Elizabeth Mwambui Conservation 2.0: Leveraging social media for fundraising in Kenya ... ·...

Conservation 2.0: Leveraging social media for fundraising in Kenya

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Elizabeth Mwambui

Conservation 2.0: Leveraging social media for fundraising in

Kenya – the case of WildlifeDirect

Thesis Submitted to

Malmo University

For the

Masters in Communication for Development

15 August 2010


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“We hold in trust, for now and tomorrow, the responsibility for protection and conservation of

Kenya's extraordinary natural wealth, as represented by its fauna, flora and natural beauty.”

Mission Statement of the Kenya Wildlife Service1

"Our country has a natural resource based economy, and a significant population of this country

relies on the health of the environment to survive. We are thus obligated to protect our

environment so that it can continue sustaining our basic needs, our livelihoods and the national

economy... The time to take action was yesterday!" Iregi Mwenja, WildlifeDirect Blogger2

"One has to ask the question: is Kenya really Kenya without its wildlife?" Jeremy Hance3.

“Having spent a lifetime creating protected areas, and fighting poaching and habitat

destruction, I am convinced that it is inadequate funding that is the major challenge that we must

overcome in order to secure the world’s endangered species and wilderness places. To achieve

this, we invite the world to help.” Dr. Richard Leakey, WildlifeDirect4

"If the First World wants the Third World to continue to have wildlife - it's going to have to pay

for it." Tom Hill, Trustee of the Maasailand Preservation Trust5.

"I believe social media will become as ubiquitous to development offices as is the phone, direct

mail, and email. In the next decades, we’ll see rapid adoption of social media for many

nonprofit purposes, including fundraising (...) Beth Kanter6.

1 State corporation with the mandate to conserve and manage wildlife conservation in Kenya. It has the sole jurisdiction over 26

national parks and oversight role in the management of 33 national reserves and private sanctuaries. Not all of Kenya‟s wildl ife is found within protected areas. Some is on community (trust) land and privately owned land. 2 Iregi Mwenja: An Emerging African Conservation Leader Retrieved on 26 March 2010 from

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/26/iregi-mwenja-an-emerging-african-conservation-leader/ 3 Kenya's pain, part two: decades of wildlife decline exacerbated by drought. October 20, 2009. Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1020-hance_kenya_two.html 4 Word From Richard Leakey. Retrieved on 30 March 2010 from http://wildlifedirect.org/about/word-from-richard-leakey/

5 Saving Africa's Lions. Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2008/10/saving-

africas-lions.html 6 The Right Way to use Social Media for Fundraising: Wildlife Direct Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/11/the-right-way-to-use-social-media-for-fundraising-wildlife-direct.html


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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Abstract

Description of terms

1. Introduction and conceptual framework

2. Existing research

3. Theories and methodology

4. Analysis of findings

5. Emerging picture

6. Discussion of results

7. Conclusion

References and appendices.


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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to WildlifeDirect particularly Dr. Paula Kahumbu for the opportunity to study this

innovative approach to conservation funding; the blogging community on wildlifedirect.org,

which provided rich material for this research; the individual bloggers - on the platform and in

other locations - who made time to talk to me either personally or electronically; the donors who

responded to the online survey; and the conservation practitioners interviewed. Without them

this research would not have been possible. I am grateful to SPIDER for the travel grant

provided through the University of Malmo, which enabled me to conduct interviews in Kenya. I

thank my supervisor Kristoffer Gansing and teachers and students of COMDEV 08 for a

wonderful learning experience these past two years. The Kenya Forests Working Group, East

African Wildlife Society, Nature Seychelles and the larger conservation community have all

provided me with an incredible engagement with conservation that has in no doubt shaped this

study. I have also benefited from the experiences shared by others who are adopting and shaping

technologies for social change.


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Description of Terms

Social media is the array of digital tools such as instant messaging, text messaging, blogs,

videos, and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace that are inexpensive and easy to

use. Social media enable people to create their own stories, videos, and photos and to manipulate

them and share them widely at almost no cost. (Kanter & Fine 2010:5)

Conservation is the rational and prudent management of biological resources to achieve the

greatest sustainable current benefit while maintaining the potential of the resources to meet the

needs of future generations (...) includes preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization,

restoration and enhancement of the natural environment.7

Wildlife - Living things that are neither human nor domesticated, commonly used to refer to

fauna8.

Wildlife conservation - A series of measures required to maintain or restore the natural habitats

and the populations of species of wild fauna and flora at a favourable status.9

Fauna: All of the animals found in a given area.10

Flora: All of the plants found in a given area.11

Natural resources: Resources supplied by nature.12

Biodiversity - Life, the world, the variation of life for the entire globe.13

ICTs - Information and Communication Technologies

7 Source: http://www.ecoagriculture.org/page.php?id=65&name=Glossary 8 Source: http://www.ecoagriculture.org/page.php?id=65&name=Glossary 9 Source: http://glossary.eea.europa.eu/terminology/terminology/concept_html?term=wildlife%20conservation 10 Source: http://www.ecoagriculture.org/page.php?id=65&name=Glossary 11 Source: http://www.ecoagriculture.org/page.php?id=65&name=Glossary 12 Source: http://www.ecoagriculture.org/page.php?id=65&name=Glossary 13 Source: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/what_is_biodiversity/


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Abstract

Social media - Blogs, social networks (Facebook), micro-blogging (Twitter), You Tube, Flickr,

Maps, and Mashups (combinations) - have changed the way we work and communicate. Social

media are experiencing explosive growth rates and new prominence, not only in the lives of

individuals but as tools in democratic processes and social change (Clark 2009, Gilmor 2004).

Social media have been used for democratic campaigns in the US (Obama14

), reporting natural

disasters (Haiti15

, Tsunami16

), responding to conflict and democratic crises (Kenya17

, Iran18

,

Burma19

) emergency fundraising (Haiti20

) and others. Activists, NGOs and those in the

development field are also using social media for social change. They offer a multiplicity of

channels, easier and cheaper creation of content, and allow local and global linkages for those in

this field.

An innovative example of how social media are being used for fundraising is WildlifeDirect, a

group of conservation blogs. Started in 2004 and registered in Kenya and USA as a not for profit

organization, it provides an opportunity to secure funds for wildlife conservation through online

giving, while at the same time providing a forum for like-minded people to discuss wildlife

conservation. Limited funding for conservation contributes, alongside poaching, severe climatic

conditions, and reduction of the conservation area, to declines in wildlife and habitats. Kenya has

a natural resource-based economy, and its people depend on the environment for basic needs.

Conservation of these resources and funding to carry it out is a key concern for Government,

NGOs and Communities. WildlifeDirect has collaborated with organizations to help boost

conservation funds by providing a platform through which people can support conservation.

14

According to the Washington post, for the 2008 US elections, 2 million profiles were created on MyBarackObama.com, and Obama had 5 million supporters in other socnets. He maintained a profile in more than 15 online communities Source:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/11/20/obama_raised_half_a_billion_on.html Retrieved on 18 January 2010 15

After an earthquake devastated Haiti, social media became the medium in which everybody spread the word. Source: http://mashable.com/2010/01/17/social-media-political-impact/ Retrieved on 18 January 2010 16

Within hours of the Southeast Asian earthquake and tsunami, bloggers created the SEA-EAT Blog & Wiki to send out information Source: http://desirableroastedcoffee.com/2006/04/the_2004_tsunam.html Retrieved on 18 January 2010 17

Eg. Ushahidi.com a mash-up that was used to crowd-source crisis information during the 2008 election crisis in Kenya 18

One of the striking aspects of the Iran Election crisis has been the heavy use of social media, says Mashable, the Social Media Guide. http://mashable.com/2009/06/21/iran-election-timeline/ Retrieved on 18 January 2010 19

When Burmese monks took to the streets during the „Saffron uprising‟ of August 2007, fearless amateur video journalists used

concealed video cameras to take footage and smuggled it out of the country by courier or internet upload Source: http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Beating-Burma-s-blackout Retrieved on 18 January 2010 20

By 18 Jan 2009, The Red Cross text messaging and Twiter and Facebook viral campaign had raised nearly $20 million for Haiti

relief. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/01/17/haiti-20-million/ on 18 January 2010

http://my.barackobama.com/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/11/20/obama_raised_half_a_billion_on.html

http://mashable.com/2010/01/17/social-media-political-impact/

http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

http://desirableroastedcoffee.com/2006/04/the_2004_tsunam.html

http://mashable.com/2009/06/21/iran-election-timeline/

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Beating-Burma-s-blackout

http://mashable.com/2010/01/17/haiti-20-million/


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My involvement with WildlifeDirect begun some years ago when I started using this platform to

blog and to fundraise for the organization I worked for - the Kenya Forests Working Group (part

of the East African Wildlife Society). I am still today part of WildlifeDirect community,

currently blogging at savingparadise.wildlifedirect.org. Through my involvement I have

witnessed firsthand how this media is being utilised to spread awareness and to fundraise. I also

became aware of the challenges intrinsic in the choice of blogs for fundraising.

My study’s principal purpose therefore is to explore the benefits of social media, while looking

at its challenges. It places this effort within the context of conservation funding and

improvements in the ICTs environment in Kenya.

A limited number of research and theories shape this emerging and rapidly shifting media.

Because the social/new media field keeps evolving, it is difficult to find a theoretical framework

for its analysis. (Hassan and Thomas (eds) 2006:xviii). The study has therefore assumed that the

media landscape has changed and attempted not to take an old versus new stance whose

discourse found in most literature has been critiqued (by authors such as Holmes 2005).

Instead, the dialectical view advanced by Fuchs is considered. In his seminal work, Internet and

Society, Fuchs (2008) notes that the research field of ICT&S (Information and Communication

Technologies and Society) deals with two interconnected aspects – society and technology.

Fuchs posits that the relation of the two is inherently dynamic; the two are mutually connected

and have constructive effects onto each other. Fuchs avoids the technological determinist view

that sees technology as the driving force of society or the social shaping approaches, which

consider technology as being invented, designed, changed, and used by humans and influenced

by an overall societal context. Fuchs concludes that neither is appropriate because both have

deterministic understandings of technology and society. On the one hand, ICTs are embedded

into social systems and overall society; social forces and relations shape them. On the other

hand, ICTs enable and constrain human social action. This relationship is an endless dynamical

evolving loop (2008:345). Within the development field, there has been an equal application of

optimism – (ICTs as freeing and democratising) and pessimism (ICTs as isolationist and elitists).


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A middle ground has however begun to emerge, one that sees the potential of ICTs while

acknowledging their shortcomings. Case studies of how ICTs influence societies and how

societies are shaping ICTs are also beginning to emerge (e.g Ushahidi and Mpesa in Kenya).

The study is limited to Kenya although WildlifeDirect has blogs from the rest of Africa, Latin

America and Asia. The following broad questions were asked:

1. What impact has social media had on fundraising for conservation?

2. Can it be an alternative to traditional sources or help in diversification of sources of

funding?

3. Can it address the sustainability question?21

4. What attracts donations – species, language, relationships, transparency, location?

5. To what extent are the blogs affecting policies, publics and mainstream media?

6. What offline communication practices are bloggers engaged in, if any?

7. Is social media replacing traditional media? Are they used together?

8. What are the inherent power positions in peer to peer giving? and

9. An exploration of the technology – its freedoms and limitations, the state and media

regulations, and who governs new media.

The study found that WildlifeDirect is an innovative platform. It has appropriated a relatively

new technology for its use. It has had relative success in fundraising, has provided a voice for

conservationists, and has served as alternative media bringing news about species and

conservation areas from people working directly in the field. It is used to advocate for important

issues affecting wildlife conservation. Success in fundraising has not been across the board,

bringing the issue of return on investment of using the technology to the fore. Connectivity is

still a challenge in rural areas even with the introduction of the fibre optics cable and so is

transacting with Africa. Even then, bloggers acknowledge the role the blogs play for their

publicity and raising profiles.

21

In the context of donor-funded development programs and projects, sustainability can be defined as the continuation of benefits after major assistance from a donor has been completed. AusAID, Promoting Practical Sustainability, Commonwealth of Australia, 2000. Quoted by Pact Kenya in a presentation - Organizational Sustainability - made at the KCSSP – Resource Mobilization

Training Workshop held in Nairobi. December 2007


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1. Introduction

Kenya's image as a safari wilderness is an enduring one. Adventurers and hunters (Ernest

Hemmingway), Hollywood films (Out of Africa) and documentaries (BBC Big Cat Diary),

national campaigns (Magical Kenya), magazines, postcards, all have contributed to promote the

image that sends millions of tourists into the country22

. In the financial year 2006/2007, tourism

accounted for 20 per cent of government income and the Kenya Wildlife Service posted record

revenues of $28 million in 2006/200723

. Not surprisingly, Kenya’s diverse wildlife and natural

resources play an important role in its economy, with wildlife-driven tourism being one of the

sectors expected to deliver a 10 percent economic growth rate per annum by the country’s blue

print for growth - the Vision 203024

. Apart from economic value, wildlife also has socio-

cultural, aesthetic and scientific value for Kenya and the world. Thus, conservation is also

carried out for conservation’s sake: ―the project of wildlife conservation in Africa is of major

importance to biodiversity, its international protectors, African states, and, most important, to the

African peoples.‖25

However, there is a decline in wildlife and habitats.26

Growth in human population, conversion

of wildlife areas to agriculture, severe climatic conditions, poaching, and funding for the

management of wildlife are the causes of the decline. Wildlife populations throughout Kenya -

inside as well as outside the national parks - have declined by 40 percent from 1977 to 1997.27

A

2009 study of wildlife decline in the Maasai Mara - one of tourism’s money-spinners - by the

Nairobi based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), recorded a severe decline

between 1989 and 2003 of a number of species.28

And a July 2010 study of Africa's national

parks that includes the Mara and Serengeti in Tanzania shows populations of large mammals

22

Wildlife based tourism accounts for about 75 per cent of all tourist visitors to Kenya. Source: Early Recovery of Nature-Based

Tourism Good for Kenya and Good for Biodiversity Says UNEP Head. Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=528&ArticleID=5756&l=en 23

Ibid 24

Kenya Vision 2030 available for download at http://www.safaricomfoundation.org/fileadmin/template/main/downloads/Kenya_VISION_2030-final_report-October_2007.pdf 25

Africa, Africanists, and Wildlife Conservation. Peter J. Rogers. African Studies Review 48.1 (2005) 143-153 Retrieved on 1 June

2010 from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/african_studies_review/v048/48.1rogers.html 26

See Kenya‟s Wildlife in Steep Decline. Retrieved on 22 November 2009 from http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/22/kenya-wildlife.html 27

University of California - San Diego (2009, July 16). Kenya's National Parks Not Free From Wildlife Declines. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/07/090707201216.htm 28

Kenya‟s Wildlife in Steep Decline. AFP. Retrived on 22 November 2009 from http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/22/kenya-

wildlife.html

http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=528&ArticleID=5756&l=en

http://www.safaricomfoundation.org/fileadmin/template/main/downloads/Kenya_VISION_2030-final_report-October_2007.pdf

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/22/kenya-wildlife.html





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declined by up to 59 per cent. These parks, visited by thousands of tourists each year need urgent

efforts to secure their future and their role in tourism, the study says.29

A global trend

Loss of biodiversity (species, habitats and ecosystems) is being experienced globally and is

occurring more rapidly than previously thought.30

The United Nations declared 2010 as the

International Year of Biodiversity in 2002 in an attempt to halt this loss. Governments that are

signatories to the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) agreed to a 2010 target by which to

save biodiversity. The target was integrated into the Millennium Development Goals in 2007 to

give it further impetus. Scientists already say that the 2010 target is unlikely to be met.31

There is

thus a renewed urgency to save biodiversity. In July this year the largest public environmental

fund, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), approved major reforms aimed at improving

access to funds by developing countries to meet international environmental challenges.32

How much does conservation cost?

