Date: Thurs September 9th
Time: 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK, 11pm W. Europe for 2 hours
Location: #4change on Twitter
Topic: Developing a core community of #4change network weavers & builders

The background to this week’s topic

During the slow month of August 2010, the #4change chat team announced that we’d been thinking about a transition which moves us away from branding #4change as a specific monthly twitter-based chat, toward a branding of #4change as a model that represents what a loose but structured network of people are doing with social media tools to advance social change.  We invited you to a #4change chat on Twitter to brainstorm with us on Co-creating a Network of #4change chat events.

A small group came out for an initial exchange of positive ideas, and then the core #4change old guard connected once more to hash through where we are at and where we would love to see the #4change network concept go. That we were not able to capture the August #4change chat until after it had slipped into the lifeless land of “older tweets are temporarily unavailable,” strongly validates the one of the main conclusions that the core #4change team arrived to in our last call.

Concluded: Whatever we do with #4change from this point forward will require core community engagement in the planning.

In the lead up to this week’s #4change chat, I am reaching out with intent to folks who have expressed an interest in the future of the #4change network. Please review the latest #change crew thinking on “a plan” below.

I hope to see you on Twitter at the usual time on Thursday, 9 September  (2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK, 11pm W. Europe for 2 hours) for a chat with the #4change hashtag to further build on these ideas. Please post your suggestions for 140 character questions to guide Thursday’s chat in the Comments section.

4 Change Futurist Chat / Strategy

4 Change Network Strategy

Vision (Focus on Tech as Change Catalyst?)
A microblog chat network. An aggregator of microblog chat from, of, around and relating to 4change, change chats, change, changemakers and people for change. Does it have to be related to positive social change and technology, or just social change?

Concluded: Public virtual events about social change at a specific time, all listed in a specific virtual space

• How would a chat qualify to become part of the network?
• How would they fit?
• How would we vet / what is the vetting process?
• What about the chat that aligns to 4change?
• Does it need to be about technology and social change?
• Engagement metrics / interest?
• Alignment statement?
• Consensus? Add ur thoughts.
• What is the value proposition?

Infrastructure

• WordPress
• Drupal
• Joomla
• Other suggestions?

For the microblog chats:

• Twitter
• Identica
• Yammer / yammer communities
• Cover it live
• Skype

Please join us, Thursday 9 August to get involved in shaping and fleshing this exciting plan out further together. See you then!  Please post your suggestions for 140 character questions to help guide our discussion in the comments section below

Details:

Date: Thurs August 9th
Time: 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK, 11pm W. Europe for 2 hours
Location: #4change on Twitter
Topic: Developing a core community of #4change network weavers & builders

As Amy Sample Ward mentioned in today’s announcement of the new Community Building Chats she’s hosting,

The #4Change team that has managed/supported/hosted the monthly chats for over a year now has recently come to a very interesting transition phase – there are quite a few options on the table and many directions that we could take, including a partnership with Internet4Change. I’m really interested in what happens next, and not just because I am part of the team but also because I think we can be a case study in ourselves of the changing landscape and processes of online collaboration. I want to keep these chats associated with the #4change network so that more people can find and participate, we can more directly share across other topics, and these chats can stay bundled together with anything/everything else that comes next in the growth and evolution of #4change, whether as part of the larger Internet4Change or not. Exciting times!

I joined the #4change team in early 2010, at a time when the transition phase had perhaps already started. I’d been actively participating in the monthly #4change chats whenever I could for a while, and no – of course it hadn’t slipped by me that I have owned a domain intended since 2002 for someday housing the kind of dynamically generated and very practical information about using the internet for social change that the #4change chats produce. I think it was Tom Dawkins, at that time known to me as the (long overdue) strategist behind Ashoka’s social media presence, who first tweeted me with the idea of joining the #4change crew “behind the scenes”.  Amy was also very encouraging when I met her face to face for the first time in London in January, as were others on the #4change crew who reached out with encouraging tweets & DMs.

Needless to say, I was thrilled and honored to jump in. Apart from some interesting potential to maybe explore with regard to Internet4Change, I was also excited to learn about the collaborative systems and processes that the #4change crew was using to co-create the monthly chat event together. All in all, so far, I can honestly say it’s been a really tremendous learning experience.

Working with the likes of social media & social change brains like Amy Sample Ward, Tom Dawkins, Todd Pitt, Morgan Sully and Edward Harran on thinking about where the highest value of the #4change chat lies, the kind of space that the #4change hashtag has come to occupy in our tweetstreams, and what it might come to represent in the broader world of micro-blogging events has been exciting – even if we don’t yet have all the answers. What’s clear is that there is a shared desire among the original #4change crew to move beyond thinking about #4change as a product, and start understanding it as a model for participatory online learning in the social change space that is worthy of serious thought toward a sustainable replication strategy.

There are essentially two parts to the challenge of figuring out next steps for the #4change chat concept:

1. the real-time operational part, of convening, planning & hosting global #4change micro-blogging chat events that are really useful to participants, and
2. the content capture strategy part, of making sure that the practical information the #4change chats produce is as accessible and useful as possible to others in the future.

Our starting point is the real time operational part, where one of the first burning questions is WHO will be convening, planning and hosting #4change chats in the future.  What we’d most love to see happen in response to that question is that folks who have been following the #4change chat space will step forward to claim a small piece of this current transition’s success.  What we in the #4change crew foresee in loose terms, as Amy wrote, is the development of #4change as an umbrella-like network of connected, regularly scheduled micro-blogging chats about social change, hosted by people with a particular interest in the theme they are convening the chats around.

