Photo courtesy of Public Agenda on Flickr.

Newsweek executive chairman Sidney Harman passed away this week at the age of 92. A sound pioneer, businessman, communicator and philanthropist, Harman spent much of his life discovering better ways for people to connect to each other and the world. He made his fortune by introducing high fidelity or “hi-fi” to [...]]]>

Photo courtesy of Public Agenda on Flickr.

Newsweek executive chairman Sidney Harman passed away this week at the age of 92. A sound pioneer, businessman, communicator and philanthropist, Harman spent much of his life discovering better ways for people to connect to each other and the world. He made his fortune by introducing high fidelity or “hi-fi” to the sound industry in the 1950s when television was in its infancy and radio was a primary way many learned what was going on outside their own communities. With the introduction of “hi-fi” sound, people could take in news programs, sporting events and artistic performances without background noise or irritating sound distortion, changing the way they engaged with the world around them.

From the beginning, Harman used his business successes to support social change. He was known for the “quality of working life” programs he initiated in the plants that manufactured his hi-fi systems. The programs focused on improving productivity by increasing job satisfaction and lowering workplace stress – issues that the corporate world still struggles with today. As his calling in life tilted toward philanthropy, Harman served on numerous trustee boards including the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change and the Public Agenda Foundation, a organization dedicated to helping the general public make thoughtful, informed decisions about critical public policy.

Harman made headlines in August 2010 when he purchased Newsweek from the Washington Post Company for exactly $1. The magazine was drowning in debt and many media observers had basically written it off. But Harman saw a way forward that led to a merger with The Daily Beast to form a new entity that he believed combined serious journalism with energetic web savvy.

The impact his latest innovation, the Newsweek Daily Beast Company, will have on the 21st century news media landscape is still emerging. But Sidney Harman’s willingness to take a risk on innovation while investing in social good shows that the stories that truly matter to our national well-being can be told with creativity and integrity.

Year of the Rooster by eugevon, on Flickr

While I know 2010 was the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese calendar, it felt more like the Year of the Rooster. Those born in the Chinese zodiac’s Year of the Rooster tend to be quick thinkers who are practical and resourceful. During this [...]]]>

Year of the Rooster by eugevon, on Flickr

While I know 2010 was the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese calendar, it felt more like the Year of the Rooster. Those born in the Chinese zodiac’s Year of the Rooster tend to be quick thinkers who are practical and resourceful. During this very busy news year, resourcefulness was a key element to successful campaigns. Being able to identify and utilize appropriate sources for information, news, statistics, policy updates, and other resources helped campaigns achieve their communications goals for the year.

Breaking news stories this year, such as the BP oil spill and midterm election results,  impacted ongoing campaigns as well as created new outreach opportunities for new or existing campaigns. What’s more, many of these stories took on new dynamics in real-time, and had additional nuances or complexities depending on the medium in which information was delivered.  Relying on just one or two sources for news is limiting.

2010 reinforced that diversifying information resources is key. We should monitor traditional and online news sources, social media channels and pop culture trends to find the next big news angle or outreach opportunity. While tracking many resources may seem to reap more work than rewards, it’s the only way we can keep our outreach efforts whether to the media, policymakers and/or the general public, current, relevant, and effective. To aid your resourcefulness in 2011, use these free online tools to help you keep up with the news and political cycles.  They will help you become more proactive and strategically reactive in future campaigns.

Although we are entering the Year of the Rabbit, let’s keep the resourcefulness of the rooster ever present in all the communication work that we do. Forgive me for referencing another saying, but how can we make lemonade in 2011 if we aren’t able to find the lemons?

This guest blog post is by Leah Holmes-Bonilla, a Senior Account Supervisor and the Multicultural Services Manager at Vanguard Communications.

Ralph Waldo Emerson writes:

The highest compact we can make with our fellow is — “Let there be truth between us two forevermore.’”

Not so far off are beliefs and behaviors of Millennials as they continue to [...]]]>

This guest blog post is by Leah Holmes-Bonilla, a Senior Account Supervisor and the Multicultural Services Manager at Vanguard Communications.