Wildlife is expensive and has significant public and private costs. The costs of wildlife

conservation to the Kenyan government alone are considerable; a 1998 estimate by Emerton put

direct expenditure required to manage the wildlife estate in excess of US$ 25 million (1998:2).

This does not include the costs to communities that harbour wildlife and costs incurred by the

varied players involved in conservation. For instance the fence around the Aberdare

conservation area that took 21 years to build through an effort spearheaded by conservation NGO

Rhino Ark has cost upwards of Kshs. 750 Million (approximately $10Million) and costs about

Kshs. 10 million to maintain annually.33

Ironically, despite the money wildlife generates, in

general, little money is availed to fund government operations in the sector (Emmerton 1998:1)

or ploughed back into conservation.34

This is because there are huge demands for resources for

various sectors in developing countries. As resources are distributed according to the perceived

29

Zoological Society of London (2010, July 13). Africa's national parks hit by mammal declines. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 19,

2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/07/100712141851.htm 30

Statistics from the IUCN Red List 2009 indicate that a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction: 21% of mammals, 12% of birds, 31% of reptiles, 30% of amphibians and 37% of fish globally are threatened. Retrieved on 25 June 2010

from http://www.countdown2010.net/biodiversity 31

Global Environment Outlook-3, 2010 32

38th GEF Council Approves Major Reforms in New Funding Cycle Retrieved on 9 July 2010 from

http://www.thegef.org/gef/node/3363 on 9 July 2010 33

Chairman‟s View. Arkive, the Newsletter of Rhino Ark. Vol. 35. November 2009. Pg 3. 34

Rhino Ark‟s Chair Colin Church says the costs of the fence have been borne by donations to Rhino Ark and inadequate funds

from Government channeled through KWS. Chairman‟s View. Arkive, the Newsletter of Rhino Ark. Vol. 35. November 2009. Pg 3.

http://www.countdown2010.net/biodiversity%20on%20June%2025

http://www.thegef.org/gef/node/3363


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importance of the service, public services such as health, water, education and security get the

bigger share (Ruhiu 2004:2). Conservation and research receive least priority. (Ruhiu 2004:3).

Who funds conservation/how do organizations fund conservation

Funding for conservation in Kenya comes from diverse sources: the government (direct spending

mostly to KWS), multilateral and bilateral donors (e.g USAID, SIDA/Sweden, EU) UN

Agencies (UNDP, UNEP), Charities, Trusts and Foundations (e.g Ford Foundation),

International NGOs (e.g WWF), private sector (e.g Safaricom), Endowments (e.g Community

Development Trust Fund), Legacies and individual philanthropists.

Conservation spending is said to be less than 1 percent of Overseas Development Aid to Africa

(Scholfield et al 2009:28), but is still a big part of spending for countries such as Kenya. The

World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are some of the big donors. As of 5 July

2010, GEF had allocated US$ 8,350,000 for biodiversity projects in Kenya and US$ 4,000,000

for climate change projects.35

The EU and the government partnered to provide funds for the

environment through ―basket funding‖ to the Community Development Trust Fund. Its allocation

to the environment facility (running from 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2012) is Euros 8

million.36

These funds are available to NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs).

The non-government sector is the focus of this study. NGOs, community groups, and the

individual conservationist are the main partners of WildlifeDirect.

Typically conservation NGOs receive funds from some of the above sources but also generate

funds through membership fees (e.g Nature Kenya, Friends of Kinangop) and legacies (e.g East

African Wildlife Society- EAWLS,) special events (e.g Rhino Ark, Born Free), and income

generating activities such as eco-apparel (e.g Wildlife Works). There have also been attempts to

tap into online fundraising. Rhino Ark has used the online service Just Giving (Fast Giving in the

USA) to help participants to fundraise for the Aberdare fence since 2002.37

The actor Edward

35

Source: Country Profile for Kenya http://www.gefonline.org/Country/CountryDetails.cfm 36

See http://www.delken.ec.europa.eu/en/information.asp?MenuID=4&SubMenuID=52&ThirdmenuID=31 37

http://www.justgiving.com/charity/search.aspx?cid=2082


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Norton used Crowdrise to help the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust raise $1Million during

the Maasai Marathon campaign.38

Blogging and Internet use in Kenya

The Internet became available in Kenya in 1993. In 1995, the first commercial ISP started

operations. By the end of 1995, there was a reported 100 Internet users in the Nairobi area, and

3,000 by the end of 1996.39

In 2010, there is a reported 3 Million plus Kenyans using the

Internet.40

This number is expected to increase because of the laying of fibre optic cables and the

growth of the mobile web.

“Testing the Seacom fibre optic cable in Mombasa, and this is on steroids! Last time I had

Internet this fast, I was in Germany!”

The comments above, extracted from blogs, are part of a news item on the commissioning of an

undersea fibre optic cable that links Kenya and eastern Africa to the rest of the world posted on

the Daily Nation’s website.41

It is not surprising that Kenyan bloggers were among the first to be

excited by this development. Blogging has been very active in Kenya. According to Rotich and

Goldstein Kenya has perhaps the richest blogging tradition in sub-Saharan Africa (2008: 8). An

Alexa ranking42

used by blogger Moses Kemibaro43

shows that the popular free blogging

platform Blogger had more traffic than both the websites for the Daily Nation and East African

Standard. At the widely tweeted and blogged March 2010 Pan-African Media conference in

Nairobi, President Kibaki acknowledged the advent of citizen journalism made possible by

Social media.44

The first Kenyan blogger launched his personal blog Mental Acrobatics in March 2003 and with

it, the Kenyan Blogs Webring, which tracks hundreds of blogs with an aggregator and the

38

http://www.crowdrise.com/edwardnorton 39

Overview of the Internet in Kenya - The African Internet & Telecom Summit Banjul, The Gambia 5-9 June 2000 Retrieved on 6

July 2010 from http://www.itu.int/africainternet2000/countryreports/ken_e.htm 40

The exact figure is 3,359,600 as of June 2009 Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#ke 41

Internet flurry as Kenya goes live on Seacom cable Retrieved on 1 July 2010from http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/629306/-

/ul2ena/-/index.html 42

Alexa is a tool used to rank web site traffic. The lower the Alexa ranking number the more heavily visited the site. See: http://www.alexa.com/ 43

in a presentation about Citizen Journalism made for the Kenya ICT Board Media Workshop on 23rd April 2010 44

Media Conference kicks off in Nairobi. Retrieved on 20 March 2010 from http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Aga%20Khan%20to%20set%20up%20media%20institute%20in%20East%20Africa/-/1056/881900/-

/wgm6xw/-/index.html

http://www.itu.int/africainternet2000/countryreports/ken_e.htm

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/629306/-/ul2ena/-/index.html

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/629306/-/ul2ena/-/index.html


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KayBees awards for bloggers.45

Blogs are on current affairs and politics, with writers voicing

frustration at poor governance, corruption and divisive politics. These gained prominence prior

to, during and after the 2007 elections by providing updates on the election and the crisis after.

They include Mzalendo (The Patriot, part of a website of the same name) on parliamentary

accountability; and Kenyan Pundit, a blog by Ory Okolloh of the crowd-sourcing platform,

Ushahidi (www.ushahidi.com) used during the post 2007 election period to report incidents of

violence via SMS and the Internet, which when mapped helped to show what was going on.46

Other blogs comment on technological development such as iHub Nairobi - a place to share

technological ideas sponsored by among others Hivos, Google and Nokia.47

Tech blogs include

Wanjiku’s take (www.wanjiku.co.ke) and White African (www.whiteafrican.com). Blogs on the

environment currently on the Kenyan Blogs Webring include Kenyaforests.blogspot.com of the

Kenya Forest Service and http://kenvironews.wordpress.com/.48

A good example of online fundraising came in the wake of the 2008 election crisis. Ethan

Zuckerman writes that Mama Mikes (www.mamamikes.com), an online business that accepts

payments via the web and delivers goods to addresses within Kenya started offering diaspora

Kenyans the opportunity to give online and purchase relief materials that the staff delivered to

displaced persons camps. Mama Mikes then documented the materials purchased on their staff

blog, thanking donors by name and documenting their trip to the camps ―to add transparency to

the relief efforts and reassure donors in the diaspora that goods were reaching people in need.‖49

Kenya is adopting technology. Case studies - Ushahidi (Goldstein & Rotich 2008, Okolloh

2009), Mobile use in citizen media (Mobile Active/Usaid/Pact 2008) tend to support the idea that

they have the potential for citizen journalism, promoting collaborative activities such as crowd

sourcing information and driving social change.

45

http://www.kenyaunlimited.com/ 46

See http://legacy.ushahidi.com/ 47

http://www.ihub.co.ke 48

List was gathered via the feed http://www.kenyaunlimited.com/feed.php accessed on 5 July 2010. 49

Kenya: Citizen Media in a time of crisis Retrieved from

http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/06/20/kenya-citizen-media-in-a-time-of-crisis/ on July 6, 2010

http://www.ushahidi.com/

http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/

http://www.whiteafrican.com/

http://kenvironews.wordpress.com/

http://legacy.ushahidi.com/

http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/06/20/kenya-citizen-media-in-a-time-of-crisis/


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2. Existing Research on use of Social Media for fundraising/Online giving

The existing research - not specific to conservation - can be grouped into the following areas:

- Social media use in Kenya

- Online giving in developed countries

- Use of online giving by non-profits and benchmarking of impacts

- Surveys of donors – why they give and power relations in peer to peer giving

- Use of social media for advocacy

a) Social Media in Kenya

A number of studies show how New Media and ICTs are affecting the lives of Kenyans. The

latest (2010) is a national survey from market research company Synovate on access and usage.

The study suggests that the "digital divide" has began to narrow with growth, driven by the low

end of the market, witnessed more in rural than urban areas. The survey describes the digital

divide in terms of current monthly usage, potential users (especially those with mobile phones

and some secondary or above education) and those that are completely cut off (low levels of

education, are older, no access to phone, mainly live in rural areas and are in the lower income

groups). It concludes that there is significant interest in the Internet with half the non-users

saying they would use it if it was available, but three out of ten Kenyans may never use the

Internet because of literacy level, age and attitudinal barriers. It shows that access to the Internet

on mobile phones is growing at the expense of the public access routes. This is more visible in

the rural areas. Social networking and entertainment tops the list for what Kenyans are doing

online. 2 million50

are said to be on Facebook (where they also support various causes. One of

the largest groups is "Half a Million Kenyans Unite Against Greed of Kenyan Mp's (salaries)"

which currently has 18,838 members.51

) The study concludes that Internet users are reaching out

to get higher quality and more varied content.

50

But, Synovate was criticised by bloggers for this figure - Facebook at the time gave the figure of Kenyans on its site at over half a million. See comments left on Moses Kemibaro‟s Synovate‟s research on Internet usage in Kenya at http://www.moseskemibaro.com/2010/02/12/synovates-research-on-internet-usage-in-kenya/ and the blogger at

http://mboizmnoma.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/kenya-has-2-million-facebooks-synovate-c%e2%80%99mon-give-me-a-break/ - Kenya has 2 million Facebooks!!!?? Synovate, c‟mon give me a break 51

Insertion mine, not part of the study. Retrieved on 19 July 2010 from

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19194360527&v=wall

http://www.moseskemibaro.com/2010/02/12/synovates-research-on-internet-usage-in-kenya/

http://mboizmnoma.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/kenya-has-2-million-facebooks-synovate-c%e2%80%99mon-give-me-a-break/


15

The Kenya ICT Board through Research International carried out research on the online lives of

Kenya. Dubbed Digital Kenya, it was carried out to help organizations understand how people in

Kenya use the Internet; provide new analysis of the consumer and what motivates them to

behave in particular ways when they are on-line; and understand the needs of users to harness

opportunities and drive innovation of services. The Internet is used more than any other media

among respondents. People’s workplaces facilitate access with the mobile phone acting as back-

up for access outside of work. There is demand for phone browsing but small screens and low

content are barriers. Cost and speed is still a hindrance. In terms of usage, this study differs from

the previous one in that it shows that communication/social networking comes second to seeking

knowledge and information. It does agree that the Internet is widely used for social networks,

chats, downloading music and videos. 21 percent of respondents write their own blog. Only 29

percent have bought something online – a lack of local delivery service and secure on-line

payment is the main problem with 88 percent saying they would like to use mobile phones

transfers, a means of transacting popularised by a local phone provider.52

89 percent said there

are too few Kenyan sites and suggested e-learning and education as the kind of content they

would most like to see. At least 21percent want the government to regulate the cost of Internet,

and 32 percent want the government to increase Internet connections in the rural areas.

Other useful information was garnered through blogs an websites. Internet prices are set for

regulation in the coming months. 53

And Kenya had its first viral music video featuring

Makmende, a fictional hero created by Kenyan band ―Just A Band‖ to market its single ―Ha-he‖.

The character based on a ―bad guy‖ wannabe of the 90s became an instant sensation and became

Kenya’s first viral You Tube video.54

The video received considerable local and international

media attention, with the inevitable discussion on how Kenyans were adopting social media.55

Bloggers like White African bemoan the lack of online transaction services for Africa and

Kenya. He accuses businesses like PayPal of ―blacklisting‖ the continent by screening and

52

M-PESA is a Safaricom service allowing people to transfer money using a mobile phone. Kenya is the first country in the world to

use this service. Retrieved on 20 May 2010 from http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=745 53

Fibre optics and changes in rates Retrieved on July 1, 2010 from http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/854926/-/hdbo47z/-/index.html 54

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makmende 55

E.g Daily Nation http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/buzz/-/441236/887778/-/g5qf98z/-/index.html, the Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/03/24/kenya-launches-countrys-first-viral-music-video/, CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/03/31/mckenzie.kenya.viral.sensation.cnn Retrieved on 15 July 2010

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/854926/-/hdbo47z/-/index.html

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/854926/-/hdbo47z/-/index.html

http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/buzz/-/441236/887778/-/g5qf98z/-/index.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/03/24/kenya-launches-countrys-first-viral-music-video/

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/03/31/mckenzie.kenya.viral.sensation.cnn


16

providing extra security measures for transactions carried out whilst on the continent, making it

difficult for people to use.56

These researches show:

- The Internet is becoming more popular in Kenya. Given a chance to use it, more Kenyans

will socialise, entertain, and look for local content.

- Social networks enjoy the bulk of Internet visits and time.

- The mobile phone has overtaken many modes of communication as one of the most preferred

ways to communicate and transact business.

- It’s not enough to have Internet access; capacity to use, and attitudinal changes are essential.

- There is not enough research on social media for social change.

- Online transactions with Africa are still a challenge for business.

b) Online giving in developed countries

Online giving has continued to grow in the developed countries. A study of nonprofits that

compared online fundraising results for the first six months of 2008 to the same period in 2009

shows a 22.13% growth in online revenue with more than $15.42 billion given to online US

charities in 2008.57

Donations to environmental, conservation, and animal-welfare charities in

2009 showed a 2.7-percent increase to $6.2-billion, according to Giving USA, but cannot

compete with human needs like feeding the hungry.58

An environmental crisis helps like the

catastrophic oil spill along the Gulf Coast; organizations responding to the disaster are getting

extra attention from donors.59

c) Use of online giving by non-profits and benchmarking of impacts

Not much in terms of local (Kenya) empirical research is available on the use and impact of

online fundraising. The researcher however found several studies (mostly American and from the

UK) that are tracking trends and benchmarking achievements. Fundraising is a popular theme in

56

Being in Africa Makes You Untrustworthy Retrieved from http://whiteafrican.com/2010/07/05/being-in-africa-makes-you-untrustworthy/ on 15 July 2010 57

The state of Online Giving Retrieved on June 26, 2010 from http://www.nten.org/blog/2009/09/24/state-online-fundraising on June

26, 2010 58

Environmental Groups Chalk Up 2.7% Increase in Gifts, Report Finds Retrieved on June 26, 2010 from http://philanthropy.com/article/Environmental-Groups-Chalk-Up/65817/ 59

Ibid

http://whiteafrican.com/2010/07/05/being-in-africa-makes-you-untrustworthy/

http://whiteafrican.com/2010/07/05/being-in-africa-makes-you-untrustworthy/

http://www.nten.org/blog/2009/09/24/state-online-fundraising

http://philanthropy.com/article/Environmental-Groups-Chalk-Up/65817/


17

philanthropy websites (e.g philanthropy.com) and blogs (e.g BethKanter.com) where survey

results are shared. These are useful as a number of donors on WildlifeDirect are from these

nations.

