National Parks Conservation Association just launched an innovative campaign to expand America’s parklands called “FOR SALE: America’s Heritage.” The focus for the campaign is the recent report by NPCA - “America’s Heritage for Sale” - which identifies substantial tracks of land within national park boundaries that could fall prey to real estate developers if the governments does not approve the funds to purchase the land.
The Beaconfire team’s created a Google mashup using data from NPCA on park boundaries and the land within those boundaries that is vulnerable to development. The map lets constituents visualize the land at risk which heightens the understanding of the dangers to our parks. You can zoom around the map to see the parks across the country, zoom in on a park and area of the land threatened. If you’re not into panning and zooming, just pick a park from the drop down to go directly to it.
If you click on a pin or region, you can learn about the affected area and how cheap it would be for the government to buy the land — to buy the land in the top 10 parks is a mere $50 million.
After checking out the map to see some parks in peril, you can sign the petition to tell Congress to approve the cash the National Park service needs. The Google Map displays in a native Convio advocacy campaign page. You can tell your friends about the map or become an NPCA member, since the more members they have, the more Congress will listen. You can also Digg the map and petition (http://digg.com/environment/McMansions_in_National_Parks or share it with your friends on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://ga1.org/campaign/lwcf).
Congrats to the NPCA team for their great work on their report and to the Beaconfire team for an innovative representation of what’s at stake in America’s parks!
Recently, a charity called Living Streets dedicated to making cities more pedestrian-friendly, wrapped London’s Brick Lane lamp posts in football-esque bumpers to protect texting pedestrians from injury. Though the publicity stunt lasted a mere 24 hours, the effort highlighted what most of us already know: that people are addicted to being connected, even while walking.
A recent study by PEW found that more than roughly 6 in 10 American cell phone users text message. It’s no wonder that everyone from Presidential campaigns to police officers to WalMart to nonprofit causes (highlighted by MobileActive.org) seek to leverage the popularity of text messaging.
The mobile audience is wide and deep: Worldwide, more people have access to and use of mobile phones than the Internet. As Ethan Zuckerman of TechSoup points out, “The only technology that compares to the mobile phone in terms of pervasiveness and accessibility in the developing world is the radio.” Given the penetration, personalization and simplicity of mobile devices, there is no better tool to reach both wealthy individuals and underserved populations. In addition, you can activate young, tech savvy people using the communications channel that makes the most sense to them.
Simple is superior: I may be biased given my blog style is list format, but people like byte-sized - and actionable - information. In an information economy, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the breadth of accessible knowledge. Communicating with individuals via the limited 160 characters in a text message requires the messenger to cut the window dressing and deliver messages that are simple, clear and clever to make an impact. To educate and motivate, it’s all about the words themselves (which is great since haikus are so cool).
Reach people where and when they matter: All politics are local and all advocacy is timely. When someone is checking email at 10pm after a long day of work, sending a letter to an elected official may be overdue. With text messaging, you can give people a specific address of a place to be, a direct action to take or short talking points while they are in a meeting or at an event so they can act on it when it actually matters. However, this means the action must be real and serious not just a faux-urgent engagement effort. The technique also allows you to reach people when their emotional senses are heightened before they lose their enthusiasm (or anger) about an issue.
Penetrate the “Circle of Trust”: While studies show that people will offer up their email address for almost anything, cell phone numbers remain relatively protected, both by the individual and the mobile service providers. Therefore, if your supporters give you their cell to reach them on their most personal device, you can assume you’re in the circle of trust and that your message will be read. The key is to maintain that level of trust through infrequent, authentic and relevant subsequent messages. Mobile communications elevates the level of accountability for all campaigns and requires listening to what supporters want.
Another spoke on the wheel of integration: Continuing to blur the lines of offline and online, text messaging allows marketers to both capture and measure the success of offline events and print advertising like never before. Supporters can text from an ad they’ve seen or post on a website a photo or podcast they record from an event. A mobile strategy is another tool to use in conjunction with traditional advertising and media, online marketing and in-person events but should not just replicate what’s being said through other channels.
