Robert L. Weiner: Nonprofit Fundraising Technology Consulting » Social Media

Pinterest and privacy

Robert — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:00:03 +0000

I was planning to check out Pinterest to see what the buzz is about, but their privacy policy gives me the creeps. I can only sign up by linking a Pinterest account to my Facebook or Twitter account. The description on the Twitter link page says this allows them to:

Read Tweets from your timeline.
See who you follow, and follow new people.
Update your profile.
Post Tweets for you.

It's really no consolation that the app doesn't:

Access your direct messages.
See your Twitter password.

The Facebook signup page isn't nearly as informative. I couldn't figure out exactly which data the app would have access to or how it would use that data. The signup page says "We NEVER post without your permission." Either they do post Tweets for me or they don't. That should be simple to explain.

I don't want an app following new people for me, or posting on my behalf. The author of this article says "when I used my Facebook account to create my profile, Pinterest used my personal information to automatically have me start following common connections." I have to agree wholeheartedly with her when she says "Pinterest broke a basic tenet of online privacy: To not invasively use my online information."

What am I missing here? Or missing out on by not using Pinterest?

Predictions for Nonprofit Fundraising Technology in 2012

Robert — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

NTEN published my somewhat snarky predictions for nonprofits' use of fundraising technologies in 2012. My overall predictions are that most things will be pretty much the same as last year (and 2010 and 2009, etc.): many nonprofits will struggle with out-of-date systems. No surprise -- many will also lack the funding to replace them. But others will fail to see that technology, and people who know how to support and use technology, are necessary investments.

On the other hand, many organizations (and this by no applies just to nonprofits) will throw money and time at trendy projects without thinking about whether they're the right tools, with the right strategy, investment, support, or marketing behind them. By all means, try new things. But do it smartly. Do your homework, test, learn from others, learn from your own failures, and get better at it over time. And don't neglect what's already working for you.

Resources from the Compasspoint Panel

Robert — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:46:47 +0000

Yesterday I spoke on a fundraising panel at Compasspoint's Silicon Valley/Peninsula Nonprofit Forum and mentioned a variety of resources. Here they are, with links:

Donor Retention
AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project: http://www.afpnet.org/Audiences/ReportsResearchDetail.cfm?itemnumber=3113
The Agitator’s post “No New Donors!” http://www.theagitator.net/dont-miss-these-posts/no-new-donors/

Attracting New Donors
“Homer Simpson for Nonprofits: The Truth about How People Really Think and What It Means for Promoting Your Cause”
Ebook: http://web.networkforgood.org/201002ebook/
Archive of their workshop at the NTEN conference: http://bit.ly/cTvvSq

Donor Databases
Idealware's "Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems"
http://www.idealware.org/reports/consumers-guide-low-cost-donor-management-systems

Social Media
My own resources page: http://www.rlweiner.com/resources#social%20media It includes links to articles like:
Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites?
Before You Jump in with Two Feet in Social Media - Important Boring Basic Stuff First
Tips for Entering Your Nonprofit into the Social Media Environment
Using Social Media to Meet Nonprofit Goals: The Results of a Survey
The ROI of Social Media
The Six Signs That Twitter Isn't For Your Nonprofit
Ten Things a Nonprofit Should Do Before Setting Up Social Media

Separating Personal and Professional Lives on Social Media

Robert — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:24:08 +0000

Do you "friend" your co-workers, clients, or service recipients on Facebook? What about LinkedIn? Are your tweets appropriate for all audiences? Andrew Heller discussed the risks of oversharing in his NTEN blog post Social Media and Privacy: Best Practices for Managing Your Personal and Professional Identities. His basic advice: "Be Prepared. Be mindful of your online presence. Think thrice before acting." He provides an extensive list of best practices and privacy options for using social media. In his blog post Separating Personal and Professional Networks Online, Andy Shandlain lamented that "separating personal and professional networks can be a desirable, but elusive goal." His article and the comments provide some suggestions about how to separate the two. I like the advice passed along by the Red Cross's Wendy Harman at the recent NTEN conference: "If I wouldn’t go out for a beer with you and pay for a round, then I probably won’t friend you in Facebook."

