Tag Archive for tto

Now I know how the other side lives

March 23, 2009 Web 2.0 One comment

After attending a whole whack of Third Tuesdays Ottawa and Social Media Breakfasts over the past few months (years?) I got a crack on the other side of the mic tonight, sitting down as a panelist for a Third Tuesday entitled “Social Media for Fun and (Non-)Profits.”

Man, that was some good times.

In a true hair club for men type revelation, I should note that I wasn’t just a panelist, I was also a (sort of) organizer, in that I suggested the topic to Joe Thornley and he was kind enough to let me run with it. So, first and foremost, I want to openly and profusely thank Kim Elliot of rabble.ca and Phillip Todd of University Affairs and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada for offering to share their stories. I can’t speak for the audience but I certainly learned a lot from them.

I think there’s real value in coming together as a community and sharing ideas and experiences and I hope that everyone who attended felt this session did that. I think as a community we tend towards seeking out experts (even though most are reluctant to adopt such a title) and while they certainly have a lot to share I hope tonight’s session gave people a chance to explore the experiences of those of us who work on the ground, trying to put theory into practice.

The questions from the audience were fantastic and I am sorry I couldn’t get to everyone afterward to follow up on a more personal level. Rest assured you all gave me food for thought even if we couldn’t flesh it out in more detail.

So, at the risk of this ‘afterglow’ post becoming any more self-interested, thanks to everyone who came out and made this event useful – at least to me – and I hope you were able to take something away too.

PS – I meant to mention this during the event but it slipped through the cracks. Amy Yee has created an awesome service called OttawaTweetVols – a Twitter listing of volunteer opportunities. It’s a great example of how social media can help non-profits.

Proactively crowdsourcing? Or just being lazy?

March 18, 2009 Thinkin' and Web 2.0 5 comments

This is a wee follow up to my previous post about the upcoming panel discussion on non-profits using social media.

I’m on the panel, of course, but I hardly consider myself an expert on the topic. I just think there’s value in hearing from people who are in the same position as most of the audience – trying to find ways to bring social media tools into an organization.

One thing that tends to happen at these events is that presentations and discussions happen first, then questions follow later. It works, I guess, but why not get your questions in first in the hopes that the panellists will actually be prepared to answer them?

So on that note, I ask the dozens of loyal readers of this blog – what do you want the panel to talk about at the next TTO?  Even if you can’t make the event, please leave some questions in the comments and I’ll see what I can do about getting some replies.

Social media for fun and (non-)profits

March 13, 2009 Web 2.0 2 comments

A few months ago now, Third Tuesday Ottawa organizer (and local PR guru) Joe Thornley put out a call for topics for upcoming Third Tuesday events. I suggested a panel on how non-profits are using social web tools would be interesting, particularly given the number of advocacy groups and NGOs in the Ottawa area.

Joe agreed and invited me to sit on the panel. We pulled together a few more willing victims and, presto, a panel was born. Hope to see you there!

Social Media for Fun and (Non-) Profits
March 23, 2009 @ the Clocktower Pub

It’s a match made in heaven. On the one hand, you’ve got organizations that live on a shoestring. On the other, tools and tricks that give communicators access to massive markets at little to no cost. So why are so many non-profits struggling to find their footing in these new and expanding realms? How can a lowly communications person convince the higher-ups to embrace these technologies? How can a savvy organization tap into them to raise funds, spread their message and engage their memberships?

Join us on March 23 as we explore these questions with a diverse panel of guests from across the non-profit world:

The revolution will not be televised. But it will be on YouTube. And Second Life. And Twitter. And Facebook. While traditional media outlets struggle to carve out a new and profitable identity in an increasingly connected world, publisher Kim Elliott and the rest of the gang at rabble.ca have wholeheartedly embraced the social nature of online communities to spread their independent, progressive journalism. If there’s a non-profit more embedded in the online world, we’d love to hear about it.

You want to reach out to a membership comprised almost exclusively of accountants? Public service accountants, no less? Obviously you’d turn to WordPress, podcasts and YouTube, right? That’s what Joe Boughner did when he joined the Association of Canadian Financial Officers. Joe will be on hand to share his experiences as the man responsible for communications in a small organization that is dipping a tentative toe in the web 2.0 waters.

Academia is supposed to be on the cutting edge isn’t it? When the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada wanted to tap into the social media world, particularly for their flagship publication University Affairs, they brought Phillip Todd on board. Pretty soon, the magazine that covers Canada’s post-secondary institutions was brimming with blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos; and its parent association was building an election 2008 advocacy strategy around a tight message, sharable content, and everyone’s favourite publishing platform – WordPress.

How open is our community?

February 3, 2009 Thinkin' and Web 2.0 11 comments

Quick warning first – this post is based on my experiences last night at Third Tuesday Ottawa but it’s most certainly not a recap, review or extrapolation on the themes discussed.  My twitter-sized review of the event itself would be something to the effect of “Awesome discussion at #TTO; interesting to see what GoC is doing but sad that it’s all staying internal for now.”

There, with that done, I want to ask the dozens of you who read this blog about how the community treats outsiders. That sounds menacing but it’s not supposed to. I’ve left names off so nobody gets sidetracked by any previously existing bias towards any of the people or corporations.

Here’s the setup. At last night’s event, a guy stood up and asked a question which he prefaced with a note about who he works for (a huge international consulting company not known for being particularly social media friendly). Huge moment of disclosure: Said guy is a good friend of mine from long before either of us dipped our toes in these waters. Just to get that out of the way.

Anyway, his question was perfectly legit, well within the realm of the discussion and probably would have been asked by one of us ‘insiders’ if he hadn’t asked it. It seemed to start a trend though as several questions that followed his were prefaced with a quick note of where the person worked.

After the event was done I got to chatting with one of the leading minds in Ottawa’s social media community. We were talking about the presentation and the discussion eventually moved to the question asked by my friend. There was a sense that he had broken an unwritten rule by declaring his affiliation. It lead to an observation that I’ve heard before in the past – that anyone looking to make an entry into the SM realm should really spend some time getting to know the community and the way it functions beforehand.

Fair point and one that many companies would do well to mind.

But here’s the thing (and I will remind you of my disclaimer though I think I’m treating this fairly) – the guy in question didn’t strike me as someone who was trying to spin his way into a deal or anything. His question was prefectly on point; it didn’t sound like someone trying to drum up his next business opportunity. Maybe he’s used to introducing himself by his company affiliation, I’m not sure.

Interestingly, another person in the audience announced his affiliation before asking a question, then proceeded to ask a question that, to me, seemed a lot more self-interested. But that guy came from a company that is part of the open source community – so his self interest is the self interest of the entire community. His business would benefit but so would the greater community. The same person who was put off by the multinational company rep flagged this question as one that he was particularly impressed by.

So – here’s the question for all y’all. Do we treat our own differently than we treat an outsider? Should we immediately be suspicious of the intentions of anyone from a major company that stands to profit immensely or should we applaud them for trying to make an entry? Conversely, should someone be given a free pass for breaking an unwritten rule if they are part of the social community?

I realize this post sounds unnecessarily critical of the person I’ve identified as a leading mind. It really isn’t supposed to (blame the early hour at which I’m writing this)