It depresses the hell out of me that this is a battle that still needs to be fought:
They’re targeting the campaign to youth, which makes some sense. But I hear so many adults using the word “retard” (and “-tard” variants) that I’m thinking some of us may need to kick off campaigns in our personal networks.
I’ll be heading to Toronto next week to deliver a workshop on social media for the Canadian Association of Labour Media. Which leads me to ask: what are your favourite union- and labour-related Web 2.0 campaigns, case studies and resources? I’m happy to share (and give credit!).
Just leave your favourites in the comments below. I’ll be blogging the best picks afterward.
Earlier this year in Vancouver, my wife/partner/co-conspirator Alexandra Samuel led a workshop jointly with Jason Mogus for the Hollyhock Leadership Institute. The topic: Web 2.0 and what it means for your organization. The approach: hands-on and intensive. The response: overwhelming and delighted.
So why not spread this Web 2.0-y goodness? Thanks to the good folks at the Centre for Social Innovation, Alex and Jason are bringing the social web gospel to Toronto. The scoop:
Web 2.0 and Your Organization
July 24 & 25th, 2007
Centre for Social Innovation
215 Spadina Avenue, TorontoHow can your organization use social media tools to deepen your relationships with supporters, reach new audiences and raise more money? More than twenty people discovered the power of social media tools like blogs and wikis through a workshop I co-taught with Jason Mogus on Web 2.0 and Your Organization. Jason and I had so much fun teaching that March workshop in Vancouver, and got such a positive response from participants, that we will be offering the same workshop in Toronto this summer.
Here’s the skinny:
Are you interested in how online communities like Flickr, MySpace, and YouTube can empower your members and customers to carry your message out into the world? Could your organization benefit from deeper collaboration among your team members, clients, partners or the public? Could better knowledge-sharing, stronger relationships and closer communications inside your organization and with your core supporters foster more efficiency, insight and effectiveness?
The latest generation of “Web 2.0″ or social web strategies and tools offer powerful opportunities for organizations to improve the way they work, communicate their messages, empower others, and serve the public. In this workshop you will learn how the latest tools for online collaboration and community building can make your organization smarter and more effective.
This workshop is designed for communications strategists, marketing managers, and webmasters who are interested in how this evolution of the web can help evolve your organization’s online strategy. We will give you the tools, knowledge, and most crucially, the vision for how your organization can use the web as a stronger agent of change. We’ll also cover the nuts-and-bolts, introducing the latest tools so that you know which options are most promising for your needs.
This workshop will take place from 6pm to 9pm on July 24th, and from 9am to 5pm (with lunch break) on July 25th.
Follow this link to register today — space is limited.
For more information, please contact web2andyou@gmail.com.
The fine folks at the BC Health Coalition have asked me to spread the word about an important workshop they’re hosting:
The British Invasion!
Would UK -style changes to our health care system benefit patients – or corporations?Come help celebrate the launch of the BC Health Coalition’s Friends of Medicare Campaign!
Featuring: Dr. Jacky Davis, UK radiologist and founder of Keep Our NHS Public
Will McMartin, political commentator and contributor to The TyeeThursday, May 17, 2007
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Croation Cultural Centre, Auditorium One
3250 Commercial Drive (Google map)
Vancouver, BCInformation:
tel. 604.681.7945
email campaigner@bchealthcoalition.ca
Sometime in the next hour or two, the Turn It Off! BC Facebook group will surpass 700 members. This, from a group I started a few weeks ago by inviting fewer than a dozen friends to participate.
If you haven’t checked out Facebook, and you’re looking for new ways to organize online, have a look. There’s some remarkable power there.
(And while you’re at it, why not sign the Turn It Off! BC pledge at 30 Days of Sustainability, and promise to cut all unnecessary energy use on May 16th? We’re trying to dim the province for a day in support of action to combat climate change.)
The 30 Days of Sustainability 2007 site has gone live (and if a few of us at Social Signal look a little more relaxed today than we have for the last week, that’s a big reason)… and with it, a new initiative from the ever-inventive 30 Days folks.
They’re calling it Turn It Off! British Columbia. Taking a cue from similar initiatives in Paris and Sydney, TIOBC asks British Columbians to use as little energy as they can on May 16th. You can use the web site to pledge your participation, and then check back afterward to see how we all did.
