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Archive for December 26, 2009

Making a List, Tweeting it Twice: 2 Charity List Experiments

December 26, 2009 Jonathan Wilson Uncategorized

Over the last month I started taking an interest in the new List feature of Twitter, and wondering if it could be used to provide leverage for non-profits and charities. I noticed that despite being new to Twitter and at the time having fewer than 2000 followers, @OperationSAFE was on a relatively high number of TwitterLists (about 1 list for every 10 followers). I believe that this was true because those people who follow and then interact tend to care deeply about the work that we do with trauma children, perhaps resulting in higher interaction per follower. I decided to try two experiments to see if the list could be made to work to strengthen the experience more than just recruiting bulk followers.

Experiment #1 The OpSAFE Twitter Team

I started asking people to help our cause by joining the OpSAFE Twitter Team through an act.ly retweet campaign. Act.ly had just expanded their service from petitions to RT’s and designed it to help people to promote causes. I decided to tweet the link and ask people on the act.ly page to retweet it again to join the team. The second step of retweeting to make a commitment to favorite and retweet @operationSAFE tweets got them recognition on the act.ly page and added to the opsafe-twitter-team TwitterList.

Experiment #2 The Make a #Charity TwitterList for Christmas Campaign

When I noticed that we were on about 1 list per 10 followers, I was curious to know how that compared with others on Twitter. I checked on Listorious’ ranking of the top #140 most listed and discovered that they listed much further than the top 140 and found myself down where I thought I would be, way down the list! But what surprised me was that many in the top 140 actually were on fewer lists than I was! How could that be? It turns out that Listorious only counts those lists that are registered with them, “to check for quality”. After registering all of the lists that I was already on, I was much further up the ranking than I thought possible and decided to encourage a campaign for Christmas to make as many charity Twitter Lists as possible. My thinking was that it could give every charity listed a little boost in awareness and might actually rank @OperationSAFE in the top #140 most listed.

Things worked out much better than I had imagined. In the space of a little less than a month,

192 people joined the OpSAFE Twitter Team.
Our act.ly campaign has been the most active campaign for the month of December.
The OpSAFE-Twitter-Team List has become the 4th most followed Charity List – just after such notables as @mashable and @alyssa_milano.
I have become the 4th top Charity List Curator – again after @mashable and @alyssa_milano.
The highest I was ranked on the top #140 Most Listed was ….. drumroll please…. #12! Actually ranked above Alyssa but nowhere close to Pete Cashmore who is still hundreds of lists ahead.
I was able to count at least 154 charity lists that were created, although I was only able to track the ones that included @operationSAFE on them.

So what does this really mean and what good will come out of it? Not quite sure yet, but here are a few observations.

1. Rankings and Statistics Can Be Easily Gamed – But Can Also Help Motivate!

Most of the people on the #140 Most Listed ranking have 10 to 100 times the followers that we have and are also listed much more than we are on the actual Twitter site. Simply by registering all of the #charity lists that were made we gamed the system. I think the much more valuable statistics are the follower rankings for charity lists, as these are based off the same data as on Twitter itself and also show that while many of the whales may be listed umpteen thousand times, most of those lists are themselves never seen except by their own creators. The value of lists has yet to be seen, but one of the value of rankings is motivational – they help make campaigns fun by giving people a goal for which to aim.

2. Lists Can Help Make Stronger Connections and Interactions

While I am sure that I will fall back down the ranking of the 140 Most Listed, the OpSAFE-Twitter-Team list will probably become the core of our social media strategy. I found that this list became my starting place on Twitter, the people that I interact first with, retweet and who of course were committed to retweet our message as well. I now tweet regularly on how to make a strong team and recommend that everyone on the team help those who are just starting out.

Everything is still so new on Twitter that I am not sure what to make of it all. But I do believe that the platform has real potential for non-profits and charities. Lists are a great way to start making sense of the stream and connecting more deeply with those who are passionate about the causes that we support.

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How To Be Generous: Just in Time for Christmas!

December 16, 2009 Jonathan Wilson General

CRW_0929 Lets face it! Most people are only generous when they have to be – and we are fast approaching the most generous of seasons, Christmas – when expectations that you will give are at their highest. In fact, if you forget to give a present to say your girlfriend or your husband, you can expect to be in the doghouse for quite a while. The present doesn’t actually gain you anything – it just keeps you from getting into trouble!