• Amy Sample Ward will be hosting a regular monthly #4change chat on Community Building.
• Christina Jordan (that’s me!) might be hosting a monthly #4change chat for Social Enterprise start-ups
• Todd Pitt (@zerostrategist) has been thinking about what a semi-regular #4change chat about Web Strategy would look like
• Which #4change related topic would YOU be willing to host a chat about on a monthly or semi-regularly scheduled basis?

Ideally, we are imagining a #4change network that’s able to co-create & effectively cross-promote a calendar of #4change participatory global learning events that are led by really passionate people using a range of micro-blogging tools, from Twitter to CoverItLive to Skype, to others that offer a sharable archive of our real-time interaction.

In terms of topics that are covered through the #4change network chats, possibly merging with Internet4Change invites exploration of a broader territory, beyond the lines of social media and social change per se. What I hope we will learn more about together under the #4change umbrella is how the larger resource that is the Internet – in it’s many social, economic and communicative facets – can be navigated and used to help co-create, promote and implement real world social change.

So what do you say? The #4change door is open to those who would like to join us in taking the micro-blogging chat concept to another level.

• Is there an area of your work online for social change that you feel passionate enough about to regularly share and harvest some crowdsourced wisdom on?
• Can you think of 3-4 specific chat topics that you would be willing to schedule with the #4change network over the coming months?
• Are you interested in working with us to build a system for knowledge sharing that spreads the practical info that’s shared during the #4change chats to as many people who need it as possible?
• Alternatively, would you like to join us by associating an existing monthly chat you run with the #4change network?

If so, then please get in touch @ChristinasWorld!

Meanwhile, we’d love some initial feedback to this new direction in the mix, as we continue to think about taking these ideas forward. If you have loved participating in the #4change chats in the past, then please join us in the August chat TOMORROW to begin a discussion about co-creating a #4change network into the future. Tom Dawkins and I will be there to co-host an early exploration of what the #4change transition could mean for you.

Details:

Date: August 12th
Time: 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK
Location: #4change on Twitter
Topic: Co-creating a network of #4change chat events

Last week, I had a fun time moderating the June #4Change Twitter Chat on Online Community Building. Thanks to all those who participated or followed along, and to those who will join the conversation now! This wrap up will highlight some of the insights and resources shared during the chat, but, if you’d rather, you can review the full transcript.

Note on platform: During last week’s Twitter chat, not unlike previous chats, we dealt with some major issues around lag and load time. What makes a Twitter chat different than a blog post, for example, is that the conversation is 1. real time, and 2. co-created. A blog post has, like this, one person writing it and sharing it at the end for comments. That’s not to say that conversation can’t be incredible – but even then it is probably still not real time. I’m a huge proponent of blogs (obviously) but didn’t want to give up on the chat when Twitter was misbehaving. So, I turned to CoverItLive as it was a tool I’d used before and knew I could launch quickly. I hope that in the future we don’t have to turn to a back up/alternative, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about the use of CoverItLive this time!

What’s the point in using “global” tools (social media) for local organizing?

From @amoration: I find we’re always both global & local, so many of us travel frequently that virtual organizing tools are essential even for “local” endeavors

From @cosechajusta: I think part of it is just getting a message out there in as many formats as possible, so you reach as broad an audience as possible. Plus, sending emails, mass texts, etc is much quicker than doorknocking or cold calling folks.

From @rootwork: Well, I think it’s about going where people/supporters/potential supporters are. And in each local place, people are on different types of social media, some of which are global in scope. But that doesn’t mean you appeal to everyone on the planet every time you post on Facebook — you target your use of social media.

From @winwinapps: The fact that social media is forming networks and connections allows local to have more global influence. But for now local is still something I use a map and a tank of gas to determine the limits of.

Best Practices:

From @davidahood: Still strongly believe that there has to be an element of face to face/on the ground connection to any successful engagement and mobilisation of any community. At the very least the key central organisers need to have close ties to local organisers so that there is a robust and well understood vision and objectives.

From @neddotcom: one strategy: ease of participation, make it easy.

From @davidahood: agree with @neddotcom. People want to take action on things that they care about – whether it impacts them directly or not. Our “job” is to facilitate that action and make it easier for them to participate. Inspire, empower and facilitate to take action. Social media makes that much easier.

From @rootwork: Social media is inclined toward leadership development — it’s built around people posting, blogging, photographing, videoing, etc. — so it’s good to play to that advantage. Figure out how to bring enthusiastic social media participants into the “inner circle” of planning & organizing.

From @winwinapps: Make it fun. Make the goal easily quantifiable.

From @pelleaardema: I do believe you could draw an ‘engagement pyramid’ for social media too. Not everybody needs to stick with the easy actions, some volunteers may be interested to set up ‘their own’ soc med campaign for your cause

From @neddotom: recap 1. easy 2. fun 3. overall goal 4. action oriented 5. decentralized/open

Tools:

From @rootwork: Facebook has been pretty effective at creating a place for discussion/strategy between events or meetings. Like I mentioned earlier, we use Twitter for live updates from events, and that’s been very successful — lots of positive feedback that people can follow along even if they’re not there. It works really well for a) hearings (legislative or municipal) and b) rallies or direct action. We haven’t used it as much at social events because it’s less clear what to “report” on.

From @pelleaardema: we use twitter, facebook to share what’s happening in the online forums, post announcements, invitations, etc.

Metrics:

From @rootwork: We’re a pretty small organization, with a small staff and budget, so I admit to not doing as much measurement as we should because of lack of time and staff resources. Mostly we measure it in whether we get positive feedback from our supporters and whether they seem engaged (commenting on stuff on Facebook, Retweeting, etc.). However I just found this great how-to on integrating Google Analytics on a Facebook Page, and hope to do that soon. http://www.webdigi.co.uk/blog/2010/google-analytics-for-facebook-fan-pages/

From @pelleaardema: # followers, # retweets, # clickthroughs (bit.ly). also measuring the number of clickthroughs from these sources to the main site (via Google Analytics).

