#SM4NP: Kone 2012 Video Goes Viral, But Maybe For Wrong Reasons
But will it hold up to scrutiny?
Today is yet another day in the Republican Primary Season. Today is another day many thousands of Republicans will not want Barack Obama re-elected, but nor will they rally around a viable contender. Yet today also is the day possibly the 75 millionth person watches the viral video phenomenon ‘Kony 2012′. The video tells the moving story of Joseph Kony of Uganda who was certainly known (7-8 years ago) for kidnapping boys and forcing them to serve in his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and the viral video campaign by Invisible Children to raise money and awareness to have him brought to justice.
But Is Kony even alive? Is Invisible Children truly dedicated to helping youth in war-torn central Africa? The very success of the ‘Kony 2012′ campaign shows us how fraught with challenges our media saturated brave new world is.
Popularity: 77% | Category Case Study, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Fundraising, Media Review, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Public Media, Public Relations, Reviews, Social Media, Storytelling, Video Interview | | 4 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#COMMUNICATIONS: Plan Your Nonprofit’s Story, Then Shoot The Video
Making a video is all the rage in the nonprofit world – and it should be. Videos can engage the eyes and ears and hearts of your audience in ways that can and should complement other means of outreach. Videos can also be presented in a myriad of ways: posting it on YouTube and Vimeo is a given, but with ever faster networks your organization can email them to donors, it can be shown on the big screen of a fundraising gala, and your charity’s website should include a copy as well.
But as video becomes the buzzword-du-jour, remember that it is one tool in the box and the point of all the tools is to expand outreach, interest, donations, and volunteer pools. What will make the video tool successful is not the fancy technology but the careful construction of a meaningful and touching story. Video should be perceived as a chapter of a larger book of outreach, and perhaps not the first chapter.
Popularity: 4% | Category Advice, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Fundraising, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Media Review, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Media, Storytelling, Technology for Nonprofits, Video, Video Interview | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SM4NP: In Search For ROI, Can We Put A Number On A Relationship?
ROI can bring strong relationships as well as income to nonprofits
Who doesn’t want a high return on investment? Whether that investment is time or money, any business or nonprofit wants to see it put to good use and wants to see some reward for it. With the explosion of social media over the last five-to-seven years, we have watched a kind of bi-polar reaction to the development of an online/social media strategy. One tendency is to believe that with the new website and Twitter plug in, your organization’s work is done. The other is to strive to boost the number of Followers and Friends ever higher, though often be frustrated that each Facebook Friend is not donating each time he or she signs into their account. Perhaps we should envision a sweet spot between such extremes, for ourselves, for our clients, and for our constituents.
Popularity: 4% | Category Advice, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Internal Marketing, Interview, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Newsletter, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Media, Storytelling, Strategic Marketing, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Video Interview | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ProAging: Celebrating The Senior Games As Winter Approaches
Doctors, teachers, and athletes encourage us all to get more exercise. For many of us, our springtime means the energy to start a program to get fit and overcome the initial discomforts. As we enter our summer months, the foundation of better health has been set, and we begin to push some of our boundaries. The shortening days of fall might dissuade some of us, but the weather remains warm enough to keep us moving. Besides, winter could prove a notable setback, so we better give an extra push now.
But what about the seasons of our lives? Are we building a solid foundation in our earlier decades to encourage an active and engaged senior life? Many seniors are even competing in an Olympic-style festival that can inspire us all.
Popularity: 5% | Category Aging, Boomers, Events, Fitness, Health, Independent Living, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Silent Generation, Storytelling, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SocialNetworks: Are You LinkedIn To Your Nonprofit?
This past summer we discussed the fact that LinkedIn had developed organizational pages designed for nonprofits. It was but one feature added with the input of Bryan Breckenridge, whose job it was to expand the ‘LinkedIn for Nonprofits’ project. Here he is quickly introducing the program:
But like any good SM platform, LinkedIn has not been sitting on its laurels.
Popularity: 4% | Category Blogs, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Aging: Advancements In Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Can Lead To Advancements In Treatment
Image via Wikipedia
Dr. Kejal Kantarci, a radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and her team of chemists and brain surgeons have recently published findings of their work that might be the clue to screening those likely to develop some form of dementia – as much as twenty years before visible signs appear.
The report came out this week in the e-journal Neurology.org, and can only be accessed through a subscription. Truth be told, such an article would be well beyond the understanding of this blogger, and perhaps some of our readers.
Fortunately, Dr. Kantarci has been discussing her team’s findings with numerous outlets, including HealthDay.com.
Popularity: 6% | Category Aging, Communications, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, Interview, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Publications, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Aging: Upcoming Movie Documents The Revolution Of Growing Older
From the people who brought us the Civil Rights Movement and Haight-Ashbury, draft-dodging and fuel-efficient draft airplanes comes a new movement meant to revolutionize the ways we think about aging. The Baby Boomers have never really moved gently from one stage of life to another, so we should not be surprised to discover that they are not prepared simply to go gently into that long cold night.
Boomers and many of their Gen.X offspring want to challenge society to reconsider how we perceive aging and what aging is for – both for the individual and for his or her family and community. An upcoming documentary will help tell the story of that challenge.
