“…and these blogs, written by so called experts… why should I give a flying crap? Who cares what you think? Stop harassing me with your twitter address and latest blog post…” I listened in silence to a former colleague pontificate about her opinion on social media. I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding?’
“I frankly don’t have time to read any blogs and don’t really see the point…” Another colleague who is a senior fundraiser. I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding?’
“I can’t see that charity viral video on youtube because all of those types of sites are blocked…” A senior direct mail fundraiser at a hospital foundation. And I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding?’
People, it’s 2009.
Blogs, twitter, linkedin, facebook, myspace, etc… these are not passing fads.
It’s usually the people who aren’t using these mediums that go on about how they don’t want to read about someone brushing their teeth or see pictures of them at a party.
It’s like a magazine or newspaper – honest. You read the ones you want to read because their content appeals to you, you like the style of writing and you always walk away having learned something new.
And as fundraisers, our colleagues are innovating almost every day and then some of them tell you what they did and how they did it on their blog or twitter. Or they post their work online using youtube and facebook groups.
And you want to stick you head in the ground or just throw your hands up – ‘oh the IT people won’t let us have access to those sites‘. How can you call yourself an informed, educated and up-to-date fundraiser and think you can ignore these new channels of amazing information?
I think it is a required responsibility to be informed and to stay up to date with current trends – I owe that to my clients. I owe that to their donors. Do I read every blog and twitter post all the time? Heck no.
And you shouldn’t feel like you have to as well. But get involved, be a voice, share your experiences, participate in discussions, be informed. Learn. Grow. Do better!
‘…and another thing – stop bugging me that you have this blog or cool website – I don’t care! It doesn’t matter to me! I don’t see the point and I don’t want to hear about it anymore…’
Are you kidding?
Excellent post!
John, I fundamentally believe that even if social media doesn’t fit into your fundraising business plan/budget for 2009 – we all need to learn the language and the tools.
You are absolutely right that the successful fundraisers will have their heads up scanning the horizon and watching:
a. how communication is changing
b. what is happening in the sector
I did have a very senior fundraiser tell me that they prefer to do “useful” things that will make a “difference”. I think that is a valid point, social media does risk being productive – but that is where discipline will come in.
Anyway – thanks for the great post!
Kimberley aka @kimberleycanada
They’ll either be unemployed in 5 years, or they’ll change.
Hopefully, their charities won’t die as a result of their negligence and… dare I say it, incompetence. These people are doing the equivalent of a childs game of peekaboo. They close their eyes and ears to it and they think it doesn’t exist.
Ever see the old Star Trek TNG episode where they find the 20th century people who had been asleep and adrift for centuries? That’s pretty much how those individuals will be – if they choose to hide from change.
Thanks Kimberley. Like anything (lunch, coffee breaks, reading the paper) discipline is important… Thanks for your thoughts.
Cheers Laurie – I certainly don’t want to see anyone lose their job but I think that in a sense they will be left behind.
Great post, John. Social media today is like the 15th century’s printing press, blowing the doors open for people to be informed and to exchange ideas on a mass scale. Even though some of us, ahem, ‘older’ fundraisers may not personally ‘get’ the attraction of Facebook or Twitter, the point is millions of others do. Just like the music of Elvis, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, social media is here to stay, so as a fundraiser much wiser than me once said, “change or die”!
Hey John! I see what you are saying, and agree that new media is the way of the future. However, it got me thinking about the folks who are resisting. Perhaps they feel that they are falling so far behind and are feeling intimidated or insecure with all the pressure to change… I’m guessing your colleague is in his/her 40s or 50s? With all the changes going on and new technology to embrace, perhaps they are being forced to re-evaluate their lives and rethink the direction they need to go… and with every reminder that they ‘aren’t with it’ they crawl deeper into the that hole in the sand.
Would you like fries with that? Just sayin’ …
Cheers,
Joanne
Thanks for your thought Sonya. I’m not sure that social media is here to stay – but it will be here for a while I would suspect. I think the over arching point is that they way information is transferred and the possible outlets for new thoughts will constantly evolve with technology and I believe it is essential we evolve with it. Because the donors of the world certainly are!
Cheers Joanne. Thanks for wading in on the conversation. I think we all can make the choice how much or little we want to be “with it” – that’s for sure. God knows I don’t use all of the cool social media tools out there because I just wouldn’t be able to manage. I think the key is to find out about it, try things out, be open minded, ask for your friend’s opinion… be and stay informed. Thanks for your comment!
I agree w/Sonya.
It’s here to stay. It may not “look” the same (i.e. Twitter & facebook) but it’ll be here. Social media has been around for decades. MUDS and MMORPG’s are a great example of “old school” social networking. As are old industry forums where people congregated… as are dating sites!
Heck – personal ads in the penny saver are a form of social media.
We treat it like it’s new because as Homer Simpson once said “The internets available on computer now!” There’s really nothing new about social media – except that it’s a lot more popular and the technology to take advantage of it is in an increasingly larger number of homes and the demographics are increasing.