From @neddotcom: WRT measurement, developed term CPA (with friend Andy Bourland (RIP) at first Interactive Advertising conference Monterey 1997. Cost per action. Action = money, sale, clickthrough, unique visitor, download, lead generation, email address, form fill out, questionnaire, etc. Working with Seth Godin at Yoyodyne, we defined measurement as 1) email participants then 2) continued/ongoing engagement

From @davidahood: We tend to track email opening and click through rates, what percentage of people take action from click through and growth in numbers of fans/followers/members. Personally still have a lot to learn about analytics and starting to use more – mostly google. But not everything is measureable…. mostly talking about level/quality of engagement via social media and feedback. will tend to summarise and record most common responses and also a few key ones that might be unexpected for assessment at end of a campaign or activity. if you couldn’t tell already, I’m big on conversation. So I value the interaction I have with people which isn’t always measureable but is undoubtedly invaluable in terms of engagement – expected or otherwise. The most engaged people will sometimes come up with the most amazing and creative ways to take action or influence. A great campaign is one in which people are so engaged it just takes a life of its own. That’s why its important to be clear on vision, objectives and values.

Roles:

From @amyrsward: think in organizing and community building there are always some roles, even if they vary from group to group in how they operate: guides/navigators, campaigners, day-to-day folks, content creators, share-ers etc

From @jonasthanatos: Can communicate effectively.. is persuasive, convincing, has charisma. I think all roles in community organizing have a bit of “willing to try to change the world” in them.

From @pelleaardema: thinking out loud: content creators/organizers, a positive spirit (definitely needed), guide/leader…. and i guess some positive criticism can help as well. Usually generates a lot of energy

From @davidahood: I’d say you need someone who knows the issue inside and out (campaigner), someone who is a media and communications specialist, someone great with web, social media and other technology and someone to organise events and coordinate volunteers and engage directly with members of the community one on one (community organiser?). also helps to have someone who can focus on fundraising. of course, in smaller organisations, this may have to be only two or three people

Successful and Unsuccessful Examples:

From @davidahood: Greenpeace internationally had great success recently with the Nestle campaign getting Nestle to end deforestation in Indonesia for palm oil. The campaign was active online and on the ground in over 22 countries – all with a focus on Nestle’s head office in Switzerland. Social media used to engage local supporters to act globally.

From @pelleaardema: Looking at the local communities I know: a lot of NABUUR communities use twitter to reach out, keep their supporters updated. HAve a look at @arrowwebhosp for example: a slum hospital in Nairobi

From @pelleaardema: we’ve tried to set up a twitter chat to answer concrete questions from local communities in a short timespan. That was not particularly successful. A lot of effort to get pple into the chat, then a lot of confusion, hard to manage the discussion and no concrete outcomes

From @rootwork: We tried to do some end-of-year fundraising through Facebook and Twitter. I think we got $20 But we didn’t plan it out very well, so I think it was more a failure of thinking through an effective strategy than an inability for those tools to enable such a thing.

From @pelleaardema: some NABUUR volunteers recently tried to fundraise for 400 malaria nets, via Twitter and betterplace.org. I think the lack of background on blog etc lead to them raising about 1/3 of the budget. Support info is very important. and good timing indeed

From @rootwork: The Media Mobilizing Project has done a lot here in Philly connecting community organizing to social media and especially video — community media trainings, organizing people to interview each other, etc. http://mediamobilizing.org/ VozMob is another great example of this, organizing immigrant communities in Los Angeles, using mobile phones, photos and video http://vozmob.net/en/about

From @neddotcom: Thomas Kriese as community manager of the now closed Omidyar.net was a great example of quite, decentralized leadership style helping guide a community to make real things happen in the world. Dozens and dozens of community lead projects happened around the world during the networks 3 years.

From @davidahood: San Francisco Zoo has done a wonderful job and engaging and supporting their community. http://www.sfzoo.org/openrosters/view_homepage.asp?orgkey=1859 It all started with one guy at the zoo (his name escapes me) who wanted to connect more meaningfully to all the people coming to see the animals. People now share videos and pics and are great ambassadors/advocates for the zoo and it’s program.

From @pelleaardema: A very small, local initiative: 3 community projects in Uganda, trying to conquer malaria http://twitter.com/TweetANet

Follow #4Change on Twitter or check out the #4Change blog to join the monthly conversations.

Last night’s #4Change chat was put to a challenge by Twitter itself not working and keeping up, so we moved over to a CoverItLive chat.  You can review the transcript here: June #4Change Chat – Community Organizing

Thanks to all those who participated! I’ll be posting a wrap up of key points and case studies this weekend.

I love community organizing. It’s true! It’s something that I am energized by, passionate about, and take so much pleasure in helping others do well, too. I’ve had experience organizing communities offline in local communities, and organizing community online – but the kind of organizing that inspires me the most is combining online and offline. Social media tools work because they are powered by people, and people are social. And when we get connected, and can connect our networks with other networks, we get even more social and have huge potential to make great things happen.  My work with NetSquared and with Social by Social has helped shape so many of my beliefs about community organizing and has offered the opportunity to meet so many others doing it well.

Lots of organizations, campaigns, and even individuals are now using social media tools to organize online and offline – bringing local communities together in new and powerful ways.

This month’s #4Change chat takes on the topic of using social media tools for community organizing – and I hope you’ll join us!

Details:

Date: June 10th
Time: 2 pm PST, 5 pm EST, 10 pm UK
Location: Twitter! #4Change
Topic: Community Organizing

June #4Change Chat Questions:

To keep the two-hour chat on topic, I’ll be helping guide conversation by using some of the questions below to drive us to share ideas, examples and resources. If you want to take a peak at where we may go in the conversation, review the questions below.