Ralph Waldo Emerson writes:

The highest compact we can make with our fellow is — “Let there be truth between us two forevermore.’”

Not so far off are beliefs and behaviors of Millennials as they continue to grow older and continue to share.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project report and other technology experts:

The Millennial generation will lead society into a new world of personal disclosure and information-sharing using new media.  These experts said the communications patterns “digital natives” have already embraced through their use of social networking technology and other social technology tools will carry forward even as Millennials age, form families, and move up the economic ladder.

Rather than diminishing their interest and comfort in engaging in social media, Millennials will continue to share information.  This somewhat flies in the face of traditional beliefs that we grow more conservative with age.  This research suggests that Millennials continue to believe online sharing of personal information carries social benefits.  I see it as grounded in some fundamental trust in social media to build friendships, form and find communities, seek help and build reputations.

What does this tell us about Millennials into the future?  That they will continue to participate in social networking, and continue to avail themselves of new media technologies.  As present day and future communicators, we need to keep pace with this tech-savvy audience.  Remember that they trust in the medium, rendering it a great avenue for future communications.

Remember a few simple cues in your communications efforts: stay current with social media.  Understand that constant communication and flexibility in communicating are also important.  And finally, never be afraid to learn from your audience.

I’m getting ready to live blog from the Progressive Communicators of Washington, D.C. event at WWF on mobile communications tactics for progressive communicators.

UPDATE: The live event has concluded. The archived video of this panel discussion is available here:

Presenters (left to right): Jeff Lee; Jed Alpert, Mobile Commons; Rachel Labruyere, Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign; [...]]]>

I’m getting ready to live blog from the Progressive Communicators of Washington, D.C. event at WWF on mobile communications tactics for progressive communicators.

UPDATE: The live event has concluded. The archived video of this panel discussion is available here:

Presenters (left to right): Jeff Lee; Jed Alpert, Mobile Commons; Rachel Labruyere, Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign; Ron Vassall, Kaptivate; David Miller, Mobile Discovery; and Susan Murray, American Red Cross.

Note: these updates should not be interpreted as direct quotes from participants, but instead, notes covering the substance of their comments.

12:36 - Thanks for joining the live blog!  We’ve been addressing some of the audio issues with the live stream, but will be providing updates going forward.  Thanks for your patience.

12:43 – Rachel Labruyere: our 140,000 SMS subscribers is the biggest SMS list for immigration activism outside of the Obama campaign.  Mobile is the right technology for the right time, and allows us to reach people that aren’t using the web.

12:45 - Rachel Labruyere: saw phenomenal response from mobile efforts.  Upwards of 5,000 people responded to the initial text campaign.  The campaign used text messages to recruit people to participate in house parties and followed up directly with those responding to text messages.

12:49 - Rachel Labruyere: prompted people to text “RIDE” to a central number if they needed a ride to participate in the immigration rally in Washington, D.C.  This enabled the campaign help to find rides for people in advance and bolster attendance at the rally.

12:52 - Rachel Labruyere: One of the biggest things that we do is to drive calls to Congress and the White House – at this point, we’ve driven over 300,000 calls.  Once you hang up on that call, you immediately get a text back thanking you for your call.  If you’re on the SMS list, it prompts you to encourage five friends to make a call.  If you’re not on the list, it asks you whether you would like to join.

12:53 - Rachel Labruyere: Prompting people to opt-in to the SMS list is most successful at live events.

12:57 - Jed Alpert: programs are successful because there is a reason to use mobile, and people are excited to participate in it.  Tools facilitate this participation, but a good campaign is essential.

1:00 – Ron Vassall: mobile web is an interesting addition to SMS as it expands your capabilities and what you can do in mobile campaigns.

1:02 - Jeff Lee: it is now more common that your mobile system is connected with your backend CRM system that you use to track who your top donors are.  When you get somebody texting in, you can bring that interaction back into your core system to help contribute data and information about your supporters.