SF Fundraising Day 2010

Robert — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:39:09 +0000

San Francisco's Fundraising Day will be happening June 16 at the downtown Marriott. Once again I have the honor of co-chairing the Technology Track with Michael Stein. We've programmed sessions on online fundraising with Madeline Stanionis, social media with Jeff Patrick, database selection with Eric Leland, and an open discussion session with me and Michael on whatever tech topics the attendees bring. Early bird rates end on April 15, so sign up at www.afp-ggc.org/frd2010

The Idealware Research Fund

Robert — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:59:03 +0000

My friends at Idealware have created a new fund to support their research. Many of Idealware's reports have been funded by foundations and some have had corporate sponsorship. As you probably know, neither foundation nor corporate support is a reliable funding source these days. In addition, since Idealware must maintain its independence in order to produce their high-quality, unbiased reports and product comparisons, some potential funding sources are simply off limits.

Their goal is to raise $15,000. The fund will allow Idealware "to build on (their) base of more than four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of software research to provide the new resources that nonprofits need most, like information about social media tools, mobile text messaging, constituent databases, and more." If you want to support them as well, you can do so on the Research Fund's fundraising page.

(Full disclosure: I have contributed to some of Idealware's reports, and they have even paid me for advice.)

Online Alumni Communities in the Age of Social Media

Robert — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:50:11 +0000

I received the following email from a listerve. The topic of closed alumni communities versus social media is on the minds of a lot of university staff, so I'm posting this along with my response.

I'd like to hear from anyone who is using the social networking function of Blackbaud Net Community. We are purchasing Net Community for some of the other things it offers, and we're trying to decide if we should pursue social networking through it or use Facebook, etc. What we see as a benefit is the thought that perhaps using the Net Community, it might be a little more professional than having a group on FB or MySpace. A negative, though, is that most people are currently using one or more social networking sites - will they use this one too? We are on Linked In and hardly any of the alums use it.

Thanks for any feedback!

Here's my take:

This question is coming up a lot these days. You need to weigh the benefits to your alumni that can only be obtained through the closed community (NetCommunity in this case). What are you offering, and will they value it sufficiently? And is there another way to offer those benefits without the closed community (e.g., a password-protected online alumni directory), perhaps at a lower cost and with fewer resources?

It's not an either/or proposition. You can also set up a Facebook page and/or group, and a LinkedIn group. But you need to ask the same questions about these tools as NetCommunity: What value are they providing? And will your alumni respond? (Have you asked your alumni what they want from your online community--whether that's on LinkedIn or NetCommunity?)

I'm not sure whether you're considering whether or not to buy NetCommunity, but if so, you should also consider the benefits it provides other than social networking: online donations, event registrations, mass emails, self-service for data updates, etc. (There are other ways of providing most of those, of course.)

FYI, here's an article on using LinkedIn for alumni groups:

http://doteduguru.com/id706-linkedin-alumni-group-tutorial.html

Some of the key points are: What are your goals for the group? How will you measure them? How will you market the group?
And here's a blog post from Andy Shandlain at Cal Tech about the subject:

http://www.alumnifutures.com/2009/10/private-label-online-communities.html

Cal Tech does not have a closed online alumni community, but they do have a password-protected online alumni directory.

Schools using social media but not for fundraising

Robert — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:11:15 +0000

I spent the last 3 days at the CASE District VII conference, for schools in AZ, CA, Guam, HI, NV, and UT. Social Media was a big topic this year, with workshop titles like "Maximizing Social Networks and Online Resources in Alumni Relations", "Now That Facebook and Twitter Aren't Enough: Integrating Social Media into Your Advancement Toolkit ", and "Making Community Real in a Virtual World". Speakers and attendees reported heavy use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube (the few times I heard mentions of MySpace were negative).

Very few speakers or attendees reported using these tools for fundraising, though. UC Berkeley talked about a badge that donors can post to their Facebook pages after making a gift ("I Feed The Bears"). This is the online equivalent of a window decal or bumper sticker, with the added benefit that one's friends can click the badge to make a gift. It's not an explicit fundraising appeal, but they might start using fundraising badges for class campaigns in the future. Peer-to-peer class campaigns (at least for recent classes) seem like a natural for social media, and I expect we'll start seeing them.

America’s Giving Challenge 2009

Robert — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:59:03 +0000

The latest round of the America's Giving Challenge is on. This is a national competition to encourage people to use their personal and social networks to help win cash for their favorite nonprofit. The Giving Challenge is not focused on how much money you can raise, but on how successful you are at getting people to donate to your cause. The goal is to get as many unique daily donations as possible (minimum of $10), to your cause each day. The contest runs through November 6, 2009.

Using Facebook Causes to Promote Your Nonprofit: October 13 Online

Robert — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:59:03 +0000

What: Another in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's series of online discussions: How to Use Facebook Causes to Promote Your Nonprofit Group

When: Tuesday, October 13, at 12 noon, Eastern time

Where: http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/10/facebook/

How Much: Free

Description: