Community Organizer 2.0 - Latest Comments

Re: Creating Community on a Facebook Page

Nancy Stockton — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 14:36:27 -0000

One of the messages I got from the movie, Bowling for Columbine, is that our US society lacks community. So, I this article is great! Let's help people feel connected and part of a positive community.

Re: 5 Lessons From Twitter Politics For Nonprofits

Filip Zafirovski - Niksto — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 16:04:53 -0000

Thanks for the share!

But don't you think there is no future in these kind of topics since Twitter is working hard on tracking down fake news etc?

Re: 5 Lessons From Twitter Politics For Nonprofits

Nikolay Stoyanov — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 05:06:35 -0000

Glad to hear Twitter is finally standing up again. I'm not a very huge fan of Twitter but I do agree Twitter is great for engaging with people because of it's casual vibes. But in terms of branding, I'm not sure. What do you think?

Re: Learning and Live Blogging. Case Study #1: Event Walk With Us to Cure Lupus

Ani Chukwuemeka — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 23:33:13 -0000

Nice case study. It's just like an advice. Thanks

Re: Inspiring Organizations and Campaigns for International Women’s Day

Peggy Duvette — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 17:49:35 -0000

Fantastic post, thank you! One of my favorite org is Women's Earth Alliance WEA

Re: Inspiring Organizations and Campaigns for International Women’s Day

Debra Askanase — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 21:39:29 -0000

Bonnie- thanks for sharing these. I know of both of these fine organizations working on behalf of women worldwide. Great suggestions!

Re: Inspiring Organizations and Campaigns for International Women’s Day

BonnieKoenig — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 12:25:32 -0000

Debra - Thank you for this wonderful post and list. I would also add The Global Fund for Women https://www.globalfundforwo... and UN Women http://www.unwomen.org/en as two organizations that do wonderful work. Happy International Women's Day!

Re: Social Media Demographics: 2016 and Beyond

Nikolay Stoyanov — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 22:17:45 -0000

Thanks for sharing this data! Base on the data, do you think Twitter is a great platform to invest in ads?

Re: Under Threat? A list of Community Standards and Policies of Each Major Social Network

Debra Askanase — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 20:21:10 -0000

Peter,
You bring up a great point that there is no way to anticipate all the different iterations of names those against your org will use. I've seen the "...sucks" domain used so many times, I thought it was worth it to mention.

One org I worked with went through a period where many different hate Twitter accounts were set up, and each time one was shut down, another popped up. We joked that it was like that video game where the woodchucks kept popping up. None of this was fun, and it was exhausting to try to monitor it all, nevertheless impossible to anticipate the next fake Twitter account!

Former employees seem to be a common source of this vengeful attacks. That's who started it at the organization I mention.

The experience of living through the "myorg.com" as a hit site is not one I envy. The story you share about the forum is in some ways hilarious - they were certainly not doing themselves any favors, right?? It's all we can do to deal with the criticism and counter lies, and it sounds like your organization did that fairly.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom and advice.

Re: Under Threat? A list of Community Standards and Policies of Each Major Social Network

Peter Campbell — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:46:05 -0000

A nit: registering every variation of your domain name that someone might attack is a zero-sum proposition. Grab the .com and .net and leave it at that, because anything else is obviously not your domain, particularly if the word "sucks" is in the title.

That said, some years ago, a former employee registered "myorg".com and set it up as an attack site, inviting other disgruntled ex-employees to join him. He also managed to get a local paper to do a front page lead and two page spread expose on us. This is not the same thing as personal attacks and harassment, and it predated the social network craze, but it's in the ballpark. Two interesting, and not that bad things came out of it.

The hit piece described an organization that was poorly run, but clearly deeply believed in the work. It was rankling, because it described us as we had been a few years earlier - we had had some turnover and management was much more competent by the time the article was published. But the reaction of the local government and our supporters was to laugh off the criticisms and welcome us to the club of entities slammed by this particular rag.

More interesting, the hit website had a forum. And the forum had a 50-50 mix of people slamming us and people supporting us (mostly ex-employees). One day the instigator went in and deleted all of the pro-NPO posts, leaving only the negative ones. He effectively killed his cause - nobody ever posted to the forum again and his crusade died out quickly.

For our part, we accepted fair criticism, countered lies, and looked a lot more balanced and reasonable than the ex-employee. I don't think that his efforts hurt us in the least. So my advice in the face of this kind of attack: be honest, be calm, and give 'em enough rope.

But in the case of shaming family members, doxxing and libeling, the social networks have to be accountable for that, and it is a rampant problem on Twitter, in particular.

Re: Social Fundraising On Facebook: What’s New and What’s Next

Farra Trompeter — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 21:25:06 -0000

I haven't managed it personally but I know folks at Conservation International and Catskill Animal Sanctuary use it. Email me directly if you need introductions.

Re: Social Fundraising On Facebook: What’s New and What’s Next

Debra Askanase — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:43:43 -0000

Farra - I didn't know about Good World, but it seems SUPER easy for donors. I am going to dig into that. Do you have a case study or blog from Big Duck about it? What do you find are the benefits and challenges of using #donate?

