcomes, then what? Enter the land of the dragons. You are going to need to prepped with the right tools, resources and questions to ask. Craig’s post can help get you started on the right foot for the journey.
  • Healthy People and Social Marketing: Mike Newton-Ward share with us the update regarding adding a social marketing objectives to Healthy People 2020 saying, “This is proving to be quite the year for social marketing! Just today I learned that social marketing is in the preliminary Healthy People 2020 Health Objectives for the nation!” This is a big step for social marketing. BIG.
  • MINDSPACE: Influencing Behavior through Public Policy: This document comes out of the UK’s Cabinet Office and the Institute for Government. The fact that this type of report was even written–let alone by such two high profile organizations gives me great hope. The document aims to use behavior change theory to move policy makers to better address some of our worlds greatest problems. The document’s announcement includes the words: “Today’s policy makers are in the business of influencing behavior.” If only more people not only realized that–but were equipped with the rights tools–social marketing–to make an impact. Caveat:  I just found the resource and printed it out for myself, so I can’t yet speak to it in its entirety–but a huge thanks to Craig for his post that brought this resource to my attention.
  • Journal of Social Marketing: Until now, the only social marketing journal was the Social Marketing Quarterly. In 2011, this will no longer be true as the first issue of the Journal of Social Marketing will be published. Currently, the journal is recruiting work for publication.

Social Media and Communications

  • Twitter Your Own Adventure: Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? Welcome to the Twitter edition. I share this because as the use of social media becomes more sophisticated–storytelling is becoming ever more crucial. How can you be creative in how you tell a story?
  • Open for Business–The Google Apps Marketplace: With over 2M businesses having used Google applications over the last three years, Google has recently announced its Google Apps Marketplace. The marketplate is a “new online store for integrated business applications. The Google Apps Marketplace allows Google Apps customers to easily discover, deploy and manage cloud applications that integrate with Google Apps.” Already, more than 50 companies are now selling their business applications within the marketplace. This is a big development that we will be sure to watch as App stores similiar to Apple’s and Apps.gov continue to emerge and evolve.
  • 10 Steps for Optimizing the Brand for Social Search: Brian Solis provides a jam-packed post full of helpful information and next steps.
  • Top 10 Best Practices for Federal Government Web Sites from USA.gov: Whether you are a newbie or a veteran, this site offers something for everyone. If not this Web page, all of Webcontent.gov is a great resource and helpful guide.

What about you? What good info have you read lately? Please provide the link in the comments so we can all check it out. Also–if you’re in love with your Google Reader like me, here’s my public profile. Let’s connect.

flickr credit: Benimoto

Tonight: Live Chat About Empathy, CSR, American Idol and More

Quick note: Tonight is our Read4Change Book Club chat via Twitter at 8pm EST. To join us, just follow @read4change or follow the hashtag #read4change.

Book: Wired to Care

Special Guest: Co-Author Pete Mortenson

Topic: Empathy + CSR as an Approach to Change

From Chase Bank to Pepsi to now–American Idol, many are integrating social media into their corporate social responsibility and/or their cause marketing efforts. Join us to discus what’s working and what’s needed–could it be more empathy? Co-author Pete Mortenson joins us to share his insights and the lessons gained from the concept of empathy.

FYI: During our chat, American Idol will be highlighting its latest cause initiative with Idol’s Kris Allen and the UN Foundation in Haiti. Thus, it’s a book club and a watch party all in one. (#UNFIdol) Hope you can join in on the fun!

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Piqued your interest? Learn more about the Read4Change Book Club –including future topics and books.

The Social Round-Up

I’ve called these round-ups by different names, but the concept is the same–share some of the recent links, resources and info I’ve been reading about social change, social marketing and social media. Now that I’ve finally switched my RSS reader from Bloglines to Google Reader, I find myself there a lot more–even more so than Twitter (gasp). Thus, let’s get on with the show.

