Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

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Seven Useful New Social Media Tools

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Did you blink and suddenly realize everything around you is digital? The technology train is taking off! Here’s your ticket to staying afloat and reach broader audiences with some useful social media tools!

AppMakr.com is a browser-based platform designed to make creating your own iPhone app quick and easy. Its free drag and drop tool enables anyone to build rich content based apps using a point and click solution.

AppMakr connects to existing RSS and social networking feeds for easier app integration. You can monitor downloads, create image galleries, and post alerts to keep all of your users updated and allows you to share app to get feedback before it is actually published.

Panabee.com is Brainstorm engine for finding cool names and checking domain availability. The domain name generator sifts through popular spelling or word pairings. Although many domain registrars have domain name spinners to suggest new domain names in case of the one you want is taken, Panabee shows you interesting options.

  • Suggestions and phonetic variations of the domain name/phrase you’re interested in, Panabee queries Facebook, Twitter, and the web to find similar terms that people are using.

Quixey.com is a functional search engine for applications. It doesn’t require users to know the name or exact description of app, users simply search “what they want to do,” and Quixey does all the looking. Quixey produces the most relevant search results by searching blogs, forums, social media and other sources to learn about each app.

Vanity URLS are domain names created to point to something to which it is related and indicated in the name of the URL. In many cases this is done by a company to point to a specific product or advertising campaign microsite. Link shortening programs like bit.ly sometimes offer customizable shortened urls for a fee.

  • Vanity URLs are creatively linked to something making them easier to remember than a more random link.

Bufferapp.com is a smarter way to schedule tweets. First, simply work out all your tweets at one point in time during the day. Then, fill up your Buffer with your tweets and Buffer schedules them for you. Simply keep that Buffer topped up and you will then be tweeting consistently all day round, all week long.

 

PeerIndex.net is an algorithmic mapping out of the influence on the social web. Similar to Klout, but PeerIndex.net gives users influence rankings in predetermined categories. It’s an interesting way to see how people interact with you on Twitter.

 

Rowfeeder is the latest tool for social media monitoring and analysis.

  • Input date and track Keywords, Hashtags, or Usernames from Twitter and Facebook.
  • Get reported updates in excel.

 

 

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Posted in Social Media, Technology, Tools You Can Use | No Comments »

How to be a Social Media Rock Star at NCVS

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Today’s post originally appeared on the National Conference on Volunteering and Service blog. Follow the NCVS blog for news about the conference!
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The 2011 National Conference on Service & Volunteering (NCVS) is nearly here!

It will be held June 6th – 8th in New Orleans – The Big Easy!

Thanks to social media, there are lots of ways you can participate online – whether you’re there or not!

<-strong>Facebook

“Like” the so that the official wall posts show up in your Facebook news feed.

You are welcome and invited to post thoughts, ideas, etc. to The National Conference on Volunteering & Service Facebook page. Especially if you know a good place to eat in New Orleans!

This year, we’ll be sharing the opening and closing plenary on Livestream, and you’ll be able to watch them on your Facebook page! Keep an eye out on the NCVS Facebook page for a link that you can share on your wall and watch!

Eventbrite

This free tool will allow you (or anyone) to organize an event around conference and invite anyone.

Want to host a breakfast to discuss the topic of your dreams?

Want to organize an affinity group meetup?

Want to suggest an after-hours meet up spot?

You can do all of this with eventbrite.

Check out what your fellow conference attendees are organizing so far.

Blogging

You are invited to write a blog post (for your own blog or as a guest post on ours) about a session you’re excited about leading up to conference or reviewing a session you attended afterward.

Blogging is a great way to share what you’re excited about and/or what you’ve learned.

The HandsOn Blog editorial guidelines are here and the National Conference Blog editorial guidelines are here.

If you write a post for your own blog, send us a link to it at and we’ll be able to share it

Twitter

to hear all the official conference tweets.

Additionally, follow the conference conversation by . (The search bar is located in the right sidebar of your Twitter homepage.)