Popularity: 5% | Category Aging, Communications, Community, Health, Independent Living, Interview, Movie Review, News and Current Affairs, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Storytelling, Video Interview, Wellness | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Philanthropy: Fundraising Is Tough, And Thus Inspirational
Mondays in early May can be tough for the same, yet opposite, reason Mondays in early December can be tough. In May, those first warm but not hot days entice us to lounge in our pjs or dream of lunch in the park. Or maybe you did all that with your mom yesterday, and the idea of breaking the spirit with mere work inspired you to hit the snooze a couple of extra times.
In any case, we thought it might be helpful to remind us all why we are in this line of philanthropic/socially-conscious work. For some, it the lack of a ‘business-smart’ dress code, for others a chance to work with like-minded peers, for a few fundraising was not on their maps until economic issues forced their hand. What’s your reason?
Popularity: 3% | Category Communications, Fundraising, Interview, Nonprofit, Video Interview | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Enviro: Deepwater Horizon Disaster One Year Later
The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico erupted one year ago today. Eleven workers on the Transocean/Halliburton/British Petroleum were killed, though BP has still managed to avoid investigation into their deaths. The terrible tragedy of 20 April 2010 became the ongoing ecological crisis of the largest oil spill in US waters ever. And the cat-and-mouse game BP and the US government played over the amount of old spewing from the damaged wellhead became the political story of the rest of the summer.
One year later, residents of the Gulf are still trying to recover the economic blow of a lost season of tourism and damage to beaches or wetlands. They also continue to struggle to get the promised compensation from BP. What is the state of the Gulf itself one year on?
Popularity: 5% | Category Blogs, Environment, Events, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Politics, Resource, Sustainability, Video Interview | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Aging: Video On Design & Marketing To Baby Boomers
A number of weeks ago we presented a news story about how retiring Baby Boomers are changing the ways we all perceive design and consumerism in older age. Since then NBC news filled out the report with a posted video that includes Today’s Peter Alexander conversation with Joseph Coughlin, director of MIT’s Age Lab. We also get to see him don “AGNES,” a suit designed to impose the physical aspects of aging on a younger person. That suit has been used by commercial designers and engineers to help create products and access to products meant to improve the lives of older Americans. But don’t call them ‘Old.’
Popularity: 4% | Category Advertising, Assisted Living, Design, Health, Independent Living, Marketing, Research, Retirement Living, Technology, Video Interview, Wellness | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Interview: Cass Naugle, Executive Director of The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Maryland Chapter
Alzheimer’s is a word most of us have heard, but how many of us know much about the disease itself?
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. According to recent estimates, as many as 2.4 million to 5.1 million Americans have AD, with numbers expected to grow with the growth of the population. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing.
One organization actively working to raise awareness and support for this disease is the Alzheimer’s Association, started in 1980. With a mission to ‘eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all effected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health,’ today, the Association reaches millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s across the globe through its national office and more than 75 local chapters. As the largest donor-supported, voluntary health organization for Alzheimer’s, the Association is a catalyst for advancements in Alzheimer research and care.
Popularity: 7% | Category Advocacy, Aging, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Perspectives, Retirement Living, Video Interview | | Comments Off
Written by: Cate Neilson
The Latest Technologies for Senior Living @ CES 2011
Steve Gurney’s “Everyone is Aging” blog has some great reviews of the latest technologies aimed at seniors at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. His focus is on healthcare and senior living solutions, in particular.
Watch the video to find out more:
Popularity: 2% | Category Hardware Review, Retirement Living, Software Review, Technology, Video Interview | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco Kathuria
Perspectives: Kristen Cambell of the National Council on Citizenship
Kristen Cambell, Director of New Media
When was the last time you tested your ‘Civic Health’ to find out if your actions, attitudes, and behavior indicated your full participation as an American citizen?
The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) has established a ‘Civic Health Index’ to measure this very thing. Founded in 1946 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, this non-profit organization leads the way in promoting our nation’s civic life. Established to track, measure, and promote civic participation and engagement in partnership with other organizations on a bipartisan, collaborative basis, NCoC focuses on ways to enhance history and civics education, encourage national and community service, and promote greater participation in the political process.
The NCoC relies strongly on New Media (NM)—often referred to as Social Media for this readership—to get its message out to citizens across the country, and this week’s Perspectives spotlights their NM outreach director Kristen Cambell. (more…)
Popularity: 4% | Category Conference/Congress, Interview, Nonprofit, Perspectives, Perspectives, Politics, Technology, Video Interview, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Cate Neilson
Resolved: Social Media Produces Social Good (Part 1: Arguments For The Affirmative)
Image via CrunchBase
As a buildup to our upcoming Perspectives interview with Kristen Cambell, Director of Programs and New Media the National Conference on Citizenship, that will be published this Thanksgiving week, we wanted to point our loyal readers to a brewing debate about social media as a change-agent for good – that social media have the capabilities of influencing meaningful behavioral changes among people and help institute (at least ‘organize’) systemic/institutional change. John Locke wrote hundreds of pages about the family, not the king, as the bedrock of a free political society – and it still took a half-century for the American colonists to revolt. How can a bunch of 140-character tweets instigate such change? Many believe it already has…
(more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Audio Interview, Communications, Community, Marketing, Nonprofit, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Video Interview, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD