Should social entrepreneurs and social enterprises blog?

Posted on November 10, 2006 by sse

Have been collecting a few pages recently about why blogging (and Web 2.0 type-stuff generally) is good/useful for (some) non-profits / social entrepreneurs / social enterprises….and I promise this isn’t just to get the boss off my back ;0)

1) TechSoup (a great resource in itself) has an interesting article with four non-profits giving their background to becoming bloggers….relevant points include:

– figuring out how blogs will add value to your clients/constituents (organisational needs must drive the technological ones; these are means to an end)
– they are an easy way to keep content fresh and relevant….but only if the blogger(s) keeps content fresh and relevant, which is one of the main challenges
– it can be therapeutic (!) to share and relate experiences, but it also helps if you have a reason to blog (debate and advocacy as well as information)
– they can build a sense of community (and reach new audiences)
– travel and event blogging are two proven uses of the technology
– not just a tool for organisational promotion / informatio provision, but also can be used (privately) as an archiving or minuting tool…

2) 10 Ways Non-Profits can use Blogs by Britt Bravo is a good introduction as well, which adds to what I’ve pulled out above. Some of her points include:

– it can be a good way to involve staff and volunteers (particularly ‘virtual’ volunteers)
– it can provide a place for resources and information FROM constituents, as well as to them (i.e. we write about SSE Fellows and their work, as well as information about social entrepreneurship….)
– a place for the community/stakeholders to voice their opinion
– and, of course, to reach potential donors / investors

3) Beth’s blog has lots of useful information; just scroll down the left-hand side of her blog for lots of useful links / introductions / explanations of del.icio.us, RSS feeds, blog-starting etc…well worth a look. One post I found from her links was Weblog Strategies for Non-Profits which has some good generic stuff and advice, and how (adventurous) organisations might want to take it to the next level (eg. give weblogs to trainees and teach them how to self-document)

4) 12 reasons why UK businesses don’t blog argues against each of those reasons in turn, thus giving you 12 reasons why businesses should, including

– blogging = SEO (search engine optimisation); i.e. it will bring more traffic to ALL your IT (public website etc); aka "Google loves weblogs"
– it is not just a US thing (even if they’re further ahead…as with all the links above)
– they are EASY to set up….why not trial? and so on…

5) Blogs are not the only fruit is an excellent article not only about blogs, but about why other web 2.0 stuff is useful. Posted by the Headshift people, who created the new Demos website. Although written a while ago (almost two years), it is still relevant and gives a good overview of where we are at, and what you might consider.

6) Also from Techsoup, Marnie Webb details 10 reasons why your organisation should start a blog. Much of which we’ve covered above, but further points include:

– you can become a trusted information source in a particular area
– a more personal voice that can engage people "on a more human level"
– you can use a variety of media very easily (even more the case now with Flickr / You Tube, Delicious et al around)

7) Marnie also points to an ‘old’ article (2003 is old, people) from NonProfit Quarterly entitled "What’s a blog and why should non-profits care?" It’s slightly dated but a good starting point if you’re beginning from scratch. Another simple overview is provided by Nancy Schwartz: Should your non-profit blog?

8) David Wilcox’s Designing for Civil Society is a great resource and a blog worth reading on this subject (he’s recently been writing about going beyond blogging to buzzing); check out his non-profit category which covers much in this area, and sign up to his feed for thinking at the forefront of social networking, knowledge and tech-design + partnerships…..

9) Another TechSoup article (yes, the US are ahead of us, although NCVO’s ICT Foresight project are trying to catch up a bit, as is the ICT Hub….+ the Media Trust), this one on the wider phenomenon of these people-centred web tools: What is Web 2.0 anyway?

10) Finally, ending on a podcasting note, check out this page for nonprofits considering their own podcasts (they whys and hows), also available as a podcast.

There’s plenty more around, often from links from the articles above, but these should give a fairly good introduction. All of the above bring out key points: blogs, podcasts and the rest are just tools, new ways to communicate, so don’t just get on board for hype; understand why you are doing it and how it fits with your overall marketing and communication objectives. On the flipside, if you do think it can make a difference to your organisation, and have thought through how and why, it is easy to set up and start writing. What is more difficult it to keep that commitment going forward, and meet the challenge of posting relevant, interesting, informative, entertaining material on a regular(ish) basis…If used effectively, though they have to be tools that social entrepreneurs and social enterprises should take into consideration, no matter how focused they are on running their organisation and project delivery. Focus on communication is also crucial.

