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Online & Offline Networks Together Create Change

September 28, 2010 in Social Media, Social Messages, Social Movements with 1 Comment

The kind of dramatic, status quo-busting social change that happened in the 1960s won’t happen via Twitter or Facebook, argues Malcolm Gladwell in his latest piece for The New Yorker – “Small Change: Why The Revolution Won’t Be Tweeted“.

As always, Gladwell draws some interesting and important distinctions. Between high and low-risk activism. Between strong and weak-tie social phenomena. Between hierarchical and decentralized organization.

Real social change, Gladwell submits, requires that people be encouraged by their strong ties to engage in high-risk, strategic activism led by hierarchical organizations.

The kind of activism associated with social media isn’t like this at all. The platforms of social media are built around weak ties. Twitter is a way of following (or being followed by) people you may never have met. Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with…This is in many ways a wonderful thing. It’s terrific at the diffusion of innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, seamlessly matching up buyers and sellers, and the logistical functions of the dating world. But weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.

I’ve been writing and thinking about the power of networks recently, and while I admire Gladwell’s sharp, analytical thinking very much, I think he misses a key distinction in his piece.

He uses “network” to stand for a decentralized power structure like Twitter and Facebook, but there is nothing about a network that requires decentralization.

Facebook and the like are tools for building networks, which are the opposite, in structure and character, of hierarchies. Unlike hierarchies, with their rules and procedures, networks aren’t controlled by a single central authority. Decisions are made through consensus, and the ties that bind people to the group are loose.

I agree that online networks like Facebook and Twitter are decentralized structures, but aren’t the organizations Gladwell cites — those with “clear lines of authority” guiding the civil rights movement with strategic thinking like the NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Conference — also a kind of social network?

Aren’t they just offline networks with structure and leadership?

This description from Gladwell’s piece of the black churches that fueled the civil right movement reads a lot like a definition of a network…a hierarchical one:

At the center of the movement was the black church, which had, as Aldon D. Morris points out in his superb 1984 study, “The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement,” a carefully demarcated division of labor, with various standing committees and disciplined groups. “Each group was task-oriented and coordinated its activities through authority structures,” Morris writes. “Individuals were held accountable for their assigned duties, and important conflicts were resolved by the minister, who usually exercised ultimate authority over the congregation.”

Individuals organized into groups. Groups into organizations. Organizations connected to other similarly structured organizations. That’s a network!

Gladwell usually hits home runs, but he hit one off the wall in deep center with this article. He should have added a distinction between online and offline networks.

Social media and online networking can play a vital role in creating social change provided it is complemented with offline networking: strong organizational leadership and face-to-face, in-person connections. Online and offline feed and re-enforce each other.

In modern activism, online and offline networking will have to work in concert to create any social change.

It’s the tactical use of both — low risk and high risk activism, weak ties and strong ties, decentralized and centralized structures, bottom up and top down, virtual and real world — that excites activists so much these days.

Weak ties on Facebook and Twitter can encourage first steps. Stronger ties offline can encourage the next.

Online networks can turn people out for low-risk forms of activism — showing up for an event, for example. Once there, they can be inspired by the experience and organized by the leadership to activate them for higher-risk participation in the future.

-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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GQ Finds A Better Man; Take That, Pearl Jam!

August 5, 2010 in Non Profit, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Messages, Social Movements, Social Technology with 0 Comments

As it turns out, it is possible to find a better man. Many, in fact.

GQ’s The Gentlemen’s Fund got the better of Eddie Vedder today as it named the five finalists of its annual Better Men Better World Search.

GQ received hundreds of nominations from across the country in its search for men who “dedicate their time and energy for the betterment of society through charitable work, volunteerism, and community involvement.”

You can view a slideshow of all the men who were nominated and meet the five finalists. It’s an impressive list of change-makers.

The winner will be determined by popular vote, and all votes must be in by September 30.

My vote goes to Jimmie Briggs. A former journalist, he started an initiative I admire, The Man Up Campaign, which is  dedicated to bringing men together and putting an end to violence against women in all its forms, from domestic violence to sex trafficking.

So, who’s getting your vote? May the best man win.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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Jimmy Fallon Is A Social Media Artist

July 20, 2010 in Social Media, Social Technology with 1 Comment

One of my All Time Favorite Movies is A River Runs Through It.

There’s a terrific scene in the movie where Norman, the lead character played by Craig Sheffer, returns to his home in Montana after years away at college and discovers that his younger brother, Paul, has become a master fly fisherman in his absence. Norman is in awe of him — and it’s not just because he looks like Brad Pitt. Paul has become a true artist, breaking away from the formal conventions taught to them by their father.

That’s how I feel about Jimmy Fallon and the way he integrates social media and other technology into his show to bring warmth and humor and joyful audience engagement.