Each NCVS workshop session and forum is assigned a unique session #hashtag.

While the overall conference conversation will take place on the #NCVS hashtag, you can follow individual session twitter streams by searching on the unique session #hashtag.

Join the conversation by adding “#NCVS” to your tweets — adding that hashtag in your tweet is the way to have your tweet show up in the conference twitter stream.

You can also follow HandsOn Network ; Points of Light and CNCS

It’s super easy to follow twitter conversations using your cell phone so before conference, you might want to download a cell phone application for managing Twitter.

Want to follow conference speakers? How about conference speakers by focus area? No problem. Check out the and follow those that match your interests!

Foursquare

Foursquare at conferences can be fun. Want to know who’s savvy and in the room with you at any given NCVS session? Check-in using Foursquare and you’ll be able to see who else is at conference, and who you might want to meet!

Maybe you’ll even unlock a special badge!

Delicious

Delicious is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks.

On Delicious, users can tag each of their bookmarks with freely chosen terms.

A combined view of everyone’s bookmarks with a given tag is available; for instance, the URL http://delicious.com/tag/ncvs displays all of the most recent links tagged with NCVS. You don’t just see the bookmarks that you’ve tagged, though. You get to see what other people have found that fits the same topic!

See all the great NCVS content saved to Delicious and add your own!

Flickr

Share your NCVS photos with everyone using the . You can upload your favorite conference shots photos by joining the group pool and then clicking on the link that says “Add photos.”

If you don’t have a Flickr account, it only takes a minute to sign up for one. All you need is a Yahoo!, Google or Facebook ID

YouTube

YouTube isn’t just a place for piano playing cats – why not record a video of yourself talking about your experience at NCVS, or Send links to your favorite NCVS videos and we’ll add them to our NCVS playlist on !

Send your video links to .

We can’t wait to see you in New Orleans – or online!

Storify

Storify is a way to tell stories using social media such as Tweets, photos and videos. You search multiple social networks from one place, and then drag individual elements into your story. You can re-order the elements and also add text to give context to your readers. At the end of each day, we’ll be sharing highlights from the conference. You can make your own social media story and share it, too!

WiFi
 Unfortunately, there isn’t public wifi available in the Convention Center. If you have a smart phone, you’ll be able to use most of these tools from your phone. You might be able to use your phone’s connection to drive your computer’s wireless internet, but you’ll have to check with your service provider to find out if you have this option.

If you have a personal portable wireless internet hub it can be a great way to stay connected at conference, and meet some new friends!

Updated 5/18/11:
The National Conference on Volunteering and Service offers complimentary wireless service in all meeting rooms and lobbies. Please look for the SSID NCVS2011 on your wireless device.

In the exhibit hall, Starbucks has provided complimentary wireless service for all attendees and exhibitors. Look for SSID “NCVS” on your wireless device.
The National Conference on Volunteering and Service offers complimentary wireless services in all meeting rooms and lobbies. Please look for the SSID NCVS2011 on your wireless device.

In the exhibit hall, Starbucks has provided complimentary wireless service for all attendees and exhibitors. Look for SSID “NCVS” on your wireless device.

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Posted in Events, Social Media, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Social Media for Social Good Camp

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Whether you want to grow your membership, raise funds or loans, recruit more followers, gather petition signatures, find volunteers for your cause or connect with your community, Social Media for Social Good: How to Mobilize Your Supporters to Take Action will offer guidance that will help your organization create impact for years to come.

This special 3-hour workshop at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service will dive deeply into strategy, tactics and tools available to volunteer organizations and nonprofit managers. NCVS has no tech track this year, so get up to speed on the mission-critical social tools in your sector from two of the nation’s leading nonprofit tech leaders.

You have the passion, now learn the latest techniques in this power-packed interactive workshop!

The camp is the Sunday before the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, June 5, from 2 to 5 pm in the New Orleans Convention Center. When you sign up, the room number will be emailed to you before the workshop. There is an additional fee of $99 for the workshop.

