Tag Archives: blog

Still Here–Just In More Places

You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting here quite as often. Part of the reason for this is that I’ve been writing for a few different places over the past few months. I highlight some of the posts below:

  • Have Questions, Not Answers for 2011
    [On Care2’s frogloop Blog] In the nonprofit arena, the word “marketing” can have a bad rap. But you can help change that–and with good reason.  Marketing, in particular, social marketing can make all the difference in your organization’s work come 2011.                                               Read More.
  • In Review, the mHealth Attendee Gaining in Notoriety
    [On Pulse + Signal] This week’s mHealth Summit in Washington D.C rolled out the red carpet for some of the world’s top innovators including Ted Turner, Bill Gates, U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra and over 2,000 participants from 30 countries. It was a learning hub and feeding ground for those in government, NGOs, research, technology, policy and business. But there’s one attendee I spotted throughout the conference that gained in notoriety and demand—behavior change.
    Read More.

Hopefully, I’ll be back here posting more regularly again soon. However, I’m now starting to understand why, when I tell people that I blog, they ask me: How do you find the time? Well, as you can see, that’s been a bit of a struggle lately. Never fear though–something it always in the works. Until next time, Alex.

flickr credit: Leonard John Matthews


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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.

Guest Posting: Beth Kanter and An Experiment in Action

Photo of Beth Kanter, non-profit and technology guruThose of us who follow Beth Kanter’s blog about non-profits and technology may have noticed a great experiment (whether she meant it to be or not) on guest posting. As Beth and her family made the move to California, Beth invited non-profit, social change and do-good members of the blogosphere to guest post on her blog with their best posts from the past.

People like Amy Sample Ward, Britt Bravo, Geoff Livingston, Nancy Schwartz, Stacey Monk and others. And yesterday, my own post from last October on the “Cool Factor About Mobile” was also cross-posted on Beth’s blog. To me, this experiment has blossomed with success. It’s added color to our blogosphere, raised voices and increased the camaraderie of the folks in this space.

So, thank you Beth Kanter, not only for the opportunity to share in your space, but also for trying out this guest posting experiment. Look forward to your shared insights and revelations this series has generated (*Tip: If you haven’t checked out Beth’s blog yet, I highly encourage it.)

What do you think? What are your thoughts about guest posting? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s “Guest Posting Part Duex” as another guest post experiment is revealed.

flickr credit: LeeLeFever

BloggersUnite.org Drives Earth Day Buzz

Can you swallow this math?

According to Copywrite, Ink, there were 88,000 blog posts on Earth Day (April 22) that were added to the already existing 2 million written earlier in the week. What’s even more amazing? …About 10% of all those blog posts, came from bloggers on BloggersUnite.org.

In all transparency, I’m a participating members in both the BloggersUnite and BlogCatalog communities, and we worked on a project together in the past, but dang—they deserve a big pat on the back for accomplishing their exact mission, harnessing the power of the blogosphere.

As mentioned on the BloggersUnite Earth Day event page, Earth Day 2009 was held April 22nd and also marked the beginning The Green Generation Campaign, a two-year campaign that will culminate with the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.

More Green Goodness

  • In honor of Earth Day, Colleague Mike Newton-Ward and fellow social marketer wrote a post on applying a social marketing approach to the environment and other green goodies that I highly recommend checking out. Bonus: He provides a slideshare presentation that outlines this even more! (But like a good blogging friend, I’m going to make you go to his post to access it. It’s worth it.)
  • Looking for ways to take action? Check out EPA’s “Pick 5” campaign to identify five ways you can start today to make a difference for our earth. Twitter tag: #p5e

One More Thought

So I say again, great job Tony, Rich and the whole BloggersUnite team–and count this posting just one more for the record book! And I ask you, the SB reader, how have you seen blogging communities drive awareness, change and/or action? I have some of my own ideas, but I’m more into hearing yours. =)

Nominated Neighbor: Beth Dunn – social media enthusiast, non-profit practioner, and sock-knitter expert

Continuing my weekly “Blogger Neighborhood Series” and in honor of the great Mr. Rogers, who called us to “Get to know our neighbor,” Beth Dunn over at Small Dots shares her wit, personality and journey as the third neighbor in our series. Dunn was nominated by previously featured blog neighbor, Beth Kanter.

