James Young

I hope you all had a chance to join us yesterday for our webinar called Social Media for Social Good. Emily Riley from Forrester Research and Beth Kanter from Beth’s Blog both gave great presentations that really complimented each other. If you missed it, you can register to receive the recording at http://www.convio.com/socialgood.

I’d like to extend my thanks to Emily and Beth for participating, and to all of the audience for your good, insightful questions. We had so many that we couldn’t get to all of them during the webinar, so we’ve answered the overflow here:

Q: How can we use social media tools when working with clients in an agency specifically concerning privacy or HIPPA issues?

Emily:  This is something I don’t have the ability to answer at a legal or privacy level. I will say that there are regulations that relate well to offline consumer relationships that don’t apply well online. It makes sense to work with your legal team as well as with colleagues to combine efforts at creating different norms for the web.

Beth:  That is a question that is not easy to answer in a couple of sentences because there are so many "it depends" variations.  It depends the context, who is having the conversation, etc.  I gave a presentation about Healthcare, Nonprofits, and Social Media. If you review the links and examples, you'll find some general answers to that question.

Q: How do we get past our fear of negative comments possibly being posted about the organization from activists etc.?  It seems like reviewing all posts and not posting those comments would defeat the purpose....

Emily:  I have one word of advice, go Google something right now and add the word “sucks” with it. For example “Starbucks sucks” will show a lot of issues around free trade and other image problems. These are talked about and posted online regardless of your participation. It is something that needs to be accepted because the groundswell is already taking place. Rather, it makes sense to start with listening. Before you feel like it is necessary to host a community or answer the posts, take some time to really understand what people are saying and who they are. Are they your typical customers, or a smaller niche that doesn’t represent the norm? Are they valuable in other ways? After you know this, you will have a better understanding of participating. Some people may need to be screened out if they are simply inflammatory, but that needs to be established with terms and conditions or a disclaimer.

Beth:  Most of the time, if you've built your community, they will correct negatives or incorrect information. I remember hearing a presentation at a recent PBS Conference where the PBS engaged bloggers talked about this and how concerned they were about negative comments - but that community corrected those.   At first you won't get many comments - it takes time to build up a community of people who will comment. You should decide internally how you want to handle potentially negative comments and what your policy will be about moderating comments or not.

When I was in Australia last year, I met Priscilla Brice Weller who worked for a native rights group.  They have a blog and they moderate comments because they don't want to publish any racist comments. They have published their commenting policy on the site. I did an interview with her about this.

Here's more two round ups I did of nonprofit blogging policies:

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/04/the-urge-to-edi.html

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/04/nonprofit-blogg.html

Q: How do you control the content of comments to your blog posted by readers?

Emily:  It is perfectly acceptable to moderate the posts on your community or blog and to have a disclaimer that any inflammatory or inaccurate comments will be removed. HOWEVER, some issues that are negative do need to be allowed in order for participants to feel that the blog or community is addressing the real issues of the readers. A middle ground needs to be reached.

Beth:  Blogging platforms give options to moderate comments - review them and decide which ones to publish.

The bloggers who cover journalism and blogs by newspapers are great resources on this topic - particularly about whether or not to edit comments by readers:

http://powazek.com/posts/1063

http://eatsleeppublish.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-newspaper-curmudgeon-talking-points/

Q: How should you deal with coordinated efforts to disrupt your community (e.g. "comment bombing")?

Emily:  Again, it is acceptable to screen posts and have a disclaimer. While some activists are unreasonable and deserve to be screened out, it is important to address all issues in the groundswell so that readers can respect your voice. They need to know that you are aware of all players’ opinions and then they will take your cause or point of view more seriously than if you completely ignore the issue.

Beth:  Hmm, I've only really on the other side of planning and organizing "comment bombing" - not fighting it.  One thing to remember with comments that are off-topic or inappropriate: don't feed the trolls.

One of the best sites on digital activism advice is Mary Joyce's Digitactive - look through her archives to find her advice or email her.

Q: Should nonprofits have organizational Twitter accounts, or should employees keep their own personal accounts to tweet about the org & engage in conversation?

Emily: This depends. If individuals have different yet valuable perspectives, individual accounts are fine. Instead, if your organization has one particular cause that deserves one larger group of followers, a more “PR” motivated twitter account could make sense. You can have both if it makes sense too.

Beth:  You know, on Twitter, your organization should have a personality. That's how some companies have been successful on Twitter- like Frank at Comcast or Lionel at Dell.

Holly Ross's Twitter account is ntenhross - so it is branded as both her and her organization.  There is also a generic organization one - but a lot of NTEN conversations happen through Holly and other staff.

