This is what Web 2.0 means

why I’m passionate about this stuff...

social media provides
an architecture for
participation, not just
a new channel for
more of the same

people are using technologies to
get the things they need from
each other, instead of from
organisations.
This is a permanent shift,
regardless of how the individual
technology pieces change

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Online community for professionals - monthly activity
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8

is...
3.27 billion photos
!
te ll ing
news yo u r
e ve n ts cam pa ign ing
m a k ing st o r y
citizen social
w ired
ac t iv ism
fu ndra is ers jour nali sm reporting
www.flickr.com/photos/camera_r wanda/

don’t think of social media as something that
only happens online. It’s a mesh of physical
meet ups & online activities
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mir vettium/3009336746/

enormous accelerating
potential of self-organising
social net works

Ideas that spread through groups of
people are far more powerful than
ideas delivered at an individual
Seth Godin

real engagement:
when people do things
for the cause you didn’t
ask them to do

simple actions
repeated at scale
within a social
net work produce
serendipity

Scott Harrison - Founder, charity: water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy9GgQwZhAA

social media is not a spectator sport
rapid response -> reciprocity
treat every donor like a major donor
one person, one connection, one conversation at a
time

finding the
right tone

social media is forcing charities to make friends
but you cannot always ‘vet’ who wants to become
your friend
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sovietuk/938194366/

the social web is disruptive
“
any net work that can be used to share cat
pictures can be used to bring down a government”
Henry Jenkins

do you have time to participate?
do you have time NOT to participate
http://xkcd.com/386/

Seth Godin & Tom Peters on blogging
http://www.openforum.com/marketing/video_hearitfortheblog.html

Simon’s sister’s dog and the RSPCA
1m+ views since 8 Dec ’08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQCwHluBqFc

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulgi/280789933/

The social web has changed us from
broadcasters pushing out messages and
materials to aggregators who bring
together content
content strategy + participation strategy

OLD WAY: join us because we kick ass
NEW WAY: join us because we want you to kick ass

magic ingredient -> to make connections

social media has the potential to turn donors
& beneficiaries back into real people again

graphic by Dave Gray; used with permission

spend a little less time trying to be
architects and planners

social media is a gardening activity not a
building one - let a thousand flowers bloom

not all will want to contribute
not all need to contribute
many will just be glad to be invited

traditional ‘transactional’
relationships
volunteer donor /
fundraiser
beneficiary / client
campaigner / activist

find out what drives people & how these individual
goals can be realised through your work

to aspirational / donor
democratic relationships (partners too)
volunteer
activist
campaigner / activist
beneficiary / service
user / partner

as supporters increasingly want to
mix giving their time, money,
activism & influence... has the time
come for charities to re-structure
to reflect this?

organisational dependency on hierarchy
adapted from Gobillot, 2006

confine silos to the dustbin
adapted from Gobillot, 2006

we will see more of these...

your brand is the dialogue you have with your
supporters
your brand is what they say it is
http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2084134925/

Join the dance by learning the steps
http://www.flickr.com/photos/breal/472473367/

6 things charities must do to stay
relevant in the 21st century...
1. blend online & offline: online activity -> offline action
2. create experiences that mirror people’s aspirations
3. be generous, put stuff out there & don’t try to ‘own’
the cause
4. democratise your ‘brand’; learn to lose some control...
in return for greater reach
5. aggregate & amplify 000’s of small actions
6. become the gatekeepers of social impact by turning it
into a never-ending story

Thanks for listening...
Steve Bridger
mexicanwave@gmail.com
www.stevebridger.com