Social Media for Nonprofits

Last Friday, I had the great opportunity to deliver a morning and an afternoon session of a workshop titled Social Media for Nonprofits to approximately 20 projects under the fiscal sponsorship of Community Initiatives.

These are the slides from the presentation (with a few enhancements I made to them thanks to the feedback I got from participants). Feel free to contact me, if you have any questions or if you feel I can be of assistance to your group. You can download the presentation if you prefer watching it offline.

Social Media For Nonprofits

View my other presentations about the use of social media.


References:

• What the  f**k is social media (one year later)
• Web Communications Strategy 

Photo credits:

•  Conversation, NYC, 1970
• Who’s The Dick Writing Comments On My Blog
• Getting facetime with Facebook’s CEO
• Twitter bird logo icon illustration
  

Who moved my healthcare reform?

This week has brought several pieces of political news that have left me wondering about the future of life in the US.

One of them has to do with the election of the GOP candidate in Massachusetts, which resulted in the disappearance of the filibuster-proof majority the Democrats had in the Senate. While having a balance in power is good, one big concern I now have is what will this do to health care reform.

I can't think of better words to express this concern than the ones written by this gentleman in his letter to the editor of his local newspaper:

... the results of the special election to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat threatens to undermine the health care reform process in our country. It is ironic that Massachusetts has led the nation in providing for the health care of 99 percent of state residents but the majority of people in our commonwealth reject health care coverage to 30 million of our fellow citizens.

This is the situation as the Senate awaits for a merged bill to come from the House. However, even the prospects for a combined version to pass through the House are bleak as indicated by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Quoting from the Financial Times report:

In its present form, I don't think it's possible to pass the Senate bill in the House," Ms Pelosi told reporters yesterday, after struggling to persuade liberal Democrats in the House to support the Senate's healthcare plan, which is not as expansive as their own. "I don't see the votes for it at this time."

The second piece of news that concerns me this week is last Thursday's ruling by the US Supreme Court. This is even more concerning because, unlike elections, decisions by the Supreme Court have a very long term impact on the country and the direction things take as a whole over a long time, as opposed to during a shorter period.

In short, as the New York Times explains:

Overruling two important precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations, a bitterly divided Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.

If you want to read the 183-page long decision document, look for Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n in the Supreme Court 2009 Decisions page.

The decision is largely based on free-speech principles, under the assumption that corporations are like individuals. There's something fundamentally wrong about this conception, because it gives corporations benefits like those of an individual (free-speech, for instance) while not giving the same more obligations (tax obligations, for example).

It'd be naive to argue that this benefits for-profit corporations on an equal basis as not-for-profit corporations for simple mathematical reasons: for-profit companies, by definition (in order to have money left at the end of the day to distribute among shareholders) will have deeper pockets from which to draw to spend supporting political campaigns. Period!

So, I agree with the President's criticism of the decision (quoting from Huffington Post):

"This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy," the president said in his weekly radio and Internet message. "It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way -- or to punish those who don't."

Don't believe this? Read this article... this article... and go to the Money Trail page on OpenCongress, and see for yourself the volume of pre-2009 campaign contributions pouring from special interest groups into congress (ironically, two of the top recipients of contributions in 2008 were John McCain and Hillary Clinton). Do you honestly think this will improve with this week's court decision? I personally doubt it.

So will healthcare reform take a backseat? Absolutely. But when it's picked up a few weeks from now, what will come out of the debate? I have lost the few hopes I had for something meaningful to result from healthcare reform. Even more so, I am fundamentally saddened by our future prospects as individuals and as patients (insured or not) in the United States.

So, who moved my healthcare reform? I don't know... perhaps it wasn't there in the first place.

Los Paranoias: La Mejor Banda de Rock en Venezuela hoy por hoy!

Uno de los "highlights" del viaje a Venezuela que hicimos en diciembre fue descubrir (gracias a Felix, de la banda CharliePapa) a Los Paranoias.

De su canal de YouTube:
"Formados en Caracas a finales de 2001 por los hermanos Luis Irán (voz-guitarra) y Carlos Da Palma (bajo y coros), actualmente cuentan con Yunior Lobo en la batería e Iván Gozon en la guitarra. Han compartido tarima con artistas de la talla de R.E.M., Travis, Jethro Tull, The Alan Parsons Project, Los Bunkers, Los Pericos, Los Rabanes, King Changó, Los Amigos Invisibles, El Gran Silencio, Desorden Público, Caramelos de Cianuro y Papashanty Soundsystem, entre otros..."