When you register for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, register for session 5638 to sign up for the workshop.

J.D. Lasica is a social media strategist, nonprofit consultant and author who is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the social Web. He is founder of Socialbrite.org, a learning hub & global consultancy that works with nonprofits and NGOs, and Socialmedia.biz, which works with major brands. A blogger since 2001, J.D. co-founded Ourmedia.org, the first free video hosting site, a month before YouTube.

He has spoken at or given workshops at Harvard’s Berkman Center, Stanford, MIT, NYU, SXSW, the Cannes Film Festival and at events in Paris, Milan and Seoul. J.D. was named one of the Top 40 Silicon Valley Influencers and one of CNET’s Top 100 Media Bloggers. Follow him on Twitter at .

George Weiner is chief technology officer of DoSomething.org. a not-for-profit that uses communication technologies to empower young people to take action. Under his leadership, the organization has become an innovator in social media, mobile technologies and causes. He oversaw the complete overhaul of the site, landing a People’s Choice Webby Award in the Youth category.

George is a self-taught techie and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a frequent speaker on nonprofit tech issues at forums including the Google Grants Conference, U.N. Youth Summit, National Conference on Volunteering and Service, NTEN and BlogWorld Expo and has guest lectured at NYU and NYIT. Follow him on Twitter at .

Agenda

Social Media for Social Good Camp will focus on practical, down-to-earth tactics and strategies that busy professionals can immediately take to engage supporters. The emphasis is on actionable takeaways. You’ll be introduced to several examples of nonprofits and volunteer organizations that are creating impact – with real-world examples you can learn from.

We encourage interaction and questions during our sessions! what you’d like to see covered, and tell us if you have any lessons learned that you’d like to share.

Some of the questions we’ll cover:

  • What strategies & tactics will motivate supporters and newcomers to take specific actions on behalf of my organization or cause?
  • What are the essential elements of a successful advocacy campaign?
  • How can I successfully use social tools to mobilize volunteers, spread awareness, enlist supporters, raise funds and drive action?
  • What metrics are critical to measure? (To drive social media decisions, ask, “What does the data say?” instead of “What does my gut say?”)
  • How can storytelling and video advance the mission of my organization?
  • Which organizations are creating impact, and what are they doing right?
  • What are some of the cutting-edge tools and resources available for change agents looking to make a difference?
  • What do you want to know? in advance.

Where possible, we’ll use a roundtable approach and a short small-group breakout session that encourages dialogue and interaction.

This is part of Socialbrite’s nationwide series of social media bootcamps. It has been presented to positive reviews at Personal Democracy Forum in New York and at Sustainatopia in Miami.

Hear what Jeff Pfaff, founder & CEO of mtbMobile, said about taking the bootcamp in this 60-second audio:

Jeff-Pfaff.mp3

Bonus materials!

In addition to this 3-hour live training, during the bootcamp you’ll also be able to access these full-color handouts and guides at no additional cost — and share them with your team!:

  1. 12 Steps to Mobilize Your Cause – Summary of all the action items you need to conduct a successful campaign.
  2. Team Collaboration – Tools to help you work with other organizations or your own team members in multiple locations.
  3. 15 Best Practices for the Social Web – High-level principles to help you succeed in social media.
  4. 12 Social Action Hubs – Selectively plug into some of these online communities and crowdsource platforms to promote a social cause.
  5. 40 Hashtags for Social Good – Use these Twitter hashtags as you tweet for your cause to gain wider visibility and viral help from the community.
  6. A Mobile Activism User’s Guide – A 16-page guide introducing you to the world of mobile activism and showing you how you can take your organization mobile.
  7. 10 Mobile Apps for Social Good – Apps for your iPhone or Android.
  8. 6 Twitter Tips for Change-Makers – A series of tips to help your organization use Twitter more strategically.

We’ve never had a disappointed attendee! Please register now!

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Posted in Events, Social Media, Tools You Can Use | No Comments »

Social Media and Mobile Tech in Disaster Response

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Over the past week, we’ve heard a lot of talk about the use of social media and mobile technologies in disaster response.

