September 2009

Using Social Media Tools for

your organization

Susan TenbyOnline Community Director,

TechSoup Global

Overview

• Introduction/background on TechSoup community• Social media tools overview--(I will delve deeper into these)--• Flickr• Twitter• Second Life• --and other online social networks--• Facebook Page• LinkedIn• YouTube (Digital Storytelling Event)• Google Tools (keeping you in the conversation)• Wrap-Up/Q & A/discussion

TechSoup is a popular, comprehensive online content and community destination for nonprofits that provides unbiased information and technical know-how to ensure that nonprofits make the best possible use of technology.

TechSoup.orgThe technology place for nonprofits

A Comprehensive Technology Resource for Nonprofits

• Software donation program (TechSoup Stock)

• Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI) • Learning Center articles• TechSoup Community• Nonprofit Commons• NetSquared (Net2)• Public Computing & Libraries • Free Downloads• TechSoup Global Network

TechSoup.org/community

TechSoup Community

• 17 Forums• Events Calendar• Member Spotlight• Community Blog• Second Life• Surveys• Soup Recipes• Managed by two Community Managers and

volunteer hosts and star users.

TechSoup Community Network

• Extending community beyond TechSoup site• Reach out to constituents on other online

community platforms that they already frequent

• Expand our community to wider range of nonprofits

• Provide community members with further networking and collaboration opportunities

• Leverage social media tools towards social change

Where in the (Online) World is TechSoup?

NetSquared (Net2)

• TechSoup’s Web 2.0 arm• Spur responsible use of social media tools for

social change• Annual conference• Monthly Net Tuesday events• Community blog• International reach with local groups and

events• Community Tagging Project (nptech, net2)

Traditional online community building tools

• Message boards• Listservs• Email newsletters

Social Media “Web 2.0” Tools

• What does Web 2.0 really mean anyway?

• Wikipedia definition: “…web technology and web design that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users”

Sounds like online community!

New social tools for community building

• Blogs• Wikis• Social bookmarking

(tagging)• Event sites• Video sharing

services • Online social

networking sites

There’s no shortage of social media tools…

…but how do you decide which ones to use?…

• Consider your audience• Time and resources to establish and

maintain online presence• Desired benefits• Experimentation• Outreach strategy and periodic re-

evaluation of strategies

…and how to you use them?

• Different tools good for different purposes, not always for others

• Multiple tools means more time to upkeep, important not to fragment community across many platforms

• Key to best implement them all in way that is useful and easy to maintain, and a place people will want to go

Online Communities in Disguise

May not appear to be online communities, but have tremendous potential for getting your message across

• Photo-sharing service• Many people use casually but uses

for organizations too• Raising awareness• Launching campaigns• Documenting impact• Illustrating change over time• Showcasing your organization

Building community around photos

• Flickr groups: Individual accounts, but group organizing features

• Pro Accounts on TechSoup

• Public or private groups• Increased visibility• Humanize organization

with visual images of people behind the organization and those they serve

Making the most of Flickr

• Tagging, titles, descriptions so photos are findable

• Creative Commons licensing to allow further distribution of your photos

• Privacy settings, filters to share images appropriately

• Create promotional materials: cards, mugs, t-shirts, etc.

• Online embedded editing tool

Launching campaign

• Humane Society LOLSeal Photo Caption contest

• Users submitted captions for baby seal photos

Used Flickr to display all entries

• “lolseals08” tag to keep entries together

• Link to take further action in campaign to save baby seals

• Button to spread word on Facebook

• Element of Fun

Documenting Impact

• International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

• Day after Sichuan earthquake

• Documenting important issues, historical events

Showcasing your work

• No group, “npsl” tag holds it all together

• Easy way to communicate a visual concept that might be unfamiliar

• Outstanding promotional vehicle

• Microblogging • What are you doing?• SMS, instant messaging, web updates• Short, succinct updates --140 character

limit per Tweet• Started as way to document life

activities, but has evolved into more uses

Followers and followees

• Building up larger network of followers broadcasts your message to wider audience

Twitterpacks

• Wiki of people to follow by topic, location, events, etc.

• Large signal to noise ratio

• Value in following those with useful/relevant updates

What’s Twitter good for?

• Quick shout-outs, calls to action• Promoting events• News, conference briefings• Sharing articles, blog entries, other

resources with others• Getting a quick answer to a question• Solicit feedback, ideas, suggestions,

news source

Disaster Response

• Nate Ritter during San Diego fires• Non-web alerts• Aggregating information from news sources• Wisdom of crowds: compilation of updates from

community

Power of Twitter

• Beth Kanter 2008: Can conference room of connected people get 250 people to donate $10 by the end of the conference?