Este grupo suena simplemente BRUTAL! Si se imaginan que saldria mezclando una dosis saludable de Sentimiento Muerto con Soda Stereo y un par de cucharadas soperas de los Beatles, pueden aproximarse al sonido de Los Paranoias. Pero como no puede uno hacerle justicia a un trabajo discografico con descripciones escritas casi nunca, los invito a que escuchen el ultimo album por cortesia de Lala. Para quienes se encuentran fuera de Estados Unidos, pueden escucharlos tambien en la pagina Facebook de la banda.

Mi tema favorito: "Acetaminofen". Disfruten!

Aquí Fue - Los Paranoias

Twitter for Nonprofits: a Great Presentation!

While preparing for an upcoming presentation on Social Media for Nonprofits, I ran into this magnificent presentation put together by Amy Sample Ward (who will be joining me next April at NTC 2010 for a panel about Community Management for Nonprofits). I will let Amy's slides speak for themselves:

Twitter.Org: Twitter for Nonprofit Organizations

View more presentations from Amy Sample Ward.

What if Pharma learned from Energy companies?

Remember a few years ago when Oil Companies started reinventing themselves as Energy Companies? We started seeing a shift in their focus away from solely oil exploration, extraction, refining and distribution to finding ways to continue to be relevant in a world that eventually will run out of oil. Recently I was dreaming of a similar scenario for pharmaceutical companies.

Let's be clear: the business model of Pharma is based on developing and commercializing drugs to treat diseases. But imagine what would happen if an important portion of expenses by Pharma started to be dedicated to researching cures for the diseases that most affect the world today.

Why would Pharma do this?
Why would they stop focusing on producing drugs that depend on having patients living with the conditions that the drugs are meant to treat? Why would they help develop cures for people who currently need those drugs? Well... what if it were in the best interest to do so?

I truly believe it's a matter of time (not IF but WHEN): we will find a cure for conditions such as diabetes. When the day comes that a cure is found, if Pharma has been a part of the effort by dedicating funds and resources to finding cures, they can continue to be viable as businesses commercializing cures (nothing wrong with running a business producing vaccines for diseases, if you think of it). If they don't, they will be like the dinosaur Oil company that refused to think of anything but oil... they will become extinct eventually.

Even with a cure available, people will continue to be born with genetic markers that make them more prone to develop conditions such as type 1 or type 2 diabetes. So this could still be an important revenue stream for Pharma as the revenue from treatments starts to die off.

Of course, people who cannot afford the cure would need help to have access to it, much like they currently need patient assistance programs to be able to afford their drugs. Let's not forget about the ones who cannot afford care: they need to be able to get access to the cures.


So... do you guys think such a world would be possible? As John Lennon would say, "You may say I am a dreamer..." but I certainly hope I am not the only one! ;)

Manuel Adolfo Hernandez: 1928 - 2005

Hoy hace cinco años que se fue y su memoria sigue intacta. Esta foto de el, por alguna razon, siempre me lo recordará como era al final...

¡Te queremos, viejo!

140 Twitter Tips by @kyleplacy

Make sure to check out this great slidedeck put together by Kyle Lacy (@kyleplacy on Twitter), author of Twitter Marketing for Dummies, a book in which I had the chance of collaborating last year.

140 Twitter Tips

View more presentations from Kyle Lacy.

The New Ning

Ning just announced a new logo and a new look and functionality on Ning blog.

The new logo is very slick... a big change from the Serif-font logo they had since they started:

The new home page provides a new Discover feature that lets you find new networks by category: a departure from the Search-based approach they had before. For example, when I clicked on the "Causes" category, TuDiabetes was one of the networks listed. When I clicked on TuDiabetes, an assortment of relevant Ning-based diabetes networks appeared, which means the algorithm is doing its job.

If you click on any of the networks surrounding the network in the center, the networks around it will update accordingly, offering a new list of networks that closely match the one highlighted. Very Visual Thesaurus-ish.

I admit I still miss the Search box to allow for a broad discovery of networks, but I like the new Ning overall.

El Juego de Perinola

Durante el viaje que hicimos a Venezuela recientemente le compre a mi hijo un "kit" que traia adentro una perinola, un trompo (sin pabilo), un yo-yo y un gurrufio. El estaba fascinado con todos los juegos pero YO no he dejado de practicar mis "skills" perinoleros desde que compramos el kit. Aqui me ven con la perinola de Santiago:



Los invito a que vean este video de un experto en perinola:

(aunque este otro chamo parece aun mas tigre jugando).