Amy Sample Ward talked about social media in disaster response at the American College of Preventative Medicine’s annual conference.

The National Conference on Citizenship featured a discussion about using mobile devices to respond to disasters and emergencies.

And, in response to the earthquake in New Zealand, Google launched a Person Finder page to help victims of the earthquake reconnect with family and friends.

There’s a common theme across these articles—the ease of access to information that social media and mobile technology bring to crisis situations. Social and mobile tools make it easy to share information about events as they happen and to start responding to disasters when they occur.

The Citizen Superheroes article talks about ways that mobile and social technology can be used to address issues before they turn into emergencies.  SeeClickFix lets people report public safety issues, ihollaback.org allows people to report harassment or threats and uses reports to create maps of areas where the behavior may be more common.  Both of these are great examples of addressing potential problems before they can turn into a crisis.

The San Ramon Valley Fire department had an iPhone app developed that  connects 9-1-1 dispatchers with people who are trained in CPR, putting individuals who are closest to those in need into a potentially lifesaving position.

Blake Canterbury started beremedy as a way to build an infrastructure for action in times of emergency.   beremedy matches people who want to give with people in need.  Beremedy’s platform allows people affected by disasters to be connected to people who have resources that can help those individuals get back on their feet.

Elivolunteer, volunteering, volunteerism Hayes started Sparkrelief in response to the Fourmile Fires in Colorado in 2010. Originally a way to help families displaced by the fires find temporary housing with other families in the community, Sparkrelief ballooned into a twenty thousand member strong community of people willing to share resources that victims of the fires might not have realized they needed.

Sparkrelief now has a member base that not only directly responds to disasters in their neighborhood, but aids in community and emotional recovery in Colorado. It’s not only a source for victims’ immediate needs like food and shelter, but a resource for helping to rebuild communities by providing emotional support and a way for community members to easily reach out to each other.

It’s really great to see mobile and social technology moving from a reactive role in disasters to a proactive role.  What do you think are the best ways to move mobile tools into a more proactive role for volunteer events? How can we use existing (or develop new) mobile applications to manage volunteers before and after projects or disasters?

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Posted in Disaster Relief, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment »

Join Create The Good on October 22 for a virtual #AllUCanTweat

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

by Jen Martin, Senior Specialist, Office of Volunteer and Civic Engagement, AARP

“…the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind.” -Norman Borlaug

Nearly six million older Americans face hunger and the number will only increase as the aging population grows.

Between 2006-2008, the percentage and number of poor and near-poor elderly struggling with hunger or lacking sufficient nutrition and food resources more than doubled – from 4.7% to 10.1%

Nationwide, AARP and AARP Foundation are launching anti-hunger initiatives including volunteer-led food drives Create The Good and Comparti es Vivir, a major fundraising campaign, new online hunger resources and information at www.aarp.org/hunger and — and local SNAP outreach and assistance.

And as part of the broader AARP hunger initiative, Create The Good is hosting a social media tweetup this Friday we’re calling, “#AllUCanTweat.”

For three hours (11 a.m. – 2 p.m. EST) on October 22, Create The Good is inviting you to a virtual discussion on the growing issue of hunger, specifically for older Americans. Did you know that Older Americans most at risk for hunger are:

  • Age 60-64
  • Living with a grandchild
  • Living at or below the poverty line
  • Undereducated (less than HS)
  • African-American or Hispanic
  • Divorced, separated or have never been married
  • Renters

Are you or someone you know in any of these categories?

Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account?

How about a personal blog?

If so, join us to learn how to help your loved ones get the benefits and information they deserve.

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Posted in Economy, Events, Mobilize, News & Links, Social Media, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Every Night I Sleep with Diabetes

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

by , GoodNCrazy.com

My husband has type I diabetes and is insulin dependent.  He has been since he was 15 years old. Thankfully it’s under control and he is a healthy active father, husband, lawyer and all around GoodNCrazy guy.