Experimentation is expected: Because it’s still a relatively new channel, text messaging campaigns leave a lot of room for trial and error and users expect it. Advocacy organizations and corporations alike can promote their “products” in innovative ways that push the interactive brand experience envelope. Successful campaigns will think about marketing as two-way conversation and not just another medium to push an agenda.
Google Maps is a free web mapping service application that allows developers to create “mashups” with other data and embed the map on third-party websites via the Google Maps API.
Tons of groups and individuals have come up with some really interesting map tools that display everything from American Idol contestants’ hometowns to localized crime data. The best part about the Google Maps, compared to its competitors, is the high level of user interactivity that allows you to drag the map and double click to zoom (by performing asynchronous network requests using Ajax so grid squares are downloaded from the server and inserted into the page). While you can translate almost any data points into a map, the keys to a successful mashup are simple: a map should make the data more useful or relevant and there should be multiple data points that, ideally, can build over time with user input (i.e. the Seven Wonders of the World map falls a little flat).
Here are some examples of interesting Google Map mashups, including one that Beaconfire built, to show the breadth of what can be done (and what we can help you do!).
NetDoc.com: This mash-up shows hospitals around your zip code and their performance on major standards of care measures (Heart Attacks, Heart Failure, Pneumonia, and Surgical Infection Prevention) set out by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
We’ve all heard it: Location, location, location - the most important thing when it comes to real estate. Housing Maps is a marriage of Craigslist and Google Maps makes it easier to search for housing based on neighborhood preference and also makes it easy to search by pictures, price, number of bedrooms, city and date posted.
Ironic San’s Guide to Ghostbusters: Photographer David Friedman was apparently just playing around when he developed this virtual tour of the filming locations of the classic Ghostbusters.
Campaign Tracker: The Washington Post’s Presidential Campaign Tracker “uses information from campaigns, media reports and other sources to compile a listing of events involving presidential candidates and their spouses.”
This virtual protest map (which is a replica of one that Beaconfire built for a client) is a great example of how to use Google Maps for online organizing, advocacy and supporter engagement. The message was “Join the online march. Pick your sign. Get it on the map.” helping supporters see how they connect with other people standing up for the cause.
Like the Ghostbuster map that is a virtual tour of a movie, BibleMap.org facilitates a virtual tour of a book, The Bible. Interesting concept though I had trouble finding a book and chapter that actually had points on the map. If you want to explore it yourself, try Genesis chapter 13.
Unfortunately only available in the UK, Bar Crawl allows you to pick your area, rank of the bars you’re interested in going to and how many you want and it will plot out a pub crawl on a map for you, complete with address and phone number of each. An Americanized version Pub Walk doesn’t appear to be as good, mostly because I live here so know they are missing a whole lot of local bars.
With the tagline “Make it personal. Explore options. Find Providers,” The Funeral Site map tool is done by the national registry of American Funeral Homes. I am fortunate to have no use for this one but I imagine in a time of need, this is more useful than a phone book.
Washington Post’s Local Explorer: On this map you can search for practically anything in a DC-area neighborhood: crime, schools, places of worship, post offices, gas stations, metro stations, you name it. I’m not sure if there are maps like this for other cities but it’s quite comprehensive and useful.
Safe2Pee.org is a resource where people who do not feel comfortable with traditional public restrooms can find safe alternatives. It is part of a larger advocacy and research project tackling gender free, inclusive bathrooms and another good example of a public policy issue being addressed using Google Maps.
GolfFinder.net and CaddyMap.com are perfect examples of how a mashup is only as good as the data in it. I looked at six separate golf course locator tools and these had more than twice as many points on the map for the DC area, though I still can’t figure out from the two which is better.
Though definitely not the most attractive mashup, Hurricane Information Map is a concept well worth highlighting. It is “intended for the use by people affected by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita who have or are trying to find information about the status of specific locations affected by the storm and its aftermath.”