Here's my roundup of Twitter advice.

Q: What books do you recommend to help us get acquainted and use social media?

Emily:  Of course I need to recommend The Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. I also recommend Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernowitz.

Beth:  Here's my little library - the second row has my picks for social media and networking. In particular, I would recommend Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everyone and The Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. Also CauseWired - which was recently published and is all about online fundraising using social networks.

BTW, I get offered a lot of free copies of books from different publishers and always ask for an addition one to giveaway in a contest on my blog for my readers - so keep an eye out for upcoming book giveaways.

Q: What is the best way to acquire or create a widget for a Facebook or MySpace page?

Emily:  It makes sense to work with partners such as Buddy Media, ClearSpring or Gigya, who are adept marketers and makers of widgets for many advertisers for both MySpace and Facebook.

Beth:  See http://nonprofitwidget.wikispaces.com/

Q: Also, what are techniques for finding social influencers and what are the ethical concerns/issues about contacting them for research purposes?

Emily:  The first place to work for influencers is within your own constituency, such as the most active volunteers or the most active readers of email messages. Beyond that, it can be valuable to work with a buzz marketing firm such as Nielsen BuzzMetrics or Cymfony to identify people in your arena who influence others. The only issue around contacting influencers is your value proposition. If you don’t provide them with a good incentive to talk to you, you are simply bothering them.

Beth:  Here's some step-by-steps for finding influential bloggers.

Q: Are there any specific ideas to use social media on a regional basis?

Emily:  here are already many grassroots communities and blogs that are regional. Search Google for them and become active commenters and provide assistance and information to the leaders of the blog or community to start understand the zeitgeist of the group.

Beth:  Participate in local meet ups of social media professionals or social good professionals that are happening different cities across the countries.  You can find event listings at sites like meetup.com  or upcoming.org. Some specific groups exist: social media club, netsquared, tweetup, etc.

Search for local bloggers or social media by geography - for example you can search by location for twitter users at twellow.com, local bloggers at all.top.

There is a type of blog called hyper local that covers neighborhood, city, or regional issues. You can find a listing of these blogs at placeblogger.com.

Take a look at this guy. Who is he? Is he you or is he your supporter? The answer is important. Really important.

Because, if he is you, then he is really busy yelling, probably so loudly that he can’t hear anything going on around him. And that is a problem.

When it comes to social media, and how to use it effectively, being like this guy is the worst possible move you can make. Heck, when it comes to marketing at all in the here and now, being like this guy is the worst mistake you can make.

In 2009, the best strategy starts with listening, because if you don’t listen to the question, you can’t be sure you’re providing the answer.

Lee Oden, in his post, says, “While there are many sources of advice on how to approach a corporate social media effort, the minimum companies need to do is start listening to the social web NOW. Many will find a whole new world of conversation happening about their brands, products and even key staff. By listening to the conversations happening around them on the social web, organizations can learn what they need to know in order to take next steps.

Some companies decide to start listening right away as they develop their social media strategy and many rely on the learning that happens from listening to influence their strategy. Either way, (we recommend the latter) it’s important to invest in the tools and processes of data collection, monitoring, analysis and process for action/engagement.”

I especially like the end of the first paragraph, “By listening to the conversations happening around them on the social web, organizations can learn what they need to know in order to take the next steps.” How many times have you tried out a campaign and just hoped to heaven that it works, because you really don’t know what your constituents want to hear? It doesn’t have to be that way. In the past, listening was hard to do. Not anymore. Because the conversations have moved online, into blogs and social networks, you can “hear” them by simply being present.

And the things you can learn! I recently talked with Jennifer Texada of MD Anderson. She told me how they are listening to Twitter for any mention of their Cancer Center for patients who are expressing a need for something (shorter lines, directions, etc.) and when they can help, they send someone to help. Imagine, you’re looking for a loved one and you can’t find their room. You’re so frustrated by the experience, you tweet about it, and soon enough a staff member finds you and escorts you to your loved one’s room. What an experience!

By listening to the buzz about your organization, you are going to learn all kinds of things:

·         Where you excel

·         Where you suck

·         What your constituents really want

·         What you don’t have

The list could go on.

Some of you may be saying, “Yeah, but I don’t have the resources to do this. I can’t afford a tool like Cymfony.” Well, there are free tools for you. Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim put together a pretty good list. Smashing Magazine also has a good list with some free and for pay tools.

The quickest way to start is to use Google Alerts. You simply tell Google which keywords to look for and they email you every day with a list of the new items with that key word. You get a lot of fluff, but you get a lot of gold too.

The point is, start listening before you do anything else. Listen, learn what it is you need to say, and then say it. And if you do this enough, that guy up there will be your constituent screaming your praises.

