Mobilizing your social network

Mobilizing your social network Or, is Malcolm Gladwell full of it? BlogWorld Expo Oct. 16, 2010 JD Lasica Founder, Socialbrite.org jd@socialbrite.org

Today’s hashtag Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Prakhar Tweet this panel! Hashtag: #bwe10mob

‘Why the revolution will not be tweeted’ “We seem to have forgotten what activism is. ... The kind of activism associated with social media isn't [deep] at all. The platforms of social media are built around weak ties.” — Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker, Oct. 4, 2010

Gladwell is half right ... ... when he points to the shortcomings of social media as a stand-alone answer. Evidence: Social media is not stopping the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji Social media did not stop the military junta in Myanmar from brutally crushing the Saffron revolution Median amount raised on ‘The Cove’ Causes is tiny. Eg: Save Darfur Coalition's 1.2 million members have donated avg. of 9 cents apiece.

But Gladwell is wrong... ... when he scoffs at the power of social networks to create ‘strong-tie connections’ and effect real change. Greenpeace used social media to force a multinational corporation (Nestlé) to reverse course and withdraw from a (real) endangered rainforest.

And wrong... charity:water has funded 2,500 projects in 16 countries, enabling 1.1 million people to get clean water. Facebook group One Million Voices Against FARC mobilized 10 million people to march against FARC in charity:water: making a difference hundreds of cities in Colombia on the ground in Honduras on Feb. 4, 2008. Lots of other examples we’ll hear today.

And wrong ... National Wildlife Federation raised $100,000 using social media after Gulf Oil Spill. Red Cross’s Text Haiti campaign raised $32 million. Oxfam UK received $50,000 via link in YouTube video posted day after Haiti quake. Visible Children Scholarship Program: 700 kids in Uganda receiving scholarships & mentoring.

5 steps to mobilize your cause 1. Set clear goals and define your metrics 2. Begin with conversations, not an ‘ask’ 3. Tell stories — frame your issue with a personal story that packs an emotional wallop 4. Create a clear, compelling call to action 5. Connect online actions with offline activities http://bit.ly/12steps-flyer

Relax! Creative Commons BY photo on Flickr by Tom@HK http://bit.ly/mobilize Resources, tutorials, articles on fundraising & more

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Mobilizing your social network

by JD Lasica on Oct 13, 2010

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Mobilizing your social network — Presentation Transcript