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Social Change

  • Industry Forecast: Philanthropy and Social Investing: Blueprint 2010–The great Lucy Bernholz, through her company Blueprint Research & Design and in partnership with Stanford’s Social Innovation Review, recently released “the first ever independent annual industry analysis for philanthropy and social investing.” According to readers, the forecast is full of insights and revelations regarding the business of giving.
  • What the World Needs Now–This is a bit of a softer piece, but Mitch Joel of Six Pixels Apart does a great job of inspiring by listing eight areas we should be focusing on and thinking about as we work to change our world for the better. Note: The first item he mentions is that the world needs a “mindshift” — and then points to the happenings in behavioral economics for added insight.
  • 5 Ideas Worth Spreading from TED–Nathaniel Whittemore of Change.org’s Social Entrepreneurship Blog is the envy of us all as he got to attend the TED 2010 Conference. If you want to do social change, look at what some of the top thinkers of our time are doing, why they are doing it and how it may influence your own work. From this list, the one that stood out to me was the idea that we need to change our relationship with food. Another, was how Nathaniel describes the moment when Bill Gates spent 18 full minutes publicly sharing his views on climate change.

Social Marketing

  • Design Thinking and Behavior Change: The term “design thinking” is everywhere–is anyone else noticing this? So, it comes to no surprise that design thinking meets behavior change thanks to social marketeer Craig Lefebvre who recently put together this helpful 17-slide presentation. Skimming through it alone will get the juices flowing about how disciplines can criss-cross, leading to effective change.
  • Authenticity in Corporate Social Responsibility–I know, you’re thinking “CSR is not social marketing.” And you’re right–Social marketing is bigger. However, I include it here because I see CSR as a rising opportunity for social marketing, and Geoff touches on the reason why–authenticity. More companies want to be more intentional and take CSR from something to throw money at to a sustainable, organization-centric value that has impact. Yes, I know “it depends,” but we’ve been keeping the treasures of social marketing in the realms of “just health” for too long. Why couldn’t we take the framework of social marketing and the lessons we’ve learned and apply it to CSR? We can. If it helps, don’t call it CSR. Instead, think of it as more people wanting to do business better.

Social Media and Communications

  • 5 Terms that Signify the Future of Mobile Marketing–Ogilvy PR’s Rohit Bhargava shares the five concepts that he thinks will move mobile forward in 2010.
  • Buzz vs. Facebook vs. MySpace vs Twitter–Jeremiah Owyang does it again and offers a strong breakdown of these four platforms. It’s the perfect chart that you can pass along to colleagues who want quick yet extensive information on how these platforms relate.
  • Can E-Readers and Tablets Save the News?–Not only does this article feature a Missouri J-School Professor (woot-woot!), but the article is deeper than the title suggests. At the heart of it, it talks about online content and digital publishing. Being an e-book reader myself and seeing the expanding number of communication platforms (hello Google Buzz), this article is worth the time to take in and meditate on the value of content and the future role of content vetting and control (via consumers, publishers or media producers).

What about you? What good info have you read lately? Please provide the link in the comments so we can all check it out. Also–if you’re in love with your Google Reader like me, here’s my public profile. Let’s connect.

flickr credit: Benimoto

Change Between the Pages

The #read4change book club met twice in 2009 to discuss Tom Watson’s CauseWired in November, and Actions Speak Loudest in December. This January, we decided to take a break to take some lessons learned, tweak and plan for the rest of 2010. We hope you’ll join us in gathering and sharing community amongst some good books and great thinkers.

What to Expect

Once a month–using the Twitter account @read4change and the hashtag #read4change–do gooders, social changers, nonprofiteers and the like gather around the last Wednesday of the month and read a social change-themed book–chosen by the community. The hope is to have authors or experts join us in the conversation as a unique opportunity to have meaningful conversations in a meaningful way.

Everyday–Be on the lookout for #read4change challenges where we identify ways where you or I’s reading can have a direct impact into a positive change. It might not be everyday, but we’ll do our best. If you or your organization has an action you want highlighted, just shoot me an email or direct message.