When he was first learning, it often came off as awkward and herky-jerky. But now it’s become his signature brand of entertainment. And it just looks like art. Or, rather #itlookslikeart
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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USA Today Takes Kindness Community to Twitter

April 16, 2010 in Advertising, Cause Marketing, Non Profit, Social Media with 1 Comment

I just stumbled upon the USA Today’s Twitter hashtag charity campaign — #AmericaWants. And it ends today.

I fancy myself plugged in to this world so I’m surprised I didn’t hear about it. I guess it was just one of those weeks.

Twitter users are being asked to tweet for their favorite charitable organization. All participating tweets must include “#AmericaWants (insert full name of charity) to get a full-page ad in USA TODAY.”

The 501c3 with the most qualifying tweets wins a full-page, full-color ad in the USA Today valued at $189,400.

While a clever use of Twitter, these kinds contests favor the charitable haves over the have nots. Most community-based organizations — the ones who are truly desperate for the national attention that this advertising can bring — don’t have the social media muscle to compete against the likes of celebrity-sponsored organizations with tens of thousands of followers. (A case in point)

Either way, it’s refreshing to see traditional publishing trying something new in the social media and social cause space.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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An App for Commerce, Causes & Karma

March 10, 2010 in Corporate, Non Profit, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Messages, Social Technology with 0 Comments

CauseWorld, a free mobile app (iPhone and Android) recently featured — well, everywhere — but notably on the NY Times Bits Blog, lets users earn “karmas” by shopping at participating stores and then allows them to cash in those good vibe points as charitable donations to select non-profit organizations like American Red Cross, Global Giving, Room to Read, Livestrong and the Jane Goodall Institute.

The app smartly enables users to share their CauseWorld activity to their social networks, which provides an incredible promotional boost to all involved — the stores, the corporate sponsors, and especially the non-profit organizations.

Don’t see your favorite cause on their initial list? Send them an email.

I haven’t been able to figure out the allure of Fourquare, even though it has been enthusiastically embraced by (seemingly) everyone I know.

But I could definitely get into CauseWorld. It’s a similar concept with a nice cause-y twist.

I would rather be the Ambassador of a cause than the Mayor of a Starbucks.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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A Quick Inventory of Cause Marketing

February 20, 2010 in Cause Marketing, Corporate, Social Marketing, Social Media with 1 Comment

Most marketers credit American Express with originating, in 1983, “cause marketing” as we know it today — the complex amalgam of corporate, charity, celebrity and cause brands, all coming together to create value for and engage consumers with social change campaigns.

AmEx’s original campaign raised $1.7 million for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and it was also good for business. During the three month program, card usage increased by 28% and the new card holders increased by 17%.

Cause marketing has come a long way since then, and Geoff Livingston and David Hessekiel have both recently written wrap-up reports of their favorite campaigns.

In Mashable, Geoff praises Crate & Barrel, Target, Ford, Stonyfield Farm, Pepsi and Tyson. And in Advertising Age, David presents his top ten list, lauding brands such as Yoplait, Home Depot, Dove and American Express.

Neither piece offers deep insights or commentary on campaign strategy, but both are worth scanning as a refresher course.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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Pepsi Refresh – Let the Crowdsourcing Begin

February 1, 2010 in Cause Marketing, Corporate, Social Media, Social Messages with 1 Comment

Voting begins today for the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The public is being called on to vote for the best ideas across six categories of cause solutions – health, arts & culture, food & shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education.

The winning ideas will win grants from Pepsi between $5,000 to $250,000.

Pepsi hopes to generate even more social media chatter through a celebrity challenge — Kevin Bacon versus Demi Moore, both of whom have submitted projects to be funded. I think we know who Ashton Kutcher and his 4.4 million followers will be supporting. Although Kevin Bacon does have the six degrees phenomenon going for him.

Lee Clow, chief creative officer and global director for media arts at the Pepsi-Cola agency, TBWA Worldwide in Los Angeles, told the New York Times that the project is an extension of a campaign his agency introduced last year for Pepsi, which carried the theme “Every generation refreshes the world. Now it’s your turn.” The goal is “to develop a mechanism for young people to create ideas to make things better,” he added, that “will ultimately become part of the global behavior of the brand.”

Good work Pepsi.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts

Coca-Cola Tries To Live Positively

January 30, 2010 in Advertising, Cause Marketing, Corporate, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Messages with 0 Comments

Last week, I wrote about Pepsi’s daring decision to sit on the sidelines of this year’s Super Bowl advertising contest in favor of a social media-based cause marketing campaign.

Pepsi’s Refresh Project has been attracting so much media attention that I overlooked Coca-Cola’s own cause campaign, Live Positively.

Coke’s campaign has more modest ambitions. The company will be showcasing two new spots during the Super Bowl, which are also the centerpiece of the cause marketing campaign.

The concept is really quite simple. When Facebook users send a free virtual Coca-Cola gift to their friends through its Live Positively application, Coke gives back in two ways. They donate one dollar to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (up to $250,000). And they give their new “fans” (of which there are now more than 4 million) a sneak peak at their Wieden & Kennedy-created Super Bowl ads.