Twelve years ago, I watched his disease significantly improve.  He no longer had to endure 2 and 3 insulin shots per day, instead he moved to an insulin pump dripping insulin directly under his skin for up to three days a time.

This changed his life, and it also changed mine.

We no longer needed to precisely time our lunch hour, gone was the huge stress over whether we had enough food or insulin on an airplane trip and I stopped having panic attacks when I spent nights away worrying that he might not be able to get to his sugar tablets without me.

Even with the many amazing technologies and gains in the treatment of Type I Diabetes (T1D), there is still a long way to go. I used to work in molecular biology research and I understand what it takes and how slowly progress is sometimes achieved.

Because of this, my husband’s disease changed me in another way too.  I’ve become a committed volunteer, actively raising awareness and funds for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and their work to one day find a cure for T1D.

Our family works to volunteer our time, money and support to the Diabetes cause as much as we can. We ask friends and family to support us as a family as we Walk for a Cure. And then we match the overall cash contribution we raise with our own funds. I  also hand out fliers to my church group, my PTO and my bookclub.

I routinely rely on social media and my social network to support JDRF and it occurred to me that some of the things I’ve been doing could work for anyone trying to build awareness and raise support for a cause.

Here’s how I am using social networks to help JDRF.

My blog: I use a paypal button and encourage people to donate, and when I have opportunities to help another blogger with HTML problems or social media consulting that I otherwise might charge for, often I ask them to simply donate what they can to my Cause Button. I also share stories about my family and our Walk-A-Thon participation.

Twitter: I help raise awareness, supporting , retweeting and sharing links.

Facebook: JDRF has created a fabulous complete with information, and a question and answer spot.  I am part of the JDRF’s Fan base and I regularly “like” and share their links.

I hope you’ll think about bringing the cause you care about to your friends fans and followers online!

Keep on making a difference!

Carissa Rogers in a former life was a molecular biologist.  In her current life she is the chief researcher of parenting dos (and some don’ts), new recipes, and for spice pretends to be a photographer…a mom of all trades. She blogs at GoodNCrazy.com, and writes for various online magazines. She has three good kids and one crazy husband. Find her on Twitter: @


What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system that strikes children and adults suddenly, and lasts a lifetime.

What are warning signs?

Frequent urination is one of the telltale signs of type 1 diabetes, along with excessive thirst, lower than normal energy/tiredness and weight loss. Early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is important and can help prevent the risk of a potentially deadly condition, especially in young children.

What are the different types of Diabetes?

Type 1 (insulin-dependent or juvenile) Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset)

Tags: JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Type I Diabetes, Walk for a Cure
Posted in Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

Using the Social Web to Drive Real-World Social Action

Friday, October 15th, 2010

by , Hand’s on Network

I’m in Las Vegas today with of VolunteerSpot, of KaBOOM and of Crowdrise. We’re presenters in the Cause Track at the Blogworld New Media Expo talking about how to use the social we to drive real world social action.

In other words, how can anyone mobilize friends, fans and followers to take real actions that make a difference?

As we planned the session, it occurred to the four of us that that people are still inspired and motivated in traditional ways – even if it’s happening through a new medium.

In our session today, we hope to gather the collective wisdom of those in the room to create a more complete list, but as we head in to our workshop, I’ve outlined a few of our ideas for applying the best practices of traditional volunteer management to distributed action in the social space.

We’d love to know what ideas you have and what you would add to this list. 

Leave us a comment with your ideas, won’t you?

Here are some of our initial thoughts…

Make a personal appeal - the number one reason people volunteer is because they were asked.  This doesn’t mean they were asked via a mass e-mail, a generic tweet or a mass Facebook event invitation.  Someone they knew asked them personally.  Keep this in mind when recruiting within social networks.

Tell a compelling story - never underestimate the power of story!  Tell your story.  Why is the cause important to you?  How and why did you get involved?  What kind of change do you believe is possible if others get involved?  If you speak personally and from your heart, your friends will respond.

