I have so much to say about Beth and Allison's "The Networked Nonprofit" session that I couldn't fit it all into just one post. Plus, I am trying to get up to Andrew Sullivan's suggested 20 posts in one day. I kid, I kid.
One of the other things that was talked about during the session was how transparency of an organization and how that impacts the communication strategy. Transparency is so important because there is so much competition for donors and so many competing organizations that being transparent has become increasingly important.
Being transparent will hopefully help organizations to figure out what their "competitive advantage" is. This sounds really business-y, but it's true. There are millions of nonprofits all competing for donors. If the nonprofit doesn't have a clear idea of where it is going and how it is getting there, it will not be spending donations most efficiently. Transparency within an organization gives it more accountability to the donors, and force the organizations to find their niches.
Showing posts with label Allison Fine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allison Fine. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
NTEN Conference, Part 2
At the remote conference at Convio, we were able to choose some of our sessions. There were a couple that I desperately wanted to go to, and luckily they were one of the ones chosen for Convio to stream. I geeked out a little bit over the fact that I was able to attend "The Networked Nonprofit," which was led by Allison Fine and Beth Kanter. I had read Allison's book "Momentum" and LOVED it, and pretty much every informational interview that I have ever gone on has recommended to follow Beth's blog, since she is THE expert on social media.
One of the biggest brain grapes that I got from this session was that "Listening is the gateway drug for social media." Whoa--this ties in to what Andrew Sullivan was saying about how blogging is a one-on-one conversation, that social media is really SOCIAL, it's not all a one way street. Listening does so many things for the social organization--it allows the organization to not only find where its constituents are, but also to figure out HOW to interact with them. The session talked about how there is a "great learning in reflection"--how organizations need to assess ideas, look and see what works and if they don't give them a "joyful funeral" to say goodbye.
But doing this means that there must be a culture of innovation, of not just forging ahead blindly, but figuring out what to do and giving it up if it's not working. That's a lot of pride to swallow. If this isn't part of the nonprofit's culture, taking small steps in that direction will definitely help--but big steps would probably be better. :)
One of the biggest brain grapes that I got from this session was that "Listening is the gateway drug for social media." Whoa--this ties in to what Andrew Sullivan was saying about how blogging is a one-on-one conversation, that social media is really SOCIAL, it's not all a one way street. Listening does so many things for the social organization--it allows the organization to not only find where its constituents are, but also to figure out HOW to interact with them. The session talked about how there is a "great learning in reflection"--how organizations need to assess ideas, look and see what works and if they don't give them a "joyful funeral" to say goodbye.
But doing this means that there must be a culture of innovation, of not just forging ahead blindly, but figuring out what to do and giving it up if it's not working. That's a lot of pride to swallow. If this isn't part of the nonprofit's culture, taking small steps in that direction will definitely help--but big steps would probably be better. :)
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