1:05 – David Miller: APIs make it easier to share information across networks by allowing you to push information into other platforms – such as Facebook or Twitter – via your mobile efforts.  This helps you reach broader audiences and can help your messages go viral.

1:08 – Jed Alpert: The data shows that until you are 46 or 47 years old, you send more text messages than you make phone calls.  The largest growth in text messaging is occurring among those that are older than 65.

1:10 – Susan Miller: for the tsunami, we raised $120,000 via SMS.  For Hurricane Katrina, we raised an equivalent amount.  In 2008, we raised around $250,000 around the time of the Republican National Convention, as there was a lot of hurricane coverage and concern over potential hurricanes.  The 2008 effort was bolstered by support from the Obama campaign, who sent out a request to their list.  Today, it is a completely different landscape, where over 91% of people are mobile subscribers and over 20% are mobile-only households.

1:12 – Susan Miller: text HAITI to 90999 to experience how fundraising works via SMS, as part of the current effort in support of earthquake relief.  You will have to reply yes to confirm your donation, but this can show you how it works in practice.  It is very, very easy.

1:15 – Susan Miller: to date we’ve raised over $32 million for earthquake relief in Haiti, an effort that was bolstered by activity and publicity on social networks.  On mobile, 91% of what we raised was raised in the first two weeks.

1:16 – Susan Miller: to address potential user error in texting – such as spelling an opt-in keyword incorrectly – you must tell your carrier that you want to recognize as many potential spellings as possible.

1:19 – Susan Miller: we are at a crossroads of mobile fundraising and things will change – but right now, $5 and $10 limits are the norm.  Carriers may see it as a liability, as it is essentially a floating loan until people pay their phone bills.

1:23 – Jeff Lee: One thing to keep in mind is that the U.S. short codes do not work in other countries.  In each country that you work in, you will have a different mechanism to attract people.

1:26 - Jed Alpert: There was a recent authorization of a pan-Latin short code that will be able to be used across Latin America.

1:28 - David Miller: Premium SMS is not your only option, so you don’t always have to go through the carrier.  As we move forward and phones evolve, the reliance on the carrier for doing things in general is going down.  It is good to keep in mind as we think about campaigns in the future.

1:31 – Jed Alpert: 501(c)3 organizations and some religious organizations have been authorized for text message fundraising.  Mobile donations are not yet available for political candidates.

1:34 – Rachel Labruyere: having more information makes the list more useful.  We sent a message that offered a t-shirt to anybody that texted us their address to help increase the data that we have about those on our list.  That allows us to target them more effectively.

1:37 – Jed Alpert: the bigger mobile fundraising gets, the less incentive there is for the carriers to do it.

1:39 – Ron Vassall: smart phones will revolutionize what we’re able to do with SMS outreach.  We’re at 70 million smart phone users now, and will be at 100 million by the end of the year.

1:44 – Jeff Lee: there is some discussion about adding mobile to current regulations that prevent spam.

1:47 – Ron Vassall: nonprofits often choose to share codes to save money, but the risk is that one bad apple could cause the short code to be shut down if it is abused.

1:50 – David Miller: Apple revolutionized the entire mobile world when they introduced the iPhone and the App Store.  It tapped into a consumer demand that nobody was fully aware of – the success of the App Store surprised even Apple.

1:53 – Jed Alpert: mobile donation is just a part of mobile communication overall.  At certain moments it is the biggest thing in mobile communication for nonprofits – but it should be part of a mobile communication strategy.  The issues confronting nonprofits and mobile that are policy oriented are very similar to those confronting people in other areas.

2:00 – David Miller: one of the products that Mobile Discovery offers is called EcoShow, which can help to distribute materials digitally using mobile technology.

This concludes today’s live blog.  Thank you for tuning in!