While we were building the site, I wondered how TIOBC could dovetail with some of the other web places we were exploring. One of the principles I’ve tried to apply since we launched Social Signal is to meet people where they already are. (So, for example, rather than ask visitors to upload their pictures to the 30 Days site, we ask them to tag their photos “30days2007″ on Flickr, and display a Flickr stream across the bottom of the page.)
And right now, a lot of folks are heading to Facebook. Already the place to be networking for high school, college and university students, Facebook is suddenly hot with parents, professionals and the public at large.
One reason why: the tools are almost supernaturally easy to use. Adding friends, updating your profile, changing your status message – you can do them all in seconds thanks to a clean, simple interface that makes judicious use of now-famous AJAX technology.
And one of the easiest things of all to do is to create and join groups. There are thousands of them on Facebook. And while most are dedicated to things like pop culture and lifestyle, a growing number have a social change focus.
So I created a Facebook group called “Turn It Off! British Columbia”. It took me less than a minute to create the group, fill in a profile and upload a logo. Another minute, and I’d sent an invitation to eight friends, asking them to join.
A few days later, there are more than 60 members.
Bear in mind: there was no promotion, no supporting web site (it hadn’t launched yet), and not even a request in my invitation that my friends pass the news on.
This is a testament to two things: the compelling nature of the idea, and the phenomenal ease that Facebook lends to collaboration. If you’re hoping to bring people together online, you could do far worse than check out Facebook.
I’m stunned: IMPACS, the Institute for Media Policy and Civil Society, announced yesterday that it’s declaring bankruptcy. And it’s pointing a finger at the Harper government’s budget cuts last year.
IMPACS is – was – a provider of communications training and services to non-profit organizations in Canada and internationally. Their monthly newsletter was a goldmine; their workshops widely used and well-appreciated.
The experience of IMPACS is, regrettably, not an isolated instance. There are numerous non-governmental organizations and charities in Canada’s community non-profit sector that are facing many of the same financial stresses. Chief among them is the lack of what is often called “core-funding,” i.e. revenue sources from operations or grants from governments or foundations that can sustain what is even the modest central management function at the heart of any organization.
In addition to the matter of inadequate core funding, another major challenge has been the ripple effect of cut-backs to federal grants and contributions announced last summer. This has had an adverse effect on the ability of numerous organizations in the non-profit sector to afford the services of the IMPACS Communications Centre, a social-enterprise model, moderate-cost provider of high quality communications services to non-profit and public-sector organizations.
One thing: some very talented people just became available. Savvy employers should get on the phone right now.
Passionate about sustainability? Wired into the online world?
30 Days of Sustainability needs an online community coordinator.
Vancouver’s 30 Days of Sustainability – an annual celebration of sustainability and its role in the world – needs a passionate, articulate coordinator for its web site.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
You’ll research and write material on a wide range of issues, talking with Vancouver community organizations, businesses and leaders working across the spectrum of sustainability.
You’ll manage the operation of a Drupal-based content-managed web site, and assist local organizations in using it to announce and promote 30 Days-related events.
And you’ll animate comments and conversations about how we can make Vancouver a global leader in sustainability.
WHO YOU ARE:
You have three great obsessions: sustainability, great communities and online technology. Chances are you’re involved with a volunteer or advocacy organization. And you probably have your own blog, a personal web site or an online community you call home.
You’re spontaneous, with an engaging, authentic online voice. You write quickly and well with a distinctive style. You’d be equally comfortable interviewing a demonstrator at a protest rally and a CEO in a boardroom.
And you understand sustainability: the threats to our local, regional and global environment, and the need for positive change and workable solutions.
ABOUT THE JOB:
We’re offering a chance to play a leading role in a high-profile online community project. You’ll be working directly for Social Signal, a leader in building ground-breaking online communities geared to effecting real-world change. You get to work with a team that includes Internet innovators, change leaders and skilled communicators. If sustainability and making a difference are the things that rock your world, this could be your dream job.
This is a full-time contract position with some fixed hours, but we can be flexible. The position will run through May 22, 2007.
HOW TO APPLY:
Tell us about yourself — your community involvement, your interest in sustainability your Web knowledge, your skills as a writer. Tell us why this position interests you, and why you’re the right person for the job. Attach a resumé that details your online, writing and community experience. Include a sample or pointer to your web writing, and a link to your blog, web site or other online presence.
Please apply to 30days@socialsignal.com by Wednesday, March 21. And thanks for your interest!