For Social Media, Home Begins with Charity
November 29th, 2007 by Sterling Hager
In another fine report by Heather Havenstein at Computerworld we learn today that charities are adopting social media technqiues and technologies faster than U.S. businesses, big and small, and colleges and universities. Go figure! The data comes from a survey conducted by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Just one of the more interesting data points:
While 34% of the charities reported that they are using blogs, previous research by the university has shown that only 8% of companies in the Fortune 500 and 19% in the Inc. 500 are blogging…
Now why is this? Could it be because they actually have a story to tell and a cause in which they truly believe? Are they less afraid of conversational feedback from their constituents? Is it because social media introduces new economies that are an order of magnitude smaller than traditional marketing communications campaigns? Your thoughts?
Sphere: Related Content
Tags: Corporate Blogging, Social Media
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December 4th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Yes to everything above, and one more suggestion. Nonprofits and causes RELY on community engagement. For nonprofits to survive and causes to be answered, members of the community have to believe in the ideal that they are part of something larger than themselves. Blogs and social media enable that in the way that social clubs and neighborhood groups used to. It’s in some ways, an answer to Robert Putnam’s fears in “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.” In short, I think social media is so important to the nonprofit community because the existance and health of communities and community dialogue is essential to driving social progress.
Thanks for the post guys.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Thanks for the insight Meg, glad to see that this piece resonated with you.