A T Social Marketing and Consulting

We are increasingly seeing nonprofit organizations use social media for a variety of purposes. Many of these organizations have been using social media without any clear guidelines, which may answer the reason why they don't know if their social media campaigns are effective. I recently wrote a book review essay on what I call Civic Engagement 2.0. I reviewed the book CauseWired by Tom Watson, which I would recommend to anyone interested in how social media is used for social activism. In fact, you can read my review here.

The biggest takeaway from the book for me, is how I believe nonprofit organizations may need to reconceptualize how they view effectiveness. Surely there are many metrics an organization can use to evaluate their use of social media, but the hardest thing about social media is measuring the potential increase in social capital. Social capital is essentially the reciprocal process of developing trust and connections throughout the community. There are many definitions of social capital, but the one thing that many theorists agree upon is that social capital has been declining. Individuals are become more and more disengaged. Factors or reasons why point to the television set, suburbia, and more recently Facebook or Myspace.

However, I challenge the notion that social capital, and by extensions civic engagement, has been declinging. I think it has simply changed shape. Indeed not as many individuals are meeting up at the bowling alley, as implied in Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, but people are meeting more and more through social media, such as the aforementioned Facebook. Individuals are creating deep and powerful connections through social media in a way in which they are no longer bounded by geography. People can now connect with individuals all over the world and make a significant contribution to issues that are meaningful to them.

Much of CauseWired is about this very idea. The idea of how social media is chaning social activism. But I digress. Again you can read more of my review here. The idea I wanted to present here was about reconceptualizing effectiveness. The reason I bring up this book is because it illustrates poignant examples of civic engagement 2.0 and how individuals are using the power of social media and social networks to change the world. Not only is the book engaging, but it also demonstrates how nonprofits should consider what outcomes they would like to achieve by using social media.

I would venture to say that much of what I am talking about is also a bit hard to understand. Although, I would recommend reading the book. It is not a how to or recipe guide for successful social media use. No, instead you have to read between the lines, so to speak. To find out how these organizations used social media successfully. Or you can be sure to check back here, look us up on YouTube and twitter for more.

If you are using social media, and you have some concerns, questions, or good ideas. Be sure to email us, or leave a comment. I look forward to engaging with you more.

Thanks.

Jim