Make folks feel part of something larger than themselves – all of us want to find meaning in our lives.  You’re not just asking for help, you’re offering people an opportunity to contribute, to participate in making a difference.   Let this help you overcome your fear that you’re burdening folks with your request.

Make your ask relevant – think about the needs/concerns of your social media networks and how what you’re asking of them speaks to their needs and concerns.  Let them know what they’ll get out of it.  Don’t be shy about this one.  The truth is that all of us end up getting more than we give when we volunteer.  We’re transformed for the better by the experience!

Think creatively- How can you spread your ask beyond your immediate network? Brainstorm ways to create incentives for your network to pass it on. Can you make a game out of it? Might you offer a prize to the person who recruits the most people to join the effort or raises the most money for your cause?

Make it easy – remember volunteers have to be eased into a commitment. Make it quick and easy to take immediate action, ask for specific actions and small commitments first and work up to larger commitments.

Don’t waste volunteer’s time, be organized.  (Enough said?)

Invite volunteers to get involved in planning and shaping the next project.  (First you ask the mom to make cookies for the bake sale and the next thing she knows she’s President of the PTA!)

Report back – let people know the larger impact they’ve made possible.  Share the results of your team’s collective action.  How many students were tutored?  How many houses renovated?  How much money was raised?

Don’t skimp on the thanks & recognition.  Always thank and recognize your volunteers and donors.  You can send them an e-mail, call them, write on their Facebook wall, send a tweet out about them… just don’t forget to thank them.

What would you add?

Related Posts & Articles

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Recognition, Volunteer Recruitment, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 11 Comments »

Volunteerism at the New Media Expo? You Bet!

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

by , VP of Social Media, Hand’s on Network and , CEO, VolunteerSpot

On Friday, October 15th at 12:15 p.m. PST, we’re facilitating a  session at the BlogWorld New Media Expo exploring what’s most effective in inspiring, equipping and mobilizing people to make a difference and take real world action.

We’ll be joined as facilitators by of KaBOOM and of Crowdrise.

This won’t be a ‘talking heads’ panel discussion.  Instead we’ll be calling on the wisdom of the crowd and challenging participants to drive real-world action right there, in the moment, from the conference room. (And there will be some cool prizes too!)

Session participants will compete to earn points and prizes for creating real-world actions that range from simple, like re-tweeting of messages,  to more complex commitments like persuading friends, fans or conference attendees not in the room to pose for humorous photos or make commitments to charities or causes they care about.

Between the four of us, we have boatloads of experience mobilizing people to make a difference.  If you’re coming to Blogworld and you attend our session, we’ll share simple best-practice strategies as well as demonstrate the way that social media can amplify your power to create change and involve friends, family, community volunteers and others in your local and networked communities.

There couldn’t be a better time to talk about mobilizing people to take real world action.  October 23, 2010, just one week after Blogworld closes, marks the 20th anniversary of Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of community service.   We hope you’ll Make A Difference in your community.

  • Spread the Word
  • Create a Project
  • Find a Project
  • Get Resources
  • Share Your Story

Follow the conversation on Twitter at #BWERWA at 12:15 PST on October 15th!

BlogWorld Expo ‘10 here we come!

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Posted in Equip, Events, News & Links, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

4 Tips for Using Social Media to Mobilize People

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

by ,  HandsOn Network

Remember the Service Nerd Fantasy Panel discussion that took place at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service this summer?

I’ve been reviewing the Q&A footage from the session and pulling out the juiciest nuggets.

In the clip below, and discuss ways that social media could – or should- be used to mobilize people to take action.

As the he New Media Director of President Obama’s 2008 campaign, Joe Rospars learned a lot about how to engage people in the digital space.

Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, talks about strategies for engagement that don’t sound all that different from what we already know about engaging people – the same things that work off line also work online.

Give it a look…

Thinking about this commentary in the context of mobilizing volunteers, I’m taking away a few key points.

Joe Rospars reminds me that I’ll be more successful engaging and mobilizing people if I involve them in planning and shaping the project itself.  (This has always been true, right?  Now to make it true in our online social spaces!)