Some people have learned the age old adage that it is better to give than to receive and eagerly give when the opportunity presents itself. They have discovered that it is the gift that is given when least expected that has the highest returns. They have learned that helping someone in need, can even be its own reward in itself. Having an open heart to give is truly the first step to becoming a generous person. But it is just the first step. Here are three more steps that will have you off to a running start at true generosity!

1. ”Generosity is not limited by wealth or income, only by passion and creativity.”

Truly generous people are never limited by a lack of money or even opportunity! They see the need and are passionate to help, even to the point of devising creative solutions to get around any obstacles. Most of the organizations and charities that are really making a difference in the world today were not started by the wealthy or the powerful, but the passionate and creative.

2. “Generosity and creativity are entwined, it is possible to give without being creative, but not to be generous.”

True generosity goes beyond writing a check – it is making an investment in something that you wish to succeed. Whether that investment is in a young relative’s education or a child suffering on the far side of the world, it is just as important to follow-through to ensure that your gift has been well-spent, to encourage persistence and offer counsel. Much aid given is actually counter-productive, creating dependencies and ensuring that those receiving it will never succeed on their own. True generosity looks past numbers and creates solutions.

3. “Donate your passion and creativity and you can do far more than those with only money to give.”

Truly generous people want to do more than just give money. They want to be involved and part of the solution for the causes that they care about. Social media is a perfect catalyst for these truly generous people to be more involved on a world-wide level than they have ever been able to before. A shut-in living on a pension can be just as passionate and creative as a fresh-faced student (but perhaps with a bit more wisdom and experience). A starving student can make just as big an impact as a celebrity if they are willing to give their all.

I won’t kid you, becoming a truly generous person – also requires sacrifice, a deep love for mankind, and humility – all of these are character traits that must be learned with great diligence – but you can take the first step today.

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The Wizard of Twitter

December 5, 2009 Jonathan Wilson Uncategorized

I just finished watching “The Wizard of Oz” with my kids. What a delight! There is so much to like about this classic, but it got me thinking about Twitter and of course more than just Twitter, about people in general.

People tend to be motivated by one of the three things that Dorothy’s friends so longed for. The Scarecrow was motivated by truth, testified to by his musical lament “If I Only Had a Brain”. The Tin-Man was in need of a heart and demonstrated the second great motivation, love. And finally the Lion thought that if he could only find courage then he would really be king of the forest. The Lion was motivated by power.

On Twitter there will always be some people for whom the main reason they are there is to find or disseminate information. These are the Scarecrows. For others, information is all well and good but what really keeps them tweeting are the relationships! They are the Tin-men (and women!) And finally there are some who Tweet because they want to make a difference. They might be championing a cause, pushing an agenda, or trying to sell you something but they are all Lions.

So which one are you?

Scarecrow – You use Twitter primarily to discover what is happening, get the latest news first, and to share your knowledge with others.
Tin-Man – You use Twitter primarily to connect with interesting people and are really here for the relationships.
Lion – You use Twitter primarily to make a difference and your main object is to see results.

I am a Lion through and through! I have a great respect for truth, and am trying to grow in love but the reason that I am excited about Twitter is because there is potential to involve hundreds of people in helping trauma children around the world.

The real challenge comes as all of us try to travel this wonderful Twitter-brick road together. If we argue about which is the correct way to travel the road the Wicked Witch will get us for sure! But if we can work together like Dorothy and her friends and each help the other find what they are looking for, we will discover that we have what we wanted as well.

So which one are you? Scarecrow, Tin-Man or Lion?

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Help Make Summer's Libraries Permanent

December 3, 2009 Jonathan Wilson traumachildren

CRW_7479

Two years ago I had the privilege of meeting a remarkable woman working in the midst of the hopelessness of the tent cities of Sichuan after the Great Sichuan Earthquake that left over 10 million people without homes. Summer is a champion rock-climber who was training in the mountains of Longmenshan when the quake hit. She immediately volunteered to help the rescue efforts in the nearest village and was drawn to the plight of the thousands of children who had been traumatized by the disaster. Summer began an effort to set up first tents and then rooms in each of the camps where the children could read and be read to, and escape the chaos that their daily lives had become.

We came alongside Summer with our initial relief team and helped her staff her library. The relationship grew into the first OpSAFE camps and continued as we conducted day camps to help children overcome trauma throughout the quake zone over the last two years. Over the next few months new schools in Sichuan will be constructed and we want to help Summer move the temporary libraries into the new facilities so that her and those working with her in 15 towns and villages can continue their work with the children

Purpose: Our partners are managing a dozen libraries in temporary

housing facilities and temporary schools which we have

committed to moving into their permanent school

building as they are completed over the next few

months. Bookshelves and transportation costs are

needed.

