Beth's Blog: Nonprofits and Social Media

Mark Pesce at CUA09 - Think Like a Cloud, Make a Storm, Kill the Tower!

Photo by James Jordan

I'm actually in the clouds, flying to California on Virgin America using the (not free) wifi listening to Mark Pesce's keynote via Mike Seyfang  delivered the other day at Connecting Up Australia the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Australia (see web site for details).  I keynoted the conference last year. (This year Peter Deitz and Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson are there)

I was going to participate remotely via hologram as Doug Jacquier describes skype for a roundtable with Mark, but my crazy schedule, time zone dyslexia and not realizing that I would actually be on a Virgin Flight with Wifi .. oh well.

The audio is fading a bit, so I've been thinking about what Mark wrote in his essay, "Sharing Power (Aussie Rules)"  I read the essay three times, I mind mapped it, and have been noodling on it for an hour or two.   Here are the bits that resonated with me.

He talks about the "Cloud"  a word to describe how we're all more closely connected through social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and etc.  And how our connectedness is resulting in new collective behavior that can't be controlled.

The same sort of engine which powers Wikipedia can be put to work across a number of different “platforms”. The power of sharing allows individuals to come together in great “clouds” of activity, and allows them to focus their activity around a single task. It could be an encyclopedia, or it could be providing reliable and judgment-free information about sexuality to teenagers. The form matters not at all: what matters is that it’s happening, all around us, everywhere throughout the world.

The cloud results from the "human condition of hyperconnection."  I came across a study of "hyperconnectedness" about six months, blogged it here.  It estimates that 16% of the population is hyperconnected and identifies that hyperconnected people have these traits:

• The boundary between work and personal time is virtually non-existent.
• They use many more devices, channels, and tools then "regular" people.
• Hyper connectivity among employees has the potential to increase security risks due to lost hardware, software, internet transfer of files, etc.
• They are generally early adopters of new technologies and consider themselves to be global people.
• Only 1/3 of hyper connected people see themselves as early adopters
• They are generally always on, always connected and see this as a good thing.

If you want to dive into more details into this condition, see the hyper connectivity blog.

Pesce points out that this condition leads to observational learning from watching other people's behaviors online.   Something he terms hypermimesis (which if you google can mean morning sickness) but means that these behaviors can be replicated quickly.  He also defines it as the formation of communities of interest can form around particular behaviors, or "clouds" potential.  He goes to list some examples and asks "How many examples do we need to name before we admit  that the rules have changed, that the smooth functioning of power has been terrifically interrupted by these other forces, now powers in their own right?"

Next he talks about how our online social behavior has shifted the power system, but first defines the old power system:

The entire nature of power has changed, as have the burdens of power. Power has always carried with it the ‘burden of omniscience’ – that is, those at the top of the hierarchy have to possess a complete knowledge of everything of importance happening everywhere under their control. Where they lose grasp of that knowledge, that’s the space where coups, palace revolutions and popular revolts take place.

He describes the power shift that the cloud presents and it's burden of "always on."

This new power that flows from the cloud of hyperconnectivity carries a different burden, the ‘burden of connection’. In order to maintain the cloud, and our presence within it, we are beholden to it. We must maintain each of the social relationships, each of the informational relationships, each of the knowledge relationships and each of the mimetic relationships within the cloud. Without that constant activity, the cloud dissipates, evaporating into nothing at all.

I'm struck by this.  I understand it, particularly because I'm writing this at 30,000 ft in the air above Virgin America, literally in the clouds.  He goes on to provide some historical context for clouds disappearing by discussing the dunbar number and tribes.  He talks more about the cost of maintaining the cloud:

While we might desire to extend our power and capabilities through our networks of hyperconnections, the cost associated with such investments is very high. Time spent invested in a far-flung cloud is time that lost on networks closer to home. Yet individuals will nonetheless often dedicate themselves to some cause greater than themselves, despite the high price paid, drawn to some higher ideal.

I think this is connected to what Rheingold's Attention Literacy piece, but I have go back and read it again.

He discusses the high price of hyperconnectivity for individuals AND for organizations.

