Social media for development workers, 2 June 2010

A new one day course on 2 June will include a practical social media surgery to help build confidence in use of social media websites and show how local groups benefit from the latest social media tools.Just about everyone has heard of Facebook and Twitter, but do you know how they can help community development, not for profit organisations and volunteer groups? 

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Fundraising: Email versus Facebook

The Washington Post has published a report that compares the value of using email as a core fundraising strategy rather than social networks such as Facebook. Although there is still a case for using such sites to raise awareness of your cause the income generated on Facebook was reportedly dwarfed by the fundraising from email campaigns and other tried-and-true methods.

I found this story on FrogLoop, a blog about nonprofit online marketing which you can find at www.frogloop.com/wpost

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Do I need a social media policy?

You may be wondering how to strike the balance between giving your team the freedom to make the most of new social media whilst still retaining an appropriate degree of control. The potential benefits may be obvious but there are plenty of horror stories about dodgy posts on Facebook to give pause for thought. The newly published Online Database of Social Media Policies is a great way to learn from other organisations that are grappling with this dilemma.

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Should you ban Facebook in your office?

We all know how to waste time and we all know that the latest techie gadgets seem the consume the lives of some people that we know. But is it better to allow staff and volunteers to have access to Facebook, Twitter or other online tools? Or will they spend their time mucking about looking at pictures of cute kittens when they’re meant to be writing the next funding bid? An article on Socialnomics looks at this questions and says that it is better to offer access, and that it can make your work more effective.

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Ten ways to protect yourself on Facebook

Facebook is used extensively in a variety of community activities, whether working with young people, older people or all ages in between. Although community workers may be Facebook users themselves many are concerned about privacy issues or worry about the impact of embarrassing photographs or videos or stories. The consequences may range from losing face to being bullied or traced by family or friends that you try to avoid.

Here are ten ways to protect yourself on Facebook, taken from an excellent article on AllFacebook, which describes itself as an Unofficial Facebook Resource.

Avoid embarrassing facebook moments

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Making Facebook more accessible

A tool to make Facebook more accessible to visually impaired users has been created by Project:Possibility, a group of not-for-profit software developers in the US. The application, which can be found at http://fastlink.headstar.com/pp2 allows visually impaired users to log in, navigate and use the site by combining screen reader technology with other coding techniques.

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