MapSkip: Launched in August 2007, this tool “makes the world a canvas for our stories and photos” and is very well done (and my personal favorite). Though they have only collected 200 stories so far, their mission is to “create a weave of stories about the places in our lives” because “…many of our stories are about places. Where we fell in love, had the dream vacation, took that great picture or, well, joined the rebellion.”
In my family, annual holiday cards have always been greatly anticipated. When I arrive at my parents’ home for Christmas, one of the first things I do is find the card basket (we keep all of the cards together in a basket) and settle in to “catch up.” I read letters about friends and families from my childhood and see pictures of their children and learn of their accomplishments throughout the year. For some, it’s the only time of year we hear from each other, but it’s a tradition that goes back years.
As I look to buy my own cards for this season, I wondered what type of cards I might get that would allow me to connect with friends and family over the holidays, and to share a little about myself by promoting and supporting a cause in which I believe.
Many nonprofit organizations sell cards directly and there are also Web sites where you can buy cards and select a nonprofit to receive a portion of the purchase price (usually 10%-20%).
The White House is famous for hiding unpopular policy announcements on Fridays when no one is paying attention. In this holiday week, it looks like two major developments are going on at Facebook that could see ramifications going far into the future, but which were probably scheduled to coincide with universities’ Thanksgiving break.
The first is the launch and response to Facebook Beacon (no relation to us, or so they would probably claim). Beacon integrates your site with Facebook and posts messages to your feed to say that you interacted with that site, so hopefully your friends will as well. The catch?
That it pops up a little notifier in the bottom right of the screen, telling you that a story will be posted on your feed unless you opt out within a few seconds. This bug already exists on such sites as Blockbuster and Fandango, and MoveOn has a quick demonstration of how it works right here.
More on the reaction, as well as a more positive new change, below the fold…
Facebook says their newly launched Social Ads will help you ‘reach the exact audience you want with targeted relevant ads.’ I’ve been toying around with this the last couple days and think Social ads are definitely worth a closer look. The ads come together in four easy steps. This is how it works…
Get Started - You select whether your ad will direct to a Facebook page or your organization / campaign website.
Chose Audience - Determine who you want to reach. Rich segmentation opportunities abound. You can chose to reach out to Facebook users by several key parameters such as geographic location (down to city-level), gender, age, education (including schools attended), interests and political views.
As you manipulate the criteria within the Chose Audience Screen, the number of individuals your ad is targeted to reach adjusts in real-time.
Create Ad - Create a title, drop in some ad copy and upload an image.
Set Budget - Ads are pay as you go for the duration of your campaign. You set a daily budget and bid on placement by impression or click.
The payment minimums are around $5 / day the ad runs and the scenario goes like this…
For any available ad inventory, Facebook selects the best ad to run based on the cost per click or impression and ad performance.
If you choose a Pay for Clicks (CPC) model, you will also bid on how much you are willing to pay for each click on your ad. Facebook will display your ad in the Ad Space, News Feed, or both. The amount you are charged will never exceed your daily budget.
If you choose a Pay for Views (CPM) model, you will also bid on how much you are willing to pay for every thousand impressions of your ad. You will need to select if you want your ad to appear in News Feed or the Ad Space. The amount you are charged will never exceed your daily budget.
And then you launch. PRESTO!
You can find the link to Facebook Social Ads in the footer under Advertisers. When you try it out, let me know how it goes.
OMB Watch has released a report called How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006 which “describes nonprofits’ electoral engagement during the 2006 election and their preparation for upcoming elections.”
The report, which is only 16 pages long, briefly describes some of the actions non-profits took on behalf of voters and voter rights across the county, and then summarizes the types of actions non-profits can take to help ensure fair elections in 2008:
In summary, nonprofits can ensure the integrity of our elections by:
Registering voters
Voter registration is a common non-partisan activity for nonprofits than can make a big difference on Election Day.
Prepare voters for election day
Getting voters prepared for Election Day will minimize confusion and disenfranchisement at the polls.