1. What kind of communities do you currently work with and what kinds of social media tools do they use?
2. What’s the point in using “global” tools (social media) for local organizing?
3. What strategies are important to keep in mind when using social media in local organizing?
4. What tools have you or your communities found useful for growing or organizing, hosting or distributing?
5. What tools have been most unsuccessful?
6. What are the online community organizing best practices from your experience?
7. What roles are important in online community organizing?
8. What are your favorite examples or case studies where this is really working?
9. What metrics are valuable in measuring success of social media tools for organizing?

You can also suggest questions or topic areas to be included by leaving a comment on this post!

How to Participate

1. If you want to contribute to the conversation, you’ll need to have a twitter account (it’s free).
2. To follow the conversation (whether you are planning to contribute or not), use http://search.twitter.com or another application to search on Twitter for #4Change
3. Jump in to the conversation by adding #4Change to your Twitter message
4. Feeling brave? Check out TweetChat – it’s a great application that integrates with your Twitter account and makes chats more fun! You can turn it off after the chat.

Conversations and Presentations

For some recent thoughts and best practices on community building, check out:

• How our tools define “Community”
• Sustainable Community Building
• Return on Engagement for your Community
• Bringing Community Organizing into Online Campaigns
• Building Stronger Online Communities without Losing Your Sanity
• Crowdsourcing: Community vs Crowd
• Online Community Building: Gardening vs Landscaping

New to #4Change? Learn More:

To learn more about #4Change monthly twitter chat go to the #4Change Blog, read about #4Change and search twitter for #4Change. To participate just join in twitter conversation from anywhere in the world.

Bringing web 2.0 / social media technologies into the businesses and organizations can be a massively disruptive change. Engaging in Enterprise 2.0 can change workflows, communications, software development cycles, knowledge management, governance models, organizational hierarchy, management styles, culture/sub-culture, worker mentalities, intelligence/research, processes, security protocols, human resources, policies/guidelines, recruiting/retention, pr/marketing and many more aspects of the enterprise. But implementing social business software is only one piece of doing Enterprise 2.0, fundamentally transforming the organization socially and getting end users to adopt the new tools to achieve enterprise wide adoption is where the change challenge happens. Don’t let the marketing hype fool you, the heart of E2.0 is hard radical organizational change.

May #4Change Topic = Enterprise 2.0

The #4Change Topic for May 2010 is Enterprise 2.0! The Twitter chat will occur on Thursday, May 13th 2010 at 5PM EST / 2PM PST US. The #4Change Crew would like to welcome a new #4changer we are glad to have on board Megan Murray /@MeganMurray who is going to be co-hosting this twitter chat with Todd / @ZeroStrategist this month. Meg has been leading E2.0 change and doing community management on E2.0 campaigns for years and brings a wealth of hands on change knowledge to the conversation. As always, in keeping with the tradition of these chats we want to keep things open, organic, and dynamic.

E2.0 Definition:

Enterprise Social Media (Enterprise 2.0) the use of web 2.0 technologies (Enterprise Rich Internet Applications – ERIA / Software as a Service – SaaS) in the context of the enterprise, for business or commercial purposes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0

#4Change May Twitter Chat Questions:

1. What does changing the enterprise really mean?
2. Can we break out of the E2.0 echo chamber to make real and lasting change? What are the best roads to influence?
3. How can I reach the tipping point and get social investment from the enterprise?
4. What are the real pitfalls in E2.0?
5. Where should and shouldn’t we let go of “control” (control/security/IC control)?
6. How can I introduce the idea of real cultural change without insulting or alienating the current culture?
7. What metrics are important to E2.0 success?
8. How can we address the security question?

New to #4Change? Learn More:

To learn more about #4Change monthly twitter chat go to the #4Change Blog, read about #4Change and search twitter for #4Change. To participate just join in twitter conversation from anywhere in the world.

Disclosure – This post is cross-posted on Zero Strategist and #4Change Blog

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• Skills for the Organization 2.0 change agent (gautamblogs.com)

First of all my apologies for the delay in completing this wrap-up. I’m still posting it on the principle of better late than never.

On March 18 the #4Change Twitter Chat took on the topic of ‘How Social Media Can Enhance Events.’ This topic seemed particularly apropos with the chat taking place immediately after the annual SXSW takeover of Twitter, and soon before the Non-profit Technology Conference and Skoll World Forum, two other conferences with an oversized online presence. Social media at events has also been on my mind recently with Ashoka hosting Tech4Society in Hyderabad India and the Ashoka Future Forum in Washington DC, both more social media-enabled than any previous Ashoka-organized events.

It is almost hard to imagine these days a significant event not having a social media component, whether this is simply individuals in the room tweeting or a resourced effort by the host. So the question is not, as it once was, “will social media be created?” but rather “will this social media enhance the event?”

As Christina Jordan posed in the pre-chat blog post, What’s the potential benefit of using social media to cover events? For whom?

Numerous benefits of a conscious strategy to utilize social media at events were suggested by chat participants including taking the stories and examples being shared to a wider (and more diverse) audience, allowing organizers and the cloud see what is resonating with attendees and creating a back-channel for attendees to interact and debate, as well as allowing those not in attendance to feed their points of view into this discussion. This can often allow people to say what isn’t being said out-loud in the room, as well as giving those unable to attend physically some sense of participating in and benefiting from the event. Social media can also assist with documentation, capturing key thoughts and currents during the day and allowing them to be looked back over afterwards. For the vast majority of events there will be no mainstream media coverage: only social media will carry and record the outcomes of these gatherings beyond the immediate attendees.

