Archive for October, 2009

Details on the NonProfit 2.0 Conference

Posted on: October 29th, 2009 by Geoff Livingston 15 Comments

nonprofit2.0_logo.png

Updated November 9, 2009

It’s with great pleasure that I am joining Allyson Kapin and Shireen Mitchell in organizing the first ever NonProfit 2.0 Unconference.  The Friday, February 12 event will be held somewhere in Washington, DC. What better way to kick off Valentine’s Day Weekend then with some love for our society and the people trying to improve it.

The event has already attracted some high caliber talent. Twestival Founder Amanda Rose has agreed to be one of the two keynotes. Damien Basile and Jocelyn Harmon have already committed to attending and pitching unsessions.

The Nonprofit 2.0 Unconference (on Twitter at nonprofit20) will be DC’s only unconference dedicated to the social cause space. Why? Because this sector is special and unique. Using social media to create networked communities and movements is much different than selling products or services.

From volunteers and political action to cultivating donors and partners, social media for causes represents a mission. Often our communications impact society, benefiting Americans and citizens across the globe. Changing society for the better is a special, unique heart-felt activity. Join others like you for this very special unconference committed to doing social good.

The format will meld the best of the BlogPotomac speaker and true Camp Unconference formats. Specifically, NonProfit 2.0 delivers the best of both worlds, offering great keynote sessions, but in an unconference way with no PowerPoint, 15 minute leads, and open questions and dialogue for fantastic conversations. Then from midmorning forward, NonProfit 2.0 shifts into a full-on Unconference.

We are definitely looking for sponsors, too. Sponsorships range from $100 for individuals to $1000 for Rose sponsors. Details are here.

Register today and feel the love!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Hopenhagen Tries to Seal the Deal

Posted on: October 29th, 2009 by Geoff Livingston
hopenhagen.jpg

Cross-published on the Live Earth blog.

More than 190 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference this December 7-18 in Copenhagen to determine the environmental fate of our planet (see the Guardian’s ongoing coverage for baseline facts). With less than 40 days remaining before the Copenhagen conference, a new effort –Hopenhagen — seeks to unite citizens across the world in political action.

The Hopenhagen site features a petition, which will be delivered to the conference. The goal: Get participating countries to seal the deal and sign an effective climate pact. More than 340,000 people have already signed the petition.

There is a mandatory Hopenhagen Facebook fan page. In one of the more interesting Facebook applications I have seen in a while, the Hopenhagen app seeks to create word of mouth engagement by giving people a Passport to Hopenhagen. To get passport points one must agree to tell friends or participate in sustainable activities (all of which are conveniently posted to your wall).

I like this app because it shows people some of the activities they can engage in to make their own contribution to the environment. Gaming and education will become an increasingly important part of the sustainability and general environmental movement. Most citizens don’t understand how their own carbon footprint affects energy demand. So more and more applications like this one and sites like Chevron’s willyoujoinus.com will endeavor to educate the general public and change citizen behavior.

Self described as a movement, Hopenhagen was created with the support of numerous corporate partners. The site lists other environmental campaigns such as 350 that interested parties can engage in.

Hopenhagen is also on Twitter. Get on board today and spread the hope!

Popularity: 5% [?]

WhiteHouse.gov Breaks New Ground with Social, But…

Posted on: October 28th, 2009 by Geoff Livingston 12 Comments
12439_162057536684_728506684_3256341_4572386_n.jpg

The highlight of last week’s YNPNdc briefing on the Obama Administration’s nonprofit policy was Macon Phillips, Director of the White House Office of New Media (pictured above). Phillips detailed how the White House was using social to engage stakeholders online.

As you can see, the White House site is very social, playing with every tool possible. While there are forays into conversation (one such foray had Phillips asking Obama during a chat if he planned to legalize marijuana), the overall effort seems more shiny object-oriented, and less conversational.

12439_162057521684_728506684_3256339_7617097_n.jpg

BlogPotomac Keynotes Beth Kanter and Shel Israel joined me for the briefing. Shel noted that while there was a Scoblesque joy for tools, the site lacked full on dialogue. In review, consider that while you can share White House blog posts and comment on your various social networks, you can’t actual enter a comment on the White House blog. True to form, the White House Twitter feed pretty much publishes links, and doesn’t engage in dialogue.

There are bright spots in the social media effort. The Flickr page is outstanding with hundreds of comments, and a less polished look at the Obamas in their day to day activity. You feel like the President is real, finally. Facebook and YouTube have more dialogue, too (while Vimeo is open for chat, but has less traffic).

12439_162057541684_728506684_3256342_7725385_n.jpg

What’s really missing? Frank on-site conversation and dialogue — good and bad — about the very real issues Obama is facing. Instead, what we get is glorified message delivery on whitehouse.gov, with said conversations occurring on beachheads elsewhere.

For an initial White House foray into social media, this is a great start. The barriers to Gov 2.0 are significant and substantial in nature. But… We all know this isn’t full on social media. It’s more of an experiment and test bed to see how American citizens interact with its government at arms length. Progress, my friends, not perfection. I give it an eight out of 10.

Overall, I felt the larger Obama Administration nonprofit team had lots of bubbly comments for the YNPNdc attendees about how great their efforts were. Then we received patronizing platitudes of hope, pats on the head for tough questions, and very little substance. While it’s early in the Obama presidency, I’d like to see a lot more substance from Buffy Wicks, Trooper Sanders and Sonal Shah. Otherwise we will waste our national nonprofit policy and dollars on disparate and uncoordinated activities with little impact.

Popularity: 10% [?]