Blog Name: Small Dots

Blog Topic: Social media and other useful technology tools for nonprofits and the people who love them

About the Author: I am the Director of Communications and Technology for the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, I pursued graduate studies in geology at Syracuse University. When I was 28, I bought a nightclub, euphemistically known as a “live-musicvenue,” in upstate New York and operated that for several years before returning to Cape Cod in 2002. I then worked for several years as a freelance editor for Random House Publishing, Sterling Publishing, and several scientific academic journals, and served as the Director of Communications for the Harwich Junior Theater before joining the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod in 2006.

I’ve been in communications since 1997, nonprofit communications since 2004, and I’ve been blogging since about 2003. I started blogging on a personal blog, and quickly branched out into writing weekly columns for several humor blogs (all of which are now sadly defunct). I’m a darn good public speaker, an enthusiastic baseball fan (but not for the team you would expect), and an ex-professional chef. I am also an expert sock-knitter. Yes, expert.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging? Be yourself. You can be no other.

If you could lived on any street, which street would you live on and why? Perry Lane. It’s the dirt road on which my great-grandfather’ s house still sits — an 1840 farmhouse on Cape Cod, only a few miles from where I live now. My grandfather had to sell it a few years ago, and none of us had the scratch to buy it from him at the time. I’d love to buy it back from the (very nice) folks who bought it, and then settle there. I mean, those ghosts are MY ghosts.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor? Annie LaMott. She’s one of my favorite writers; she writes great fiction AND great non-fiction on the subject of writing, and I think we would make terrific neighbors. We have a lot in common, including a certain level of neuroticism, and a peculiar sense of humor.

Why do you blog? I’m a compulsive blogger, and I have been since I first started in 2003. I love to write, and I love how blogging keeps my writing skills sharp. I love the community of people that I have met through writing a blog and reading blogs. Blogging makes me global.

What’s your favorite blog post and why? The one where I compared CEOs (those who are averse to social media) to the Tiv tribe in Africa: Lost in Translation – Social Media and Hamlet. I was remembering that old Intro to Anthropology essay that we all had to read, about the young anthropologist who believes that Hamlet is universal and transcends cultural differences, and she faces hysterical obstacles in her quest to translate it to the indigenous population she is working with in Africa. I like it because it’s typical of the way I think, drawing strange metaphors and parallels from seemingly unrelated disciplines. It’s what we liberal arts college graduates are best at, I think.

Look out next week to see who else has been nominated in the neighborhood!

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Blogger Outreach Series: Law Issues Part B, Privacy

Continuing in my blogger outreach series, this post will focus on law that addresses privacy in regard to bloggers and blog content.

hotoblog

Privacy: Currently, privacy is not included in the bill of rights, but as technology increases, it’s developing into quite the controversy. To protect yourself as a blogger and the subjects included in your posts, it is important to understand the law surrounding online privacy issues and the increasing issues involving privacy

There are 2 ways to approach privacy:

  1. Your privacy as a Blogger AND
  2. the privacy of the people involved in your blog’s content

To protect your privacy as a blogger, there are some different approaches with strengths and benefits. These include:

Blog Completely Anonymously

  • Create a Psuedo-name
  • Do not give away identifiers in the blog’s content
  • For COMPLETE anonymous blogging, try Invisiblog, Tor and Anonymizer. These are applications that help you create an anonymous blog where the creators and hosts of the blog won’t even have access to your information, can hide your IP address, and allows for anonymous editing of your blog.
  • Limit Your Audience
  • To avoid being found in search engines or in Google, install a ‘Robots Text File Generator’ into your blog’s architecture.
  • Set-up an alternative email address.
  • Update from a public computer.

Pros/Cons: Privacy protected. But, if you desire more traffic, hits or views, this could limit you. And, you don’t get credit for your hard work and time into up-keeping your blog.

Blog Anonymously, but control who knows who you are

  • Create an alias…but with talking with friends, family, co-workers, or online contacts, feel free to share that it is your blog. But, you don’t have to put your name on the blog. This allows you to control who can identify the blog as yours, and allows you to control to some degree who knows you have a blog.
  • This is the option this blog SocialButterfly has chosen for a variety of reasons. Eventually, I will more than likely reveal my true identify, but in the meantime, I am collecting feedback on what employers, friends, colleagues think of someone wearing a ‘blogger’ hat.

