Social Ch@nge

Just across the newswires… uber-geeks from Google, Twitter, MeetUp and other high-tech companies have shipped out to Iraq.  No, seriously.

Between April 19-23, a gaggle of executives visited Iraq as part of a U.S. State Department tour.  The department said that “the executives would offer ideas on how new technologies could help foster transparency, strengthen civil society and generally empower people and local groups by providing the tools for network building.”

Now, maybe I’m cynical, but aren’t we waiting for technology to achieve this in many countries?  Such as, perhaps, the U.S.?  And how exactly will technology make Iraqi governance better?

Don’t get me wrong - I think it’s fascinating that Wordpress is visiting a warzone.  And I’m definitely on the optimist side of the line when it comes to rebooting democracy.

But this is a situation where the police are still getting blown up on a daily basis.  The governing parliament is barely functioning.  1% of the Iraqi population has internet access.   So I wonder what Twitter could really bring to the game right now.

What is this, then?  Hi-tech colonialism?  Payback for supporting Obama?  Or - maybe - it’s a bunch of companies genuinely to do some good, against some serious odds.  We shall see…

It’s election fever in British Columbia right now.   Interesting to see how the three major parties are handling their web presence…

The Green Party seems to have a pretty good handle on things - nice website with lots of useful tools and information, good presence on Facebook.  Looks like they’re using Drupal behind the scenes -  nice to see some open source support…

The Liberals also have a solid website with various media, and an interesting approach to encouraging “digital activism” through social media: you can sign up to use your Facebook profile or your blog to promote their cause.  They also have an “Open Platform” section of the website, that allow you to participate in surveys, web panels, social networks, digital “town hall meetings” and policy forums.

Like the others, the NDP are using multimedia effectively on their website, with fresh videos and photos available on a frequent basis.  Facebook? Check.  Twitter? Check.  Like the Liberals, they have a system to recruit “Rapid Responders” who use their social networking tools to push the party. 

Based on all this, I’d say that the Obama-riffic campaigns in the US have left their mark here in Canada.  Web presence and social media are definately being given some priority this time round. 

But the real test lies in who has tweeted most recently.  As of right now, it looks like the last tweet from the the Liberals was 13 hours ago; from the NDP, 15 hours ago;  the Greens, 22 hours ago.  Tsk, tsk, gang.  Pick up the pace!  I want to know what you had for breakfast!

As a recent scientific study proves - many post content to YouTube, and very few succeed in grabbing eyeballs.  What’s the secret recipe to making your videos cook?

Here are three key ingredients to creating a terrific YouTube video for your nonprofit.  You can observe all of these at work in a video of a tremendously cute baby rhino  at the Whipsnade Zoo, run by the Zoological Society of London in the UK.

1) Use your unique content
Not every nonprofit has a baby rhino (or giraffe) to show off.  But you are unique, and you’ve got something special to share that no-one else does.  So identify your unique content, and put it out there.

2) Keep it small, simple and cheap
YouTube as a medium has some real limitations - so understand those limitations and make them work for you.  Keep the imagery simple and powerful; don’t waste time with a lot of editing and fancy camerawork; and keep it short - the rhino clocks in at 2 minutes, and that’s all I need to be impressed.  Remember: YouTube videos are the potato chips of digital media.  Keep them small and addictive.

3) State your message clearly
At the end of all of their videos, ZSL has a single frame that shows their logo, and the words “ZSL is a charity devoted to the conservation of animals.”  Can’t get much clearer than that - I’ve seen what they do, they told me what they do, badda bing, badda boom. I get why they are important, in under two minutes.

Mix all these ingredients, and you’ll have a set of effective YouTube tools to push your message out there!