twitter

On Tuesday September 22nd, 2009 (tomorrow) I'll be giving a lightening talk at Seattle NetTuesday on free tools that nonprofit organizations can use to develope and execute a listening strategy to enhance their use of social media and the web.

I've previously written about how organizations can start Tweeting, and last week found a great primer on using Twitter for Activism. The DigiActive Guide to Twitter for Activism is a concise and informative guide that any organization looking to evaluate or deploy a Twitter strategy should read. While it is geared towards activism I think that most non profits would find it helpful.

The online protest against changes to copyright law in New Zealand – aka Internet Blackout NZ – was successful in that it has resulted in a 4-week delay. It is expected that this will give the new New Zealand government enough time to reconsider the consequences of such a ridiculous law change, and most probably repeal the changes entirely. The NZ Herald has more details. This is an enormous shout out to everyone who drove the protest and participated in some way. In particularly;

SO excited to see Amnesty International get onto Twitter today. GO FOLLOW THEM NOW!!!. Go ahead, do it now and come back. I'll wait... If ever there was a case study for mobilizing the masses using social media, I believe Amnesty could be it.

I have a question for you - do you use a micro-blogging platform like Twitter? Why or why not? What are you noticing about your online life, productivity, sense of connection, etc. Give us an idea of who you are, too - work at a non-profit? Are you a consultant? Leave a message in the comments. I'm interested to hear your thoughts, insights and concerns. You can also follow us on twitter and send us as @reply there.

Twice in the last 24 hours I've explained Twitter to friends and family who aren't exactly "early adopters" of webstuff, but who aren't slouches when it comes to staying in touch via facebook, email, etc.. I think these are the third and mainstream wave of adopters and they're starting to hear about Twitter. Arguably, that's because they're in my network and they see my posts on Facebook, which I've configured to update my status with my Twitter feed. "via Twitter" and my occasional tweets about Twitter have 'em wondering. Whether they adopt or not remains to be seen.

It goes without saying that we at CivicActions have been watching the presidential race with a passion that borders on addiction. We have also been excited by recent developments and new uses of technology in the service of civic engagement (which was, in part, what our company was founded on 4 years ago).

Amy Sample Ward at NetSquared posted the following question for the Net2ThinkTank:

What are the key questions nonprofit orgs should ask to help them determine how to prioritize social media training and experimentation as they do their technology and organization-strengthening planning?

I provide Social Media Training and Coaching to our clients.  While there are many good reasons to make social media a part of an organization's overall internet strategy, there are plenty of wrong reasons too.

During a recent client meeting, I had the opportunity to explain Twitter to an organization with very little social media experience.  I think my explanation may be of use to others who are just starting to consider using Twitter or other micro-blogging platforms (though I would argue that Twitter is where the people are and thus is where any organization looking to jump in should be. 

The Basics of Twitter