In my last post on Google Buzz, I promised to provide some applications for organizations seeking to take advantage of this new social network.  As the service expands, people will undoubtedly find ways to use Buzz that we can hardly imagine right now.  But as promised, here are four easy steps you can take [...]]]>

In my last post on Google Buzz, I promised to provide some applications for organizations seeking to take advantage of this new social network.  As the service expands, people will undoubtedly find ways to use Buzz that we can hardly imagine right now.  But as promised, here are four easy steps you can take right now to start using Google Buzz to advance your communications objectives:

1. Create a Google Account for your organization. Google Accounts have always given you access to a huge range of beneficial communications tools, such as Docs, Gmail, YouTube, and more.  But Buzz gives you something new – it allows your account to broadcast your issues and priorities to a public audience.  Think Twitter, but without the 140 character limit and with the ability to add photos, videos, audio, links and more.  Create a Google Account for your organization, link your social media feeds and Google Reader to it, and begin sharing your message with the Google community.  As with any social network, it may take awhile to build up your followers – but if you include links to your account on your other platforms and update with good content, they will come.
2. Monitor clients and issues. The public forum is one of the most powerful features of Google Buzz.  Not only does it allow you to broadcast, it allows you to monitor other users’ broadcasts.  At the top of your Google Buzz window, there is a search field that allows you to comb through every Buzz post that has been made public.  As users can sync multiple platforms to their Buzz account – such as Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr, Google Reader, and others – this search is a powerful way of checking in to see what Google users are sharing with one another.  A query on the “National Rifle Association” or “SEIU” yields countless public posts from across all of these social networks.  Communicators can use this search to investigate how and why their clients are being mentioned or to better understand how an issue is being discussed.
3. Identify network influentials. This is the next logical step from step two.  Not only does the public search forum allow you to monitor issues or organizations, it also shows you the individuals that are generating conversations about those issues.  Take prominent social media enthusiast Robert Scoble – each of his Buzz updates are generating comment threads that are longer than the original post.  Using Buzz to keep close tabs on your issues or organization will show you which Google users care about your causes and which of them are generating conversation among their friends and followers.  What’s more, for the most active users, you’ll be able to see each of their social media feeds in one place, allowing you to monitor their activity on multiple platforms.
4. Engage the public. There are many ways that you can engage Buzz users.  Follow users that share items on your issues. Then follow their Twitter feeds, Flickr albums, or anything else they’ve linked to Buzz.  Some users tie Buzz directly to their email accounts, giving you the opportunity to reach out directly to those individuals you identify as valuable to your cause.  If you’ve created a Google Account for your organization, you can make direct comments on relevant issues, clarify information, or provide greater resources for individuals that are already interested in what you have to say.

These are just a few ways you can get started with Buzz.  Have other ideas that aren’t mentioned here?  I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Hispanics in every life stage are increasingly online, and the majority prefer content in English, according to a new survey from Cheskin Added Value, commissioned by AOL Advertising.

The survey shows Hispanics (58%) closing the digital gap between themselves and the general population (71%).

Since our first study in 2002, the number of Hispanics online has [...]]]>

Hispanics in every life stage are increasingly online, and the majority prefer content in English, according to a new survey from Cheskin Added Value, commissioned by AOL Advertising.

The survey shows Hispanics (58%) closing the digital gap between themselves and the general population (71%).

Since our first study in 2002, the number of Hispanics online has grown significantly – faster, in fact, than the total US online population.

Hispanics consume online media in English, which the survey says reflects a greater availability of English language information (27.6%) vs. Spanish (7.9%).

In general, Hispanics recognize the disparity between the availability of English and Spanish language content. They perceive English sites as more comprehensive, detailed and useful than Spanish language counterparts. This belief is prevalent across all levels of acculturation and life stages.

What’s more, Hispanics are early adopters and technology leaders, and they favor quality of online information over language preference. Not surprisingly, the survey showed that Hispanics were skeptical of straight translation, favoring meaningful adaptations that reflect ties to their home country or their experience in the U.S.

The survey included more than 700 Hispanics in various life stage groups: the young and free (30% of sample) stage represents people who are single, average 26-years-old and have no children; the young family stage (17%) are 33-years-old, married and have one child; the mature family stage (23%) are 40-years-old on average, married and have two children; the prime of life stage (18%) are 41-years-old, married with no children; and the empty nester stage (13%) are 57-years-old, have children over 18 years old and are married. The survey authors chose this approach over the more traditional lens of acculturation and language.