Concerns were also expressed however at the possible distraction and disruption at events, with TED pointed out as an example of an event that doesn’t allow tweeting during sessions.

So what are the key elements of a successful event social media strategy? 4 key elements were identified: Preparation; Resourcing; Aggregation and; Integration.

1. Preparation. Preparation, as with most things, is critical to get the maximum impact from your social media efforts. Tags should be identified and distributed to all participants beforehand, inviting them to take part in creating content on the day. Create groups for photos and videos to be shared and be careful to choose a twitter hashtag not already in use. If you’re doing live streaming test thoroughly. Prepare widgets for deployment.

2. Resourcing. It requires a dedicated person to effectively create social media at an event, whether they are live tweeting, live blogging or uploading video and photos. Multiple dedicated people will be required to do all of these things. Having at least one person exclusively focused on the online conversation allows multiple threads to be pulled together and background information identified. For example at the recent TEDxAshokaU event I was tweeting links to the profiles of the Ashoka Fellows as they spoke, providing crucial additional information to anyone intrigued by the quotes emanating from the room.

3. Aggregation. With most successful events generating a considerable volume of diverse social content aggregating this into one place where it can be easily accessed is critical. Most people felt that this was a job best done manually by a discerning staffer or volunteer (another resourcing issue). An example of this sort of aggregation is the Tech4Society coverage page, updated daily during the event with new blog posts and videos and containing a Twitter widget displaying the #tech4soc stream.

4. Integration. If you are integrating social media into the live event experience it needs to be seamless and well managed. Screens with running twitter streams can be very distracting to participants and presenters. On the other hand they can also provide a platform for sourcing questions, generating discussion or even choosing the agenda. If you are capturing video during the day can this be presented back to participants at the end of the day as a way of summarizing proceedings?

Video was touted as an increasingly important tool in all its forms: live streaming, rapidly-produced interviews and audience reactions and better-produced videos of presentations ala TED. It was also pointed out however that video poses particular bandwidth issues, making it inaccessible to view or event get online in many parts of the world. As a real-world example of this we were unable to upload videos as planned from Tech4Society in India due to bandwidth limitations.

At the end of the chat participants were asked for their takeaways, as is customary:
@Nidhi_C: takeaway: when planned, #socmedia can play role of a valuable audience participant, add spice to discussion, & connect
@liadavide: Takeaway: SM is a great tool but still has some way to go especially in areas with poor telecom infrastructure
@karitas: takeaway: if prepared/promoted right, SM can bring live/remote participants 2gether, & add fun/useful layers 2 experience.
@tashjudd: takeaway – social media has fundamentally changed who audience of an event can be, possibilities are much wider now
@christinasworld: my takeaway – preplanning of a #socialmedia strategy is really important
@amysampleward: takeaway: sm at events has 3 audiences: presenters, present audience, remote audience. create value in/out 4 all.

My takeaway? An event without a social media strategy is a wasted opportunity. Events now provide a platform much bigger than the event itself, allowing more people to participate in the conversation and experience elements of the content. While live experiences are unique and essential social media is a lever to push the impact of the event beyond those in attendance.

Additional resources:
Social Media Enabling Conferences: A Tech4Society Case Study (Netsquared)
A Few Reflections from SXSW Crowdsourcing Panel (Beth’s Blog)
3 Ways Live Events Help Online Communities (Mashable)
Social Reporters toolbox (Delicious)

In the wake of South by Southwest in Austin, and in anticipation of some exciting social media and social change gatherings coming up on the 2010 events calendar, we thought it  could be useful to explore How Social Media Can Enhance Events as the topic for the March #4change chat.

I’m excited! Not only is this a topic that I personally want to learn more about, but it’s going to be my first time as part of the #4change collective to co-host a chat, together with Tom Dawkins (@tomjd). #Gratitude in advance for your patience, as I find the right groove!

Some pre-chat food for thought:

My new Mac’s thesaurus offers several alternative terms we could use instead of enhance:

enhance (verb) increase, add to, intensify, heighten, magnify, amplify, inflate, strengthen, build up, supplement, augment, boost, raise, lift, elevate, exalt; improve, enrich, complement.

Most of us would probably agree that social media indeed can enhance offline events, but does it always? For whom?  The thesaurus also tells me the antonym to enhance is diminish. Can social media also diminish offline events?

There are so many tools we can use to try and enhance offline events. What we hope to explore in Thursday’s chat is how.

#4Change March Chat Questions:

1. What’s the potential benefit of using social media to cover events? For whom?
2. What makes a good events coverage strategy?
3. Are there examples of specific events that really did the social media piece well?
4. Which Social Media tools are best suited for covering live events?
5. How does online reporting affect the experience of participants at an event.
6. Is it possible to imagine online participants actually engaging in offline events remotely through social media, or will there always be a disconnect?
7. How can the continuation of conversations held at live events best be continued online? Is it realistic or unrealistic to expect that they will?

Join the Twitter chat:

If you want to contribute to the conversation, you’ll need to have a twitter account (it’s free).

• To follow the conversation (whether you are planning to contribute or not), use http://search.twitter.com or another application to search on Twitter for #4Change
• Jump in to the conversation by adding #4Change to your Twitter message
• Feeling brave? Check out TweetChat – it’s a great application that integrates with your Twitter account and makes chats more fun! You can turn it off after the chat.
• Please introduce yourself in 1 tweet at the start or when you join in

Details

Date: March, 18th 2010
When: 2 – 4 pm US Pacific Time, 5 – 7 pm US  Eastern Time, 9pm – 11pm London, UK (NOTE: check your local time carefully, as the US changed to daylight savings time earlier this week)
Where: Twitter (search for  #4Change)
Topic: How Social Media Can Enhance Events

Last week I facilitated the #4Change global twitter chat with Tom on Cause Fatigue. It was an awesome one. When the chat ended I was left with what I have just call in the past “the feeling.” The purpose of this article is to explore exactly what that “feeling” is and why it is important.

