The Viral Nature of Knowledge

When I talk about social media and non profits, I get a wide range of responses, as I discussed in my very first post on this blog  (click here to read).   There is no question that social media can now be seen in the communication, development and marketing plans of nonprofit organizations.  But the approaches, focus and effectiveness of the efforts are all over the map, and best practices are difficult to determine. That’s part of the reason for blogs like this one.

We believe social media has a viral characteristic and can spread your message with a speed and fervor that will help you accomplish you mission. I also believe that knowledge has that same characteristic – but only when shared. This is the foundation for my love of teaching and training, because I have been blessed with the opportunity to see this characteristic first hand.

Technology has been a part of my life from an early age. One of my favorite photos of my late father is him standing looking at the inside of an early computer board, twisting his hair and trying to figure out the problem. The image next to it shows you his calculus class teasing him about his white socks and bow ties.

My Dad designed the computer scheduling process for the high school where he taught math in the 1960s, and I spent many afternoons, and Saturdays keypunching for him. OK – now we will see just how old some of my readers really are. Do any of you know what keypunching even is? The point of this is that I developed my passion for technology and it’s use for good very early in my life. If you look at the path my professional life has taken you can see that never went away. In my bio I talk about investing in my very first computer in 1974 to make sure that those of us involved in nonprofit work were as astute about the emerging technology as the developers and business people.

I have shared some personal history to explain a philosophy that is at the foundation of this blog, this site and my work with and for nonprofits. We are all stronger when we share what we know and learn. My father, whom I miss every day, taught me there is never a down side to sharing knowledge. So, I will continuously share with all of you what I find and what I learn.

In that vein, I want to share with you resources I have found regarding social media and nonprofits. I call this group the NP social media community. With the trillions of blogs and sites out there, I would not even presume to suggest this is an exhaustive list. But I have found their authority rankings to be high and their information to be both invaluable and educational to my process. Hope you find the same.

The Experts!

There are three places that are essential (in my humble opinion) for any nonprofit interested in moving into the world of social media.  The first is Change.org.  I found my way here very early in my process primarily through searching for training on social media and nonprofits.  Heather Mansfield, their nonprofit community manager, used Twitter to her and my advantage by advertising her webinars on Web 2.0 (at Diosa Communications, her business arm) as well as on the new features available to nonprofits at change.org.  This site is amazing, and any nonprofit that doesn’t develop their change.org site is missing an amazing opportunity.  I will talk in more detail about the process I used with the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy in a later post as an example to help any of you who are thinking about taking this seriously – but here is their change.org page.

Beth’s Blog on how nonprofits can use social media is definitely the standard on the topic. This site has so much information it can easily overwhelm you. And then when you go to her wiki (we will talk about wiki’s later as well) you can find even more materials. Beth has been in this the longest of anyone I found (again, not exhaustive), and she has some amazing partners.

That brings me to the third and final part of this trilogy, We Are Media. This is a project of NTEN – or the Nonprofit Technology Network, again, an amazing resource for all things in the NP social media community (and more).

I started making my way alone through this wilderness, and these three resources taught me I am definitely not alone. I wish I had more time to learn more things faster.

More Learning Sites

About.com is one of those sites that comes up regularly when you search for information on a variety of topics. I have found it in my search list several times, most recently for an article by Joanne Frtiz. If you read her bio, her experience with nonprofits is impressive and her suggestions are excellent for organizations beginning to put their feet in the social media waters.

Social Media Today, while not exclusively writing about nonprofits, provides an excellent set of educational materials. For example, check out this post on their new media school. They also had great article on the lack of comprehensive strategies for nonprofits using social media by Sally Falkow. Worth reading and the links in their post can take you even further into the topic.

Wild Apricot’s, nonprofit technology blog, while sponsored by a for profit company is filled with outstanding information for nonprofits. This post, for instance, talks about slideshare presentations available to nonprofits.

Finally, I will talk about mashable. There is no other site I have found more helpful with simple definitions and just lists of stuff! Take this example post about how you can measure your online influence.

Building my knowledge and expertise on nonprofits and social media burdens me with an interesting paradox. I want more information and I want less information. I suppose the real issue is I want focused, quality information. Everything I share here I have tried to evaluate and investigate as best as I can and as much as time will allow. After that folks – you’re on your own. Go Forward and May Knowledge be Power.