I give Coke credit for finding a creative way to engage a large audience with its corporate responsibility mantra. While Pepsi’s project appears to be more of a short-term special initiative, the Live Positively message now represents Coke’s overarching sustainability strategy and brand. More than 4 million people and counting are now connected to what could become the company’s permanent good works feed.

Having said that, I was underwhelmed by the ads. Coke has done an incredible job of articulating its “Happiness” brand message through creative visual storytelling. What I wanted for “Live Positively” was something more like this below — real people, real smiles, real pleasure.


And instead, they give us a redemptive tale of Montgomery Burns.

In addition, the campaign’s cause component is too abstract. Coke should have identified a specific project or local initiative to support within The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I understand there is a long-standing relationship between the two organizations, but general support is just so stale. It doesn’t tell a compelling story of need or urgency.

Pepsi’s campaign is fresher and more groundbreaking. Not only will the company fund specific community building projects, its voting process will be an important teaching tool. People will learn about the vast range of problems that are plaguing communities and be engaged by the creative approaches to solving them.

Local meets global. Education meets engagement. Media meets meaning. Online meets offline. These intersections are the future of cause marketing and Coke needs to catch up.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts

Haiti: The High Water Mark for Social Media

January 17, 2010 in Non Profit, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Messages with 0 Comments

I’m simply overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe in Haiti, yet I’m also in awe of the American Red Cross‘s smart use of mobile technology and social media to rally the web and raise funds for their relief work. With a simple call to action message posted on their Twitter and Facebook accounts, the Red Cross raised more than $8 million from text messages in three days.

That’s an extraordinary 800,000 donation texts…in a mere 72 hours.

No relief organization responded as swiftly and made it as easy for people to take immediate action as the Red Cross. They had their text campaign ready within three hours of the breaking news and simultaneously marshaled their “cabinet” of Twitter celebrities to spread the word.

This successful campaign helped the Red Cross project an aura of readiness and preparedness.

They communicated a simple, actionable message. They leveraged simple, actionable technologies. And they validated and circulated the entire campaign socially — through word-of-mouth influencers.

The Red Cross is a direct service organization and so its “real” work takes place on the ground, often in life or death situations. The organization would have a good excuse for being unsophisticated in executing communications campaigns.

In my experience working with nonprofit service providers, communications is sometimes not seen as central to the work of the organization. Of course, it’s  a helpful add-on skillset if the organization can afford it, but it’s not often valued as a core competency.

But that’s what separates the Red Cross from others: the ability to respond to an emergency both in the air with strategic communications and on the ground with strategic services, all in a coordinated fashion.
-Matthew DiGirolamo

Will Refresh Project Fizzle Out for Pepsi?

January 14, 2010 in Advertising, Cause Marketing, Corporate, Social Marketing, Social Media with 3 Comments

I am intrigued by Pepsi’s bold decision to take their brand off the largest marketing stage of the year and redirect their $20 million Super Bowl advertising budget to a new national cause campaign. Pepsi has always gone big for the Super Bowl — big on creativity and on celebrity. ABC News reports that Pepsi has spent $142 million in Super Bowl ads in the last decade.

It’s rare for a brand as valuable as Pepsi’s to be this bravely experimental, so clearly there is a lot riding on the Pepsi Refresh Project.

If you didn’t catch the announcement, Pepsi is calling on consumers, businesses and nonprofits to submit good ideas and good causes to be funded through the Pepsi Refresh Project. They will accept up to 1,000 good ideas every month and consumers will then vote for their favorite ideas beginning February 1. Pepsi has partnered with some major players in the cause space, GOOD, DoSomething.org, CityYear and Global Giving.

The campaign holds great promise and, if successful, it could usher in a larger movement away from traditional passive, one-off, event-based advertising and toward these kinds of interactive cause campaigns with local focus, global reach and year-long scope.

Saying all that, I am surprised that Pepsi’s foray into social media and cause marketing had some serious missteps from day one. They launched their Web site before it was ready for game time, which led to database errors when users attempted to submit their “ideas that will have a positive impact.” Their Facebook page was immediately populated not with supportive comments, but with frustrated user complaints. Worse still, some users actually had their confidential information — and intellectual property — compromised by the database errors.

Is Pepsi trying to crowdsource or incite a flash mob?

This all raises the issue of trust. Beyond the undeniable buzz it generates, cause marketing through social media is fundamentally about building a relationship of trust between a brand and its audiences.

While a campaign may certainly have noble intentions and make a social impact, it comes up short if it doesn’t establish a lasting bond of trust during the phases of its execution.

We will see how Pepsi’s early miscues color the credibility of their campaign. The submission process was flawed, but let’s hope the voting process runs as advertised.

While the Pepsi Refresh Project has definitely created brand buzz in these early stages, only time will tell if it will inspire true brand trust.
-Matthew diGirolamo, Cause Catalysts

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