Describing “The Feeling” of A Great Twitter Chat

When I participate in or moderate a twitter chat that has gone well I experience a range of emotions which I will attempt to describe here:

Convergence - Diverse and distributed individuals coming together to make something common happen in real time.

Discovery - The exploration of ourselves, each other, our thoughts, common issues, topics, information, links, articles, books, videos and other resources which are not always know by any one individual, expert or practitioner.

Conversation - Intense, thoughtful, deep conversation about something which is of interest.

Connection - Forging lasting connections because of meaningful interactions around common actions.

Collaboration - The contributions of individuals to co-create something together, which is otherwise not possible.

Serendipity - The experience of encountering “randomness” or “pseudo-randomness” (I don’t think they are random at all but that is for another article), the bridging of degrees of social, societal, organizational and global separations.

Openness – An open door through a relatively open platform, though which any peer can step at anytime. All opinions welcome, wanted and valued.

Rich Discussion – When participating in the face to face chats with different sized groups there are certain physical limits. With the microblog medium it is possible to participate in multiple conversations or conversation threads at once. The conversation can converge, diverge and re-converge whenever it needs to. A more rich conversation can happen where once it was limited physically.

Learning - Often times when joining in a microblog chat (or any meeting for that matter), people think or believe that they may already know a good deal about a subject or topic. But through the virtual convening of eclectic individuals, perspectives and backgrounds in open conversation a greater truth, knowledge or experience has the potential to reveal itself to all.

The feeling that I have described above is the not like any other feeling I have experienced in life. To be completely honest it can indeed be quite compelling, borderline intoxicating. It is this overwhelming sense of so many “things” mashed together that it becomes a nearly nonsensical and indescribable emotional mashup. But the first time you feel it, you just know somewhere deep inside and something changes in you forever. It is a sense of awe and amazement, the one you first experienced as a kid discovering the world.

Your “reality” is not the same as it was before feeling that (social media working). You don’t look at things or think about things the same way that you did before. The mind begins to race with the possibility of change on a much grander scale then imagined in previous moments. The ideas come in waves like tsunamis, time becomes some elusive thing that you need more of to make so much more happen. Something is working and happening on a higher level that was not really possible before these social web technologies emerged and took flight on the Internet a half a decade ago.

Why I Participate In #4Change Microblog Chats

Everyone has their own reason for joining different events, conversations and happenings both virtual and real. The reason I participate in the #4Change Twitter Chats (microblog chats) is because of two things which I know to be at the heart of social media and social change:

1. The Feeling (As described above)
2. My Peers (#4Change team/fellow tweeps)

Disclosure – This article has been cross posted to Zero Strategist

Thanks everyone who attended or contributed to February’s #4Change Chat on the topic of Cause Fatigue, the chat was indeed interesting and lively! This is not at complete transcript of the conversation, but rather a curated recap which aims to tie the conversation threads together.

If you have any additional ideas, insights, resources or writings on cause fatigue please leave comments, post links or use the #4change hashtag to tweet your post! You can always review the entire chat by searching the #4Change hashtag on twitter.

Q1. How do you define cause fatigue?

amycarolwolff Cause fatigue is what occurs when communication about an issue becomes uncreative and stagnant.

tomjd I think Cause Fatigue is when stories no longer resonate – ppl get used to issue, it comes normal, acceptable. Loss of outrage.

zerostrategist @amycarolwolff A1: I think #cause #fatigue is when you dread having to support a cause that you really love supporting

realize_ink @tomjd Agreed. I’d add that it’s what happens when comms re: issue no longer tap their core values. Values may’ve changed

zerostrategist @tomjd A1: I think Cause Fatigue is when people lose all passion to act for a cause to which they are dedicated or do believe in

Q2. What are some of the contributing factors to cause fatigue?

tomjd Another factor is loss of belief in change. Ppl accept status quo. Consider all parties “interest groups”, all equally suspicious.

zerostrategist A2: Inefficiency in general, lack of a cohesively communicated & executed strategy, few resources can be big factors in c-fatigue

memeshift @zerostrategist I think *attention* is just such a resource internally (org)/externally(supporters)

tomjd @memeshift Totally agree with “attention” as a resource to be more carefully managed. This is why I Q all the big giving comps

tomjd @memeshift like Chase, Pepsi, etc – when orgs r repeatedly mobilizing supporters for these comps their attention resource dwindles

zerostrategist A2: Also lack of top cover, the absence of strong leadership or change champions can lead to cause drift, a lack of direction

realize_ink @tomjd Good pt re: Chase & Pepsi, etc. More collaboration b/t companies might cr8 less fatigue, more change in long run.

zerostrategist @memeshift Couldn’t agree more I have seen lack of internal engagement increase the turnover rates of organizations

memeshift @tomjd keen call, man. Attention is valuable. If something *really* important comes along, than what?

tomjd @memeshift Exactly. And while some orgs do win big from these comps most end up w nothing except lost time/energy

memeshift @zerostrategist leaders to step up. Absolutely. They gotta be passionate too.

Q3. What strategies can be used to reinvigorate support for a cause when supporters get burned out?

tomjd @zerostrategist Making it personal is important – sharing personal stories, not just statistics, not just portraying victims

memeshift @tomjd dig that – not just portraying victims. Easy to take dignity away, difficult to restore.

yellowbuzz Perhaps getting away frm the ‘victim’ language is crucial. “victim” objectifies people in need – taking away thr agency

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz For sure the language you choose to use matters deeply should be customized for audience, empowering & calls to action

yellowbuzz @memeshift @zerostrategist Collaboration with other orgs/networks/indiv = a solution cure Cause Fatigue?