Segmentation by life stage provides another way to understand the values and interests of Hispanics, based on their preferences and behaviors, which are not necessarily unique to their cultural background or acculturation level.

This type of analysis showed that English-language marketing messages are favored by almost all of the youngest Hispanics, as well as many of the other market segments, regardless of time in the U.S. and English-language fluency.

The entire report can be obtained here.

With the rise of Web sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, we constantly hear concerns about privacy.  From worries over college students posting career-impeding photos to concerns over unfettered access to addresses or phone numbers, users of social networks have to be careful what information they make available about themselves and their organizations.

Now, an [...]]]>

With the rise of Web sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, we constantly hear concerns about privacy.  From worries over college students posting career-impeding photos to concerns over unfettered access to addresses or phone numbers, users of social networks have to be careful what information they make available about themselves and their organizations.

Now, an interview with an anonymous Facebook employee written up for online magazine the Rumpus gives us new insights into just how much information Facebook has about you – and it is a lot.  These revelations allow us to provide some recommendations for organizations using Facebook for outreach efforts.   Select quotes from the interview:

Employee: See, the thing is — and I don’t know how much you know about it — it’s all stored in a database on the backend. Literally everything. Your messages are stored in a database, whether deleted or not. So we can just query the database, and easily look at it without every logging into your account. That’s what most people don’t understand.

This statement can be summed up pretty easily: everything you do on Facebook is stored on a server, and can be pulled up through some simple keystrokes.  Further clarification from the interview:

The Rumpus: On your servers, do you save everything ever entered into Facebook at any time, whether or not it’s been deleted, untagged, and so forth?

Facebook Employee: That is essentially correct at this moment. The only reason we’re changing that is for performance reasons. When you make any sort of interaction on Facebook — upload a photo, click on somebody’s profile, update your status, change your profile information —

Rumpus: When you say “click on somebody’s profile,” you mean you save our viewing history?

Employee: That’s right…[cont.]

***

Rumpus: So this is every viewable screen?

Employee: It’s way more than that: it’s every viewable screen, with all the data behind every screen…[cont.]

As the employee says – literally everything.  Indeed, it is right there in the Facebook privacy policy:

Information we collect when you interact with Facebook:

Site activity information. We keep track of the actions you take on Facebook, such as adding a friend, becoming a fan of a Facebook Page, joining a group or an event, creating a photo album, sending a gift, poking another user, indicating you “like” a post, attending an event, or authorizing an application. In some cases you are also taking an action when you provide information or content to us. For example, if you share a video, in addition to storing the actual content you uploaded, we might log the fact you shared it.

What’s more, the privacy policy also outlines the content that Facebook views as “information you provide to us,” which includes private messages, and seems in line with the other content the company admittedly stores about its users:

Content. One of the primary reasons people use Facebook is to share content with others. Examples include when you update your status, upload or take a photo, upload or record a video, share a link, create an event or a group, make a comment, write something on someone’s Wall, write a note, or send someone a message. If you do not want us to store metadata associated with content you share on Facebook (such as photos), please remove the metadata before uploading the content.

The interview goes on to reveal some other interesting facts about Facebook.  For example: did you know Facebook performs psychological analysis on users?  It is well worth reading in its entirety (P.S.: go here for instructions on how to remove metadata from photos).

To some, this is will be somewhat alarming news.  After all, if Facebook can view everything you or your organization does, what prevents them from sharing that information with outside parties, or even your competitors?  For those organizations that may share sensitive information on Facebook to what they believe is a closed network, how can you be sure that information won’t get out to larger audiences?  Is this information truly private, or only private until the right price point is reached?  While these scenarios may be unlikely for a given individual or organization, the reality is that we simply do not know how Facebook uses their database.