Beth Kanter's blog (www.bethkanter.com) is an authority on online fundraising and social media.

Kanter, alongside Allison Fine, has written a book The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with

Social Media to Drive Change based on her experiences with the subject. It mentions

WildlifeDirect. The whole premise of the book is that social media powers social networks for

social change (2010:10). They have come to the following conclusions: social media are not a

fad or a trend; they will continue to grow (2010:5). Networked nonprofits do not use just one

tool, they use many tools and they are no rules about what will work for a particular organization

(2010:6). Although the digital divide persists, it is closing rapidly (2010:6). However, for a time

organizations might need to continue using traditional media, while preparing for a future of

wide use of social media especially among the youth (2010:8). Nothing will ever substitute face-

to-face engagement; trust that happens in a room between people is hard to replace, therefore

online and offline engagement augment each other (Ibid). The time to use social media

especially in the beginning when there is a learning curve needs to be invested (2010:10). Human

beings want and need to connect with one another in meaningful ways. These connections are

being made through social networks that are the conduits for the conversations that power social

change. The job of nonprofit organizations is to catalyze and manage those conversations (Ibid).

Another study conducted by Philanthropy Action, ―Social Networking and Mid-Size Non-

Profits: What’s the Use?‖ is not encouraging. Respondents, selected randomly via Facebook

Causes pages and through a list60

, say that in terms of fundraising and attracting volunteers social

media is not very effective. While advocates of social technologies say these are not the only

metrics by which social technologies should be judged, the majority of respondents to the survey

cited these metrics as driving their participation. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority say

they are going to increase their investment in the use of social networking.61

60

Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of Non-profits in the USA 61

Social Networking and Mid-Size Non-Profits: What‟s the Use? Timothy N. Ogden and Laura Starita November, 2009 Philanthropy Action Retrieved on June 26, 2010 from http://www.philanthropyaction.com/documents/Social_Networks_and_Mid-Size_Non-

Profits.pdf


18

Closer to home, Sangonet, a development information fortal for NGOs in South Africa, in 2003

outlined the lessons and challenges of online fundraising in South Africa by looking at case

studies of NGOs that have tried online fundraising. It concluded that online fundraising is rarely

the sole method of fundraising that NGOs engage in. Online fundraising is usually part of a

comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy that involves both traditional and non-traditional

methods of fundraising. Traditional media and other forms of public outreach are critically

important to the success of online fundraising (2003:3).

d) Why people donate

The question on why people donate has been with us even before the advent of new media. Guy

and Patton [1989 quoted in Pollach et al 2005: 1) argue that the strongest motive to donate is the

deep-seated human need to help others. This intrinsic motivation is far stronger than extrinsic

factors such as tangible or intangible rewards. Its most effective activator is an appeal to help

others. The 2008 Bank of America Study of High Net-Worth Philanthropy that polled wealthier

givers bellies this finding. Those polled believe charitable contributions have a greater impact on

their personal fulfilment than on the organizations they support.62

Pollach also found that people's trust in both the organization and the Internet are key factors in

shaping their attitudes toward online giving. Thus, nonprofits need to pay particular attention to

donor relationships, process transparency, and transaction security in order to induce people to

donate online. The Bank of America study also shows trust and relationship building ranked

high, as does a study done in the UK by the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB).63

Wealthy

donors told Bank of America they have high expectations of charitable organizations:

appropriate amount spent on overhead, acknowledgement of contributions, and full financial

disclosure and protection of personal information. The giving attitudes and behaviour of more

than 250 donors in the United States and Canada surveyed by Penelope Burk quoted by the

Fundraising Forum64

, show similar results. Large majorities said that they would continue to give

if they received prompt acknowledgments of their gifts, confirmation that the contributions were

62

2008 Bank of America Study of High Net-Worth Philanthropy - Initial Findings Fact Sheet Retrieved on 15 July 2010from http://giving.typepad.com/files/2008-hnw-study---initial-findings-fact-sheet-final.pdf 63

FRSB survey confirms trust influences 75% of people in giving. Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from http://www.fundraising.co.uk/news/2010/02/02/frsb-survey-confirms-trust-influences-75-people-giving 64

"Charities‟ treatment of donors key to understanding why they stop giving" Fundraising Forum Number 75 March 2007 p5

Retrieved on 20 July 2010 from http://www.dmi.co.za/images/Forum_75.pdf

http://giving.typepad.com/files/2008-hnw-study---initial-findings-fact-sheet-final.pdf


19

used as they intended, and evidence of measurable results about what their donations had

achieved.

Less intrinsic reasons for giving like tax relief also motivate giving. Among the many reasons for

establishing one or more charitable vehicles given in the Bank of America survey are personal

financial benefits such as maximizing income tax deductions and avoiding capital gains and

estate taxes.

e) Use of Social Media/Internet for environmental Activism and Advocacy

Perhaps the best example of use of social media came during the climate change debate in 2009.

Environmental writer Bill McKibben started a campaign to urge world leaders to agree to a

reduction of current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (that cause global warming) from

389ppm to 350ppm. The number 350 and subsequent use of social media via 350.org provided

citizens around the world the inspiration and tools they needed to build an international climate

movement. 350.org organized a global day of climate action with over 5200 actions in 181

countries; "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history," according to

CNN. The organisers said that the technology that will stop the climate crisis isn’t solar panels,

it’s the Internet." 65

In contrast, lobbying of policy makers through networks, mainstream media, online petitions and

the Internet, helped to save Lesser Flamingos in Tanzania, for now anyway. Mwathe et al (2010)

report that in 2006, the Tanzanian Government and the Indian company Tata Chemicals, put

forward proposals to build a large-scale industrial plant to extract soda ash from Lake Natron.

Conservationists believed that the development will displace and scatter the 500,000 pairs of

Lesser Flamingos which nest at Lake Natron. They came together as the Lake Natron

Consultative Group (The Group) to respond to the soda ash proposal. The outcome of The

Group’s and BirdLife International’s ―Think Pink‖ advocacy campaign was the withdrawal of

Tata’s intention to mine soda ash as originally conceptualized in 2008.66

The advocacy was

undertaken through a global network of supporters and partners, intensive media publicity,

65

(http://www.350.org/media) 66

In May 2010, new information on the possible revival of the soda ash plant plans at Lake Natron, were received. Retrieved on 15

July 2010 from http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/lake_natron_flamingos/downloads.html

http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/lake_natron_flamingos/downloads.html


20

engagement with relevant government authorities, sensitisation, and seeking the support of local

communities (Mwathe et al 2010:1). The "Think Pink" campaign launched on BirdLife’s website

and posted on partners websites and blogs used online petitions and protests to oppose the

project.

In a study of global activism and new media, Seo et al surveyed communication representatives

at 75 transnational NGOs based in the United States. They found out that promoting the

organization’s image and fund-raising were the two most important functions of new media for

the NGOs (2009:123). Fundraising came second after promoting the image of the organization

for these NGOs. Most said that the prestige of getting stories into the mainstream media is still

very important, as publics do not always think of new media modes as being as reliable as well-

known media programs (2009:124). The approach taken by ―the Group‖ and BirdLife tends to

lean towards this approach. However, 350.org illustrates a massive acceptance of social media

for activism.


21

3. Theories and Methodologies

The dominant approach to ICTs in development has been bridging of the digital divide through

provision of technologies meant to bring the developing world to the level of the developed. This

modernist view sees progress as inseparable from access to technology (Granqvist in Hemmer &

Tufte eds. 2005:283-296). For Grangvist and others (e.g Fuchs 2008:221) focusing on access

inevitably leads to a technological determinism - the premise that access to technology will solve

the problems of the less developed (Granqvist in Hemmer & Tufte eds. 2005:286). The extreme

opposite is what Fuchs calls dualistic technophobia - the less developed world doesn’t need

technology because there would be more basic problems such as poverty, health issues, and

illiteracy (2008:223). Obrist and Fuchs conclude that neither is appropriate because both have

deterministic understandings of technology and society. Rather, a position of techno-realism that

assesses the actually existing effects, critically judges risks, and tries to help shape society in

ways that advance opportunities and minimize the risks of new technologies is preferable

(2009:345).

In assessing ICTs and society, theorists like Fuchs propose a critical social approach; one that

contends that it is unlikely that technology only has advantages in society (Fuchs & Obrist

2009:2-3). For example, Web 2.0, the category in which blogs belong has a potential for acting

as a tool that helps establish a more participatory democracy in which decisions are discussed

and taken by those they affect. But, Web 2.0 is not automatically progressive; it can also be used

for advancing fundamentalism, right-wing extremism, and terrorism (Fuchs 2008:133).

Fuchs also says assessments should look at how society shapes technology because the

antagonisms and cooperation that structure modern society are reproduced on the Internet

(2008:345). Important therefore is the context within which the technology is used. For instance,

digital activist Mary Joyce editor of the Digital Activism Decoded says that assessments of

digital activism should look at both the technology used in a given activism campaign and to the

economic, social, and political context in which such technology use occurs, as they ultimately

alter how activists use this technology. (Joyce ed, 2010: 2)


22

This study is grounded in this critical theory approach. It positioned itself to ask how the use of

social media (the blogs) has been advantageous to its users while not being blind to its

disadvantages and the way the environment shapes its use.

Methodology

A literature review of some existing research for ICTs and blogs for proposals of methodologies

and ethical considerations had few examples. Snee (2008) looked at how Web 2.0 (blogs, social

network sites and wikis) can be used in data collection. Dan Li and Gina Walejko (2008) looked

at strategies of sampling the blogosphere. A 2003 user handbook for researching ICT projects by

UNESCO strongly recommended ethnographic action research. The authors took this approach

in studying a range of ICT projects for poverty alleviation in South Asia started by UNESCO

(2003: vii). Theirs was a multi-method approach. But fundamentally, they propose that alongside

more formal research activities such as interviews, every experience, conversation and encounter

is treated as material or data (2003:10-11).

Nevertheless, Holmes (2005) in a study of research methods for new media observed that

qualitative or interpretive studies are prominent for such study, although quantitative approaches

such as online surveys are also represented. Many of the current and proposed investigations are

constructed as case studies.

The case study approach is ―particularly oriented toward exploration, discovery and inductive

logic‖ (Patton 1990:45). Its value is its manageability in terms of time, cost and logistics (Patton

1990:100). Case studies have however been criticised for excessive reliance on a single observer,

lack of systematic data collection, and insufficient distinction between researcher and object of

study. Multiple forms of data collection undertaken during periods of extensive fieldwork are

suggested. For methods to use, Marshall et al prescribe participant observation, in-depth

interviewing, and elite interviewing for exploratory case studies, and adds unobtrusive measures

and survey questionnaire to the descriptive case study (1995:41).

As I was interested in this one particular group of people coming together on WildlifeDirect - I

took the case study approach for this research, while integrating ideas prescribed in the


23

UNESCO handbook of using a multi-method approach and treating every piece of information as

data (2003:10-11). The following is a description of the approach.

a) Laying out a conceptual framework

To put the study in context, a review of archival information and interviews were carried out.

Interviews with practitioners/NGOs within the sector were conducted between 14-17 April 2010

in Nairobi. The interviewees were selected based on prior knowledge. I have worked within this

sector at the East African Wildlife Society for more than seven years. Elite interviewing of

individuals well informed in their organizations was used (Marshall et al 1995:83). Most of the

people entrusted with fundraising for many conservation organizations - big NGOs and small

community based ones - are high up in the hierarchy. They are most informed about an

organization’s policies, histories and plans, as well as the fundraising environment in general.

Therefore, especially for traditional donors the interviews were with such people. It did pose a

challenge in terms of getting meetings scheduled, and in fact three did not materialise, a

disadvantage Marshall et al identify (ibid) but my insider position and network helped with

getting most of those I wished to interview. I might also be accused of getting only views from

the ―big‖ organizations. However, some of these organizations support or are in partnership with

the more community-based organizations, and while they do not claim to represent these

organizations or others in the field in less formal structures, they are certainly aware of how

conservation funds are raised. I did have an interview with one of the community-based

organization (Friends of Kinangop, FOKP, a Site Support Group for Nature Kenya). FOKP had

come to my attention when I found out that the 10,000birds blog had fundraised online on its

behalf. A list of interviewees is included as Appendix 1.

Archival information supplemented the interviews. Government reports such as the Vision 2030,

and the strategic plans and annual reports for relevant ministries provided useful information as

did other funding related studies, such as those by Emerton on conservation costs. Some of the

NGOs like Born Free, Rhino Ark and EAWLS provided in-house magazines while bloggers like

the Lion Guardians have annual reports on their websites.


24

For the ICT environment in Kenya, websites and blogs that write/follow ICT developments

proved to be mines of information. Interviews with two individuals were requested but there was

no response. The White African blog (whiteafrican.com) and the website of the Kenya ICT board

were two sites that I visited frequently. I also became aware of ICTs development through social

networks.

b) Existing research on the use of social media for fundraising

The ICTs blogs and sites mentioned above were also useful in pointing to existing research on

the use of social media in Kenya. Extensive Internet searches on popular philanthropy websites

(such as e-philanthropy), on personal weblogs (Beth Kanter, Allison Fine) and websites that

track social media (Mashable) yielded information on social media research in the developed

countries. I became a member of numerous Facebook pages including Non-profits on Facebook,

Mashable, Beth Kanter, Just Giving, and Global Giving. The purpose was to get up to date

information on trends on online giving.

c) WildlifeDirect Case Study

For the case study I used participant observation, in-depth interviews, content analysis, field

notes, and an online survey

1. Participant observation – This method demands first hand involvement in the social world

chosen for study. It allows the researcher to hear, see and experience reality as the participants do

(Marshall et al 1995:79). I am already a blogger on this platform at

savingparadise.wildlifedirect.org. This method forces discussion on the role and stance of the

researcher, and raises issues of ethics. My insider status provides both personal experience and

knowledge (Zweig and Oakley quoted in Burgess 1984:85-86). Marshall et al add cooperation

from research project; immediate follow up of data collected for clarification and omissions;

wide range of data types and informants; and validity checks, analysis and triangulation, as

additional advantages (1995:100). However, this position is fraught with ethical dilemmas – the

key one being to what extent there should be disclosure of intent to conduct study. I preferred

full disclosure as far as website owners and informants were concerned, but used un-obtrusive

measures to look at the other blogs. As I conducted a survey of donors that was publicized on the


25

website, some would have been aware of the study. I asked for permission to conduct the study

and requested interviews from WildlifeDirect/informants. Marshall et al also warn that this

method is dependent on the cooperation of a small group of key informants. It is difficult to

replicate, as procedures are not always explicit or are dependent on researcher's circumstances

and opportunities such as mine; data is often subjective; and it’s highly dependent on the ability

of the researcher to be resourceful, systematic and honest to control bias (Ibid). For bias, Patton

advises that one enter the field with ―no axe to grind, no theory to prove, and no predetermined

results to support‖ (1990:55). Rather one should commit to be true to findings as they emerge,

and be balanced in reporting – both confirming and disconfirming evidence. An insider might

not easily achieve this. I found triangulation and validity checks helped. No hypotheses were

included.