Pros/Cons: Allows you to get feedback on what others think of your blog and protects your privacy to some degree meaning that random unique visitors can’t identify you without first contacting you and YOU deciding to disclose your identity to them based on your interactions with them.

Blog Openly, but control the type of information visible

  • Put a picture of yourself on the home page, along with a concise bio about your background and why you are blogging.
  • Consider the blog as a way to extend your ‘personal brand.’ So, your communications about yourself need to help build and add credibility to your blog.
  • Allows creator to develop long-term personal connections and relationships with readers.

Pros/Cons: This allows you take full advantage of social media at its best. As a small business owner, it allows to you communicate with possible consumers and to extend your business’ message and purpose and connects consumers to you on a more personal level. Cons include that you are personally identifiable on the web. Anyone can find your blog, know its yours, and may judge you on your blog before meeting you or making a personal connection with you. This could also affect potential employers or current employers.

Blog Completely Openly

  • This is an open, anything goes approach to blogging.

Pros/Cons: Your belief in free speech is rightly communicated and your views are open, honest and shared. However, you may have to provide evidence and reasons why you say what you say. Basically, be prepared to back yourself up. Cons could include potential employers shying away from you, or wanting to fire you because of your blog.

Some more points to remember as a blogger are found here including laws on political speech, unionizing, whistleblowing, blogging when you work for the government, and legal off-duty activities. Blogging about work activities when you work for the government is actually protected under the First Amendment according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Lessons from Privacy for people involved in the blog’s content:

  • If you plan on posting images, videos, or audio of subjects you interview or interact with, gain their consent before posting this material – especially if the material contains minors.
  • Get parental consent if the content relates to minors, and blur the minors face or voice if possible since laws pertaining to minors are much more strict.
  • If you shoot film or take photographs, to be safe, make sure it is done on public property unless you have the participants consent. This will avoid trespassing and invasion of privacy issues.

As blogging increases, it is important to note that many people have different feelings about anonymous-related blogging and the laws continue to change as the technology matures. And as a disclaimer, I reiterate, I am not a lawyer.

For more information on electronic privacy issues, see EPIC, the electronic privacy information center.

**If you are an expert in this area, please contact me as I’d be curious on your thoughts and feedback on this post. Thanks! **

Be Inspired by this Week's Blogger Neighbor: Stacey Monk @ EpicChange

Continuing my weekly “Blogger Neighborhood Series” in honor of the great Mr. Rogers, who called us to “Get to know our neighbor,” I welcome Stacey Monk from Epic Change, who continues to leave me inspired.

Stacey is an amazing writer, showing both her contagious passion and gracious, sincere personality through every word, so I’ll let her tell you about her journey, mission and how she’s gotten to where she is…

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Blog Name:

The Epic Change Blog

Blog Topics:

The Epic Change Blog is a diary of our experiment in social entrepreneurship and an organization I recently founded called Epic Change. We started it just after we received our 501c3 determination last September, and we blog whatever we’ve experienced on the journey since then, including:

We try to give a complete, transparent picture of what we’re working on so that our supporters can feel engaged in what we’re doing, and so other folks can learn from our mistakes and successes. We also try to provide regular opportunities on our blog for folks to get involved. Last week, for instance, to celebrate National Volunteer Week, we provided daily opportunities for our readers to perform 10-minute volunteer activities.

About the Author:

I’m a nerd, a recovering military brat, a perpetual nomad and a total sap. I believe the world is what we make it. I started my career managing a performing arts series, moved into public sector consulting for Deloitte, then worked in IT strategy & change leadership at Genentech and, finally, launched a small change management consulting firm called Funken Consulting. Last year, I left for Africa, came back, stopped working for money & founded Epic Change, a nonprofit that “helps hopeful people in need tell their epic true stories to acquire the resources they need to create change in their communities.” I have a BA in Philosophy and a grad degree in performing arts management from the public policy school at Carnegie Mellon. I like to think that artsy background helps me be more creative in my approach to social change. You can check out my street cred on LinkedIn.