For each of us, connectivity carries a high price. For every organization which attempts to harness hyperconnectivity, the price is even higher. With very few exceptions, organizations are structured along hierarchical lines. Power flows from bottom to the top. Not only does this create the ‘burden of omniscience’ at the highest levels of the organization, it also fundamentally mismatches the flows of power in the cloud. When the hierarchy comes into contact with an energized cloud, the ‘discharge’ from the cloud to the hierarchy can completely overload the hierarchy. That’s the power of hyperconnectivity.

And here's is the most important bit for nonprofits.  He talks about the strengths and costs of the hierarchy (organizational structures) and the cloud - and that the two forms are not compatible.  But nonprofits need to focus on the interfaces that connect the hierarchy to the cloud.  (This is one theme Allison Fine and I are writing about in our book)

In the 21st century we now have two oppositional methods of organization: the hierarchy and the cloud. Each of them carry with them their own costs and their own strengths. Neither has yet proven to be wholly better than the other. One could make an argument that both have their own roles into the future, and that we’ll be spending a lot of time learning which works best in a given situation. What we have already learned is that these organizational types are mostly incompatible: unless very specific steps are taken, the cloud overpowers the hierarchy, or the hierarchy dissipates the cloud. We need to think about the interfaces that can connect one to the other. That’s the area that all organizations – and very specifically, non-profit organizations – will be working through in the coming years. Learning how to harness the power of the cloud will mark the difference between a modest success and overwhelming one. Yet working with the cloud will present organizational challenges of an unprecedented order. There is no way that any hierarchy can work with a cloud without becoming fundamentally changed by the experience.

The last section of the essay talks about the cloud, tower, and storm, elegantly pushing the metaphors.

All organizations are now confronted with two utterly divergent methodologies for organizing their activities: the tower and the cloud. The tower seeks to organize everything in hierarchies, control information flows, and keep the power heading from bottom to top. The cloud isn’t formally organized, pools its information resources, and has no center of power. Despite all of its obvious weaknesses, the cloud can still transform itself into a formidable power, capable of overwhelming the tower. To push the metaphor a little further, the cloud can become a storm.

He also points out a pattern of how storms get started. 

In other words, five people have to take the lead, leading everyone else in the cloud with their dedication, their selflessness, and their openness. This number probably holds true in a cloud of any sort – find five like-minded individuals, and the transformation from cloud to storm will begin.

This is what Clay Shirky was saying during the NTC Keynote when he said there was always a small group in the center of the groundswell. (Ethan Zuckerman recently did an analysis of tweets from Moldova and found this to be true.  And, if we look at charity:water, it got started with a small group lead by Amanda Rose as well)

He also describes how the storm grows in intensity - similar to what we have observed with participation in online communities over time, but more powerful perhaps because of the networked effect.

At the end of that transformation there is still no hierarchy. There are, instead, concentric circles of involvement. At the innermost, those five or more incredibly dedicated individuals; then a larger circle of a greater number, who work with that inner five as time and opportunity allow; and so on, outward, at decreasing levels of involvement.

He talks about how difficult it is to stomp out a cloud because of its decentralized nature.   But more importantly, he describes the quality of leadership of a cloud or networked leadership.  In a phrase, all you need is love ...

What, then, is leadership in the cloud? It is not like leadership in the tower. It is not a position wrought from power, but authority in its other, and more primary meaning, ‘to be the master of’. Authority in the cloud is drawn from dedication, or, to use rather more precise language, love. Love is what holds the cloud together. People are attracted to the cloud because they are in love with the aim of the cloud. The cloud truly is an affair of the heart, and these affairs of the heart will be the engines that drive 21st century business, politics and community.

This reminds of something that Nancy White was writing about a while back about community indicators and the Beatles song, "All You Need Is Love." I think it was 2006 when the entire room of 1400 bloggers burst into spontaneous singing of this song at BlogHer.  I couldn't find it, but did find a connection through her writing about slow community which is very un storm and cloud like.

He ends with a call to action to organizations about understanding, working with, and leveraging the cloud.

All of you have your own hierarchical organizations – because that’s how organizations have always been run. Yet each of you are surrounded by your own clouds: community organizations (both in the real world and online), bulletin boards, blogs, and all of the other Web2.0 supports for the sharing of connectivity, information, knowledge and power. You are already halfway invested in the cloud, whether or not you realize it. And that’s also true for people you serve, your customers and clients.