He also reminded me of the way that volunteers have to be eased into a commitment.  We’re all more likely to sign up for something simple first.  His remarks make me think about how to create levels of engagement online – from light and easy to increasingly committed.

Jack Dorsey’s comments reminded me that all of us like to feel part of something larger than ourselves.  Letting people know what kind of progress is being made, how their efforts fit into the larger impact is a great way to do this.

Finally, it was interesting to hear him say that Twitter’s biggest successes have been those that bring people who met online together, face-to-face.

All of us want to be more connected.

Let’s make sure we create offline opportunities for our online communities to come together.

Related Posts:

  • Joe Rospars on Effective Organizing
  • Mobilizing Volunteers with Social Media
  • Finding the ROI in Social Media

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Posted in Equip, Mobilize, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

How to Use Social Media to Remember 9/11

Monday, August 30th, 2010

by ,  HandsOn Network

Are you willing to be an online ambassador for volunteerism?

Will you leverage your social networks to encourage your readers, followers and friends to memorialize the victims, survivors and heroes of the attacks of 9/11 through A National Day of Service and Remembrance?

Here are a few ways we can do it:

Using Facebook:

You can spread the word by asking your Facebook friends to get involved and to add their names to the growing list of individuals and organizations pledging to volunteer in observance of 9/11.  Share the link to the official 9/11 National Day of Service web site (http://911dayofservice.org/).  You can also lead by example.  Invite your Facebook friends to join you at a volunteer project.

Using Twitter

The hashtag for 9/11 as A National Day of Service is #911DAY.   Spread the word about the day of service by tweeting about it and sharing the link to the official 9/11 as A National Day of Service site (http://911dayofservice.org/).  You can ask your followers to volunteer – on their own or with you!  Share the details of your volunteer project with your followers. (If you mention , I’ll see your tweet, and retweet it or )

Using A Blog

If you’re a blogger, consider writing a post about 9/11 as a Day of Service. What you remember most about 9/11/01?  What images stand out for you? Why do you believe in honoring the victims, survivors and heroes through service? How will you take part in the Day of Service and Remembrance? (Here’s a sample 9/11 blog post: https://handsonblog.org/?p=2731)

You might want to include a call to action for your readers, such as:

–> Ask them to pledge to serve via a link to the official 9/11 Day of Service page (http://911dayofservice.org/)

–> Or, if you think folks might want to plan their own project, you can share a link to HandsOn’s guide to organizing a service project.  (http://www.handsonnetwork.org/files/resources/HON_Vol_Leader_Guide_FINAL.pdf)

If you send me a link to your blog post, I’ll link to it from https://HandsOnBlog.org.

Using YouTube:

Consider creating a video about why you think the 9/11 Day of Service is important. You coul answer the blogging questions above on video, upload it to You Tube, and share it with your social networks. If you send me a link to your video and I’ll link to it from https://HandsOnBlog.org

Related Content:

Feel free to use the official 9/11 Day of  Service Image:

You can add it to your blog or website with this HTML code:

http://911dayofservice.org“>

You can also embed or share either of these 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance videos:

Just Another Day

Finally, do something creative – whatever works for you!

For example, you could offer to do something wacky if  X number of your friends, fans or readers pledge to serve.

You could challenge your friends – “If 20 people sign up, I’ll… (insert your wacky thing)!” — Shave your head? –Perform “All the Single Ladies” on You Tube?  Only you can say…

If you’re planning your own project – try using eventbrite, meetup or VolunteerSpot to get the event organized.  If you need to raise money for your project, give Crowdrise a try.

Do you know anyone else who might like to use social media to spread the word and get others involved? Why not share this post with them?

Thanks for your using social media for social good, for helping to promote volunteerism online and for making the September 11th National Day of Service & Remembrance a success!

Want to receive e-mail updates on how to use social media to encourage an online volunteer movement?  Let me know and I’ll add you to my list.  Contact me at .

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Repair The World by Leah Koenig

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