2. In-depth interviews

In-depth interviewing or ―a conversation with a purpose‖ (Kahn & Cannell 1957, p 145 quoted

by Marshall et al 1995:80) is relied on quite extensively in qualitative research. Patton categories

them in three general types: the informal conversation, the general interview guide and

standardized open-ended interview (1990:280-290). This research combined all three. A set of

interview prompts was prepared and used to interview WildlifeDirect Director Dr. Paula

Kahumbu and a number of bloggers, interviewed to validate and triangulate information. The

bloggers were selected because 1. They were part of conservation organizations interviewed

earlier on for context and therefore would be able to compare the impact of their online and

offline activities (Born Free, Rhino Ark, EAWLS). 2. Were easy to reach through the

researcher’s and other networks (Arocha) 3. They could validate information that came up during

the interview with the key informant such as that on which species were popular (Dudu Diaries,

Watamu Turtle Watch, Colobus Trust, Saving Stripes) 4. The researcher knew their activities

(Samburu Monkeys/Bush meat East Africa). An email request sent to other blogs of interest went

un-answered. An earlier attempt to draw up a random sample of all the Kenyan blogs on the

platform was abandoned when I was advised that it would be problematic to access some of the

bloggers either face-to-face – because of their location, or online because of connectivity

problems. I still had to fall back on online methods (Email and Skype) to interview some of the

bloggers I did not meet face-to-face in Kenya. I envision that future long-term research would


26

attempt to draw the participation of a randomly drawn sample of bloggers to meet challenges of

representativeness and bias. For this case study, I expected that unobtrusive observation of other

blogs of interest and the platform at large, as well as content analysis would help solve this

problem. I also sent interview questions to Charlie Moores of 10,000Birds a different blog used

to fundraise for Friends of Kinagop.

Email/Skype interviews

Markham says the advantage of the internet is the ability to access geographically dispersed

participants for interviews (2008:455-457). As inferred above, I used both email and Skype to

replace face-to-face interviews to meet challenges of location. The email interviews (except

Moores) did result in a paucity of data perhaps caused by lack of visual clues (Sanders, 2005

quoted on EORM)67

.

C. Content analysis of the WildlifeDirect

Content analysis was a continuous part of the research process (Tacchi et al 2003:37). I analysed

the website, blogs, and the bloggers own organizational websites. It was done to supplement

interviews, answer some of the issues that arose, and to address research questions. Purposeful

sampling was done to select information-rich cases to answer these questions (Patton 1990:169).

I selected examples for an area of interest e.g use of blogs for advocacy (Baraza), success in

raising funds and examples of activities funds were assigned to (Lion Guardians, Amboseli Trust

for Elephants). As the study progressed, I looked for confirming as well as disconfirming cases

to check out the viability of emerging findings, issues raised by other research and literature

reviews (Patton 1990:178). For instance, the methods of making online payments to bloggers

arose when WildlifeDirect stopped receiving donations on their behalf. Some blogs were

analysed to see how they responded to this challenge. Comments made by supporters were

treated as data.

67

University of Leicester Exploring Online Research Methods http://www.geog.le.ac.uk/ORM/site/home.htm

http://www.geog.le.ac.uk/ORM/site/home.htm


27

d. Online survey

A survey of the WildlifeDirect donors was undertaken. Ten people responded to the survey,

which was seeking to discover donor relationships with the blogs: how they found out about

WildlifeDirect, which blogs they supported, what influenced their giving, and what feedback

they expected. The survey was created using Poll Daddy and was publicised on the Facebook

page of WildlifeDirect, on the home page of the site and on my blog.

d. Collecting field notes

I collected pieces of information related to the study such as email newsletters. The data was put

in a folder and labelled with basic information such as where it fits into the research e.g the

newsletter on changes to methods of payment was labelled as challenges of online payment. The

biggest drawback with this method was that one ends up with long passages of text, which might

or might not be useful but have to be analysed anyway. In the end I looked for common themes

and issues, what Tacchi et al call codes (2003:37-42)


28

e. Ethical questions when undertaking Internet research

There has arisen much uncertainty, debate, and disagreement over ethical considerations

surrounding research and new media. States have developed policies for the ethical conduct of

research, administered as codes of research conduct (Sage 2008:277-8) Some considerations

taken while undertaking this of study from the AOIR code of ethics (2002) were:

- Online research is likely to be far more productive if the researcher has the support (or at

least agreement) of the site owners although one broad consideration is if the site is

public, there are fewer obligations for informed consent. I had the consent of site owners.

- If the posters, authors, and subject are vulnerable or at risk the researcher has an

obligation to protect them.

- If the research focuses on publicly accessible archives then there may be fewer

obligations to protect individual privacy.

Time frame and Site of study

The research took place between February and July 2010. It was mainly on the Internet - the

WildlifeDirect website and blogs (www.wildlifedirect.org), and other websites of interest, and on

the ground - at the offices of Wildlife Direct and various Interviewees from the conservation

NGO sector.


29

4. Analysis

Qualitative research often produces volumes of messy material. (Patton 1990:372, Marshall et al;

1995:111). Data analysis is required to bring order, structure and meaning. Although there are no

agreed methods for analysis, nevertheless there are guidelines to assist in analyzing data. Some

of the prescribed strategies include searching for common themes, categories and patterns among

the data guided by research questions, which often shift as data is collected and new questions

emerge. (Marshall et al 1995:111-112). Patton describes strategies that include case and cross

case analysis. An open-ended interview can be used for cross-interview analysis for each

question; answers from different people are grouped by topics (1990:376-7).

This study’s analysis adopted a case description of WildlifeDirect, cross interviews analysis,

which grouped answers under a common theme without providing metrics, and looking for

themes and coding field notes and content from the website(s). A description of WildlifeDirect is

in 4(i) below. A portion of the cross-interview analysis for the interviews (face-to-face, email

and Skype) is in included as 4(ii). Only a sample is presented, as it’s lengthy. The rest can be

found as Appendix 2. As explained in the methodology I coded information collected with an

emerging theme. During the analysis stage, I checked to see whether codes applied or new codes

were needed. A number of data ended up with more than one code. Table 4(iii) shows a sample

of the field notes/content analysed. The rest is in Appendix 3. The rest of the data collected,

including from observations and unobtrusive means I used as raw data for discussions and to

support, cross-validate and check accuracy of statements as well as for presenting contrasting

views. I used Poll Daddy (polldaddy.com) for an online survey of donors. Because I was using

the free version, I am unable to link to the results. I thus copied results off the site. Results are

included as Appendix 4. Three questions of interest are included in 4(iv)


30

4(i) About WildlifeDirect

The term ―WildlifeDirect‖ refers to the non-profit organization registered in the USA and Kenya,

and to the website (www.wildlifedirect.org), a collection of blogs, which enable anybody,

anywhere to participate in conservation through online donations.

Blogs (an abridgment of the term web log) are sites, usually maintained by an individual, with

regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or

video. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as

personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web

pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an

interactive format is an important part of many blogs.68

WildlifeDirect has brought together

many blogs on one site. The blogs focus primarily on conservation as a subject while raising

68

Source. Get the most out of your blog. WildlifeDirect Blogger Manual v4. page4


31

funds for it. WildlifeDirect vets blogs before inclusion on the site. Blogs can be found via a

Species and region drop down menu and are also listed. The bloggers on the platform are

protecting species, saving wetlands, woodlands and forests, carrying out advocacy, helping

animals in captivity, working with children and communities, tackling poaching, are vets and

doctors, researchers and scientists; the variety of their conservation activities is reflected online.

WordPress, the popular open source blogging software runs the site, which has 123 blogs.69

Dr. Richard Leakey70

and others founded WildlifeDirect. They were, ―convinced that the current

developments on the internet provided the best opportunity for securing a future for wildlife: an

approach that could harness the collective energy of countless good conservationists and

combine it with millions of individuals around the world who have a genuine concern for the

future of the planet’s wildlife and unique habitats. These people would connect through the

internet to create a movement powerful enough to produce a virtual endowment capable of

reversing the catastrophic loss of habitats and species.‖71

Its mission is to provide a voice to

frontline conservationists while giving those who care about wildlife the opportunity to follow

day-to-day activities on the ground, provide support to initiatives of their choice and to read

about the actual results that their donations have enabled.72

Donations are used for a myriad of needs and activities including

purchasing of equipment like computers and GPS, food for orphaned

animals, patrol vehicles, school fees and bursaries for needy children

in communities that border wildlife, field veterinary care, de-snaring

exercises and wages for rangers an scouts.

Apart from raising funds for conservation, the blogs also provide a

platform for conservationists to tell their daily stories. WildlifeDirect

represents perhaps the largest online community of conservationists. Blogs are used for advocacy

such as the high profile campaign to save wildlife and other animals from poisoning by the

69

Figure provided in the Annual report for 2009 p7 70

Internationally renowned palaeontologist and conservationist. Also former Director of the National Museums of Kenya and the

Kenya Wildlife Service, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of Public Service, Kenya. Credited with halting the large scale slaughter of elephants in Kenya for ivory in the 1980s 71

How We Began. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://wildlifedirect.org/about/how-we-begun/ 72

Mission Statement Retrieved on 20 June 2010 http://wildlifedirect.org/about/mission-statement/


32

agricultural pesticide Furadan, also known as Carbofuran, which has also caused at least one

human fatality,73

to create awareness on the illegal bushmeat trade74

and to protest against

unsuitable development in wildlife areas.75

The website also has a news area through which

journalists can access news, video, podcasts, and photographs. As with other blogs, readers

participate via commenting. Readers can also submit reports to the site through a unique mobile

phone enabled platform called WildlifeTracker (http://wildlifetrackers.wildlifedirect.org/)

recently added. Built on the Ushahidi76

platform, it is used for sharing sightings of rare and

endangered species, and to report incidences such as poaching, logging fires and other threats to

wildlife. Reports are made via sms, email or web.

According to web statistics provided online, WildlifeDirect’s reading audience is comprised

primarily of college educated people aged 35 – 65 and is located: 45.6% Northern America,

15.21% Northern Europe, 7.2% South East Asia UK, 6.5% Africa, 5.4 % Western Europe

and 3.9% Oceania. It has over 70,000 unique visitors per month. In 2008, the community

donated to over 70 projects raising nearly $500,000 that went directly to the field.77

A new version of the website was launched in early 2010. It provided new features to enhance

user experience and optimize the site for ease of use. For example, top recent stories are flashed

on its homepage making it easier to find what is ―hot‖ within the blogs. There is a separate

section for "Latest Blog Posts" from all bloggers and buttons for the organizations social sites.

The website also introduced paid for advertisements to raise income.78

Bloggers got a unique

Report Aggregation System (RAS), to enable them to access information pertaining to their

blogs.79

This information includes traffic, donation information by country and by donor,

comments and number of posts, and enabled bloggers to apply for funds through an online form,

enabling them to track the application progress online.80

These and other functions were geared

to improve transparency and accountability on WildlifeDirect's part and to speed up interaction

73

A 3 year old boy is reported to have died on the website. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from

http://stopwildlifepoisoning.wildlifedirect.org/2009/11/06/3-year-old-child-dies-after-eating-furadan-in-kenya/ 74

Jatropha is an unviable economic crop – it just does not make sense Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org/2010/05/19/jatropha-is-an-unviable-economic-crop-it-just-does-not-make-sense/ 75

http://arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org/2010/05/28/public-hearing-for-jatropha-project-in-dakatcha-woodlands/ 76

The Ushahidi Platform allows anyone to gather distributed data via SMS, email or web and visualize it on a map or timeline. http://ushahidi.com/ 77

Advertise retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://wildlifedirect.org/about/advertise/ 78

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/01/26/redesigned-wildlifedirect-site-launched/ 79

http://reports.wildlifedirect.org/login 80

Before donations handling changed hands. See below

http://reports.wildlifedirect.org/login


33

between WildlifeDirect and its partners. Kenyan company, Silica Data Systems did the RAS.81

WildlifeDirect also holds training for bloggers, provides manuals with blogging tricks and trips,

maintained a help desk (before internal changes were made), and publishes a monthly newsletter,

'WildZine', offering informing on new trends in the blogging industry.82

WildilfeDirect won the Mongabay Innovation in Conservation Award 2009. The award

recognizes the innovative use of the internet for conservation especially in Africa. It was in the

form of top placement on the Mongabay.com website for 30 days. Mongabay is one of the

world's most respected environmental websites with over 1 million unique hits per month.83

Until April 2010, WildlifeDirect received funds

on behalf of bloggers paid to the bloggers with

no administration fee take. Grants supported its

core costs separately. A ―transparency widget‖

posted on each individual blog enabled both the

blogger and donors/visitors to track funds

raised. Internal re-organization changed this.

Wildlife Direct, constrained by limitations in

funds to support administrative work, stopped

receiving funds on behalf of the bloggers. Initially, as funds were channelled through

WildlifeDirect, they did all the accounting for all the projects. All funds were sent to bloggers net

of bank charges, with no administration fee taken, leaving the overhead of managing the

accounts to the organization. After the changes, bloggers were asked to receive funds directly

and to provide details about their payment options on their respective blogs. 84

Services were

automated to remove the administrative cost and any delays associated with managing donations.

The changes had teething problems; they caused some confusion among donors and needed

81

WildlifeDirect Annual Report 2009 p4 82

WildlifeDirect Annual Report 2009 p8 83

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2009/12/02/wildilfedirect-wins-mongabay-award/ 84

Important Changes at WildlifeDirect. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/23/important-

changes-at-wildlifedirect/

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2009/12/02/wildilfedirect-wins-mongabay-award/


34

explaining.85

This was done in consecutive posts.86

Some bloggers do not have charitable status

in USA, which meant donations were not tax deductable. WildlifeDirect urged donors to keep

supporting bloggers: "Many of the projects have found alternative routes to receive funds but

some of the projects profiled on WildlifeDirect do not yet have charitable status in USA. We

hope [it] does not deter you from contributing to their good work. Please know that we are

working with these projects to find appropriate partners in USA or Europe to help with the online

tax exempt status for fund raising."87

Paypal - used by WildlifeDirect and one of the most

common methods of making online transactions for its ease of setting up and small percentage

taken - is very restrictive in African countries. One cannot receive cash to African addresses.88

Some bloggers found alternatives by using partners in allowable countries.89

Others have not re-

established a donation link.90

Despite the changes, the organization and website is still serving bloggers. The changes were

made in an attempt to ensure that the organization can continue to operate. WildlifeDirect is

supporting field based bloggers through maintaining the costs associated with keeping the

website going, providing training, and highlighting emerging crisis within conservation. It is also

specifically raising funds for causes it supports for example the campaign to end the poisoning of

wildlife using pesticides. WildlifeDirect also continues to raise funds to conduct fieldwork

associated with visiting and assessing field based projects.91

Donors were reassured such

donations go directly to these activities. The main blog for WildlifeDirect still has its

transparency widget reflecting donations received.

85

See comments section Important Changes at WildlifeDirect. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/23/important-changes-at-wildlifedirect/ 86

See: Important Changes at WildlifeDirect, Support our conservation partners directly, and Handling donations to WildlifeDirect on http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org. 87

Handling Donations to WildlifeDirect. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/04/20/handling-donations-to-wildlifedirect/ 88

Support our conservation partners directly. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/31/support-

our-conservation-partners-directly/ 89

.eg Lion Guardians via Panthera Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/25/important-changes-to-how-you-donate-to-lion-guardians/ 90

e.g The Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme (ASSETS) http://assets.wildlifedirect.org/2010/08/04/letter-from-an-assets-student/ 91

Handling donations to WildlifeDirect Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/04/20/handling-

donations-to-wildlifedirect/


35

4(ii) Sample of Cross Interview Analysis (Face to Face/Email and Skype Interviews)

Interview Guide Responses

Impact of social media

on fundraising

- [WD] Some blogs have been very successful. $2000-4000/month considered

good. e.g Lion Guardians rasied $1695 and Ewaso Lions $2000 in March 2010.