His advice: (1) Embrace the cloud - it isn't evil. Don't be scared of it. (2) Work like the cloud within your organization. I think he's talk about culture change. (3) The Cloud is evolving and changing pretty quickly.

Mark is keynoting the Personal Democracy Forum this year in NY in June and this is the theme of what he is talking about.  I wish I could go, but the moving van is arriving that day.

There's a lot more to say about this essay and thinking, but the plane is about to land soon and I have to get out of the clouds ...

Ho Ho Ho Hat - Not So Happy Holiday

Dave Wallace and Mike Seyfang invited to participate on their 2008 was the year of ... podcast with Laurel Papworth, Mark Pesce, and Kent Newsome

Had a great conversation and picked up some interesting tidbits

• There's an easter egg on Flickr.  Type ho ho ho hat into a note on your photo and it will add a Santa Hat.   Type ho ho ho beard and it will add a Santa Beard.
• George Oates was laid off.   OMG. 
• Evernote

The podcast

What Advice Would You Give to Retina Australia To Avoid Jumping into Social Media err blindly?

Photo by Feast of Fools

It's been over a month since my trip to Australia where I presented and facilitated workshops at the ConnectingUp Conference.  While the tim-tams are long gone, the fantastic people I connected with are still with me - if only virtually.

Yesterday, I got an email from Anne Housego from Retina Australia give me an update and asked for some advice.  Retina Australia is an organization which supports people with blinding retinal eye diseases, as well as raising funds for research into this debilitating condition.  Anne notes in her email,

"Research is at the stage of human trials in stem cell treatment.  At this point funding becomes urgent. Our goals are now specific and exciting. I am secretary of Retina Australia (Qld) and on the board of directors of Retina Australia. Personally, my goal is to see myself out of a job in 5 years. How do I get others involved?"

She lists some strengths and opportunities:

• There are many thousands of people affected by this condition which is the leading cause of youth blindness
• There is a huge social cost of so many people becoming dependent on others for support
• There is definite and measurable progress being made
• Clearly defined goals in what we need to achieve in terms of fund raising
• National Congress coming up in Oct 2009 will focus attention on the current position of worldwide research
• We have recently set up a website www.retinaqld.org.au
• We have a skilled IT person to maintain and update the website
• We have a concept for a national photography competition in conjunction with the Congress – “if you knew you were loosing your sight, what is the  thing you would like to keep as a visual memory – child, partner, scene, place, event”

She asked for a starting point,  one or two things that she could start on to begin to bring their cause to the attention of more people.  She asks, "How can I get people to feel what it’s like to be touched by blindness, or to be a parent and watch your child loose their sight."

I pointed her to the WeAreMedia Module 1: Should Your Nonprofit Embrace Social Media or Not? and develop an initial plan - perhaps using the soon to be finished template in Module 2.  I, of course, loved the flickr competition idea and suggested that she consider a modest outcome and learning experiment.   Here's a few steps.

1.  Read the TechSoup article "How Nonprofits Can Get the Most Out of Flickr"

2.  Come up with a list of questions of what she needs to know or learn about to design a contest that will be successful.

3.  Read up on Flickr and look at different examples by nonprofits.

4.  Ask other folks from nonprofits who have used Flickr to run contests.  Clear guidelines are important - see this interview I did with folks from Nature Conservancy about their contest. 

• Creative Commons Swag Contest
• and I won!
• Freedom from Oil Flickr Photo Contest
• March of Dimes Contest (features community voting)
• Nature Conservancy Photo Contest
• Matching Grant for Each Photo Uploaded

 

5.  I'm hoping these flickr mavens will leave their best advice in the comments ..

Kath from the Learning Community has an interesting flickr project

Steve Bridger, Flickr for Good Evangelist

Michaela Hackner

What advice would you offer Retina Australia?

