The Social Web for Skeptics (or, Using the Social Web for Social Change)

The Social Web for Skeptics

…or, Using the Social Web for Social Change

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lauren Bacon• Online Strategist

• Volunteer

• Nonprofit Technologist

• Skeptic

We’re going to look at:

• What does “Web 2.0” mean, anyway?

• How does the Social Web work?

• 5 effective strategies for facilitating social change movements online

• DIY self-assessment exercise

Web 2.0 is Human(s).

No wonder we’re overwhelmed.

Let’s talk about the strategies behind the tools.

Face your fears

• Loss of control

• One more to-do

• Unknown & unpredictable

• Transparency

• More noise, less signal

• Flash in the pan trend

Drilling Down:What fuels the web?

Code • Graphics • Widgets

Storytelling • Conversation • Sharing

Function • Meaning • Delight • Evolution • Humans!

Chances are, you need more humans on your

side & working for you.

Web 1.0 ➞ Web 2.0How Did We Get Here?

The Way We Were

• Old way = One-way

• Traditional media & communications were all about broadcasting, top-down, “experts.”

Photo courtesy of ralphbijker on Flickr

Space defined by Media Owner

Brand in control

One way / Delivering a message

Repeating the message

Focused on the brand

Entertaining

Company created content

Space defined by Consumer

Consumer in control

Two way / Being a part of a conversation

Adapting the message/ beta

Focused on the consumer / Adding value

Influencing, involving

User created content / Co-creation

COMMUNICATIONS

MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Source: Neil Perkin, “What’s Next in Media: How Social Media Changes the Rules for Good” http://neilperkin.typepad.com

Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0

Adapted from: Monte Lutz, “The Social Pulpit: Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit” http://edelman.com

The Social Web = Cross-Influence

Conversation Talk

Top-Down

Bottom-up

“Consumers”

Influencers

Donors

Members

Media (online & offline)

Employees

Government

Academics

In 10 words or less…

• Web 1.0 is about publishing.

• Web 2.0 is about participation.

Technology Open/InteractivePlatforms

People

How does the social web work?

Technology minute:Let’s turn it over to

Professor Wesch.

The Machine is Us(ing us)

Source: Michael Wesch, Anthropology Program at Kansas State University

Key Takeaways

• Links are currency

• Separating form & content

• Sharing, reusing, remixing

• Collective wisdom

• This is a human phenomenon

Hat tips: Beth Kanter, Alexandra Samuel & Rob Cottingham.

Humans online:How do we build trust?

The Ladder of Engagement

Source: Monte Lutz, “The Social Pulpit: Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit” http://edelman.com

• What are the actions you want your community members to take?

• How do offline actions map to online ones?

The Ladder of Engagement

5 Effective Strategiesfor facilitating social change online

“The desire to be part of a group that shares, cooperates, or acts in concert is a basic human instinct.”

- Clay Shirky

1. Listen & Participate

• Listen to

• influencers

• your “audience” / community

• others in your sector

• Research & data collection

• Collaborate with allies

• Build coalitions

• Comment on blogs & articles

• Join the conversation where it’s already happening

• Find the insiders who care - “grasstops” / “community champions.” (We will talk more about these people shortly.)

• The long tail of public policy

9 1 90

Every community has super-users – high authority, highly active

Know who they are

Source: Neil Perkin, “What’s Next in Media: How Social Media Changes the Rules for Good” http://neilperkin.typepad.com

2. Storytelling

“The truth about stories is, that’s all we are.”

- Thomas King

2. Storytelling• What are the stories that influence change?

Look for stories with…

• Emotional impact

• Personality

• A vision of a better world

• Successes, statistics, momentum

• Especially online, we crave connection.

2. Storytelling

• How & in what form are they best told?

• Videos/Podcasts

• Photos

• Blog posts

• Interactive tools

• Consider multiple/combined media

2. Storytelling

Source: The New York Times, “Geography of a Recession” http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/03/us/20090303_LEONHARDT.html

2. Storytelling

• Users want to remix, so make it easy for them to share.