Target Communities: Beichuan County and An County in Sichuan

Province

Target Quantity: As many as are funded up to 15 libraries and 144

book cases.

Strategic Impact: Quality educational resources for Children and family

development.

Cost:

US$ 550 per library (RMB 3,685);

US$ 8,250 (RMB 55,275) The funds will pay for

book cases, and transportation of the books,

shelves and subsidize some volunteer transportation

costs. The labor will be all volunteers.

Sponsor a shelf for $10

Sponsor a whole bookshelf for $50

Sponsor a complete library for $550

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December 1, 2009 Jonathan Wilson Uncategorized

I am recruiting a TwitterTeam of people who love our cause to keep raising awareness for OperationSAFE. If you would like to be a part of the team, just click on the following act.ly box, RT and I will add you to our OpSAFE TwitterTeam list.

What does a TwitterTeam do? Favorite a few of my posts that you like from @operationSAFE and then add them to your regular RT’s during the day. Watch for campaigns and news from the field and spread it like wildfire around Twitter (and FB too).

Thanks!

“The greatest reward this side of heaven is the smile of a child.”

Quake victim shares smiles with OpSAFE volunteers

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How Can I (Really) Help My Favorite Cause Online?

December 1, 2009 Jonathan Wilson General

The last three months have been exciting and daunting at the same time as I have tried to enter the twitterverse with our cause OperationSAFE. Most non-profits (certainly us) are not well-known or well-funded and don’t have a lot of time or resources to throw at online social media, and yet the potential for social media to help raise awareness and garner support is too appealing not to get involved. So many smaller causes are jumping in and this is where you can be a very real help! Here are three ways that you can help a favorite cause get started.

1. Help Them Get Up To Speed

There is a learning curve involved in using social media. One of the most important things is to understand where they are, what is acceptable and what is annoying. Like anything social, causes need to understand the culture to really make an impact.

I look at Facebook as being like a large party, where some kids are playing games, a group of guys is chatting about sports and movies, some women are passing around some photo albums and you can kind of drift over to whatever group you want and join in for a while. Twitter on the other hand seemed more like a large convention where everyone is wandering around exchanging business cards and looking at what people have on display. So I came to Twitter wearing my business suit and tweeted away about our program and the difference that we are making for children.

Then one day Susan @BuzzEdition pulled me aside (that is what DM’s are for) and helpfully told me that I was doing it wrong. She told me to stop talking at people and start talking with them. (Thank you Susan!) You see, just like at a convention, the true value of Twitter is not in getting as many business cards as possible, or even getting them to take our literature. The real value is to join the conversation. As people interact with you as a real person they will catch some of your passion. I am sure that I have many lessons left to learn but since we don’t have a budget to hire a consultant or even someone to be our social media person, I am very grateful to those who have been donating some of their expertise to the cause. It could be as easy as suggesting to your favorite cause that they keep their posts at 120 characters so that you can RT them easier.

2. Lend Them Some of Your Clout

I don’t know who said it first, but in Twitter “love” is spelled “RT”. The RT is changing but it still means that you think highly enough of the message to add your support to it. It is very encouraging when someone RT’s one of our messages and a stream of RT’s come in from that person’s followers. What is intriguing though is that it is not necessarily just those with followers in the tens or hundred’s of thousands who have the highest rate of RT’ers. Even someone with only a handful of followers has a measure of clout within that circle.

This is true in real life as well. While it can be a great boost to have a celebrity mention the cause, real support in the form of dollars contributed and hours volunteered usually comes from regular folks. It is their passion and commitment that are the backbone of any cause. So even if you are very small in comparison with others, your RT is incredibly valuable for your cause because it speaks of your passion.

3. Set a Personal Example

While activism and raising awareness are important the true goal of any cause is to make a real difference, which almost always translates into dollars given and hours volunteered. Never underestimate the power of personal example. I have made a habit in my life to always put things into practice in my life before I try to preach it to someone else. One of the powerful things about a quote is that not only is it true, but it is also affirmed by the life of the person who said it. So when we read the quote, “Never give up” the fact that it was spoken by Winston Churchill is just as much part of the message as the actual words.

Make it your habit to set a personal example of giving and volunteering to any cause that you trumpet online. Volunteer a few hours of your time and then blog about the experience. Give a few dollars and then challenge your followers to match your gift. If you make a personal investment, not only will it help your cause but it will also be proof of your passion to those you are influencing online.

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