Ultimately, what is good for businesses is good for social entrepreneur-led organisations of all types as well and, in some areas, more so given the different groups of stakeholders that third sector organisations answer to.

Next time, 10 reasons why we love lists ;0)

We-think throws its pages open

Posted on October 9, 2006 by sse

Charles Leadbeater, author of the Rise of the Social Entrepreneur and other myriad texts of interest, is publishing an interesting new book, entitled We-Think, next year. It seems to be bringing together various strands from his recent work into a coherent whole, particularly the Pro-Am Revolution stuff he did with Paul Miller at Demos.

To get a sense of what the book is about, here’s the introduction which bears a long quotation…:

"The basic argument is very simple. Most creativity is collaborative.
It combines different views, disciplines and insights in new ways. The
opportunities for creative collaboration are expanding the whole time.
The number of people who could be participants in these creative
conversations is going up largely thanks to the communications
technologies that now give voice to many more people and make it easier
for them to connect. As a result we are developing new ways to be
innovative and creative at mass scale. We can be organised without
having an organisation. People can combine their ideas and skills
without a hierarchy to coordinate their activities. Many of the
ingredients of these forms of self-organised creative collaboration are
not new – peer review for example has been around a long time in
academia. But what is striking about Wikipedia, Linux, Second Life,
Youtube and many more is the way they take familiar ingredients and
combine them to allow people to collaborate creatively at mass scale.

The
guiding ethos of this new culture and forms of self-organisation is
participation. The point of the industrial era economy, was mass
production for mass consumption, the formula created by Henry Ford. In
the world of We-think, the point is to take part, to be a player in the
action, to have a voice in the conversation. And in a participation
economy people want not services and goods, delivered to them, but
tools so they can take part and places in which they can play, share,
debate with others. Workers could be instructed, organised in a
division of labour. Participants will not be lead and organised in this
way.

The people who take part in these collaboratives are
neither workers nor consumers. They are participants and contributors.
If the 20th century marked the rise of mass consumerism, one feature of
the 21st century will be the rise of the mass participation economy:
innovation by the masses not for the masses. Innovation and creativity
have been elite activities, undertaken by special people – writers,
designers, architects, inventors – in special places – garrets,
studies, laboratories. Now innovation and creativity are becoming mass
activities, dispersed across society. We-think is an effort to
understand this new culture, where these new ways of organising
ourselves have come from and where they might lead. They started, as
most radical and disruptive innovation do, in the margins, in open
source, blogging and gaming. But they will increasingly become the
mainstream by challenging traditional, hierarchical, top down and
closed organisations to open up. They could change not just the way
that the media, software and entertainment works but also the way we
organise education, health care, cities and indeed the political system."

Which all looks and sounds very interesting. And in the spirit of creative collaboration, Leadbeater is making the book open to read, comment on and print out. Of particular interest to the social entrepreneur will be the sections on Open Work and Open Leadership; you get a taste of the latter from a recent article entitled "Jimmy Wales, not Jack Welch" (pdf…)

[via Designing for Civil Society, via the Open Blog etc….]

Worlds Touch: bridging the technological divide

Posted on October 3, 2006 by sse

As part of the Non-profit blog exchange I get to visit and blog about another non-profit blog. I’ve had the pleasure, therefore, of entering the world of World’s Touch, an organisation which does the following:

Worlds Touch
is a nonprofit organization partnering with successful
charities in developing countries to provide information and communications
technology (ICT).

We provide information systems for international grassroots organizations working to end poverty.

We design and build web sites for community groups.

We train and support non-profit management.

We bring cultural sensitivity to every project.