Bonus–Any funds raised through our online bookshelf (run through Amazon’s Associates program) will be donated to a charity of the group’s choice at the end of the year.

All Stars–Shoot me an email if you want to be a #read4change All Star list. This means you plan to partake in at least 3 of our 11 chats this year, and you will also be also given some link-love.

2010 Themes

  • February–Approach to Change VOTE
  • March–Going Green VOTE
  • April–Social Entrepreneurship VOTE
  • May–Stories of Change
  • June–Economics
  • July–The Big Screen (Movies)
  • August–Inspiration and Motivation
  • September–Today’s Woman
  • October–Global Issues
  • November–Back to Basics
  • December–Enjoy the Holidays (no book)

How to Get Involved

Look forward to a great year. Open to ideas. Feel free to suggest a book or topic in the comments!

Nuggets of Social Change–Round 2

Perhaps it’s the time of year, but has anyone else noticed that more people are churning out more good content? Many different items I come across deserve its own post, however, then it’s on to the next good nugget I find. Thus, I’m going to do these round-ups every once and awhile as I don’t want you to miss out on all the good information.

  • Have a cause or issue that you’re passionate about? If so, you will love this article by Michael Silberman on the Huffington Post. In it, Michael shares lessons learned when it comes to digital organizing from the 350 days movement–what he terms the “most widespread day of political action in history.” I personally like how Michael emphasizes the importance of mission over technology, and how he creatively shows the importance of creative storytelling by effectively telling the 350 days story to us.
  • Are you or your clients curious about the latest and great in customer relationship management models? Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang recently wrote up an in-depth post that gives an overview of 31 different CRM companies that are worth a look through.
  • Recently, I touched upon how online contests and competitions were growing in popularity–seems it’s still growing. Pepsi recently announced that they were going to fore go Superbowl ads, and instead, create a micro-site slash giving competition called the “Pepsi Refresh Project.” Beth Kanter shared her thoughts about Pepsi’s move following the Chase Bank fund-raising issue as well.
  • Twitter is the Oxford Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. However, another contender could have been the word innovation. Look at Time Magazine’s list of the “Top 50 Inventions of 2009”. Or, check out Popular Mechanics list of “The Best 50 Inventions in the Past 50 Years.” (Guess Santa isn’t the only one making his list and checking it twice this time of year.)
  • Social marketeers: Are you looking to connect with colleagues? Try one of these three upcoming social marketing conferences summed up nicely by Craig Lefebvre. A conference of sorts that I also look forward to debuting is BIBA, presented by Peter Corbett’s iStrategy Labs. BIBA looks to gather big minds with big ideas to make big actions.
  • Because it’s worth mentioning again, did you get a chance to read Philip Kotler’s and Nancy Lee’s article in Stanford’s Innovation Review about Corporate Social Marketing?

A Social Shout-out

Not only are good news items coming up, but I’ve also expanded my RSS reader with some blogs I encourage you to get to know:

Social Herder: If you don’t know Will Robinson, you might want to. Will writes on all things social entrepreneurship, non-profits and general do-goodery. You can catch Will at his blog, on Twitter, or at his current gig with Ogilvy PR.

Justice for All: If you are interested in a mash-up of human rights, social enterprise, democracy and law, then you’ll appreciate the enthusiasm of Northwestern senior Akhila Koliset. Not only do I share an interest in advocating human rights with Akhila, but I continue to be inspired by her passion and the voice with which she writes. You can tell she loves to be inspired as much as she is inspiring–just check out her reading list!

What We Give: You’ve probably heard of this one, but if not, you should. Larry Blumenthal is the director of social media strategy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and adds much value back to the marketplace through both his blog and on his Twitter stream where he talks about how social media is changing philanthropy.

What about you? Any newly discovered blogs or colleagues you’d like to give a social shout-out to?

PS: Often, these “nuggets” are shared sooner through my Twitter account. If you’re on Twitter, let’s connect @socialbttrfly.