Indeed, these are serious questions.  So what should you do?  Close up your Facebook shop and run for the hills?  Well, no – this isn’t necessarily a reason to panic.  After all, you’ve likely been using Facebook for quite awhile and haven’t seen any confidential information leak out from your account.  But the revelations in this interview do give cause to provide some basic reminders about Facebook usage:

1. Recognize that everything you say and do on Facebook can be accessed by somebody else. While there is no explicit reason to believe that anybody will be accessing your account, the possibility always exists.  As such, be cautious in your emails, uploads, wall postings and so forth – you have no way of knowing who else has access to them.
2. Deleting something from Facebook does not erase it entirely. As mentioned in this interview, Facebook keeps backups of everything by the hour.  If you put it up, it stays in their server until they decide they don’t want it anymore.
3. Don’t put anything on Facebook that you’re not comfortable with everyone seeing. Going beyond the information storage that Facebook has admitted to in this interview, this is just good, basic social networking advice.  You can’t control what people do with the information you put on Facebook – so if you don’t want something republished or re-purposed, Facebook may not be the best place for it.
4. Understand that Facebook is running a business, where the information you provide them is their number one commodity. While Facebook is a great service that allows you to stay connected to friends, family, and fans of your organization, like any other company, Facebook is ultimately about its own bottom line.  The Facebook privacy policy would seem to support this.  It is summed up in this line: “We share your information with third parties when we believe the sharing is permitted by you, reasonably necessary to offer our services, or when legally required to do so.”  In essence: if you don’t tell us otherwise, we can share your information with anybody that we want, for whatever purpose we want.  While updating your privacy settings can eliminate some of this potential, it seems as though it can’t control if Facebook is accessing your messages, pages you view, and so forth.  If you don’t want Facebook to be able to use certain information for their own purposes, don’t put it on Facebook.

This revelation is no reason to run away from Facebook.  The platform can still be used to great effect to build networks, reach supporters, and expand your message.  This knowledge simply reminds us to exercise care in working with the service.

It remains to be seen how the privacy ramifications for Facebook and other internet giants – like Google, for example – shake out in the end.  These companies do have a stake in protecting our privacy; after all, if none of us trust them, they lose their user base.  But should there be a greater obligation for providers to inform their customers exactly what information is being collected?  Or does the responsibility lie with us, the consumers, to be informed as to just how our information is shared and sold?  Is there ultimately a government interest in protecting privacy by regulating the way our information can be stored and shared online?  These are just some of the new questions of the digital age that are still being answered.  In the meantime, we as consumers must demand greater transparency to understand exactly how our information is being used.

This post over at Lifehacker illustrates a great new technology that could be very useful for training purposes:

Windows: LogMeIn Express is a screen sharing tool from the makers of the popular remote-desktop software, LogMeIn. With this new offering, sharing your desktop is as simple as sending your friend or associate a URL.

Only the person [...]]]>

This post over at Lifehacker illustrates a great new technology that could be very useful for training purposes:

Windows: LogMeIn Express is a screen sharing tool from the makers of the popular remote-desktop software, LogMeIn. With this new offering, sharing your desktop is as simple as sending your friend or associate a URL.

Only the person doing the screen sharing needs to download anything. The sharer only requires a small application from LogMeIn; the viewer only needs to visit the LogMeIn Express site and plug in the number that the sharer has given them.

Screen sharing, for those unfamiliar, is a technology that allows users on different computers to view what a presenter is doing on his or her computer screen. So, for example, I could walk an audience through the steps that I take in setting up a blog, allowing them to view my screen in real time so they can see what I click on, where the different menu items are, how to craft a post, and so forth. What’s more, LogMeIn Express has a chat room function, which allows for an ongoing discussion regarding the training. This could easily be integrated with a conference call to provide for further feedback. The technology works with up to 100 users, and is free.

This platform enables organizations to easily connect with satellite groups to give computer training and instruction. Want an affiliate to learn to upload and tag YouTube videos appropriately? Want to demonstrate how Twitter hashtags work? Want to do a seminar on search engine optimization? LogMeIn Express is a tool that could help facilitate all of this training and more.