There is a group of dedicated donors give about $40. Some give higher - up to

$100. WD's blog Baraza raises about $1300/month.

- [Alice- Pride of Kenya] Raised Kshs.13Million offline, supported mainly by

Kenyan corporate organizations. POK blog did not raise much money.

Organization blog raised £2000 in 2009 although not specifically for POK. Blog

didn’t raise enough publicity - about 5 people following the campaign on blog,

not many responses – had more response from Facebook pages. Campaign had

another website sponsored by a local IT company. Money raised by POK goes to lion proof bomas (fences for the local community that keep lions away from

livestock), paying for education, 25% went to wild in art (concept originator),

rest to organizations with existing Lion programs.

- [EAWLS] had two blogs – Saving Kenya’s forests and the Waterhole – both

have raised about $150. Not well utilised.

- [Nature Kenya] Blogs indirectly linked to Nature Kenya include David Ngala

and Friends of City Park - not aware how much raised. 10000birds blog (not part

of WildlifeDirect) raised funds for NK partner Friends of Kinangop Plateau

[FOKP] used for educational/awareness locally of the Sharpe's longclaw bird

and Kinangop plateau

- [Charlie Moores] Offered a permanent way for the FOKP to get their work promoted on the internet. They felt their voice wasn’t being heard and a lot of

opportunities for funding and help simply wasn’t coming their way. Fundraising created awareness - in the long run that will be more valuable than the amount of

money raised. - [Insects] raised $400 in passive mode, not directly soliciting for funds.

- [Turtles] $60. Could be because did not blog very actively until recently. Blog

heightened profile.

- [Colobus] From May 2009 until April 2010 just under $2000.

- [Stripes] Raised about $100. Didn’t ask readers to donate

- [Monkeys/Bushmeat] Not used blogs to fundraise directly but has one scout

supported through the blog. Uses blog to fundraise indirectly by portraying self

to potential donors as a serious field professional worth supporting

- [Rhino Ark] Blog has not raised a comparable amount to annual rally event used

for fundraising - [Arocha] raised relatively little funding via blog. Best thing from it has been

raising awareness about conservation issues such as Dakatcha Woodlands

4(iii) Sample Coding of Web content/Field Notes

Lion Guardians - given as example of successful fundraising

Notes Codes

- Blog raised nearly $34,000. Received donations of digital cameras, mobile phones, and camera traps Raised $1000 for the Lion Guardian Games.92 Guardians have

directly stopped ten hunting parties from killing lions93

- Initiated fundraising events for the project e.g UK Zoo Africa Alive raised $4,73194.

- ―Sponsor a Lion Guardian‖ campaign has seven Guardians sponsored - covers all the costs of a Guardian (wages, equipment, monthly admin costs, phone credit)95

Fundraising/Impact

Offline activities

Itemization

92

Source: Lion Guardians Annual report 2009 p13 93

Source: http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/11/the-right-way-to-use-social-media-for-fundraising-wildlife-direct.html. 94

Annual report 2009p13



36

- Relationship building - Donor sent a card to her sponsored Guardian, and donated new laptop to the project96, (other examples of relationship building: Nothoney

blogger raised more than $800 for Wildlife Direct for her birthday. The staff at

WLD called from Nairobi – and sang ―Happy Birthday.‖ 97 Whale shark blogger -

instead of a gift register for wedding asked people to make donations to the her

organization instead. Bought own microlight98)

Relationship building

4(iv) Poll Daddy WildlifeDirect Supporter Survey

The survey was done to get a view from the supporter's side of what attracts them to the website,

what motivates their giving, and what feedback is expected. Ten people responded to the survey

which was posted on the main site (and flashed as a top story to get attention), on the

WildlifeDirect Facebook pages and on my blog and is still online.

Location of supporters

USA 7

United Kingdom 2

Finland 1

95

Ibid 96

Ibid. Peter Dietz, founder of Social Actions, says “Donations will be a consequence of meaningful engagement, not a

measurement of it.” The Right Way to use Social Media for Fundraising: Wildlife Direct. 96

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/11/the-right-way-to-use-social-media-for-fundraising-wildlife-direct.html 97

http://nothoney.com/2010/01/24/its-my-birthday-and-wildlife-direct-needs-your-help/ 98

http://whalesharks.wildlifedirect.org/2010/01/14/tagging-expedition-2010/


http://nothoney.com/2010/01/24/its-my-birthday-and-wildlife-direct-needs-your-help/



37


38


39

5. Emerging picture

Individuals donating through the blogs have made substantial contributions to conservation of

species. US$231,000 was paid directly to the field projects (bloggers) in 2009 (WildlifeDirect

Annual Report 2009:14) and $500,000 in 200899. The funds have supported diverse activities

including paying wages and buying equipment. Donations in kind include digital cameras,

mobile phones, and camera traps given to Lion Guardians100

. Itemization makes things simpler

e.g in sponsoring a Lion Guardian a donor knows they are covering wages, equipment, monthly

admin costs and phone credit. Individuals have responded to crisis facing wildlife such as the

2010 flooding in some conservation areas101

, and slump in tourism in 2008102

. The non-monetary

value of the blog has been visibility provided to a group of people carrying out conservation

work who can call upon the online community to support in times of crisis. ―The best thing from

it has been raising awareness about conservation issues such as Dakatcha Woodlands,‖ says the

blogger at Arocha, while respondent 5,849,692 from the donor survey says the organization

serves as a conduit to blogs and information they might otherwise not have found.

Some blogs had little success in terms of fundraising with very low amounts raised (Stripes,

EAWLS, Arocha, Turtles103

). This could be because of infrequency in blogging, a reason given

by the blogger at Watamu Turtle Watch, which could be caused by connectivity issues (Arocha,

Insects) and being unable to invest the staff, time and resources needed to keep a good blog

going (Stripes, Arocha, Turtles). ―Time is something small projects such as ours do not have.‖

said the Turtles blogger. Paradoxically also, some bloggers do not engage in active fundraising

and received funds in "passive mode" (Insects, Monkeys/Bushmeat, Turtles, Arocha). The

blogger at Bushmeat says instead, he portrays himself to potential donors ―as a serious field

professional worth supporting.‖ Blogs are used to raise awareness and connect with a

constituency (Colobus, Arocha).

99

Advertise retrieved on 20 June 2010 from http://wildlifedirect.org/about/advertise/ 100

Lion Guardians Annual report 2009 p13 101

Response to appeal for assistance after the massive flood hit Samburu 101

http://ewasolions.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/25/thank-you-for-your-donations-after-the-flood/ 102

After 2008 Kenya crisis foreign tourists stayed away and the Mara Conservancy, 100% dependent on tourism revenue, in dire

situation. WildlifeDirect raised $150,000 to for them http://wildlifedirect.org/about/how-we-begun/ 103

Where blogs are mentioned, see Appendix 2: Cross interview analysis. Names in brackets have been shortened to reflect subject of blog thus Watamu Turtle Watch is Turtles, Saving Stripes is Stripes, Dudu Diaries is Insects, Samburu Monkeys is Monkeys,

Bushmeat in East Africa is Bushmeat, Colobus Trust is Colobus.

http://wildlifedirect.org/about/how-we-begun/


40

Funds raised aside, the goal, WildlifeDirect says is to build a movement big enough to respond to

any wildlife crisis in Africa. This movement supports a varied number of conservation activities

and species. Great apes, elephants, lions, turtles, animals in captivity and giraffes seem popular,

and trees, insects, environment in general don’t fare too well, says Kahumbu104

. Insect diaries

says having a charismatic species helps and insects are challenging. The blogger at Watamu

Turtle Watch thinks promoting the environment in general is difficult, while Colobus Trust says

if the choice is between Gorillas, Lions or Colobus monkeys, Colobus are not likely to be first

choice for donations. To paraphrase Arocha, heartstring-pulling stories about "sexy" animals

such as lions & gorillas (...), language, and style of writing in a way that really engages with the

reader are major factors, as is regular and most importantly frequent posting. Respondent

5,846,057 from the donor survey says they ―support a particular species or issue‖ but don’t

specify which. Charismatic individuals such as the Lion Guardians are well-liked105. A crisis or

an important issue such as the flooding of the Elephant Research Station in Amboseli also gets

quick response.106 But fundraising is often supported by campaigns in international media, word

of mouth and social networks.107

Respondents to the survey said they gave based on issues,

followed by species and then personality. Specifically, donations are affected by how time

sensitive an issue is and if it affects a species or habitat they are particularly interested in, the

love of [African] wildlife, dire need, if its people they know, conservation of endangered species

and empathy for fellow conservationists/fundraisers. Tax relief provided by Wildlife Direct’s

501c status in the USA encouraged some donors to give.108

And contrary to what one donor

respondent thought; that there must be ―overhead which must constitute a portion of the

contribution,‖ Kahumbu says the fact that no administration fee is taken and money goes straight

to the bloggers is another attraction. Apart from two bloggers (Monkeys/Arocha), language

didn’t seem to play a big role. However, Kahumbu recognizes that some bloggers are more

―savvy‖ than others and some are "putting out fires" alongside blogging. Bloggers are trained to

write better – newsy versus reporting, something Kahumbu says is "cultural" I suppose this

104

Where Kahumbu is named refer to cross interview analysis in Appendix 3 105

E.g Anthony of Lion Guardians http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/about-lion-guardians/#comment-3838 106

Thank you! Emergency flood relief fundraising target achieved http://savetheelephants.wildlifedirect.org/2010/07/20/thank-you-emergency-flood-relief-fundraising-target-achieved/. . 107

E.g Lion Guardians Facebook cause has tapped into a new online community, amplifying publicity of the project Lion Guardians Annual Report 2009 p13 108

See comments section of Important Changes at WildlifeDirect. Retrieved on 20 June 2010 from

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/23/important-changes-at-wildlifedirect/


41

means peculiar to NGO reporting. Building relationships encourages more donations. A donor

has dedicated special days such as birthdays to fundraising109 and at least one blogger has used a

personal event for fundraising.110

In the words of Saving Stripes, the blogs cannot begin to be an alternative to traditional

fundraising. Although WildlifeDirect was started as an internet based charity with the expressed

goal of harnessing this technology to fund conservation, as an organization it has used traditional

sources (grants) to support its administrative costs as well as projects (Annual Report 2009:13).

Indeed some of the bloggers say this is not their primary mode of fundraising (Colobus).

Interviewees Alice (Pride of Kenya Campaign) and Church (Rhino Ark) anchor their fundraising

on events and use the blogs to publicise these events. Interviewee Paul (Nature Kenya) and

Gachanja (EAWLS) use traditional means like memberships and proposals to varied donors

although a future with online giving is envisioned. This could be because the "big donors" are

not on the blogs, and because large science projects need long conceptualizing processes more

suited to the traditional donor say Colobus Trust and Insects Diary respectively. Charlie Moores

of the 10,000Birds blog said that few bloggers make a living from their blogs. Advertising

revenues might help, he adds, something WildlifeDirect has invested in with the new website.

In terms of sustainability, the continuation of the conservation project without the support of

donors seems challenging. Some organizations are well on their way with sustainability: Rhino

Ark conceived the Rhino Charge (http://www.rhinocharge.co.ke/), a 4x4 off-road rally twenty

one years ago as a vehicle to raise funds to secure the Aberdare Conservation area. It has been

very successful, raising close to 10Million US dollars locally and internationally. In our

interview, the Church says they receive minimal bilateral help, a fact bellied by annual accounts

for 2008/2009 posted on its site that show the Charge brings in the biggest share.111

Their

strategy has been to tap into local and overseas individual and corporate giving. At present Rhino

Ark are building an endowment fund with the Government to continue conservation in this area

in perpetuity. The organization Born Free used a similar strategy – the Pride of Kenya event as a

109

Nothoney blogger raised more than $800 for Wildlife Direct for her birthday. The staff at WLD called from Nairobi – and sang

“Happy Birthday.” http://nothoney.com/2010/01/24/its-my-birthday-and-wildlife-direct-needs-your-help/ 110

Instead of a gift register for wedding, blogger asked people to make donations to the her organization instead. Bought own microlight http://whalesharks.wildlifedirect.org/2010/01/14/tagging-expedition-2010/ 111

http://www.rhinoark.org/accounts.htm




42

vehicle for fundraising from corporate organizations. Alice of the organization told me in our

interview that the event aimed at raising awareness and funds for the conservation of lions in

Kenya. It used 50 life size decorated fibre-glass lions displayed in and around Nairobi. These

provided a free, public art display, which highlighted the need to protect lions and their habitats.

The lions sponsored by local companies at Kshs. 200,000 each were later auctioned fetching

Kshs.13 Million (£90,000 pounds). This success said Alice was due to local cash and in-kind

support from corporate organizations.112

Both organizations say they use multiple strategies that

include online fundraising.

IUCN Regional Director Ali Kaka and Anthony Kariuki of Pact Kenya – an organization that

makes grants to conservation activities - propose varied strategies that lead to sustainability.

Kaka says sustainability is difficult: ―it will remain a challenge for many more years to come,‖

but building of endowment/reserve funds is one good way to ensure regular streams of funding.

But endowments were threatened by the global financial crisis and there are debates on what is a

better way to secure long-term investments to maintain them. For Kariuki, the very existence of

conservation NGOs is at stake: ―NGOs are in a precarious position,‖ he says with increased

difficulties caused by the global financial crisis, global geo-politics and use of single operators to

channel funds that cuts out NGOs. He foresees government devolved funds, endowment funds

for forests and wildlife supported by current laws, corporate organizations and deepened

philanthropy among individuals as new sources of funding.

Advocacy is a big part of the blogs particularly on the main blog – Baraza – run by

WildlifeDirect. The issue of wildlife poisoning - because wildlife interfere with farming and kill

livestock, fast becoming the biggest threat to wildlife – is very prominent and is addressed by a

number of blogs (Baraza, Stop Wildlife Poisoning, Lion Guardians). It was also the subject of

the Pride of Kenya campaign by Born Free. From the blogs, local and international media picked

up this issue resulting in a ban of the poison used to kill wildlife, Furadan, by its manufacturer in

112

See also http://www.prideofkenya.co.ke/ and http://prideofkenya.wildlifedirect.org

http://www.prideofkenya.co.ke/

http://prideofkenya.wildlifedirect.org/


43

the USA.113

In Kenya, Carbofuran, a derivative of this poison is still on sale but WildlifeDirect is

in discussion with government and others to have a ban that will stop its sale.114

Whereas some bloggers have had good success with mainstream media (Insects, Bushmeat),

others have not (Colobus, Turtles, Stripes). Other successes have come from offline engagement

with media houses (Arocha). The Nation Media Group, Kiss FM and Easy FM supported the

Pride of Kenya campaign, said Alice and were a key factor in its success. The blogs however

fulfil the alternative journalism role of providing news previously found in newsletters and

reports of NGOs. The donor respondents say they get up-to-date information on African wildlife,

news from people working in the field and the blogs have brought many important conservation

projects to peoples' attention. The impact of these efforts and of the donations people make are

more clearly visible than in occasional publications from NGOs, a respondent says. And,

although there are a number of blogs in Kenya, few focused on environment says Kahumbu,

WildlifeDirect thus occupies an enviable niche. The Bushmeat E.Africa blogger says he has been

reached by mainstream media via his blog.