My Day at the Powerhouse Museum

 

During my time in Sydney,  I spent a day with meeting with the staff at the Powerhouse Museum and Seb Chan who writes the Museum's blog, Fresh + New(er) and who I have had many virtual conversations with via our blogs but have not met face-to-face.   I got to meet the entire web team who I interviewed using QIK (see above), got a whirlwind tour of the museum (the Lost in Space Robot is in their collection!) and have an informal workshop with members of the marketing staff and curators.  Seb Chan has a good write up here.

The Powerhouse has done ground breaking in integrating social media into their communications and web strategies (most recently they've joined the Flickr Commons) but are also in the process of embracing the groundswell concept and making social media part of their organizational culture.   The afternoon workshop was another opportunity for education and discussion about social media and the museum's mission as well as a great example of how you create social change behind the firewall. 

I also met and interviewed Dr. Lynda Kelly, Head of Research, Australian Museum who shared some of her recent research on museum participation and online social activities.  She took excellent notes about our session and blogged it here.

My flickr photos are here

 

Connecting Up Conference: Stuart Jones - Fritz and Sauce Method for Dealing With Information Overload

I'm behind in posting my notes from my visit to Australia and the Connecting Up Conference.   So, expect to see a flood of posts over the next weeks.

I was lucky enough to attend a breakout session called "The Fritz and Sauce Method For Dealing With Information Overload" conducted by Stuart Jones from the Old Milang School House Project.   Fritz and Sauce is a type of sandwich served to school children in South Australia.  Stuart gave a great presentation on how to avoid that awful overwhelmed feeling we feel from dealing with digital information.  I think the connection to the Fritz and Sauce sandwich is that you don't need to feel obligated to consume everything.

He asked us to reflect for a few moments about how we feel when we open our email.  He then made a list of all the post ways people can communicate with us online - from social networking sites to Skype and others.  He observed that many of us simply want to hide.  He asked, "Do we give up?  How do we deal with the flood of information?"

There is an old way of thinking that you have to somehow keep up.  This is really what is getting in your way.  However if you bathe in the stream of information you get plenty. The idea is to enjoy the journey, picking up a little bit here or there that might be interesting, but don't obliged to read or consume every detail.   Wade through this stream without holding on and the key is not worrying about missing something ....  Have a swim, pick up the things you really find useful. Don't worry about getting everything.

He suggested taking a critical look at what type of information you are currently wading through and as much as possible move your swim to RSS.  But, also do not feel an obligation to read every post from every feed.  Scanning is key.  Just browse the headings and read what you want.

I'm not sure if his slides are posted on SlideShare, but I used my Nokia n95 to get some photos here.

Stuart used a wonderful metaphor of swimming in the river of information and picking out what you need, not everything.    Another metaphor might be browsing the titles of books in a bookstore, but only taking a closer look at the ones that interest you.   

What metaphor might you use to describe your method for avoiding information overload?

An Interview With Dr. Lynda Kelly, Australian Museum

Dr. Lynda Kelley

I'm here in Sydney, Australia and just finished an informal workshop  and discussion with Powerhouse Museum staff and other museums. (Will post reflections shortly)   I met Dr. Lynda Kelly, a blogger and the Head of Audience Research for the Australia Museum.  She also just set up a social networking site on Ning where museum professionals are discussing the future of museums in a Web 2.0 world.  The site is called Museum 3.0. 

Many nonprofits are grappling with questions about where to find reliable information about the merits of different tools for a given objective.  The key is understanding your audience and their online social activities.  The short answer: ask them, do research. During the meeting, she shared some insights from a recently published research study she conducted on the social activities and technographics of people in Australia.   

1.  Tell me about your research?

We took Forrester's technographics research model and adapted it for Australia, surveying over 2,000 people from Australia.   We asked simple questions about their online activities.  Other questions were about museum attendance.  We compared the findings between non-museum and museum goers.   Some key findings:  People who visit museums and galleries are engaging in social media and more so than people who don't.  The two things they do more than other activities are to post reviews and rate their experiences.  They are mostly looking for word of mouth recommendations.  (A paper based on the research findings can be found here)


Our research also focused on young adults and their web behavior.   We recruited people based on the Forrester online social activity categories and interviewed them about their online participation. 