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

I’d live where Hope, Audacity, Authenticity, & Gratitude intersect because I know I’d like the other people who live there. [This is my favorite quote of the week!]

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

Any man who can sing. For today, let’s say John Mayer. His song Say is stuck on my brain. Or maybe Josh Groban. His voice makes me feel like I’m in the presence of an angel.

If you were in charge of the planning the neighborhood’s block party, what entertainment would you plan?

Ditto, previous question. Or I’d plan a performance by a dance troupe that I love like Alvin Ailey or Momix. Or we’d dance ourselves, which might be the most fun. Despite my chubbiness, I love to dance. I’m certified to teach ZUMBA and Shake Your Soul.

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

FEARNOT, URHOPE or THANKU

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

Blueberry Pie. Despite 1950s connotations, pies = love.

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

I’d like to point to something brilliant by someone else, because I’ve taken so much as inspiration. Right now, today, though, I’m really wrapped up in what’s unfolding as a result of my recent, totally random, guest post on the Go Big Always blog of Jive CMO Sam Lawrence. I met him totally randomly on Twitter, and last Wednesday after midnight, when he was tweeting that he didn’t feel like posting to his uber-popular marketing blog, I offered to take his place. He, probably in jest, wrote back “Go for it ;)” and I did. That single post has led to a flurry of others, including one on ZDNet, a tweet by @Scobleizer, and a connection to social media giant Jeremiah Owyang, as well as a drastic increase in the number of people interested in our cause. So for today, the Go Big Always post is surely my fave, despite the fact that it begins with a reference to feces.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

Be authentic.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Blogger Outreach Series 1: Regulation, in reference to government blogging

hotoblog

On my Twitter feed, I recently asked the question:

What are people’s experience with their clients and organizations about incorporating blogs and/or blogger outreach to their interactive marketing plans?

I ask this because as social media knowledge expands, more organizations are looking at the concept of blogging, including government agencies. Thus, this next series of posts will revolve around questions organizations must ask themselves when wrestling with the ‘blogging dilemma.’ Or, to change the outlook and attitude, the blogging opportunity.

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Question 1: To blog, or not to blog, that is the question.

The first response I usually receive when discussing blogging is a question relating to regulation. Thus, to start-off this series, this post will focus on regulation. Not all organizations desire to blog. In fact, many fear blogging because of a popular notion that it is an unregulated mode of communications…a public relations disaster waiting to unfold. These fears inspire numerous questions.

1. What if someone leaves a bad comment?
2. What if the blogosphere doesn’t approve or doesn’t view us as transparent?
3. How will we manage this logistical mess?
4. How do we even evaluate if we make any progress?
5. What can a blog even achieve?
6. What is a blog?
7. What will a blog cost us?
8. How do we control a blog?

and the list continues. These questions cover a lot of topics. In my experience, this concept of regulation most often appears with government clients. Here is a common statement:

“We can’t do blogging. It’s unregulated and you have no idea what people will say or how they’ll say it. We are a government agency, and we can’t take that sort of risk.”

This fear is understandable. For those not infiltrated in the blog arena, it appears messy – and at times, honestly, it is. However, the blogosphere doesn’t have to be completely viewed as ‘unregulated.’

Here are two examples on how organizations have approached blogging:

1. Regulate Blog Access. One organization I’m working with loves the idea of blogs, so much…(possibly a bit too much in my opinion…but hey, it’s also going to be a trial and error basis)…that their site will have 5-8 blogs. Logistically, this will be interesting. But in theory, the idea is to regulate who has blog access. The site will be set-up as an online community, so only members will see all the topical blogs. Whereas, the public will only see the one main blog. This way we can regulate what non-members have access to.

2. Trial and Error. One consulting client I worked with loved the idea of a blog, but wasn’t sold on having the blog content being created and written by the organization. They wanted to use a blog as an outreach to their non-profit’s community as another tool of engagement. So, they started the blog, regulate it, but let their community members write the content by having the blog’s perspective be: Share Your Story. So, those wrestling with the non-profit’s illness shared their stories, could build online community and support one another.