The Executive Director, Trish Perkins, is writing their blog, and is currently (as befits her nom de plume Traveller Trish) going round Nepal (and India), whilst simultaneously working on IT and web projects….it’s impressive stuff, and you are plunged headlong into the narrative and the world which Trish is moving through and experiencing. After all, what is a blog for if not being able to communicate the "personality" of the organisation, giving an insider feel to what you do, how you act and how you work. Here’s a taster from a recent post, detailing a singing game…:

"The party got going after that, and it was just a really uproarious
and fun party at that. Sudeep played a bunch of oldies but goodies in
English on the piano and people sang at the tops of their
lungs…Country Roads, She’ll Be Comin Round the Mountain and others.
In between, the disc jockey played Hindi, Nepali and English songs for
dancing. At one point, we played this game I loved during the Anne’s
evening a few weeks back. One team starts with a song and then, when
they stop, the next team has to start a song with the last syllable of
the previous team’s song. And they all know so many songs, they can
just jump up and belt them out.

"This time, they divided the boys against the girls, and it was
hilarious. My dentist was the moderator, but he kept making up rules in
the middle and then changing them when he felt like it. It was really
quite funny. Jit’s wife, who has been a film actress and a model, was
Ms. Johnny-on-the-Spot when it came to different songs. Diwaker went
around filming with his video camera when he wasn’t playing the guitar
or dancing or being Mr. Entertainment.

"And we danced and danced. When none of the women would take to the
floor, the guys would get out there and just dance themselves. And
unless I was prostrate from the last twelve dances, I’d be out there
with them. I could say that I don’t know WHEN I’ve had such a good
time, but actually I can. It was about three weeks ago at the Anne’s
evening. And before that? Well, I remember one party when I was in
college…"

Great stuff. Who wouldn’t want to be there? Makes a change from my badly punning titles and cynical asides. I think I’m going to have to get more narrative in my approach, because it’s really engaging.

It’s also interesting to think of social entrepreneurship (as SSE considers it) and the impact of individuals when they catalyse movements and make contacts, building teams to help things happen and change to occur. This happens in the villages of Nepal and India, just as in the estates of East London or Liverpool.

I also found myself reflecting on the virtues of virtual volunteering (web design, ICT help and so on) and face-to-face interaction. Does Patricia have more impact on her travels, interacting and teaching and influencing, or in front of her screen back in the US? New technology throws up countless opportunities for connections and help that weren’t there before, but the power of Trish’s blog may be that some things are better done face-to-face. I wish her well from afar.

Minipreneurs and trendwatching

Posted on September 4, 2006 by sse

replica louboutin store, and its offshoot, Springwise, have long been worth a look now and again, if only to convince yourself that your finger is on the pulse of the zeitgeist. Or something.

The latest thing I spotted was Minipreneurs, which is kind of a mix of web 2.0, pro-ams and, well, grassroots entrepreneurs. Or as trendwatching puts it:

“We have dubbed this trend ‘MINIPRENEURS’:
a vast army of consumers turning entrepreneurs; including small and
micro businesses, freelancers, side-businesses, weekend entrepreneurs,
web-driven entrepreneurs, part-timers, free agents, cottage businesses,
seniorpreneurs, co-creators, mompreneurs, pro-ams, solopreneurs, eBay
traders, advertising-sponsored bloggers and so on.”

Over on the less webby, more social side of things, Robert Katz took up the theme (meme?) on Worldchanging and pointed out that “consumers turning entrepreneurs” is all the more powerful when ‘consumers’ is widened to ‘users’, meaning social entrepreneurs changing things with new models and ways of doing things emerging from the grassroots:

“First of all, minipreneurs aren’t new, so all the talk does feel a bit hyped-up. Microfinance
organizations have been funding small-scale business ideas for 30-plus
years, and it’s generally acknowledged that entrepreneurs can be a
pretty good investment. They deliver development outcomes, too, by
providing lower-cost goods and services while building local human and
social capital. What are new are the tools and strategies available to
help businesses get started and continue growing – and that’s where the
real potential lies.”

Katz is very good on the need for a combination of flexible business models and methodologies with passionate, driven, engaged entrepreneurs. Whilst his focus, and his case studies, are centred in “low-income” countries, the same is no less true for poorer areas in the UK, US, Europe et al.

[Also of interest on WorldChanging is Jon Lebowsky on Nonprofit 2.0 and the Long Tail; Social Entrepreneurship 2.0 to follow ;0)]

Category Archives: Weblogs

We-think throws its pages open

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