I've done many studies on Web 2.0 activities of visitors, particularly with school students. We are trying to understand what young people are doing online and the implications for exhibit design and marketing.  We invited these young people into the museum back of house and asked them for input on how we should represent the museum on the social web.   The young people said they wanted a physical experience of interacting with the objects - no screens in the museum.  They told us, "We can all the computers and screens at home - we want something we can't get at home - the objects and interacting with people in the physical space."

We brought in a small group of young people and interviewed them about their experience.  The telling quote was: "We'll go home and google the answers.   We want to be here and look at the museum with our friends."  I'm sharing the research notes on the Museum 3.0 site.

2.   Can you tell me more about your Museum 3.0 site?

Facebook is interesting to have discussion with peers, but difficult.  Many of my peers don't want to "come out on Facebook."  (That is let people from work know who their friends are) When someone showed me Ning, I thought it was great to try for a community of practice because it is about the network and a good way to introduce people who are new to social media and give it go.  It's much better than sending me an email and having 6 people responding.  I've been inviting people at the beginning, but now more and more people are joining.


3.  What advice would you offer to other museums and nonprofits who want introduce web2.0 strategies into their programs or marketing?

They have to jump in and start experimenting.   There was a great quote.  Museums are great at touring exhibitions, but we're not good at touring the web.   Go to the people where they are and give it a go.    

You've got to have a champion in the organization who can help you get on with it.  Have a supportive director is important.   We've got to stop saying "no" and say "yes, if."   We're moving from No to Yes, If.   

We're trying to make that change in the organization now - we're using a private ning site to follow up with a strategic plan.     We've had Facebook Fridays - get people in the museum to sign up and we help them.   You have to reserve space to let people ask questions like "What is RSS?"

Meet Priscilla Brice-Weller: NpTech Blogger from Australia

Meet Priscilla Brice-Weller who is the Online Campaign Coordinator for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) which is using social media in many creative ways.  Her personal blog, Solidariti,  covers technology and nonprofit activism.  I've been reading her blog for sometime now and always learn something new.  One of my favorite blog posts that she wrote talks about the ladder of engagement and Myspace.

We had an opportunity to meet face-to-face today and take a nice stroll in the Brisbane city park, a botanical garden.  We talked about nonprofits, social media, the differences and similarities between Australia and US.   

I did an interview on QIK asking her for her advice about nonprofits and adoption of social media tools.

• Be patient - you may not see results for 6 months to a 12 month
• If the environment is not, better to do some small projects under the radar.  It's better to apologize than ask permission.
• Communicating the benefits in clear and simple terms helps decision-makers understand.

Although Priscilla has a cat, she is dog lover.  She has a cat because her landlord doesn't allow pets and a cat was easier to hide!

Departing from LA, Next Stop Brisbane: An Interview with a Digital Native

 

One of the best gadgets I picked up was a travel plug with three outlets.  As you know doubt know, airports are not designed for travelers with laptops.   There were few plugs at the gate, so I asked this young guy named Alex who was using the plug to recharge his Ipod if could share.  Alex is on route to Fiji.

We started to chat about technology and I asked him a few questions about his use of web 2.0 sites and social networking.  He was only vaguely aware of blogs.  In fact, he is on a trip around the world and was jotting notes in a paper moleskin.   He does use Facebook to communicate with his friends and organize his life.  He had know idea about Twitter, although he does use IM and texting, especially to text with him mom.

I have 14 hour flight ahead of me.  Hope to get Internet access and a sim card on the other end (as well as a very strong latte).

I'm Presenting at Connecting Up in Austraila!

I'm so excited to be going to Australia next month for the ConnectingUp Conference the Australian version of NTC. I'll be presenting at the conference and doing a workshop on social media afterwards. Other folks from the US will include  Bill Strathmann and Zack Rosen. I will finally get to meet social media nonprofit revolutinaries Emily Turnerwell and Priscilla Brice-Weller and I'm hoping to meet Mike Seyfang and Dave Wallace.

I'm tentatively planning to be in Brisbane and Sydney.   

More about the conference in the news here.

Any travel advice?  If you had an opportunity to go to Australia - what is an absolute must-see?  Meanwhile, I'm thinking about remixing the cute dog theory into the cute crocadile theory.