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The Networked Scholar
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Social Media is changing the way academics think about their roles and their impact. In this presentation, Alfred Hermida presents a model of the ‘honeycomb’ of social media. Thinking about identity, conversations, sharing, relationships and reputation has real implications for traditional ideas about academic authority. READ MORE
Big Listening
Friday, November 23rd, 2012
‘Big Listening’ is a way of monitoring and sifting through online conversations and content to inform campaigning. Explaining the tools used to track and ‘amplify’ conversations this article demonstrates how Big Listening gives organisations the opportunity to identify key moments, to experiment and ‘fail faster and learn more quickly’, and understand where efforts can be targeted to get the best impact and ROI. READ MORE
Charity Social 100 Index
Friday, September 28th, 2012
Visceral Business have just released their annual report looking at how charities use social media. It notes that organisations value ‘owned and earned’ media above traditional outreach. Their ‘Networked Power Index’ also identifies which charities are both most connected and also able to derive income from their connections with supporters. The Top 10 in this index, along with the wider Top 100 is more diverse than you’d expect. It’s not just the biggest or usual names. READ MORE
Wristbands, the next generation
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
For some people, wristbands represent everything that is wrong with campaigning and charities. For others, they are an easy way for someone to take the first step towards being part of a community. If you’re in the first group, look away now. Coldplay have been using radio-activated wristbands at their concerts. Some campaigning or fundraising group is going to work out how to use them (or something like them), perhaps integrating fundraising, and it is going to be huge. READ MORE
The role of brand for non-profits
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Harvard’s Hauser Center have published a study showing how branding can be used to advance an organisation’s mission and values. This approach looks at the integrity, democracy, ethics and affinities of a brand and how it can be aligned with a theory of change. The case studies cover Amnesty, WWF, Publish What You Pay and the Girl Effect. Useful for a sector that often looks sceptically at brand issues. READ MORE
Handling a crisis
Monday, February 27th, 2012
The Susan G Komen Foundation has been one of the most effective cancer fundraisers in the US over the last decade. In recent weeks, it has found itself in trouble for decisions relating to its funding of Planned Parenthood. This article, titled “What marketing genius thought that up?”, explores why the communications around the crisis appear to have been handled so badly. READ MORE
Making NASA cool
Friday, June 24th, 2011
By law, US agencies (with the exception of the military) aren’t allowed to spend money on advertising. This is one reason why NASA, which could be a popular brand, has such a low-profile and limited public support. This article shows how one fan has built a new following for the organisation through a series of home made promotional videos. The lesson here is obvious. There are people who support your organisation who could a better job promoting it than you do. What are you doing to help them? Read more.
Uncertainty builds trust
Friday, May 13th, 2011
There’s new consumer research on Katya’s blog that discusses how expert endorsements influence trust. The confident sounding expert who has all the answers is less compelling than one who expresses doubts and gives caveats to their opinions. The messenger, in this case, can trump the message. Real but flawed spokespeople are the best voice for your organisation. But then, what do we know? Read more.
Haiti, communities and media, one year on
Friday, January 21st, 2011
The Knight Foundation have published an evaluation assessing how people used technology to assist the relief effort in Haiti. They note successes in i) crowdsourcing information from local people ii) using SMS to keep people up-to-date iii) volunteers creating open-source maps. But they caution against describing the effort as a “new media success story”. Initiatives failed and the most important communications tool was still the radio. Read more.
The socialisation of brands
Friday, October 29th, 2010
This presentation from Universal McCann summarises one of the largest ongoing studies of behaviour on social media. As ever, Firetail’s “value-added” is to tell you which two slides to look at in a 72-page report. We’re all busy people. The most interesting data are on slides 25 and 57, which look at ‘means and motives’ for engaging with social networks and organisations online. It suggests Europeans are less likely to engage online in order to support a cause than any other continent. READ MORE