What to do about that new generation
- Tue, August 21 2007
- Filed under: Social networking and web 2.0
By Darrenxyz, flickr.
I’m turning 40 next week, and one of the depressing consequences is realizing I’m not really a “new generation” of anything anymore. Oh well. Whatev.
My day was brightened today, however, by having Network for Good’s Six Degrees profiled in an article in the Wall Street Journal on the “New Generation of Philanthropy.” The article says:
Young donors and volunteers, snubbing traditional appeals such as direct mail and phone calls, are satisfying their philanthropic urges on the Internet. They’re increasingly turning to blogs and social-networking Web sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, to spread the word about—and raise funds for—their favorite nonprofits and causes. They’re sending Web-based fund-raising pitches to their friends and families, encouraging them, in turn, to forward the appeals to their own contacts.
So what does this mean for nonprofits? What does one do in an online world that is increasingly about this kind of portability and personalization? Is your web 1.0 web destination site enough anymore?
What do you do when the “new generation” is constantly generating new stuff, and you’re feeling decades behind in this decentralized new world?
I want to share how some smart people just answered those types of questions. Micro Persuasion just dubbed this the “cut and paste” era, which I think is a very good way of summing up the Internet today. Steve Rubel means:
Imagine for a moment that you can take any piece of online content that you care about - a news feed, an image, a box score, multimedia, a stream of updates from your friends - and easily pin it wherever you want. Once clipped, you can drop the content on your desktop, an online start page like Windows Live or Pageflakes, “the deck” of your mobile device or even “a crawl” on your Internet-connected television… It’s the coming era of the Cut and Paste Web.
Here’s what he - and one of his readers - recommends you do. I agree on all counts.
1. Think web services, not websites. What he means here is, make things that plug into other sites. Or better yet, use things that do that for you - like fundraising widgets.
2. Connect people. Help consumers clustering around different goals (making money, being entertained, etc.) with something that gives them value while promoting your cause. The LA Fire Department uses twitter to alert people when disaster strikes. I get local government disaster alerts on my cell phone.
3. Make everything portable. Make everything you’ve got to offer, embeddable.
4. (This one from his reader, Rich Pearson): Understand where and how your content is being used. Check out what is spreading so you know what works, what doesn’t, and what is your ROI.
If I had to sum all this up, I’d say this: Do not expect anyone to come to you any more. Go to where people are online.
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Comments
First off, Happy 40th! I keep telling myself it’s the best decade.
Second, great post. I think that you are dead on in your boil it all down recommendation are: go where other people are.
In fact, I’ve been wondering if nonprofits are doing themselves a disservice by setting up a traditional website. Sure, they need a good microformated about us and contact page but what if, rthar than spening time trying to put content on their main page, they used the cut-and-paste approach that you are advocating and made their main page but an aggregation of all their presence across the web—a link to their facebook page (or better yet, the page of the folks who are championing them), their comments on other sites, etc.
Marnie, thanks for telling me forty is a good decade. And for your astute comments. I agree, the traditional website needs radical rethinking given how the Internet is evolving. What constitutes hubs and spokes is undergoing a profound shift. People are becoming individual hubs, and we need to be spokes into their platforms for personal expression - as well as hubs for the many places people are speaking about our cause.
Katya,
Happy pre-birthday!
Thanks also for the wise counsel on going to where people are and giving them what they need to advance the causes we are working to address. Decentralization is key but it is such a huge shift for most of us!
Jocelyn
Nice picture… with a sence of humor. What can I say. If you think rhat forty is bad - you are right, but if you think that forty is the best period of your life… you are alo right. It’s a way of your thinking and that’s all
Katya - I do feel a bit behind when the latest group of interns in our office have not purchased a CD of music for years - they get their entertainment/information in other ways. I have also noticed with several colleagues that they use their thumb more (from frequent texting). With so much competition for content and attention that if you give away useful (or just plain shiny) material on your site you are more apt to be considered ‘useful’ to them. On the other hand just focus your website and outreach on the needs of your audience right? I think I read that in some book about Robin Hood Marketing.
Happy Birthday and hope you celebrate with a slip and slide.
Mark
I just blogged on the same article yesterday and came up with the same conclusion - go were people are.
Thanks for presenting yesterday’s webinar with Mark Rovner. Many interesting ideas!
BTW, I reached 40 a while ago. There’s nothing to worry about - have a wonderful birthday.
I am going to live 150 yeara, so if you are thinking the same your forty is the first forty and you will have many time for living
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and thoughtful posts!
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