TubesCodeContent » social media

Why Tech Tools Work in Some Crises but not Others

Michael Cervieri — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:52:56 +0000

Compared to Iran, Twitter was not especially useful in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Joshua Keating of Foreign Policy and Andy Carvin of NPR’s social media desk discuss why some tools prove useful in crisis situations and not in others.

Run time: ~ 12:30

Quick Links on Nonprofit Engagement

Michael Cervieri — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:11:53 +0000

We’re now a week back into a new semester so we’ll start off slow with some items that have been sitting in my bookmark drawer.

Here are a few quick links on how NGO’s and nonprofits can utilize social media to engage constituent audiences. Nothing too profound but good to browse through in case there’s an item or two that captures the imagination.

10 Things Every Nonprofit Should Know About Social Media and Online Communications (via frogloop)

From grassroots advocacy staffers to Hill staffers and PR folks, the same questions arose… what are the top social media tools to use to spread an organizations message and how does an organization effectively use online communications tools.
Five Simple Ways Nonprofits Can Measure Social Media ROI (via NonProfitOrgs)

Recent studies have revealed that the vast majority of nonprofits do not know how to measure ROI (Return on Investment) from utilizing social media. Below are 5 simple, low-cost ways nonprofits can measure ROI with a minimal time investment of only a couple of hours a month.
Social Good (via Portfolio.com)

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and blogging are helping nonprofits get the word out about their causes in ways they never could before. And many initiatives are bringing in valuable cash donations and helping companies find much-needed support among younger people.
13 Prominent Social Media Activities Implemented By the Top 200 Non Profits (via Infinity Technologies)

So what are some of the best practices and uses of social media as displayed by the top 200 US NGO’s.

Using the Herd to Promote Your Ideas

Michael Cervieri — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:19:16 +0000

Mark Earls writes in Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature that traditional marketers completely misunderstood the mechanics of mass behavior. Instead of a direct relationship between brand and individual, our instinct is to look at what others around us are doing, using and possessing, and emulating that behavior.

Think the ubiquity of text messaging, the explosion of the Internet itself and the crowding of social networking sites: all examples of activities that entered daily activity not so much because of top down marketing, but because each lubricated the social interaction of those among us.

While the talk in the video above is about and for commercial brand managers and marketers, there are considerable lessons to be learned by the NGO, non-profit and governmental agency communities. This primarily includes how to inject ideas into the public sphere, have them take hold in the collective imagination and develop a life of their own.

If A Thousand Monkeys Tweeted

Michael Cervieri — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:43:53 +0000

The New York Times is running a story by Reuters about how the Uganda Wildlife Authority is using social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Blogging in an effort to help save the mountain gorilla.

The “Friend a Gorilla” campaign lets global gorilla fans access videos, pictures and, yes, tweets.

Organizers say the campaign is the first time social networking has been harnessed for conservation and hope it will generate $100,000 in the first three months and a further $350,000 within the first year.

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to about 370 mountain gorillas, about half the world’s population.