Yo aun no llego a 30 seguidas como en el video, pero si hago 15 seguidas... Seguiremos reportando.

Cuando se apaga la luz en Caracas, ruedan mas cabezas en el entorno de Chavez

Me pareció sumamente interesante leer esta noche la noticia de la destitucion del ministro de Energía Eléctrica, Ángel Rodríguez. Adicionalmente ordenó la suspensión del racionamiento en la Gran Caracas que se dio hoy por primera vez (en el interior del pais ya tiene tiempo sucediendo).

Por una parte, me parece bien que haya sucedido. No se puede dejar que el sistema eléctrico venezolano llegue hasta el punto en que está hoy en día, a pocos meses de que la mitad del pais se quede a oscuras, sin que haya consecuencias de algún tipo. Siendo Rodríguez el ministro responsable por este sector me parece lo correcto que sea destituido.

Sin embargo, no puedo evitar pensar que su destitución tiene más que ver con una decision populista a comienzos de un año electoral que con cualquier otra cosa. Me recordó lo sucedido durante el Caracazo del 89, a raiz del aumento de los precios de la gasolina... ¿Ustedes qué piensan?

Estos últimos meses del gobierno de Chávez están plagados de ironias. Ciertamente es bueno rectificar el camino cuando se determina que está pelado. Pero... la manera en que se implementan las decisiones parece tan POCO pensada, que ¡da verdadera pena!

How I Use Google Wave

Reading this great article about Google Wave by Chris Brogan made me think it would be a good idea to share my own views about the latest piece of the Google Puzzle to become unveiled (well, there have been others but this one seems like the most relevant new tool to come out of Mountain View, CA in a while!)

Like most people you can talk to, Google Wave has been a tremendous help in collaborating remotely with others in project work. Specifically, working with David Edelman around the World Diabetes Day USA initiatives last year became A LOT easier thanks to Google Wave. We'd both be on Wave and speaking through Skype as we wrote on the same wave, creating content together, correcting each other on the spot, literally crafting the entire campaign while saving ourselves rework, follow-up emails and tons of replies/replies/replies.

So, in that respect, conference calls and meetings can turn into work sessions, increasing productivity big time. By having users be on the same Wave they can be more on the same page (that came out a little cheesy!)

What are the big shortcomings I am seeing with Google Wave?

• It's still a bit rough on the edges: it's definitely still an early adopters space, kind of like Twitter back in 2006-early 2007. So not too many people (at least not ALL people) are there, which makes it challenging if you want to collaborate seamlessly.
• It still is very isolated from the rest of the Google suite of products. The two specific products that I MISS seeing it connect with are: Gmail and GTalk. Connecting it with Gmail (notifications about updates on Waves, etc.) is a no-brainer to me (I don't mean easy to implement, but valuable to the user). Connecting it with GTalk, supporting video and audio while being on the same wave would make the use of other complementary tools like Skype or iChat unnecessary, since you have all you need to host your collaborative work session within Google Wave.
• Bots that let you do interesting things within Google Wave besides straightup content co-creation are still a mystery to most. Getting by useful Wave Bots (such as the bot that lets you tweet from within Wave) is still more of an art than something structured, reminding me at times of the dark early days of the web, back in 1994-96, when directories like Yahoo! were the way to find good sites...

In the meantime, while Google Wave continues to evolve and become more robust, check out this useful 101 put together by LifeHacker, to help people make the most of Google Wave.

Add a Tweetmeme Button to Blogger

Since it took me a bit to figure out (it's more straightforward to do in WordPress, not surprisingly), here are the steps you need to follow to add a TweetMeme button to Blogger:

1) Insert the Tweetmeme code as explained here. Before you start banging your head against the wall, note the subtle checkbox (thank you Blogger!) you need to check to uncover the Widget Templates:

2) Then, you want to customize the username that appears by default when people click on your newly inserted Tweetmeme button. Nothing against @tweetmeme, but follow these steps to switch it to your own Twitter username (askmanny, in my case)

Save and VOILA!! Happy tweetmem-ing!

Make Beth Kanter's B-Day wish a reality: help send 30 Cambodian Kids to School

It's an understatement to say Beth Kanter is a legendary person: Beth has touched so many lives on- and offline. She is committed to empowering nonprofits to use Social Media to power Social Networks for change.

I had the honor of meeting her during the Day of Service at NTC 2009. The first things she did was ask that I sign her copy of Ning For Dummies... I was floored!