  • Event blogging
  • Live Blogging
  • Topical Blogging

Now, if you are working with a federal or state agency, the notion of blogging ruffles some feathers. Here is a critical case to make: blogging has been done. and can be done. Here eare some helpful sites to note:

1. Public Officials’ Blogs. Just do a quick environmental scan of the presidential candidates’ websites! This site even offers a full listing of current blogs held by public officials across the United States.

2. Increasing Government Agencies’ Blogs. Now the list may be small, especially when considering just how many agencies exist, but it’s a starting point.

3. Government Blog Resource. A great outline of what blogs are, issues to consider, blog statistics, viewpoints, etc…a great resource!

4. Research Study. “The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0,” a report by the IBM Center for the Business of Government which lists congressional, state, and local blogs.

(pic from www.masternewmedia.org)

Blog Pitching: 5 Big Tips on What Not To Do

contact
Steve Field, over at The D-Ring, a blog about the military combined with social media, posted a great comical entry about his frustrations in receiving press releases as a blogger on behalf of various groups’ blogger outreach strategies.

Some tips Mr. Field mentions and are pretty practical:

1. Make the address personal.

The heading ‘To whom it may concern’ may be a bit un-inviting to the blogger whose name is obviously apparent on the homepage or in the about section.

2. Following the first tip, have you read the blog?

Show you have an interest or at least have a general idea about what the blog is about and its purpose.

3. Don’t assume bloggers know about what you are talking about.

If pitching a new product, service, campaign, idea, your latest invention….describe it.

4. Don’t be a link begger.

Offer something in content or service that is useful to the blogger or the blogging community.

5. Don’t contact a vegetarian blog about the latest McDonald’s big juicy burger.

Be targeted and relevant. Just like in traditional pitching, many of the same rules can apply.

Let’s see if we can extend the list (thxs Beth Kanter for the extending the list idea)!

What tips do you have regarding how people/groups contact bloggers? either what to-do or what not-to-do….

The Bulletin: Updates in the Social Marketing Field

New Resources and Communities Abound…

1. Two Social Marketing Blogs join the movement! Mike Newton-Ward, a social marketer based in North Carolina launched Social Marketing Panorama earlier this fall. Bob Marshall also launched USSOCIALMARKETINGPLAN to highlight the need of a larger social marketing movement that attaches itself to a body of professionals in the United States.

2. C-Change, a new peer-reviewed and research-based e-newsletter developed by USAID and AED is now available and…is free! According to the web site, “C-Change works with global, regional and local partners to use communication to change behaviors and social norms, supported by evidence-based strategies, state-of-the-art training and capacity building, and cutting-edge research. The ultimate goal is the improved health and well-being of people in the developing world.” The e-newsletters focus on four main areas:

  • Family Planning and Reproductive Health
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Malaria
  • Communication for Behavior and Social Change

3. GovLoop, the “premiere social network for the government community,” including agencies, contractors and consultants has grown to over 1700 members! I invite you to join me and the main other amazing professionals on this robust community created through NING, especially SB readers who are keen to the government 2.0 movement! For those in DC, join the DC Social Media Club this upcoming week Oct. 22 for a seminar panel on all items Government 2.0, moderated by John Bell of Ogilvy PR.

4. As I’ve shared, the full presentations from all the keynotes during the World Social Marketing Conference are available to view and download. I shared my own recap, as well as a picture recap. Good news is that I wasn’t alone as we had a ‘team’ of bloggers covering the event: Stephen Dann, Craig Lefebvre, Andy Jaeger, and Cheryl Brown.

5. Edelman recently launched their Health Engagement Blog to stress the concept of ‘health engagement.’ The blog corresponds to Edelman’s whitepaper, available for free, called Health Engagement Barometer Study.

6. Mike Kujawski, a social marketer based in Canada, created a Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki for Canadian, U.S. and International Governments. In its first week of launch, the wiki got over 5000 visitors!

7. The CDC is now offering a web-based course called Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical Activity. This is good. Though, I still echo Nancy Lee’s call for social marketing curricula integrating into formal education. And more courses would be a great start, but a formal graduate degree in social marketing would be even better.

Photo Credit: Flickr, pbrigitte
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Have social marketing (or social marketing-related) news you’d like to have featured in the Bulletin? Send job posts, new workshops, events, research resources and tools to socialbutterfly@gmail.com with Bulletin in the subject line. =)