The blogs are not used in isolation. They are promoted using other media such as social networks

(Facebook, Twitter), mass media and other online sites. Lion Guardians have featured in a

number of articles, videos, documentaries, news items. (WildlifeDirect Annual Report

2009:13).115

There seems to be some reciprocity: the blogs have helped stories cross over to

mainstream media and mainstream media stories have been shared on the blogs. When a young

boy died of ingestion of the poison used to kill wildlife in western Kenya, WildlifeDirect

interviewed the boy’s father and produced a video that had substantial viewership. The story

appeared on National Geographic news and in local dailies (WildlifeDirect Annual Report

2009:9)

113

FMC will not reintroduce Furadan in Kenya Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/04/08/fmc-will-not-reintroduce-furadan-in-kenya/ 114

Task Force on poisoning finally making progress Retrieved on 15 July 2010 from

http://stopwildlifepoisoning.wildlifedirect.org/2010/07/15/task-force-on-poisoning-finally-making-progress/ 115

See also comments on Lion Guardians blog e.g "Greetings from Canada Antony! I just heard about your program on Canadian television. I‟m extremely impressed with your mission. Keep up the good work. I‟ll be sure to share the information with my family

and friends" at http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/about-lion-guardians/#comment-3841

http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/about-lion-guardians/#comment-3841


44

Individual donors give based on faith, starting from a point of trust that the money will be put to

good use. ―Donors must have faith that the money donated is actually going to the stated cause,‖

said donor respondent 5,849,692, while respondent 5,846,435 said they had ―no concerns at all

(with regards to funds use), and are ―confident that funds go straight where they are needed. The

bloggers provide reassurance of this.‖ There are no obligation to meet strict rules and guidelines,

apart from a desire to see that money is used for the purpose stated observes Matiku of Nature

Kenya. ―I see the progress of the sanctuary,‖ Respondent 5,852,715 said and 5,846,180 said they

―just want to be updated how things are proceeding and share the ups and downs with the people

on the field.‖ Traditional donors on the hand have bigger demands - activities and proposals have

to fit global conservation or individual donor’s criteria therefore activities are tailored to those

criteria, adds Matiku. Both methods require transparency and accountability; 5,851,914 ―Would

like to see regular reporting of money disbursed to each group,‖ and 5,846,360 wants to knowing

that funds are spent on the species and ―not going into someone's pocket.‖ Traditional donor

have checks, which the individual donor normally don’t, says Kariuki. Recognition of a donation

on a blog is ―appreciated‖ but not "expected" said 5,849,692.

Internet connectivity still poses a challenge to some bloggers leading to infrequent log-ins and

posting. Uploading media such as video is difficult (Insects, Stripes). Although Bushmeat says,

―any computer literate person can blog,‖ Stripes is of the opinion that ―writing a good post and

posting regularly takes a fair amount of effort‖. Setting up and maintaining the site also required

a techie team; while the software the blogs use is open source and free, it still required expertise

to set it up as did the RAS. Blogging and fundraising require considerable investment in staff,

funds and time to make it profitable (Stripes, Turtles, Arocha). There are also tens of thousands

of blogs in cyberspace and it is hard to be noticed (10000Birds). WildlifeDirect tells bloggers

how to optimise their blogs for search engines through its manual, and benefited from Google

Grants to help in site promotion, says Kahumbu. Links to other sites and social networks led to

four of our respondents finding out about the site while seven found out through word of mouth.

Other events like PopTech and TedX (Nairobi) helped in popularising the website (Annual

Report 2009:11). Making transactions after WildlifeDirect stopped receiving funds on behalf of

bloggers seems to be a challenge. It could lead to blogs missing the opportunity to raise funds.

http://polldaddy.com/surveys/716896/report/5846435

http://polldaddy.com/surveys/716896/report/5846360


45

The question on who should pay for conservation is still much debated. Some conservationists

believe that those who carry the burden of preserving the world’s species should receive help

(Kahumbu116

, Rhino Ark, Kaka). ―It is not only Kenyans’ responsibility - all people on the planet

should be ready and involved to assist and help protect,‖ a commenter on a post on the Pride of

Kenya blog said.117

Others think it’s the responsibility of the countries that host them

(Bushmeat), while tourists are under the impression that the fees they pay do this already.118

In Kenya, there are no restrictions on the types of internet applications and information services,

nor government control and regulation of Internet or the popular mobile payments. This may

have resulted in the increased use of ICTs: "to access and produce knowledge and information

via blogs, short message service (SMS), instant messaging services, chat rooms, social

networking sites, etc." (Munyua in GISW 2009:147). Thus, even when the government banned

sending of ―hate‖ SMS during the explosive post election period in 2008, and used mobile phone

operators' databases to send warnings - it did not block websites. Bloggers and forums self-

regulated. However, this shows that the government has potential to monitor mobile phones and

networks. The lack of regulation, or at least a more relaxed regulatory environment, has been

directly responsible for Kenya becoming a hub of innovation. This lack of regulation can lead to

monopolies.119

Some legislative reforms are ongoing for instance the review of the copyright law

(that limits access to certain information). The punitive defamation law given as the reason

mainstream media self-regulates still requires review (Munyua in GISW 2009:147).

116

Comment on The Growing Specter of Africa Without Wildlife Richard Conniff http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2183 117

http://prideofkenya.wildlifedirect.org/2009/10/12/this-could-be-the-last-lion-in-kenya/#comments 118

John, Comment on The Growing Specter of Africa Without Wildlife Richard Conniff http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2183 119

Kenya‟s Tech Regulation Conundrum Retrieved on 1 August 2010 from http://whiteafrican.com/2010/05/27/kenyas-tech-

regulation-conundrum/


46

6. Discussion of results

This section tries to put into perspective what has been learned against what previous research

has uncovered and the contextual framework within which this study exists. I present here –

along the arguments of Fuchs – a case for optimism and a case for cynicism.

a) A case for optimism

The case for optimism is hinged on the goals of the platform as well as other results. As

mentioned – the goal of the blog has been to provide a voice to conservationists while giving

those who care about wildlife the opportunity to follow day-to-day activities on the ground,

donate to initiatives and read about results. The total amount of funds raised by the site since it

started has been substantial. When the site was first set up and tested in the in Virunga National

Park in eastern Congo, despite demanding conditions, over $100,000 was raised in the first eight

months of operation.120

Subsequently, it has supported individual bloggers, and responded to

crisis. Conservationists like the Lion guardians have stopped the killing of wildlife.121

The site has become a "trusted broker." As established earlier, online giving requires trust of the

giver. In a discussion about trusted intermediaries, the blogger White African and one of

Ushahidi’s founders recognises the importance of the people behind Ushahidi in getting it

funded. They were ―known quantities,‖ and in the public as bloggers, helping in reassuring

people that they could be trusted. He makes the point that money flows when the people are

trusted.122

The presence of a leader like Dr. Leakey might have helped, but over the years,

WildlifeDirect has become a trusted intermediary for people looking to support conservation.

The platform has also provided voice for the conservationists and local content from the field.

There are not many environment blogs in Kenya and WildlifeDirect was the first conservation

organization to bring such a varied group together. The importance of voice cannot be

overstated: ―in the public face of African conservation (on websites and in film), there is a telling

absence of African wildlife professionals who are personally at work in saving wildlife‖

(Garland 2006 quoted in Scholfield et al 2009:26). Respondents in the Digital Kenya survey

120

WildlifeDirect - About the Project Retrieved on 20 July 2010 from http://animals.nationalgeographic.co.in/animals/conservation/wildlife-direct/ 121


Trusted Intermediaries Retrieved on 20 July 2010 from http://whiteafrican.com/2009/11/03/trusted-intermediaries/



47

desire local content. How to get these Kenyans interested in this content and building a local

community of readers outside of conservation circles is something WildlifeDirect wants to

address. As both the digital surveys for Kenya demonstrate, a large number of internet users are

on social networks. WildlifeDirect uses both Facebook and Twitter to publicise itself and is on

You Tube and Flickr. Posts are shared on Global Voices Online thus providing much needed

exposure.123

The platform plays an important

role in advocacy – connecting with

a global network of activists and

the media. The most visible of this

advocacy has been the campaign

against Furadan used to poison

wildlife, particularly predators like

lions. The campaign was successful

– FMC, the manufactures, withdrew

the pesticide from the East African

market. Bloggers Lion Guardians

(Annual Report 2009:13) and Kahumbu credit the international media and pressure by activists

for this success. WildlifeDirect joined forces with Born Free to publicize the problem locally. A

local event - Pride of Kenya (http://prideofkenya.wildlifedirect.org/) - highlighted this and other

problems facing Lions through the public art display of fibreglass Lions. Alice told me many

Kenyans, particularly the corporate organizations, she spoke to were surprised by the news that

lions were nearing extinction.

In Kenya and east Africa the pesticide, Carbofuran has not been banned and is available in

Agrovets. Kanter and Fine say networked nonprofits do not use just one tool, they use many

tools and nothing will ever substitute face to face engagement (2010:6). WildlifeDirect has

changed strategies and is part of a Kenyan government taskforce that is taking very slow but

necessary steps towards resolving this. Continuous local campaigns might be needed to bear

123

e.g Kenya: Massive Flooding in Samburu as Ewaso Nyiro River Bursts its Banks. Retrieved on 20 July 2010 from

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/03/05/kenya-massive-flooding-in-samburu-as-ewaso-nyiro-river-bursts-its-banks/

WildlifeDirect painted their sculpture pink, the colour of Furadan


48

pressure on those importing the pesticide to find alternatives and the government to ban its sale

locally. The Stop Wildlife Poisoning (http://stopwildlifepoisoning.wildlifedirect.org/) blog

continues to provide updates of online and offline engagement.

As pointed out in the discussion, conservation organizations are looking for ways to become

sustainable. The idea is to get away from excessive dependency on one source. This has

traditionally been the bilateral donors. In recent years, the question of development Aid has been

the rather large elephant in the room (with apologies to this magnificent animal!). Authors like

Moyo (2009) and Warah (2008) discuss the inefficacy of development Aid for poor countries

and want them to find other ways to finance development. However, whether countries like

Kenya can wean themselves off donors remain to be seen. Certainly tapping into this online

giving can provide other channels of funding. This might give rise to the question of whether

because most donors are from developed countries, this is exchanging one dependency for

another. Others argue that species protection is the responsibility of the planet. Nevertheless,

local individual giving to wildlife needs development.

WildlifeDirect has also demonstrated that organizations (particularly from the developing

countries) can create, adopt and shape technologies. Technologies can travel from the south to

the north. The home-grown crowd sourcing software Ushahidi has.124

Recent developments

within the country like ihub (http://www.ihub.co.ke) shows that this potential is recognised.

b) A case for pessimism

Fundraising on this platform has costs. These include administration, staff time and buying

expertise. Most charities allocate a portion of their revenues toward operating expenses and in

donor funded proposals it is accepted practise to include certain percentages as administration

fee. There is an impression created with online giving that all funds raised go directly to

activities with no fees taken. Consider the case of Yele Haiti during the height of fundraising for

Haiti after the earthquake. Its tax returns raised questions about how money has been spent in the

past on administration and various other expenses. Although the Foundation cleared the air about

124

Africa‟s Gift to Silicon Valley: How to Track a Crisis Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/weekinreview/14giridharadas.html


49

the expenses saying they were business expenses for its fundraising efforts, the questions caused

quite a storm.125

Although the platform had overall success in raising funds, some of the individual bloggers have

not had success. They report lacklustre fundraising results. Some have speculated that it’s

because they do not blog regularly or do not have charismatic species. Whatever the reason there

is a feeling that the returns are not equal to effort put in. Furthermore, small organizations just do

not have the staff and time to take on full time blogging. These results match those of

Philanthropy Action presented earlier who asked, is there any use for such organization to use

social media?

Connectivity problems are still experienced in rural areas where typically conservation areas are.

Although the fibre optic cable was launched, rural areas are still to benefit. The government and

others are however improving rural services through initiatives like digital villages and internet

centres. In a review of key issues affecting access to online information and knowledge, Munyua

adds the following: defamation laws that lead to self-regulation although access to and

expression of information in Kenya is generally free; a lack of policy protecting or promoting

online content; and restrictive copyright laws that infringe on access to information and

knowledge (GISW 2009:147). These could potentially affect bloggers should a contentious issue

arise.

The other shortfall has been the lack of a proper e-transactions mechanism to allow some

conservationists to receive funds. Paypal’s limitations (given as an example because it is the

most common and popular e-transaction mechanism) have been discussed. However, the local

mobile funds transfer solution, Mpesa, can now be used with the UK and might be worth

considering. It allows people in Kenya to receive money from the UK via a mobile phone

number.126

125

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/17/news/international/Yele_Haiti/index.htm 126

M-PESA International Money Transfer Service FAQs Retrieved on 8 August 2010 from

http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=1157


50

Katharine Brodock in Digital Activism Decoded says that economic, social, and political factors

determine whether and how people use technology. Similarly, digital technology often mirror

pre-existing divides in economic resources; people of higher economic capabilities are best able

to take advantage of them. Brodock quotes the 2009 Digital Activism Survey conducted by

DigiActive, that found that activists especially in developing countries are likely to be

prosperous (2010:73-74). Thus, there is risk of setting up a two-tier system of information and

disempowering people without access. Dominic of Friends of Kinangop told me that when the

10,000Birds blog first began to fundraise on its behalf, he had to print and share blog posts with

members of his group because of lack of internet access. He now uses his phone - because of

advances in mobile web in Kenya - to show the blog posts "live."

Furthermore, Brodock argues that there exists a great disparity in people’s ability to use these

tools and a learning curve still exists (2010:80). Writing a good blog that people actually read

takes as much time as creating a quality newsletter or direct mail appeal (Philanthropy Action

2009:10). One of the bloggers said a blog post requires thought and time. Many organizations do

not have this capacity or time.

So many crises need attention. Respondent 6,060,098 said he was overwhelmed by the number

of causes on WildlifeDirect and ―almost encourages me to quit bc (sic) it seems so hopeless.‖

According to Giving USA although giving to environmental causes had increased, people

supported the more human issues like feeding the hungry.127

Kenyans give to humanitarian crisis

like hunger and famine, but would they give to wildlife? Pride of Kenya had an SMS component

for its campaign with about 12,000 people participating, showing its potential.

c) Emerging issues

The following issues have emerged concerning using social media. Perhaps the key one is that

there are no ―silver bullets‖ – no one method of doing things will work, and what worked for one

situation might not work in another (Kanter & Fine 2010:6, Joyce ed. 2010:37). There is still

much to be learned about how to successfully use social media for social change.

127

Environmental Groups Chalk Up 2.7% Increase in Gifts, Report Finds

Retrieved on June 26, 2010 from http://philanthropy.com/article/Environmental-Groups-Chalk-Up/65817/

http://philanthropy.com/article/Environmental-Groups-Chalk-Up/65817/


51

The mobile phone could be an important tool for social change. It has overtaken many modes of

communication as one of the most preferred ways to communicate and transact business in

Kenya.


52

7. Conclusion

What other theories, frameworks and strategies are driving new/social media research. What

should we as conservationists and participants in social change be aware of in our appropriation

of new technologies whatever they may be? I outline below, final thoughts for consideration.

The Hype Cycle and Adoption phases

The adoption of a technologies brings with it risks. Schultz and Jungherr in the Digital Activism

Decoded say we must be aware of these risks. ―A group of activists might adopt a digital tool too

early - before that tool gets widespread social traction,‖ they warn. Activists they say must

become technologists - managing risk, paying attention to adoption trends, and deciding which

opportunities to follow and which to leave behind. They present two widely used concepts that

are helpful when thinking about the life cycle of technologies. The ―Hype Cycle,‖ is used to

analyze the popularity of a technology. A second concept, ―adoption phases‖ shows difference

between early and late adopters and their consequences. The Hype Cycle helps organization to

tell when the ―buzz‖ about new technology has died down and to determine that the technology

can do what it claims and whether it will have some staying power. For adoption phases, an

organization has to determine whether its users and audience are ready for a technology. Thus,

they conclude that although one solution does not exist, organizations must understand the

potential a technology holds before they commit to it. (2010:33-4). Social media are also rapidly

changing. Some surveys already say blogging is nascent and social networks are growing.

