What is the Role of Blogging vs. Newer Social Media

There is no doubt that business blogging is an essential part of content media strategy whether the target is B2B or B2C.  The immediacy and ability of blogging to communicate detailed information and to provide deep links to website content or other calls to action can’t be matched. However, new platforms like Pinterest and Instagram and even tools like infographics cause some to question the value of blogging, even in B2B.

As an individual I started blogging “early days.” Candidly I was afraid my brain would atrophy when I retired from full-time teaching and blogging seemed a way to keep it alive. It turned out to be even more—a way to learn about the emerging discipline of social media marketing. I kept the diy-Marketing blog going for several years, until it was so content heavy that its response was unacceptable. I started another strategy blog and found an interesting response to a series of Social Media for Good posts. However, by that time my primary professional activity was the Internet Marketing textbook, providing updates for adopters of the text and thinking about a 4^th edition. Blogging proved to have less value in that context.

I have a new Google+ page each year so Internet marketing instructors can search current material for their courses. Debra has a Google+ community and a Facebook page for the book, and I contribute to both. I have 3 Pinterest boards and Debra and I share another. I have been amazed at the way people pick up on my Pinterest postings even though I have done nothing to promote them beyond the users of our text. I try to see most of the posts from all the platforms are fed through to my Twitter account.

So what? In doing all of this I’ve come to have strong opinions about where content curation fits in and the role of content creation.

Content curation specifically keyed to our textbook has the potential to fill an important role for the users. Since personal brand development is no longer a huge objective for me, curation doesn’t do a great deal for me personally.

Creation of original content, as Debra has often pointed out, contributes to visibility on the web in a way that mere curation does not. Even more important to me personally is that my blog is my voice on the Internet. It is my creative opportunity to say what I believe and to try to make a contribution to the discipline. Consequently, I have started a new blog with a limited focus. “SocialTechnology for Good, or for Mischief” allows me to continue the postings which received favorable attention in the earlier blog. There is plenty of mischief around but it is the personal privacy implications that particularly interest me. I’m working on visibility because I want people to find it. My rule is only to write a post when I can make a contribution, even if the contribution is only careful research.

That brings me to infographics. I like them and have a Pinterest board for infographics. However, they are so numerous that they litter the Internet landscape. Many have no lasting value. They represent visual curation, not the creation of original content. Consequently, I do not agree with those who regard them as a substitute for blogging. If the blogger has a point of view and a message, that requires a verbal argument, not statistics with pictures.

Even with careful attention to distributing and optimizing content, there is only so much any one individual can do. That is the point of the graphic. Some platforms lend themselves to original content—websites and blog postings because they do not have length restrictions, videos (short or long form) because they are inherently informative and engaging. Many of the platforms that have become popular recently are really “announcement platforms” They are invaluable for distributing content but for business use they usually need to link to more detailed content like a blog post or a web page.

Likewise there is only so much any given brand should do. The old rule is still just as true—the choice of communications platforms depends on objectives. As you choose just factor in an additional consideration—curation vs. original content! 

Please consider this an invitation to visit the new blog!

Social Media for Good XI

According to Mashable one government agency, the Interior Department, has Instragram figured out. This image is of the super moon in late June. "Beautiful photo of the #Moon over #TurretArch in #Arches National Park last night." Take a look at their site, see the number of views and comments, and make your own assessment. Don't the images make you want to visit some of these places? And maybe submit a photo to their summer contest? Notice that the contest is posted on the White House blog. Interior has a news page, but I don't find a blog. The White House would probably have more followers anyway!

Their Instagram page has over 50,000 followers, another testimony to the power of the channel. And their social media concentration on Instagram suggests a good understanding of the channels available.

Social Media for Good X

May 3 was World Free Press Day, celebrated by traditional and digital media around the world. UNESCO's 2013 prize was awarded to  Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu who is currently in prison for writings critical of the government. She worked for various traditional media outlets and eventually founded her own magazine. The Electronic Freedom Frontier points to the case of an Etiopian blogger, Eskinder Nega, just sentenced to 18 years in jail for similar "crimes." Freedom of the press is a digital issue as well as a traditional media one.

This map from Reporters Without Borders via the Guardian newspaper shows the status of press freedom around the world. Content creators in all media spaces are affected by press freedom or lack thereof, and supporting freedom of the press around the world ia important to all of us.

Social Media for Good IX

Here's an interesting tweet from UNICEF in the UK. Matt Rhodes from Fresh Networks tweeted it, saying it's at the edge of social media.

I agree. It's a compelling call to action, and a reminder of the limits of social media.

Or is it a reminder of the reach of social media?

Either way, it is definitely creative fund raising!

Social Media for Good VIII

Health-related websites and social media networks are certainly not new, but they seem to be growing in popularity. According to some interesting statistics on All Facebook, health-related pages represent a burgeoning category on Facebook. In fact, they increased in number of pages in the third quarter of 2012 by more than other fast-growing categories like travel.

Health related social media can perform many functions from providing support to patients and their families to raising money. The feature on Living Kidney Donors Network on local TV caught my attention last week.

This is a great example of direct and worthwhile action prompted by a Facebook post. Hear the story on the WCVB video.

Remember that it's not the size of the page by any measure; it's the good it does. And take the good being done by this social network  page as a happy thought for the Easter weekend1

Social Media for Good VI

The SmartBrief headline was too good not to click—"Researchers Use Twitter to Try to Catch Colds". It lead me to computer science researchers at Johns Hopkins who have an active public health research program based on analysis of tweets.