This year, thinking about those in need is more important than ever. 2008 is like the perfect storm of need: millions of people who normally don't worry too much are now stressing about their situation. Many have lost jobs or are in fear of losing their jobs. Many more don't know if they can hold on to their homes. None of this is news to you, but Karen Talavera has written a very moving article in the Huffington Post titled Bridging the 77 Day Chasm that makes a strong case for why now is the time to stop worrying about yourself (with full recognition that each and every one of us have something extra to worry about this year) and turn your thoughts to less who are worse off than you. If we all did this a little more these next few months, think of all the relief we could spread. Please read Karen's article and look down in kindness.

You're asking yourself, who is Hardy Jenns, right? Does anyone remember the movie Some Kind of Wonderful? Although I'm a little afraid to do so, I'll admit that it is one one my favorite movies.

Back in my teens, I watched it as often as it was on HBO. I was a sucker for the love story. I know what you're thinking, "Loser with a capital L. The cool teens in 1987 weren't watching love stories, they were rolling up their jeans to get that tapered look, listening to Billy Squire, and strapping on their SWATCH!" Whatever.

Now I spend my time doing far more exciting things, like thinking about social media while watching House Hunters. Wait a second...

I do think of Some Kind of Wonderful every time I get into a conversation about social media and the topic of trust comes up, soley because of Hardy Jenns, the movie's bad guy, repeated use of the line, "Trust is the basis of every relationshiop. I trust you," on all of his ladies. Here is a picture of Hardy:

Hardy actually got that one right. Trust is the basis of every relationship, and it is the fundamental force that makes social media so powerful.

At the Convio Summit 2008, Michael Johnston, the president of HJC New Media, presented on soial media and he used a term that I found very apt. He called the interactions we make in social media settings trust transactions. Each time we comment on a site, whether it be someone's Facebook profile or a product site, we are putting ourselves out there in a way that requires trust. We trust in ourselves enough to express an opinion. We trust in other people to percieve the opinions intent and react accordingly. We trust the recipient of the opinion to do something with it. Each time we post a picture on Flickr and a video on YouTube, we trust other people with a glimpse into our lives. We trust them to use the glimpse with responsibility. Each time we follow a recommendation we see on a site, we trust that the person making the recommendation knows what they are talking about. We trust them to be honest.

I recently read about two examples of trust in a social media context that really drive home the point of how good and bad trust can be in a social media context.

The good comes from Rex Lee, the author of Rex's Thought Spot, in a post called Social Media and the Speed of Trust . He describes the face-to-face meeting he had with two previously online-only acquaintances, stating that because of all the time spent interacting in via social media, the personal meeting was like seeing an old friend, devoid of any awkwardness or shyness usually experienced when meeting someone for the first time. Interactions in social media settings generate real kinship between people, because the trust is high enough to actually share meaningful information that builds a real relationship.

The bad comes from Killfile, a writer on NewsVine , where he describes a recent joke the steady writers of NewsVine pulled on all of us. The joke involved the writers switching columns for a day without acknowledging the switch. So, I write Bob's column, and Bob writes Stan's column, and Stan writes my column, but the reader doesn't know. Except the readers did know, sort of. They knew something was wrong and when the joke was revealed, the readers were not happy. They felt their trust had been violated. They don't read NewsVine writers for their journalistic objectivity, but rather for their personal spin on the events of the time, and when the personal spin was askew, it was disconcerting.

I mention all of this in an effort to say that we all need to be aware of the trust implied in our participation in social media activities. Non-profits using social media tools need to recognize the responsibility they take on in connecting to constituents in such a personal (yet electronic) way, and treat that relationship as carefully as they treat the people on their email file or direct mail file. If you start the relationship, you need to maintain it, or knowingly let it go. But don't be Hardy Jenns. Don't get someone to trust you only ignore or abuse it.

I'll admit that I am a geek when it comes to social media. I like to talk about this stuff, at times to my detriment. There have been co-workers who looked sideways at me when I expressed excitement over a new tool, and my wife has definitely let it be known that she doesn't much care for talk of Yammer, or BackType, or SaysMe.tv. Sometimes, I feel a little lonely here is my social media world (the irony!).

Organized by the fabulous folks at NTEN, these are informal groups of people trying to do exactly what you are trying to do, apply social media to your non-profit's mission. There are roughly 31 of these groups active out there in the world, in most major cities, and some not so major cities, like Austin.

The Austin 501 Tech Club meets monthly.  If you're like me, and you live in the Austin area, come  check out a meeting.

If you're from elsewhere, chances are there is a 501 Tech Club near you. Use the links in this post to find the club and sign up.