Get-out-the-vote (GOTV)
Nonprofits can legally engage in get-out-the-vote activities that can have a real impact on voter turnout on Election Day because of the special relationship nonprofits have with many disengaged voters
Educate voters on candidates and ballot measures
While nonprofits cannot work on behalf of or against candidates, there are a number of voter education activities they can legally engage in to ensure voters are fully informed when they cast their ballots.
Recruit poll workers and election day observers
Skilled poll workers are in demand and nonprofits can help the democratic process by being a part of poll worker recruitment.
Debunk the myth of voter fraud
Voter fraud – purposeful corruption of the election process by voters – is rare. Claims of voter fraud are used to promote laws that restrict voting. Nonprofits can raise awareness that voter fraud is a myth.
Fight voter suppression
Nonprofits are leading the charge to protect voters’ rights and the integrity of the electoral process. State and local groups have partnered with national organizations to challenge new laws and regulations that inhibit peoples’ ability to register and vote.
Protect the integrity of elections
Ensure the vote of every citizen is counted by advocating for reliable voting technologies that produce paper records and can easily be audited, as well as lobbying state and local governments to comply with all of the regulations in the Help America Vote Act.
Step right up! Place your bids on this fine movie poster, 90% of the proceeds go to Beaconfire client and (generally fine folks) the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation! No need to click over to eBay and navigate through their system, you can place your bid right here on Beaconfire’s blog!
That’s right — online auction powerhouse eBay has jumped into the widget game, making it possible for anyone with a blog or website page to run eBay transactions right off their website. That’s a fundraising opportunity for nonprofits, many of which have struggled to alert their supporters to their auctions. It’s also a PR opportunity for the clever ones. Offer something provocative for sale and see if the blogosphere buzzes about it!
Of course, this new service debuted today, so it’s all potential and no track record. But, it’s another piece of evidence that regular folks with websites can do a lot more for the nonprofit organizations they support than click yes on canned action alert language or punch their credit card into a donation form.
Hat tip to Techcrunch for breaking this interesting news.
Beaconfire’s constantly thinking about new technologies and techniques for outreach to our client’s advocates, donors, volunteers, staff, etc. Typically, though, we’re focussing on real-world consitutents. I must admit I haven’t given much thought, until today, about outreach to virtual constituents. An eye opening blog posting by Nedra Weinreich changed that. Nedra posts her interview with John Anderton, who is responsible for bringing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Second Life (the virtual world with nearly 5 million “residents”). What are other nonprofits doing in Second Life?
Commonwealth Island in Second Life consists of a “rugged, coniferous island housing several nonprofits, including Greenpeace and ACLU”
There’s an education campaign to help end the genocide in Darfur in “Camp Darfur”.
Second Life has a very helpful Non-Profits Wiki page with all sorts of resources that are just begging to be explored. (I can feel it sucking me in…) And TechSoup has an interesting interview with 3 nonprofits (Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, Global Kids, and Amoration) who are all operating in Second Live. So much to learn, so little time…
This New York Times editorial is a must-read for all online activists. Thomas Friedman writes about Environmental Defense and NRDC’s success in using online tools & techniques to fight TXU (big Texas power company) from building 11 “coal-fired, CO2-belching power plants”. Through the use of a campaign Web site with email newsletters, the partners were able to turn a local energy issue into a global environmental issue and gain a seat at the table to help TXU restructure its plans. Not only is it a facinating case study, but we all owe Environmental Defense and NRDC our gratitude. TXU “agreed to cut the number of new TXU coal plants from 11 to 3, to support a U.S. cap on greenhouse gas emissions and to commit TXU to plowing $400 million into energy-efficiency programs and doubling its purchase of wind power.” That’s a win for all of us. To read the editorial, you must have a “Times Select” subscription. Or here’s a link to a reprint on the free Pasadena Star News.
blog
National Parks Conservation Association just launched an innovative campaign to expand America’s parklands called “FOR SALE: America’s Heritage.” The focus for the campaign is the recent report by NPCA - “America’s Heritage for Sale” - which identifies substantial tracks of land within national park boundaries that could fall prey to real estate developers if the governments does not approve the funds to purchase the land.
the launch and response to 