Community Mobilization

Why Non Profit Technology is Finally Beating Business

Non Profits have never been at the forefront of technology development or addoption. Large organizations were typically late to adopt current technology (CRM Systems, Blogs, Web Sites, E-Commemrce)compared to corporate business. However, times are changing and changing quickly and there definitive reason for this.

Smaller non profits are attracting the attention and help of philanthropically minded high technology gurus. Smaller organizations are more flexible and willing to experiment with new technologies. Groups like Tech Soup and Compumentor are not only furnishing technology but also the expertise to leverage it in ways that larger organizations are not wilillin or able to..

Nimble and eager philanthropy organizations, I believe, will be the test bed for some of the most inspiring and promising uses of technology over the course of the next few years. Not only in terms of fund raising, but also in terms of customer / constituent relationship programs, and general marketing.

Mobile Giving Grows, Mobile is the new Commerce Platform

Steven Joost sent me a note cataloging the success of MGive sent out some end of year numbers that are very interesting and support the idea that Mobile, as a platform, is growing substantially. Jim Manis, Founder and CEO of the Mobile Giving Foundation.  Manis says that, “The pervasiveness and ease of use of mobile technology combined with the gracious commitment of wireless carriers to pass through 100% of the donation collected will make this the channel of choice for new donors.” By the consistent activity over at the Mobile Active site Katrin Verclas believes the same thing, Mobile is the platform to be developing on right now.

Israeli Consulate Uses Twitter

I am in the middle of following an amazing conversation on Twitter between the Israeli Consulate in New York and a whole community that is interested in what they have to say about the recent violence in the Gaza Strip. As a historical event the attacks and counter attacks are serious and significant. Equally so is how the Israeli Consulate is choosing to engage those interested with a light, fast, direct and free communication tool.

The sucessfull use of Twitter in this manner is yet to be proven, but I belieev if the Consulate can manage portions of its communication startegy via this channel it will set a president to the political and business world as viable case study for the use of the medium in the immediate future. The key metric in my oppinion for this engagement is not the volume of people reached, but the impact had on those reached. I am not sure hoe they are marketing this conversation (CRM, e-mail campaign) or if it is simply word of mouse.

Innovation Development Requires Innovative People

Core to the success of my work with the Futuring and Innovation Center at ACS was filling our work group with brilliant people. To achieve successful rapid program prototyping we had a system, but that system relied on input and insight from a diverse committee. Over the course of 6 years we prototyped 13 marketing programs, all of them ahead of their time, produced in under 18 months and for under $35,000. Some of them were monumental successes, and some of them never left the prototype stage, serving as valuable learning lessons.

I have had a few requests from friends to catalog the development process we used, and I have below the fold. It is nothing groundbreaking, just a modified Stage-Gate development structure modeled after the Shell Oil Game-Changer system. If you have question about the process please feel free to comment, or send an e-mail.

Reverse Engineering Google Adwords

Recently I have been working with a few clients to develop online marketing strategies and online branding. I find that the exercise of conducting an brand review is not overly complicated but exceedingly valuable not only for online marketing purposes, but also for off line marketing campaigns.

One really interesting hack I am using is leveraging Google Adwords to asses current brand recognition and key word association. I have been able to discern popular search terms and show quantitative data to my clients. In describing potential customers search habbits, I am helping my clients best position themselves in front of the searchers with the most accurate keywords and phrases.

Moreover I am taking this off line as well. To maximize the impact of the knowledge I am suggesting that my clients also integrate these findings into their direct mail, magazine, and other marketing materials. As a focus group, I find adwords quite useful. Applying a few other tools to the mix provides a yet a deep understanding of what people are organically associating my client's brand with.

UK uses integrated media advertising for anti drug messaging

The United Kingdom is using a very comprehensive integrated media approach to their new anti drug campaign that centers around FRANK, and set of resources to youth. The videos featured on the BBC and the website TalktoFRANK.com are mildly disturbing, as they are narrated by Pablo, an eviscerated drug mule dog.

The website features a grim and gritty  cocaine basement done in flash, and it is a stark education in the effects of drugs on the various parts of the body. The content is well written and presented. They only thing that I am missing is the opportunity to share the content with others. The over the top videos are primed for viral marketing, and the use of the various characters in the videos is Consumer Generated Media fodder. I wish there were a component of that integrated as well.

Disney's Futures Efforts Fall Short

P.J. O'Rourke write up a scathing review of the most recent Future-scape that is the Disney Hall of the Future II in The Atlantic. Under Walt Disney, the company took great pains to create ambitious future-visions and offer them to the public in their theme park. I visited Tomorrow Land in 2007 and caught a glimpse of the new / old retro style. As someone who studies the future, I was let down.

Disney was dedicated to developing innovative future scenarios and throughout his time he used his theme parks as showcases for his imaginative work. What is dissapointing most is that Disney Co. has not taken up the challenge of continuing to develop those future visions. The current offering that is the Hall of the Future, so I understand, falls flat in an attempt to placate the patrons instead of challenging them.

Crowsourcing Odor Experiences

In Japan citizens are using google map technology to catalog areas of offending odors.  The project called nioibu, is in Japaneese so i have to rely on the translations provided on Boing Boing. The principal is the core piece here - citizens are sharing experiences collectively and using an open API to collectively tag and mark experiences geo-spatially.

I have seen some very neat map APIs that catalog everything from personal experiences via the Yellow Arrow Project, to  the national parks information currently on Google Maps. What we can learn from collective intelligence that appears on a need to know baiss is nearly limitless. The key breakthrough is that there is no need to absorb and store a globe of information, you get what you need about where you are instantly and seamlessly providing a rich and deep user experience. I have great hope for this kind of a project and look forward to seeing how this information melds with the greater geo-spacial tagging projects yet to come.

Silicon Valey Meet Akihabara

Friend and occasional conference compatriot Joi Ito hosted a number of Silicone Valley intellectuals as part of the Digital Garage New Context Conference. Part of being in Tokyo is experience the Otaku Culture and the best place to do that is Akihabara. Never having been there I will let the provided video provide context.

What I find most intriguing, and fascinating about the entire venture is that Joi brings out the top thinkers from Silicone Valley to Tokyo to cool hunt and discover social contexts that are on the cusp flourishing. He does this out of a sheer desire to share the experience, and I find that simply awe inspiring.

Walmart Social Media Marketing Failures

Walmart, know for roll back pricing and cramming almost everything you could ever need under one roof continues to struggle with its social media marketing campaigns. The company continues to explore the use of web 2.0 technology to move merchandise and engage customers but it is now running its second lack luster space.

Their 2006 venture was an ill fated Social Network space called 'The Hub'. Supposedly populated by Hubsters who were idely school agred children who would participate in the network, be exposed to a deluge of product placement (primarily school clothing and supplies) and ask their parents to take them to Walmart to stock up.

Over the last year Walmart employees have been sporadically blogging about ... their products at the Checkoutblog. The blog posts are almost exclusively product shills for items on sale, or new items. I give them a lot of credit because at least this space is branded as a Walmart space and it is very transparent who is writing what.

Being a retailer it is difficult to build community interest, and drive participation in an online community space. I understand that, however there are so many ways to do this better that would yield more interest, more participation, and more sales.