This is a woman that is followed by more than 300,000 people on Twitter and she wanted to have her copy autographed. THAT is how Beth is! A humble person who is committed to help everyone!

Today, in her  53rd birthday, Beth once more has a selfless wish: to help send 30 Cambodian kids to school. To do so, she needs OUR help, of course! From her birthday blog post:

Make my birthday wish on Facebook come true! Donate $10 or $53 and help Cambodian children.

And don't forget to wish me happy birthday on Twitter too: Happy birthday #beth53! Let's send Cambodian kids to school: http://bit.ly/beth53

PS  The Sharing Foundation has raised almost $23,000 on Facebook.  If my birthday campaign can bring the total to $25,000 by my birthday, I'll kick in $530, $10 for each year.  If my birthday campaign can bring the total to $28,000 by my birthday, I'll kick in $53 for each year or $2800.

So, go ahead spare $10: they can go a LONG way to help send Cambodian kids off to school.

AND BETH, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US!

Thoughts on the Wibiya Toolbar

I just installed the Wibiya toolbar on TuDiabetes. You can see it in the footer of the site on this screenshot:

Seems like a great way to integrate the other social media components into your network on Ning. We've only added so far the following applications:

• Twitter: pointing to @tudiabetes
• Facebook Fan Page: pointing to http://www.facebook.com/DiabetesHF
• YouTube videos: pointing to http://www.youtube.com/DiabetesHands
• Navigation links (to 4 Note pages that serve as a content container of valuable links, etc.)
• Share
• Notifications

I was curious as to who else is using it, what apps have you added to it and why?

Update (Jan. 12, 2009): The Wibiya bar was shortlived. Due to privacy concerns expressed by some members of TuDiabetes, we removed it.

Bilingual Fan Pages: Share with fans in their own terms

Back in November, Facebook launched a VERY useful feature, letting admins of Fan Pages publish based on location and language. Since fans of Diabetes Hands Foundation page are a mix of both, English (2/3) and Spanish (1/3) native speakers, in spite of our best efforts to talk to them in their own language, whenever there were automated wall updates (such as the ones that result from blog feeds or simply accidental posts), there would be those folks that would get upset about the blip and complain: "¡¡¡Español, por favor!!!" if the post was in English or "I don't understand Spanish!!!" if the post was in Spanish.

The solution from Facebook means you have to stop and choose your target language (or target location, if the post is relevant only to a certain geography) before you click the Share button. But the targeted messaging and the satisfied fans your page retains as a result are well worth the extra click! Try it!

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today's Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves

Great starting point to make sense of viral business growth

Adam Penenberg first entered my radar in 2008, when an interview he wrote about Gina Bianchini (co-founder of Ning, a platform that lets you create your own social network) was published in Fast Company. In it, he also interviewed Marc Andreessen and introduced the rest of us to viral loops, showing how Ning was growing virally by virtue of a "double viral loop": every social network creator is a user and every user is a potential network creator. At the time of this review, there are nearly 2 million social networks on Ning.

Penenberg breaks down Viral Loop in three parts: Viral Businesses, Viral Marketing and Viral Network. In the first part, he walks the reader from the original viral models (Tupperware and Ponzi schemes); through a fascinating story of the first online expansion viral loop which led to the introduction of Andreessen's Mosaic and, later, Netscape too; and wraps up with a detailed explanation of Ning, how it accomplishes its viral growth and the elements (technical and cultural) that make viral businesses possible.

The Viral Marketing part, shares stories of Hotmail and the Diet Coke-Mentos Geysers video among others, giving interesting insights into accomplishing viral growth through marketing. The Viral Networks part takes up almost half the book. It dedicates individual chapters to the most successful networks that grew virally: I only wish he had dedicated more space to discussing Twitter.

It was very interesting to read how initial stiff competition between PayPal and eBay (two of the companies covered) resulted in the latter buying the PayPal (dubbed as "the first stackable network" by Penenberg), after eBay attempted to go against them with their own flavor of the service. Viral Loop closes leaving the door open to the future, discussing the search for a new ad unit to adequately fit the new space of viral networks and privacy matters in this new era.

Although I felt there was a missed opportunity to discuss more in depth about the importance of interactions between users (there seemed to be more emphasis on just number of users alone), if you want to understand of how companies like Ning, Facebook and Paypal have grown virally, this is a great starting point. Another title I recommend in connection with this one is Sarah Lacy's Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, another great title that complements Penenberg's book very nicely.