• $2,657  from 112 donors in 90 minutes

Instant communication

• Finding others at conferences/events• @ messages or direct messages• Follow certain Twitter accounts to get

updates on particular topic • Twitter Clients (Twirhl)

Important to listen too

• Twitter search, track mentions of name/cause/organization/replies

• Subscribe as RSS feed or email update

• Firefox extension• Use favorites feature to document

feedback• Support community efforts

Second Life

Nonprofit Commons in Second Life

Through the Nonprofit Commons project, TechSoup is assembling a community of nonprofits in Second Life to help lower the barriers of access to this emerging virtual world

Nonprofit Commons in Second Life

• Through this community, we provide free office space to qualifying groups, hold meetings, create a cooperative supportive learning environment and foster outreach, education, fundraising, all in a virtual space.

• Our goal is to create a learning community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the virtual world, and to investigate the many ways in which nonprofits can utilize this unique environment.

Leadership and assistance through virtual community organizing strategies

• In-world Meetings• Wiki• Website/community blog• NPSL tag• Management steering committee group• Directory of Nonprofits in Second Life• Branding as NPO experts and advisors to all new orgs in-world

Community Blog: NPSL

Community Wiki

But isn’t Second Life just a game?

• Often a matter of convincing board members and funders of its value

• Finding more ways of obtaining statistics and measuring impact

• Medium fosters innovation and creativity through combination of audio, text, and visual technologies

• Nonprofits continuing to develop new ways to build awareness and reach people

New ways to collaborate and get work done

• Free, real-time meeting space to collaborate with activists around the globe via voice and text chat capabilities

• Connect with organizations doing similar work worldwide

• Networking in-world for real life and in-world projects

Reduces Your Carbon Footprint

• Carbon (and cost) savings of participating in event from own computer screen

• OneClimate’s Virtual Bali Conference this past Dec.

• In-world speeches, press conferences

• Alternative way to participate, minus carbon cost of flying

Fundraising

• Nonprofits can use Second Life to raise funds

• The 4th Annual American Cancer Society's virtual Relay 4 Life just raised over $200,000

• Second Life awareness can translate into real-world dollars

• Digital Campfires received truck-load of real-world monitors and computers through connections made in Second Life

Provides safe and anonymous means of self-expression

A Space for making the impossible happen

• Large community of people with disabilities in Second Life

• Second Life Wheelies (disability nightclub) where adults with disabilities can interact in an environment without the physical constraints they experience in real life

What works?

• Activities that take advantage of 3-D interactivity of virtual world that the web can’t match

• Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)’s Gone Gitmo installation

• Virtual representation of Guantanamo Bay gives avatars temporary simulated experience of being imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay

• Teaching tool about issues of habeaus corpus

Best Practices: What we have learned

• Holding events is a great way to bring avatars to our offices, and builds friendships and connections among our members.

• In-world fundraising was our initial goal, but it

hasn't worked out for most. • It’s important to maintain a presence on the

mainland, for foot-traffic, versus being on our own private island

• Freebies/branded tools are a great way to draw traffic, and can spread your message far and wide.

Raising public awareness of Nonprofits in Second Life through the media

• New York Times • Washington Post • San Jose Mercury News• Contribute Magazine –Sept/Oct Issue

• New Scientist –September Issue

• Launch Squad• KQED Radio - California Report • Nonprofit Times- 2 September Issues

It’s even got the attention of Congress…

• I testified in Congressional subcommittee hearing on potential of virtual worlds for nonprofits

•Hearing simultaneously broadcasted in Second Life with select avatar attendees in virtual rendering of hearing room

..and perhaps more importantly—the Daily Show!

NPC provides virtual offices to over 100 social benefit organizations in a community setting

Newly launched location- 4 islands

Looking forward… Mixed Reality for all events

Resources

• Flickr http://www.flickr.com • How nonprofits can get the most out of Flickr

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page8291.cfm • Twitter http://www.twitter.com• Big Juicy Twitter Guide

http://www.caroline-middlebrook.com/blog/twitter-guide/ • Nonprofit Twitterpacks

http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/Twitter-Pack-by-Topic#NonProfitPack

• Second Life http://www.secondlife.com • Nonprofit Commons wiki http://www.npsl.wikispaces.com • Nonprofit Commons blog http://www.nonprofitcommons.org • TechSoup Community http://www.techsoup.org/community

Contact Info

Susan TenbyOnline Community Director, TechSoup Network susan@techsoup.org

SL avatar: Glitteractica CookieFollow on twitter

@suzboop @npsl @techsoup

•http://www.techsoup.org/•http://www.netsquared.org•http://npsl.wikispaces.com/•http://www.nonprofitcommons.org