• Bookmark, tweet, post to Facebook, Slideshare, etc.

• Creative Commons licenses vs copyright

• Platform independent (mobile, RSS, etc.) - think “small pieces, loosely joined”

3. Knowledge Sharing

“One part anarchy, one part aristocracy, one part democracy, one part monarchy” – Jimmy Wales on the Wikipedia Community

“In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what you share.” – Charles Leadbeater

• Sharing stuff of value to others leads to authority, recognition, attribution

• What you can share that will create maximum value for your community members?

• Media advocacy: Connect with journalists, bloggers, engaged citizens

• "The media" isn't unified anymore; citizen journalism is on the rise, and as the tools of the news become ubiquitous, getting your message out is a more complex matter.

• Blogger outreach: Find the online influencers and connect with them.

• Cultivate these connections the way you would traditional media contacts (but less formal)

3. Knowledge SharingParticipatory culture:

“The architecture of the internet...is such that users pursuing their own ‘selfish’ interests [refining open source software; downloading music; voting for content they like on social bookmarking sites] build collective value as an automatic byproduct.”

– Tim O’Reilly, What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns & Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, Sept 30, 2005

• Web 2.0 takes social capital to a whole new level & blows the power & potential scale of personal & organizational networks wide open.

• The Wisdom of Crowds…

• creates & polices Wikipedia (crowdsourcing)

• decides what sites become popular

• determines which stories, videos, etc. go viral

4. Fundraising & Revenue Generation

“Communities already exist. Instead [of building your own online community], think about how you can help that [existing] community do what it wants to do.”

- Mark Zuckerberg

• Fundraising (and sales, too) has always been about building relationships.

• Web 2.0 is all about relationships, too.

• Kiva.org:

• $11 million out in loans, from over 113,000 people

• that’s an average loan of under $100

• Mobile giving raised over $35 million for Haiti earthquake relief(Source: Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/02/35-million-given-to-haiti_n_446872.html)

• Lessons from Obama:

• 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online, adding up to more than $500 million.

• Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less; the average online donation was $80.

• The average donor gave more than once.(Source: The Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/11/20/obama_raised_half_a_billion_on.html)

• So…the amounts may be small, but if you can hit critical mass, the number of donations can multiply the effect significantly.

5. Community Building & Social Networking

• Social networking isn’t just about Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning, etc… some groups are creating their own online communities.

• It also includes lobbying & online activism.

• MoveOn/Avaaz

• Human Rights Campaign

• Greenpeace: Green My Apple

• Advocacy tools

• Community blogging

• User profiles & connections

• Contests

• Mobile

Haiti Earthquake Relief via SMS

Micro-volunteering

www.beextra.orgSunday, October 17, 2010

Micro-volunteering

www.beextra.orgSunday, October 17, 2010

• Creating an online community takes major resources – and critical mass.

• Participating in existing communities must come first.

• It all boils down to providing maximum value to your community members.

• How can you make it worth their while to create YAFP (Yet Another [umm…] Profile)?

2. Share Stories

Hat tips: Beth Kanter, Alexandra Samuel & Rob Cottingham.

Let’s recap those 5 strategies.

Take a phased, iterative approach.

Source: Monte Lutz, “The Social Pulpit: Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit” http://edelman.com

Don’t ignore the basics.

Your web strategy cocktail should include:

• One part web presence

• One part one-way (e.g. email, advertising)

• One part social

(Adjust quantities to taste.)

But also…

• Risk making mistakes & learn from them

• Iterate, measure, refine - and try again

The tools must support the mission.

• Not everyone needs every tool.

• Where are your community members? (The data might surprise you.)

• Select the tools that support your mission.

When we come back…

• Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly: What stage are you at?

Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly:What stage are you at?

Remember “crawl, walk, run”?

• What are the outcomes you want to achieve?

• How successful are the tools you’re using now? (And what metrics are you using?)

• Do you have the basics covered?

Remember “crawl, walk, run”?

www.raisedeyebrow.com

@laurenbacon@raisedeyebrow

lauren@raisedeyebrow.com

Please keep in touch.

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