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz Yes I def think that collaboration + cross pollination with other orgs/networks/indiv = a strategy 4 stopping fatigue

memeshift @zerostrategist cross training #4change sounds like it could be a new cause in itself!

zerostrategist @memeshift Heck yes! The great thing is that cross training partners would learn the pit falls, instead of learning the hard way

realize_ink A3: Obvious answer is refined, more targeted messaging so it really resonates. Also need the *right* messengers.

zerostrategist @memeshift @tomjd I think that burning social capital on contests / repeat mobilizing can cause burnout fatigue + diminish brand

realize_ink So what’s keeping orgs from collaborating more if we know non-collab leads to c-fatigue? Brand protection? Is it worth it?

karitas A3 celebrating successes of partner causes brings positivity across your movement

zerostrategist @karitas RE A3 Making a point to celebrate victories & important milestones helps to re-energize across partner causes

meshugavi A3 Bring emotion and faces into the way you communicate your mission.

karitas @realize_ink its about going from a legacy mindset to a Put-yourself-out-of-business mindset. Collab is essential to meeting mission

realize_ink @karitas Spot on! Wish more ppl, orgs, org leaders would share this view

karitas @realize_ink me too! And when we don’t see how much our partners are doing, new orgs pop to “fill in the gap” and stratify support

dpmichel 3. look to what is resonating and how your cause fits into that

zerostrategist A3: Rotating your people across different sub-causes & partner campaigns can keep them fresh + lend more perspectives & ideas

zerostrategist A3: Making sure everyone gets + are taking adequate vacation & sick time when they are ill goes a long way to improve participation

neddotcom “strategies” used to reinvigorate support? Impact reporting. Traction and results. Quick feedback loops. Open collaboration.

Q4. When do you expand your campaign to outreach to new supporters?

tomjd @zerostrategist I would think those would be 2 diff campaigns – one for existing supporters, one for new. Need diff communication

yellowbuzz @tomjd maybe the distinction is not so hard. a organizer-operator-supporter-peripheralsupporter-propagator continuum? #4change

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz Like the idea here of the O-O-S-PS-P continuum, wish the there was no distinction. But there is much of the time.

realize_ink I’m with @tomjd – sounds like 2 diff campaigns w diff messenging and messenger, but same ask #4Change

zerostrategist @realize_ink @tomjd They do require different comm strategies as long as the objectives are different, but combine what you can.

Q5. When do you contract your campaign to focus on the supporters you do have?

MeganMurray A5 #4Change Consistently.. but with respect to their time. Consistency is important.

zerostrategist @MeganMurray RE A5 Meaning that keeping the campaign effective, requires continuous trimming? No big cuts or sudden drops?

MeganMurray @zerostrategist #4Change Moderating vs. trimming. These are relationships. They operate in waves, you have to respond to those rhythms.

Q6. What tools can be used to keep communities engaged in the midst of cause fatigue?

memeshift @zerostrategist A6 a simple hello (Tweet, email, txt, call) before you even need anything, I reckon.

socialedge #4Change chat is pondering What strategies can be used to reinvigorate support for a cause when supporters get burned out? RT’d by hnajam

socialedge #4change @bbravo http://bit.ly/aUOJLZ @hildygottlieb @kanter http://bit.ly/9fTkU8 great resources for #socialmedia cure for cause fatigue

realize_ink @socialedge Gr8 @kanter post, but even Soc Med fatigue exists. I hear “not another FB fan page!” a lot. Need variety of pltfrms

realize_ink @zerostrategist A6: communication that doesn’t involve an ask. And, plenty of thank yous along the way.

zerostrategist @realize_ink I like ur A6 I think that a soft approach tends to be more effective too! TYs are critical.

yellowbuzz A6: a blog that archives work in progress. Documenting process engages communities, interested or semi-interested

MeganMurray A6: Reward mechanisms and balanced engagement (meaning = ratio of rally & fun)

rootwork A6: Describing your past successes – storytelling!

memeshift Yes! RT’d @rootwork

MeganMurray @rootwork Good one! Excellent point.

rootwork @MeganMurray To me, organizational/movement histories are one of the key things that create sustainability, but often aren’t done

MeganMurray @rootwork So true. Generally as a species we have a lil trouble learning from our past.

realize_ink A6: opportunity for change agents to “own” part of the process. Implement their own ideas working toward common goal.

memeshift Yes! RT’d @real

meshugavi A6 Celebrating small victories

tomjd @meshugavi And identifying clearly how the work of supporters contributed to those victories

insearchofsanuk Say Thank you. Often.

meshugavi @tomjd yes @350 does a great job of that

zerostrategist The KISS answer to A6: #blogs #wikis #forums #mashups #geo #microblogs #socialnetworks #socialbookmarks #cloudcomputing #badges

yellowbuzz @zerostrategist How about something in-person, like an ice cream social?