The challenge now is to find the balance for the social and the media. We wouldn’t walk into someone’s private party and start asking for donations. Social media is a gathering, social spot… you can’t go off asking folks to give, or take action for you if they don’t know you, like you, trust you and want to help you.
It is and will always be about relationships.
Perhaps those who don’t want to read blogs, Tweet, FB, LinkedIn, etc. are also those that still read a physical newspaper. If so they are reading a blog every time they read the editorials page. Blogs are just selective editorials.
I’ll admit it, even though I am extremely technical, I was very slow to pick up the blog thing, Facebook and I am sad to say I am still not on Twitter. Hey, I’m old (47), it takes me a while.
Being a business owner I have to budget my time. So far I haven’t managed the balance so I can include the ‘tweets’. When I left the corporate world I was just too darn happy to give up the Blackberry. I still think my hip is damaged from that thing. If I sit in front of my computer it is often to write estimates and proposals. I know that means eventually I am going to have to break down and get an iPhone or another Blackberry.
Maybe I should have paid better attention in school but I didn’t and now I am slow. I will admit that I understand it all, I know its value and I believe in its value. I just need to figure out how to get those extra 4 hours into each day.
There is an idea! Start a business of teaching us baby boomers how to manage all the social media! Don’t just tell us we should, show us how the [insert expletive] to manage it all and still do what we do. There has to be a fortune in that service somewhere.
Hey Michael, thanks for your comments… I honestly don’t think it would be much of a course – it’s like anything – find the balance. I’m like you – mostly a solopreneur – and I try to find that balance and I know it’s not easy. But it is possible!
Well, I do use FB and Twitter, and folks, I DO NOT WANT to have YET ANOTHER venue to be sold to, solicited from, or otherwise treated as a “marketing opportunity.” I am tired, tired, tired beyond belief at the constant perversion of social media to sell, sell, sell, hype oneself, post comment spam, etc etc.
Hey Chris – I think a lot of us agree with that – but like any marketing channel – once people (advertisers, marketers) see potential for income of some sort – they are all over it. So what’s the answer? I think the answer is we limit where we spend our time. And be prepared to be marketed to in all sorts of intrusive ways. I think your other point is interesting as well. I am one of those who use the tools of social media to sell what I do- and it’s great because it doesn’t cost me too much more than my time – compared to traditional marketing channels where I had spend a ton for an ad. Social media has allowed my business to grow in ways that traditional media never would have allowed it to.
[...] July 6, 2009 – Are you kidding? [...]
As the person who’s organization’s IT people block and ban such things are YouTube (except when it’s embedded in the Naked Idea’s emails (o;), I believe they will have to make some concessions for fundraisers at the Foundation so we can get involved on the social media side. We are all under the same system and restrictions as the Hospitals, that’s why it is blocked. However, I know one of the things that we’re finally wanting to start to get into is utilizing social media to communicate with our donors and reach new audiences. It seems we are already behind since we know some of the other big hospital foundations are already utilizing these systems. I’m actually attending the ArtezInteraction Conference September 29th which will look at social media strategy etc. So that should be interesting. I attended a session on social media at the AFP Congress last year but I didn’t find it overly useful (one of the few poor sessions at Congress last year).
My biggest challenge is finding the time to fit it all in at work. I’m with Michael, find me those extra hours in the day. I’m not going to be doing it in the evening when the last thing I usually want to do is go back on the computer after spending most of the day on it.
When I was on maternity leave the first time I rarely touched my home computer or looked at email. I was thrilled and sometimes think I could live quite happily in a world without it but then there are other times when I really appreciate being able to communicate with people so easily via email, MSN, Skype, Facebook etc. It’s a brave new world and I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.
And I’m not really ‘old’ either. Maybe just a bit old-fashioned in the way I think. I’d rather enjoy the outdoors and my children and husband than spend much of my ‘free’ time on the computer. Although I have to admit I do enjoy TV and watching movies but that’s a form of escape.
Sorry for babbling on….
Thanks Tara for your thoughts – I am still shocked that there are so many charities and nfp’s where access to a lot of these social media channels that others are using effectively for fundraising – is shut off or off limits.
I think we’re at the point now where organizations are going to have to appoint management level people to staff social media.
I am the major/planned giving staff and I’m doing much of the social media and eblast work for our organization. There are days where I get 3 hours sleep because I’m doing it. Nobody is forcing me to do it! I take the initiative because 1) I enjoy it. 2) I think it’s very important to be in this space early. 3) I think it’s very important to stay informed and up to date.
How long can I keep it up without it impacting my “real” job? Good question. As we begin the process of redesigning our website, creating and implementing a social media strategy and really looking at how to best integrate all our communications in a way that benefits all aspects of our charity, the issue of staffing and staffing with appropriate expertise becomes a major priority.
Hey Laurie. Our experiences are showing that those charities who are dedicating someone to social media are doing quite well-ish at it. As I’ve said before, @alscanada – or you – have obviously been doing a remarkable job with it! you need a raise as far as I’m concerned. Cheers!