(Universal McCann 2009:4-5).

The Network Society

Van Dijk (2006 quoted by Fuchs 2008:100) has defined "network society" as a form of society

increasingly organizing its relationships in media networks gradually replacing or

complementing the social networks of face-to-face communication. As a result, individuals can

do more independent of the permission or cooperation of others. But as collaboration among far-

flung individuals becomes more common, the idea of doing things that require cooperation with

others becomes attainable, and the range of projects individuals can choose as their own

therefore qualitatively increases (Benkler 2007:8). Among criticisms levelled against the

networked society, is the ―Babel Objection‖ – if everyone talks, who listens and who filters


53

information? A second argument is that there is a fragmentation of discourse, and polarization -

people reinforcing each other’s views and beliefs, without engaging with alternative views or

seeing the concerns and critiques of others. A third critique is that the emerging patterns of

Internet use show that very few sites capture a large amount of attention, and millions of sites go

unnoticed (Benkler 2007:234). The networked society Benkler argues has answers to all three.

But, first, lets consider the re-emergence of mass media.

The Centrality of traditional media

"What does not exist in the media does not exist in the public mind" (Castells 2007:241).

Critics argue that although new technologies have revolutionized communications and

cooperation it's not enough: "individuals (...) talking to each other may be nice, but they cannot

seriously replace well-funded, economically and politically powerful media" (Benkler

2007:236). Writing on new media Gilmor predicted the "comeback of business and

governments" (2004:210). Many newsmakers are now converting their content so that it’s

accessible across platforms and devices, and is properly formatted and tagged so that it is

discovered and shared, while governments have appropriated these tools for themselves. Critics

thus claim that professionally produced content continues to dominate as the primary source

from which people get their news and content. If one looks at the top most read news websites

for instance, only few blogs make it. Further, the re-emergence of mass media has also caused

the old politics of control to return; a small number of sites being read by the vast majority of

readers replicate the mass media model, perhaps adding a few channels, but not genuinely

changing anything structural (Benkler 2007:235).

In support of the Babel Objection, traditional media is also said to bring professionalism to issues

and has well-researched observations that citizens do not have. Near-universal visibility and

independence enable them to identify important issues percolating in society. They can provide a

platform to put them on the public agenda. They can express, filter, and accredit statements about

these issues, so that they become well-specified subjects and feasible objects for public debate

among informed citizens (Benkler 2006:197). A further concern raised by the re-emergence of

mass media has to do with control by state in authoritarian regimes.


54

The networked society Benkler argues has answers to the critiques. On the Babel Objection,

there are peer-produced sources of filtration and accreditation; peer reviews and pointing to

original sources of claims. Information flow in the network is also much more ordered than it

seems. Some sites are more widely read but users tend to cluster around communities of interest

(such as WildlifeDirect). From empirical evidence, Benkler says that in each of these clusters,

the pattern of some high visibility sites continues, but as the clusters become small enough, many

more of the sites are moderately linked to each other in the cluster. Through this pattern, the

network forms into an attention backbone. ―Local‖ clusters can provide initial vetting and ―peer-

review-like‖ qualities to individual contributions made within an interest cluster. Observations

that are seen as significant within a community of interest make their way to the relatively visible

sites in that cluster, from where they become visible to people in larger clusters. This continues

until an observation makes its way to the ―superstar‖ sites that hundreds of thousands of people

might read and use. For instance, WildlifeDirect might be a regional cluster but being linked to a

superstar site such as Mongabay.com and National Geographic gives it larger exposure. Four of

our supporters said they found the site via links to other sites. Commenting and posting directly

to the superstar sites creates shortcuts to wide attention for small sites. Thus attention in the

networked environment is more dependent on being interesting to an engaged group of people.

(Benkler 2007:12-14). In an interview with Mongabay, however, Kahumbu says that large-scale

changes in media need to happen in order for the world to start tackling the environmental crisis:

"Today's global headlines are monopolized by scandals, Enron, Financial crisis, Iraq, the

British MP's allowances, Swine flu, Kenyan elections, Wii, Britney Spears baby…you name

it. We are inundated with unimportant information every single day [… ] I think we need to

be snapped out of our stupor to realize what's really happening. We need to take action. We

must change those headlines. I think we could create a global culture of caring for the planet

by having headlines on the health of Planet Earth everyday...."128

Concerning criticism about control of mass media, new technologies provide the potential to be

independent of both state and business control. They offer a platform for citizens to cooperate

and provide observations and opinions, and to serve as a watchdog over society (Benkler

2006:177). Further, the Internet allows individuals to abandon the idea of the public sphere as

128

Economic crisis threatens conservation programs and endangered species, an interview with Paula Kahumbu of WildlifeDirect.

Retrieved on 13 August 2010 from http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0817-hance_kahumbu.html


55

primarily constructed of finished statements uttered by a small set of actors, and to move toward

a set of social practices that see individuals as participating in a debate (Benkler 2006:180). In

Kenya during the 2007 elections and in the subsequent crisis, the internet became an important

medium for political debate among residents and diaspora Kenyans. Blogs and websites were a

source of information, opinions and images. News and events captured via mobile cameras were

uploaded to sites. They became an important source of information. (GISW 2009:147). In Iran

in 2009, after government controlled the flow of information within and without the country,

foreign audiences had to rely on mobile phone footage and Twitter feeds for news.

"To the inevitable question (...) how much better we were able to understand the situation on

the ground through citizen produced media, one can only answer by pointing out how much

more ignorant we would be if it wasn’t for the content that made it out of Iran." Sanjana

Hattotuwa, of the Sri Lanka-based Centre for Policy Alternatives said (Just Journalism

2009:3).

However, this is a too optimistic view of new technologies. Authoritative regimes such as China

block websites. And the question has been asked about sources: what are the relative weights

between the ideas expressed in large circulation media and alternative ideas available elsewhere?

If one person gets all her news via blogs, does this automatically mean that her understanding of

the world and important issues is different from a person who only reads mainstream

newspapers? (Manovich 2008:35).

Media Convergence

But the audience often mixes and picks it's content from varied sites. Most of the content

available online – including content produced by individuals – finds audience (Manovich

2008:34-35). It is Jenkins migratory audience going in search of entertainment (Jenkins 2006:2).

They create ―The Daily Me,‖ "My News, My Way" - an information environment tailored to

interests. What this has meant therefore is that tactics for getting attention consider all these

aspects to achieve their goals.


56

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Castells, M. (2007). Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society. International

Journal of Communication (1), 238-266

Holmes, D. (2009) New Media Theory. Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. 7 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.sage-ereference.com/communicationtheory/Article_n259.html>. SAGE Publications

Li, D. & Walejko, G. (2008) 'Splogs and Abandoned Blogs: The perils of sampling bloggers and their

blogs', Information, Communication & Society (11: 2) 279 — 296

Okolloh, O. (2009). Ushahidi, or 'testimony': Web 2.0 tools for crowd-sourcing crisis information IIED Participatory Learning and Action Journal pp. 65-70(6)

Seo, H. (2009) Global activism and new media: A study of transnational NGOs’ online public relations. Public Relations Review (35) 123–126 Elsevier

Workshop papers:

Emmerton L. (1998). Innovations for Financing Wildlife Conservation in Kenya. Paper prepared for

Financial Innovations for Biodiversity Workshop 10th Global Biodiversity Forum, Bratislava, 1-3 May 1998

Ruhiu J.M. (2004). Accessing Funding for Conservation and Research Work in Kenya. Paper presented at

the "Writing Funding Proposals and Communicating Results" workshop, National Museums of Kenya 10-12th May 2004 (Draft)

http://www.rich.co.ke/rcfrbs/downloads/TheDigitalDivide.ppt

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iiedpla/pla/2009/00000059/00000001/art00010;jsessionid=pchsb36yco7.alice


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Pollach, I., Treiblmaier, H. & Floh, A. (2005) Online Fundraising for Environmental Nonprofit

Organizations. Proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences – 2005 Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostRecentIssue.jsp?punumber=4438695

Fuchs, C. & Obrist, M. (2009). Broadening the View: Human-Computer Interaction & Critical Theory.

CHI 2010, April 10 – 15, 2009, Atlanta, GA, USA. Retrieved from: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/experiencingcriticaltheory/ObristFuchs-BroadeningView.pdf

Websites University of Leicester Exploring Online Research Methods


Association of Internet Researchers www.aoir.org/


www.aoir.org/


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Appendix 1 List of Interviewees

1. Dr. Paula Kahumbu – Director, WildlifeDirect 2. Ali A Kaka – IUCN Regional Director 3. Paul Matiku – Executive Director, Nature Kenya 4. Anthony Kariuki – Pact Kenya (in his own capacity) 5. Michael Gachanja – Deputy Director, East African Wildlife Society 6. Dominic Kimani – Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FOKP) 7. Alice Owen – Born Free Foundation 8. Colin Church, Chair Management Committee – Rhino Ark

List of Bloggers interviewed

1. Arocha Kenya (http://arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org) A Rocha Kenya is a national branch of A Rocha, a Christian conservation organisation, “that demonstrates God‟s love for his world by facilitating a deeper understanding of creation and practical care for it through scientific research, environmental education and sustainable community-based conservation programmes.”

2. Saving Stripes (http://savingstripes.wildlifedirect.org/) A blog about Grevy‟s zebra in the Laikipia-Samburu savannahs of Northern Kenya. Grevy‟s zebra are the largest, prettiest and rarest of all the zebras – there are three species of zebras in the world. [Referred to as Stripes in analysis]

3. Colobus Trust (http://colobus.wildlifedirect.org/) The Colobus Trust is a conservation organisation designed to promote the conservation, preservation and protection of primates like the rare Angolan Colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis palliatus) and its coastal forest habitat in southern Kenya. [Referred to as Colobus in analysis]

4. Samburu Monkeys/Bushmeat E.Africa (http://bushmeateastafrica.wildlifedirect.org) [Referred to as Bushmeat/Monkeys] Bushmeat - The illegal use of wild meat (bushmeat) is perhaps the least documented, but most far-reaching use of wildlife in eastern and southern Africa. It is believed to involve more people and to have a greater effect on wild animal populations, including those in protected areas, than any other wildlife activity. This blog was started to show just how significant the level of bushmeat off take is in Kenya and the entire East Africa Samburu Monkeys – This blog is about pruimates found in northern Kenya‟s amazing forests and plains

5. Dudu (Insect) Diaries (http://dududiaries.wildlifedirect.org/) This blog is a virtual dudu safari through the fascinating world of bugs [Referred to as Insects in analysis]

6. Watamu Turtle Watch (http://watamuturtlewatch.wildlifedirect.org/) This blog is about the WTW programe started in the 90s, in Watamu at the Kenyan coast to look after turtles. The organization – Local Ocean Trust promotes the environment in general. [Referred to as Turtles in analysis]

7. Charlie Moores (10000Birds.com) Charlie Moores, writer, photographer, and world birder extraordinaire, blogs for 10,000birds - declared one of the 100 Most Informative Blogs in the world by Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. The Blog is about birds – the approximately 10,000 species in the world that the bloggers hope see – and contains commentary on natural history, science, politics, conservation, travel, and blogging.


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Appendix 2: Cross Interview Analysis (Face to Face/Email and Skype Interviews with bloggers)

Interview Guide Responses

Impact of social media on fundraising

- [Kahumbu] Some blogs have been very successful. $2000-4000/month is good. e.g in March 2010 Lion Guardians raised $1695 and Ewaso Lions $2000. A group of dedicated donors give about $40 average. Some give higher - up to $100. WD's blog Baraza raises about $1300/ month.

- [Alice - Pride of Kenya Campaign] raised Kshs.13Million through the Pride of Kenya event, supported mainly by Kenyan corporate organizations. POK blog did not raise much money although that‟s why it was set up. Born Free blog (organization) raised £2000 in 2009 (not specifically for POK.) Blog didn‟t raise enough publicity, not many responses – had more response from Born Free Facebook pages. About 5 people following the campaign on blog. Campaign had another website sponsored by a local IT company

129. Money raised by POK goes to lion

proof bomas (compounds for the local Maasai), paying for education for pastoralists, 25% went to wild in art (concept originator), rest to organization with existing Lion programs.

- [EAWLS] had two blogs – Saving Kenya‟s forests and the Waterhole – both have raised about $150. Not well utilised.

- [Nature Kenya] Blogs that are indirectly linked to Nature Kenya include David Ngala and Friends of City Park - not aware how much was raised.

- [FOKP] 10000birds blog (not part of WildlifeDirect) raised funds for NK partner Friends of Kinangop. Plateau used for educational/awareness locally of the Sharpe's longclaw bird and Kinangop plateau

- [Dudu Diaries] Raised $400 in passive mode, not directly soliciting for funds.

- [Watamu Turtle Watch] $60. Could be because did not blog very actively until recently. Blog heightened profile.

- [Colobus Trust] From May 2009 - April 2010, just under $2000. - [Saving Stripes] Raised about $100. Didn‟t ask readers to donate - [Samburu Monkeys/Bushmeat E.Africa] never used blogs to fundraise

directly but has one scout paid by a supporter through the blog. Uses blog to raise funds indirectly by portraying self to potential donors as a serious field professional worth supporting

- [Rhino Ark] blog has not raised a comparable amount to annual rally event used for fundraising

- [FOKP] Funds raised by 10,000Birds used for awareness and education on the Sharpe‟s longclaw

- [Charlie Moores] Able to offer a permanent way for the FOKP to get their work promoted on the internet. They felt their voice wasn‟t being heard and a lot of opportunities for funding and help simply wasn‟t coming their way. Fundraising created awareness of the FOKP, of Dominic, and the Sharpe‟s – and perhaps in the long run that will be more valuable than the amount of money we raised.

- [Arocha] raised relatively little funding via the blog. The best thing from it has been raising awareness about conservation issues such as Dakatcha Woodlands

Is it alternative means of fundraising

- [Kahumbu] Not enough for core costs. Have received grants. - [Alice] Online giving not an alternative but part of strategy. Great potential

in Corporate/ individual Kenyan giving. We build online communities - not necessarily to ask for money immediately money but for support.

- [Dudu Diaries] Innovative, but will not replace the traditional method - for

129 Prideofkenya.co.ke


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large science and conservation initiatives the process of review and thoughtful writing and structuring of proposals are essential.

- [Watamu Turtle Watch] Have only recently started a Facebook page and regular blogs. Expect it requires a lot of time to raise large funds. “Time is something small projects such as ours do not have”

- [Colobus Trust] Considered as extra way of fundraising, not main focus funds-wise. Probably won't ever replace traditional methods.

- [Saving Stripes] Definitely does not begin to replace traditional fund raising.

- [Arocha] Not given the blog the best shot for fund raising - haven't posted enough nor asked directly sufficiently to truly test its effectiveness. However, don't think it will replace other forms of fund raising.

Can it help with sustainability

- [Kahumbu] No administration fee taken for the funds transferred. Dependent on grants for core costs and activities such as training bloggers. Google helped with advertising and promotion of site. Giving site more time to see whether it can sustain itself with current changes. Site is needed to face new crisis – biggest pesticides (swiftly overtaking poaching) and climate change

- [EAWLS] Using traditional donors, membership, legacies and endowments. Only recently embracing online means.

- [Nature Kenya] No. A culture of philanthropy through individual lacking in Kenya

- [Anthony Kariuki] CSOs in a precarious position, especially with shifting to basket funding – bi-laterals are using one operator like CDTF to get value for money and reduce administrative cost. Need to diversify. Future funds can come from the exchequer via devolved funds, endowment funds for forests and wildlife, Corporates and deepened philanthropy among individuals. Should be part of sustainability plans. Need to consider global geo-politics and crises.