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz You know funny that you bring that up because cupcake socials seem to be a #socialmedia #meme & have raised a lot of $$

yellowbuzz @zerostrategist Yes – FOOD #4change! We’ve mobilized lots of artists/enthusiasts/supporters with pancakes, donuts, cupcakes, scones indeed!

memeshift @yellowbuzz nice! My current FB tagline: “media arts + pizza”

realize_ink @zerostrategist I’m a huge fan of collaboration & working w multiple groups 2 time R asks & vary them so ppl dont get overloaded

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz Something tasty (pastries, microbrews, eats) can be a powerful force to converge, mobilize, #4change and combat #cause #fatigue

realize_ink @yellowbuzz @memeshift I know I’m always motivated by food. And, hey, I’m most causes’ target audience.

realize_ink @socialedge Yes! Almost unusual to hear “offline” contact these days, but still so necessary. Long live meet-ups!

zerostrategist A6: Use the tech tools sparingly (cause it can be the source of the burnout), have real world events that allow people to just be

realize_ink A6: Also fond of influencer strat. Citizen ambassadors (non-celebrities!!) who champion the issue & inspire others 2 take action.

rootwork @realize_ink Yes – and thus, map your network of support first (shades of @valdiskrebs)

rootwork lesson #4change RT @echoditto Ben Wikler fr @avaaz on tcktcktck “Key to doing this effectively is listening to ppl you’re trying to inspire”

Q7. How do economic conditions effect cause fatigue?

rootwork #4change A7: People who have to work more are (or at least feel that they should be) volunteering less

yellowbuzz @rootwork true, although unemployment can lead to more time for reflecting/mobilizing/getting-involved.

rootwork @yellowbuzz I think it depends on your socioeconomic base. Those with means can volunteer for awhile, it’s true.

rootwork @yellowbuzz NYT actually wrote about the phenomenon of well-to-do unemployed volunteering at higher rates http://nyti.ms/9CPyuL

zerostrategist #4Change A7: Those with jobs will be expected to more for less…or else! Those who don’t will become more become more active!

yellowbuzz A7: economic downturn motivates ppl to question status quo and existing social condition (one hopes). An opportunity #4change. 2 optimistic?

zerostrategist A7: …as a result #change #fatigue will go up on both sides of the cause, creating pressure + stress, but also making opportunity

socialedge @pamelahawley tips on engaging folks as volunteers http://bit.ly/a7cLb6 in bad econ-be part of something greater, gain new skills

Q8. How can cause fatigue be prevented?

insearchofsanuk Best strategy is not to let them get burnt out. Work #4change for the right reasons and dont let supporters loose sight of those.

realize_ink @zerostrategist A8: keep campaign realistic and asks under control. And, whenever possible, collaborate, collaborate, collaborate.

yellowbuzz A8: streamlined mission statement with clearly defined goals. a strong communication network that allows flexibility/feedback.

zerostrategist @yellowbuzz You are right Wendy if you don’t have those things lined up, #cause #fatigue will ensue…the trick is to be dynamic 2

zerostrategist A8: I think an emphasis on the informal tends to be a most effective way to involve and educate is what lasts over the long term

dwightturner Variety. Have diverse ways people can participate. Know the signs of burn out. Make people take breaks.

zerostrategist I think @dwightturner is right on this one, the secret to preventing #cause #fatigue is to know the signs and know your people

yellowbuzz @dwightturner totally agreed. Spread the networks widely. a #4Change diaspora? agents in various locations/backgrounds can refresh org

realize_ink A8: Needs to be fairly organic. Let change agents, not org, play key role. Org sets goals, agents can guide tactics, platforms.

yellowbuzz A8: media/event-detox – reconnect with close friends and family – reevaluate/reflect life’s mission
Q9. How do you “recharge” when completely fatigued?

rootwork Is Q9 about us as organizers/staffers, or how we encourage supporters/volunteers to recharge?

realize_ink @zerostrategist are we talking internal recharge?

zerostrategist @realize_ink Totally an open question answer it however YOU like!

realize_ink A9: If internal, I’d again lead with the thank yous. Not nearly enuf expressed to staff, organizers.

rootwork A9: Valentines to your volunteers!

insearchofsanuk Why did you participate to begin with? Clear distractions & let the initial energy be used to reinvigorate you.

realize_ink A9: Personally, I go back to root source & remind myself why I’m championing the cause in the 1st place. Works wonders!

insearchofsanuk @realize_ink whoa. we tweet alike

zerostrategist A9: The way I recharge #4Change: disconnect from technology, be with family, friends, nature, ocean and just being me http://bit.ly/aMySug

socialedge “what if we could create a way to give back that doesn’t feel like sacrifice at all?” http://bit.ly/dvOxr7

realize_ink A9: Our shop has volunteer days -use work days 2 cr8 hands-on change. Often gets folks recharged. Goes back to letting agents lead.

realize_ink @zerostrategist Yes! Falling off the grid is a fabulous recharge. Think we all need to do it more often.

zerostrategist Lastly I want to dedicate today / this month’s #4Change Chat to @engagejoe who is currently recharging in the mountains of Vermont

Chat Resource Roundup

I know everyone appreciates case studies and links to resources that #4Change Chat participants share. While the conversation is happening not everyone has the time to click through and read all of the resources. So here is a round up of the relevant links shared:

Disaster Donations in the age of Disruption -

http://philanthropy.blogspot.com/2010/01/disaster-donations-in-age-of-disruption.html

Why We are in the Age of the Citizen Philanthropist –

http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/citizen-philanthropist/

Issue Fighting for Attention and Funds in an Aware World –

http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/funding/issue-fatigue-2013-fighting-for-attention-and-funds-in-an-aware-world-1

Chase Community Giving Contest Ends With Yet More Controversy –

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/01/chase-giving-contest-winners-announced-amidst-controversy-.html?cid=6a00d8345159b069e20120a801b3a7970b

Without a Job, but Working on the Campaign Trail –

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/nyregion/08campaigns.html?_r=1

Help Maximizing Volunteer Impact -

http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/business-building/archive/2009/09/10/help-maximizing-volunteer-impact

Issue Fatigue: What’s The Cure? –

http://havefundogood.blogspot.com/2009/02/issue-fatigue-whats-cure.html

The Social Enterprise Conference: Reflections on Service –

http://www.socialearth.org/reflections-on-service-and-the-social-enterprise-conference

Disclosure – This post is cross-posted on Zero Strategist and #4Change Blog