Re: Social Fundraising On Facebook: What’s New and What’s Next

Farra Trompeter — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 22:00:00 -0000

Great overview. You/your readers might also want to check out Good World, a service that lets users give using #donate on Facebook and Twitter. https://goodworld.me/how-it...

Just another option out there I've seen more groups experimenting with.

Re: Linkedin Endorsements – Endorsing What, Exactly?

Debra Askanase — Sat, 27 Feb 2016 20:09:07 -0000

This is a legal question that I am not qualified to answer, but suggest you ask of an attorney.

Re: Linkedin Endorsements – Endorsing What, Exactly?

Dk — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 12:49:14 -0000

Can a linkedin endorsement become a conflict of interest if an external investigator has endorsed the person who has made a workplace complaint and is now the investigator. He has also endorsed one of the witnesses.

Re: Share Small Moment Stories Using Digital Stortytelling Tools

Ashley DiGregorio — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 16:51:18 -0000

Thanks for this, Debra! So very helpful. I am volunteering with a policy org rooted in community organizing - I am starting from scratch to help with storytelling and this will make a huge difference. Thanks, again!

Re: Graduates: So You Want To Work In Social Media

Ma'ayan Alexander — Sat, 30 May 2015 17:41:27 -0000

This list is great, Debra. Good tips for graduates and also for organizations hiring social media and digital media employees.
A tip that might be useful that I can add: learn to use pro tool for monitoring, planning and timing your work, such as: tweetdeck, hootsuite, buffer, zapier, etc.
Using these tools can help you do more in your limited resources of time and money, and really make a difference between personal and business social media activity.

Re: Graduates: So You Want To Work In Social Media

Debra Askanase — Wed, 27 May 2015 18:06:38 -0000

Amy - fantastic addition. When I was writing the post, I almost changed all references of "social media" to "digital media" for that reason. But your point about social media +?? is so on-target. So few organizations have someone whose job is only social media (strategy, implementation) and often it's combined with those other areas you mention. Thanks for adding this valuable piece of advice.

Re: Graduates: So You Want To Work In Social Media

Debra Askanase — Wed, 27 May 2015 18:03:53 -0000

Bonnie - thanks for leaving your advice and adding a great tweak to why we need to be focused in this work.

Re: Graduates: So You Want To Work In Social Media

Amy Sample Ward — Wed, 27 May 2015 17:47:44 -0000

I totally agree with these 6 tips and would add one more:

Understand what else you want to do beyond social media.

There are very few organizations that will have a staff person exclusively working on social media. So, what else do you want to do? Social media + communications, fundraising, programs, volunteer management, etc.? Social media is often part of a staff person's job but which team and what other skills you have will determine which jobs and organizations are a good fit for you.

Re: Graduates: So You Want To Work In Social Media

Bonnie Koenig — Tue, 26 May 2015 21:20:31 -0000

Debra - this is such a great post on so many different levels; and from so many different perspectives. It is sage advice for your target audience of those looking to have a career in 'social media' but also for (1) Those looking to start their career in many different fields with things they should think about; and (2) Those of us already engaged in our careers with great reminders about the importance of keeping the social in social media and nurturing a community of peers. As usual, thank for your insight!

Re: Two New Reports Tell a Story of 2015 Nonprofit Communications Trends

Michael Selissen — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:50:14 -0000

Yes, both of these reports are valuable and it’s a good thing to see the focus beginning to shift from, “What’s Instagram?” to broader objectives like, “How do we turn donors into long-term advocates?”

As an adjunct to these two, I’d suggest the Burk Donor Survey from Cygnus Applied Research: http://cygresearch.com/dev/....

This report looks at philanthropy from the other side, specifically how donor interaction and communication affects satisfaction and sustained giving.

To get the most out of their communication strategies, nonprofits will do well to address the donor perspective. This, I think, is the real and unspoken communication challenge: moving from “Look what we did” to “Look what you did.”

The report’s executive summary is available for
free with registration. Full US and Canadian versions of the report are available for a fee.

Re: Trendspotting: 2015 Nonprofit Technology Conference

Debra Askanase — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 21:03:18 -0000

Megan, one of the things I remember most about the morning of the Ignite was walking off stage and into a huge hug from you. Thank you for your support before, during and after.

Thanks, also, for that fantastic NTENer Center. Loved having a space to chill with folks on the couch, or catch your smile and support.

Re: Trendspotting: 2015 Nonprofit Technology Conference

Debra Askanase — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 21:01:16 -0000

Julia, you're welcome. Demetrio or I will get on that - can't disappoint you!

Re: Trendspotting: 2015 Nonprofit Technology Conference

Megan Keane — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:13:58 -0000

Debra, this was a fantastic recap. One of the highlights and inspiring moments of 15NTC for me was your Ignite presentation. Thank you for taking your inspiration from last year's Ignites to the stage yourself with your moving and personal talk.