They’ve studied allergies and found that people not only talked about them on twitter but many of them were taking the wrong medications. They’ve also studied headaches and the spread of flu. The SmartBlog post gives information on how they do it.

CS doctoral student Michael Paul comments that using Twitter to do this type of research is much faster than traditional public health information gathering, but less accurate.

So consider it another weapon in the growing arsenal of health-related social media tools!

Social Media for Good V

Secretary Clinton ended her tenure at the State Department with multiple media events. The one of most interest to social media was her Global Town Hall on January 29.



With Australian newscaster Leigh Sales she took questions from college students in India, Nigeria, England, Japan, Columbia, and Lebanon. Social technologies used were Facebook, Twitter, Sina Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter), emails, and IP Video Conferencing.View the video here.

Were you aware that Clinton was the first Secretary of State to require that departmental employees are trained in the use of social media?

Is this propaganda? Most certainly. Does it contribute to global understanding? Personally, I find it hard to argue that any reasonably open event that promotes communication across borders and cultures is not a good thing.

Social Media for Good IV

You may have heard that the Obama campaign is transforming the campaign organization into a movement for grassroots action.  It has its own Executive Director and an introductory video by the First Lady.

Will people who signed up for a political campaign now sign up to be active in their own local areas? For what causes or  issues?

It remains to be seen. What is interesting from a marketing standpoint is the desire not to abandon an existing community. It's what, for example, the March of Dimes was able to do.

It will be interesting to watch.

Charity:Water - A Case Study in Venture Philanthropy

I first heard of Charity:Water when a student sent me a Mother’s Day card representing a $20 donation in my name. I responded with a $20 donation of my own and was intrigued by the young organization’s use of email and video--and the very personal involvement of founder Scott Harrison--to cement donor relationships. This was about 2007, well before most other charities understood the power of digital media.

The business model of Charity:Water is also exemplary. They call it the 100% model; 100% of what they raise from public donations goes directly to water well projects. There are few non-profits with the kind of charismatic leader who can raise all the funds necessary to run the charity. The Clinton Global Initiative is one other that I know of and it makes the point about a well-placed leader. In recent years Charity:Water has been using GPS to locate projects on Google maps and to provide proof of successful completion to donors. Overall, it is a model of how to run a charitable organization in the Internet age. One thing you quickly notice is that they encourage supporters to raise money for them and that’s where a lot of social media comes in.

This is why we featured them as an Internet marketing “best practices” case study in the first chapter of the Internet marketing text. The organization has lessons, not just for other non-profits, but also for commercial organizations that wish to remain close to their customers.

GPS is useful but Charity:Water has just taken another big step. According to an article by the AP, “Harrison, a former New York promoter for nightclubs and fashion events, didn’t want to guess at how many water projects were actually working. He wanted to give donors more assurance, knowing as many as a third of hand pumps built by various governments or groups stop functioning later. His solution: why not create sensors to monitor the water flow at each well? But raising millions for a new innovation could prove impossible.” That, perhaps, is the drawback of the 100% model; if a large operational investment is needed it could strain the fund-raising ability of even a charismatic leader.

Enter Google. In December it announced a new charitable grants program to fund organizations that are using technology in innovative ways. It’s first 7 grants are fascinating—from DNA barcoding of endangered species to educational programs for under-represented students and for math and science education. All have a major technology component.

Matt Bannick, managing partner of the (Pierre) Omidyar Network says this represents a new approach to philanthropy. He describes the new approach: 

“Seeking out ideas to fund, rather than existing projects, turns traditional notions of philanthropy on its head,” Bannick said.

“Rather than looking for organizations that could do this specific work that we’re hoping to get accomplished, let’s look for fabulous entrepreneurs … that have a new and innovative idea that we can get behind,” he said.

These are two developments to follow with interest. Charity:Water continues to innovate in ways that bond with its donors. Entrepreneurial high tech firms like Google are looking for ways to use technology for social good. The approach of taking a risk by funding innovative uses of technology by leading-edge non-profits is the idea behind “venture technology.” Will we see more—and even more effective—ways to use technology in the future? Hopefully we will!

Social Media for Good III

We hear the words daily on news reports--“amateur video,” “powerful images,” “unable to independently verify.” The caveats are required from responsible journalistic sources, but the fact that major news organizations use social media for important news coverage attests to its power.

Citizen videos have been key to our understanding of what is going on in Syria. They make it hard to ignore the awful realities there—much harder than if they were out of sight. That is the ultimate contribution.

It’s less easy to understand the lives of the people who take huge risks to make and upload videos. This article, and the image of Omar Abu Al Huda and his cat in a safe house in the small town of Idlib, Syria gives human perspective to the story. The link is from the Global Voices site, whose newsletter is a fascinating read. It has a link to a partner site, Syria Deeply.

Either or both are well worth following.

Social Media for Good II

The Country Garden center in Hyannis, MA had a surplus of tulip bulbs at the end of the fall selling season. They could have just thrown them in the compost pile. Instead, they decided to offer them to a local non-profit and asked their Facebook fans to nominate an organization to receive them. They got a reasonable response for a week-long event in a small population area, during Christmas season at that! They probably also got more Facebook Likes, which they are working on. Great idea!

Social Media for Good I

http://bit.ly/12n5lCK

You may have seen the K-9 Comfort Dogs in Newtown. They have attended major tragedies and do everyday work like visiting retirement homes and interacting with school children. Each dog has a Facebook page and an email address, listed on the business cards they hand out. Pages like Ruthie's are often in 1st person. Some of their many pages have already been updated this morning, so people are working hard on the social media aspects of this worthwhile program.