- [Colobus Trust] reaches a limited audience as far as large funders goes, because [thinks] “a lot of older people with the money to donate don't necessarily do it online.” A lot of input time-wise for return on money, but keep peoples in the loop and thinking of organization.

- [Saving Stripes] Huge amount of work to maintain the blog, but payoff in terms of finances is small

- [Ali Kaka] It [sustainability] is a difficult question. Will remain a challenge for many years. Fundraisers have to be innovative and constantly keep the interest and concern of the public alive. Awareness and regular communication is key. Building of endowment/reserve/etc funds can ensure regular streams of funding. This however also has its risks e.g affected by global finance crisis. Some funds lost their savings and have been struggling to recover. What is a better way to secure long term investments to maintain endowments?

- [Rhino Ark] Creating an endowment fund with Kenya Govt (which has pledged shilling for shilling for what has been raised by RA) to fund conservation in perpetuity. Strategy is to include aggressive international campaign including online giving (Kenya is protecting wildlife for everyone not just for Kenya)

- [FOKP] We raise our funds through membership and income generating activities. But 10,000Birds raised awareness on us.


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What attracts donations - language, species, area,

- [Kahumbu] Highlighting critical issues/crisis helps e.g flooding in Ewaso. Depends on how story is sold. Species that get attention – in general great apes, elephants, lions, giraffes, turtles, animals in captivity. Also interesting areas, individuals (charisma), community projects such as art for gorillas. Trees, insects, snakes don‟t do that well. Some bloggers are savvy, some busy “putting out fires” in addition to blogging

- [Alice] Capturing people's imaginations. Repetition. Personal face-to-face engagement with Corporates. A champion. Break down donations – itemise. Businesses want ROI – sales, publicity, sustained relationships, feel good factor

- [EAWLS] blogs have not been regularly updated could be reason for low funding

- [Nature Kenya] FOKP enthusiasm impressed 10,000birds. Traditional donors not very keen to protect just one species – doesn‟t fit within the normal style, they want to see ecosystem based action

- [Dudu Diaries] not sure - having a charismatic species helps - insects is challenging

- [Watamu Turtle Watch] A bit of all (species, language, area), though the less 'cuddly' the species the more difficult. Marine environment difficult to promote. People seem to like to have a tangible goal, ie a species and if possible an individual.

- [Colobus Trust] Species first, definitely - if choice between Gorillas and lions or colobus monkeys, not likely to be first choice for donations. Then the personal interest with staff, knowledge of where the money is going and a desire to make a difference.

- [Samburu Monkeys/Bushmeat E.Africa] Language has to be clear, what you want to achieve.

- [Rhino Ark] Rally event is exciting and for a good cause - individual and corporate donors respond to that. The "good cause" is visible and tangible.

- [Arocha] Heart-string pulling stories about "sexy" animals such as lions & gorillas, language & style of writing in a way which really engages with the reader is a major component also as well as regular and most importantly frequent posting.

Blogs affecting policies, publics, mainstream media

- [Kahumbu] Advocacy campaign against lion poisoning. Discovered the issue of poisoning via blogs that reported animal poisoning (vultures, lions) by Carbofuran. Started wildlife poisoning blog to provide centralised information on the issue. Caught international attention. Got contacted for linkages with people on the ground. In Europe and the UK activists around the world began to help – e.g collecting signatures, tourists taking photos and sharing them. Issue introduced to Kenya parliament independentently MP for Naivasha in relation to Lake Nakuru. Saw opportunity for synergies Just started a series of meetings with government. POK campaign by Born Free helped to bring the issue to the fore. The US has banned Furadan because of the attention it has received. Trying to get it banned in Kenya and have it withdrawn from local shops. Carbofuran still on sale.

- Other kinds of advocacy have been presentations through avenues like Pop tech and Ted X. Prefer to promote the bloggers rather WD

- Generally local media not very interested in the stories. WD tried to use all columns in the dailies – health, agriculture, media.

- [Alice] POK aimed to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of lions in Kenya. Decorated lions displayed in and around Nairobi providing a free, public art display - highlighted the need to protect lions and their habitats throughout Kenya. Huge media support for Pride of Kenya - Biggest boost in kind support by Nation Media Group. Also on Radio: Kiss and Easy FM. Also ended up on Facebook as “negative publicity” - pictures of lions being vandalised circulated on Facebook.


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- [Nature Kenya] We are advocating against poisons and chemicals – the bird committee is dealing with this issue - has appeared on WD blogs. Policy and advocacy is very time consuming but not very well funded even by traditional donors

- [FOKP] Have been interviewed by local media because of blog. Met a lot of people because of the blog

- [Dudu diaries] uses blog "all the time” to influence publics, media, policy. Has had work from blog on BBC, Swara, many online stories including National Geographic and other more regional online media

- [Watamu Turtle Watch] Basis of its work is advocacy- showing the good and the bad. Media - not yet but have had press and documentary people visit.

- [Colobus Trust] Blog deals less so with policies, but keeps people informed. Stories from blog have not made it into mainstream media – attention has been though offline effort.

- [Saving Stripes] Not received any media attention or used the blog for advocacy and influence.

- [Bushmeat E.Africa] Targets decision makers whose action (decision) can influence the course of illegal trade. Has engaged mainstream media who find him via blog

- [Rhino Ark] RA heavily involved in policy advocacy but through direct lobbying not blog. Also invested in community around the fence and in the conservation area - said to be the most informed/aware in this region

- [Arocha] yes, quite a bit, more so than fund raising so far. A certain amount of media attention on the Dakatcha woodlands.

Offline practices - [Kahumbu] For advocacy on Carbofuran - meetings with government. - [Alice] Pride of Kenya was a major mass appeal public event to raise

awareness and funds for the conservation of lions in Kenya. - [Dudu Diaries] Engages "very much" in other offline fundraising activities - [Watamu Turtle Watch] Run volunteer programme and also hold

fundraising days, though event fundraising takes valued staff away from work. Classic catch 22 for conservation projects!

- [Colobus Trust] Yes, events, sponsorship, adoption of colobus monkeys, membership, grants

- [EAWLS] Blogs underutilised. Have just started online payments of membership via 2checkout and future strategy will include online fundraising.

- [Arocha] Proposals & philanthropists

Is social media replacing traditional media

- [Kahumbu] No. poor access resulting in infrequent logins. - [Alice] For Pride of Kenya - multimedia approach that included SMS giving - [Iregi Mwenja] All work undertaken communicated through the internet,

local and international media and scientific journals. Mix. - [Dudu Diaries] The non-monetary value of blog is sharing the message of

conservation with many different audiences across the world e.g recent blog had comments from the USA, Rome, Ghana and Pakistan - this shows you what an incredible platform for communication WildlifeDirect is.

- [Colobus Trust] Blogging helped reach a wider audience that already had an interest in conservation.

Inherent power positions in peer to peer giving

- [Kahumbu] Those who were donating giving directly to bloggers and did not allow overheads. This is the reason they liked WildlifeDirect in the first place - all funds directed to activities

- [Nature Kenya] Individual donors give on the basis of faith – start from a point of trust that the money will be put to good use – no obligation to meet strict rules and guidelines. Makes conservation friendlier, easier to implement projects. Traditional donor have bigger demands - proposals have to fit criteria, therefore are tailored to that criteria and are not


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necessarily issue drive. In the end NGOs “package” for donor requirements. Lack of unrestricted funds to be directed to crisis However both methods require transparency and accountability – once ruined funding is out of the window and can also ruin reputation.

- [Anthony Kariuki] No rigorous demand for accountability; the traditional donor is willing to invest in checks, the individual donor normally cannot.

Technology, its limitations,

- [Kahumbu] Need for a techie team - many technical requirements to get such initiatives to be successful. Developing the new website took a long time. Bloggers still writing as if they are reporting (cultural) needed training on how to make blogs newsy. Poor access resulting in infrequent logins. But people are using cellphones. Some bloggers are savvy.

- Paypal issues with Africa and issues of tax once WD is no longer receiving money for bloggers - not all bloggers have 501c status in the US like WD does and the donors do not get tax relief. People are looking for alternatives – but the e-transaction market largely untapped.

- Need to create more interaction – community of readers. Many bloggers in Kenya, but mostly techies and political commentary. Africa doesn‟t really blog on environment, such a platform is needed. Many people on social networks – Twitter and Facebook.

- [Alice] SMS campaign needed to be longer, at least three months all the same 12,000 people participated showing the potential. Much potential with mobile phones - with small amounts its possible to raise a lot of money.

- [FOKP] Community could see the blog posts about them over the mobile phone. Community enthused by the idea and had technology to see for themselves what they were contributing to.

- [Dudu Diaries] Internet slow especially for uploading video etc, making time for blogging a challenge

- [Watamu Turtle Watch] Bad connectivity, it takes hours to down and upload, staff time.

- [Colobus Trust] A lot of input time-wise for return on money, but it's to keep people in the loop and thinking of them. Another way to get donations

- [Saving Stripes] A huge amount of work to maintain blog, payoff is small in terms of finances. Main limitations and challenges are time to keep up the blog; writing a good post and posting regularly takes a fair amount of effort.

- [Arocha] poor internet connection; lack of sufficient time to commit to it (or staff to take it over)

- [Bushmeat E.Africa] any computer literate person can blog, it is the interest to learn that matters. Technology is the next frontier. E.g embracing of new technologies like the use of MPESA services to raise money for the Mau forest.

- [Ali Kaka] New and an innovative method, been successful for many organizations. But high maintenance and specialised method and still out of reach for most countries in Africa without outside help. WWF, et al dedicate considerable staff and funds to keep the system updated, attractive and relevant.


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Appendix 3: Coding of Field notes and Content Lion Guardians - given as example of successful fundraising by Kahumbu

Notes Codes

- Blog, raised almost $34,000 through online donations in two years. Received donations of digital cameras, mobile phones, and camera traps Raised $1000 for the Lion Guardian Games.

130 Guardians have directly

stopped ten hunting parties from killing lions131

- Initiated fundraising events for the project e.g UK Zoo Africa Alive raised

$4,731132

. - “Sponsor a Lion Guardian” campaign has seven Guardians sponsored -

covers all the costs of a Guardian (wages, equipment, monthly admin costs, phone credit) are covered by a donor.

133

Fundraising/Impact Offline activities Itemization

- Relationship building - Anne sent a card to her sponsored Guardian, and donated new laptop to the project

134, Nothoney blogger raised more than

$800 for Wildlife Direct for her birthday. The staff at WLD called from NAIROBI – and sang “Happy Birthday.”

135

- Whale shark blogger - instead of a gift register for wedding asked people to make donations to the EAWST instead. Bought own microlight

136

Relationship building

- Facebook cause has tapped into a new online community, amplifying publicity of the project

137.

Multiple online channels

- Joined the campaign against Furadan, which has been widely used in rural Kenya to eliminate lions, hyenas and other carnivores. Media attention led to ban of Furadan in USA

138

Media, advocacy

- Have featured in a number of articles, videos, documentaries, news items (National Geographic Magazine, Marie Claire, American vogue, Reuters, Swiss TV)

Media

- Faces of the blog are the Guardians e.g Kasanga, and Lions are a charismatic species

139

charismatic species + individuals

WildlifeDirect Annual report 2009

Paula Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellows program of 2009 for work at WildlifeDirect. Invited to speak at TEDx Nairobi in July (p11)

Adopting technology/sharing experiences

Wildlife Poisoning campaign received wide coverage (p2) Elephant conservation and illegal ivory trade was a major story, blog posts attracted international media attention (p10) Major news sites picked stories on 2009 drought written by bloggers including Mongabay.com, the BBC, and National Geographic among others

Advocacy/media

MacArthur - US$ 250,000 grant enabled expansion into Rwanda, Burundi, Other sources –

130

Source: Lion Guardians Annual report 2009 p13 131


Annual report, p13 133

Ibid 134

Ibid. Peter Dietz, founder of Social Actions, says “Donations will be a consequence of meaningful engagement, not a measurement of it.” The Right Way to use Social Media for Fundraising: Wildlife Direct.

134

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/11/the-right-way-to-use-social-media-for-fundraising-wildlife-direct.html 135

http://nothoney.com/2010/01/24/its-my-birthday-and-wildlife-direct-needs-your-help/ 136

http://whalesharks.wildlifedirect.org/2010/01/14/tagging-expedition-2010/ 137

Annual report, p13 138

Kahumbu "We have much to share with each other -- each activist or group of activists is working on a different animal or aspect of the problem. We are stronger working together than we are alone.” http://causeglobal.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-enterprise-2010.html 139

Annual report p6-7





http://causeglobal.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-enterprise-2010.html

http://causeglobal.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-enterprise-2010.html


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Uganda and Tanzania, purchased computers, cameras and filming equipment to facilitate blogging in the field, improvement of the web tools that WildlifeDirect Owen & Mzee Foundation - US$50,000 support for core costs Arcus Foundation - US$30,000 for general support (p13) In summary, Foundation Grants (51%), Online and check donations (45%) and others (4%). Expenditures consisted of General Administration (6%) and Program Expenses (94%). Included under Program expenses are operation support expenses for field officers. P21

grants, to support core costs an specific activities

Online donations were generally low in 2009 compared to 2008 due to the economic down turn. In 2009, US$231,000 paid directly to the field projects (89 bloggers).

Impact

Apes/primates popular (cercopan, bornean sunbears, gorillas) as well as Lions going by donation trends p18-19

Popular Species

Key challenge remains achieving sustainable funding – hope to incorporate more corporate sponsorships and foundation support but online fundraising key tool for projects.

sustainability

2009, severe drought in Kenya, bloggers reported on its effect on wildlife. Their stories attracted world attention p9

Responding to crisis

Wildlife Direct website

After 2008 Kenya crisis no tourists, the Mara Conservancy, 100% dependent on tourism revenue, in dire situation. WildlifeDirect raised $150,000 to for them

140

Response to appeal for assistance after the massive flood hit Samburu

141

Elephant voices exceeded initial target of £100,000, raised £118,000 in direct and online donations to the rebuilding of our research facility, destroyed by flooding on March 4th, 2010. Support from friends, donors especially in the US and in UK, Kenyan and international media, publicized our plight and helped raise international awareness.

142

More than just raising funds, giving voice to Africa‟s real conservation heroes, many who risk lives to save wild animals

143

Crisis/surge in donations Media support Networks voice

Goal is to movement big enough to respond to any wildlife crisis in Africa. Online community

FMC will not reintroduce Furadan in Kenya144

Advocacy on Baraza blog

140

http://wildlifedirect.org/about/how-we-begun/ 141

http://ewasolions.wildlifedirect.org/2010/03/25/thank-you-for-your-donations-after-the-flood/ 142

Thank you! Emergency flood relief fundraising target achieved http://savetheelephants.wildlifedirect.org/2010/07/20/thank-you-

emergency-flood-relief-fundraising-target-achieved/. Also had a link on JustGiving - http://www.justgiving.com/ste-research-camp-floods gives total online as £6,428.00 and updates on own website - http://www.savetheelephants.org/. 143

reference: Africa, fricanists, and Wildlife Conservation Peter J. Rogers Africa, Africanists, and Wildlife Conservation. Peter J.

Rogers. African Studies Review 48.1 2005 143-153 Retrieved on 1 June 2010 from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/african_studies_review/v048/48.1rogers.html. "writing on wildlife conservation in Africa have, for the most part, been dominated by natural scientists, international NGO staff, and journalists" 144

http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2010/04/08/fmc-will-not-reintroduce-furadan-in-kenya/

http://wildlifedirect.org/about/how-we-begun/


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