WiserEarth Blog

The climate change movement has been gaining momentum in recent months. We’ve felt it building at organizations like 350.org in preparation for the major UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen this December. We had a call with social media coordinator Joe Solomon of 350.org to get a sense of what it’s like to be in the middle of it all, and his thoughts on how to effectively network for a cause. › Continue reading…

Maybe you should be making better use of web services like YouTube, Slideshare, and Flickr. Here we share what makes these services so valuable as a complement to your own web publishing efforts, be they a website or a blog, and how they will enhance your social media efforts. › Continue reading…

Let’s face it, it’s easy for a nonprofit to get seduced by the latest web technology and distracted from their actual mission. This is even more the case with open source tools like Joomla!, Drupal, and Plone that promise free social websites at the touch of a button. What many people don’t realize is the cost of customizing some of these so-called free tools often runs around $40,000 in consultant fees and staff time. On top of that you are saddled with ongoing maintenance and hosting costs. Running your own souped-up website appeals to many because it implies control and ownership. But does this really help you in today’s social web? Here is a checklist to review before you take the plunge. › Continue reading…

The folks over at The Monitor Institute have been working with The Packard Foundation to explore this question. Their conclusion? Don’t worry so much about the social media tools and instead realize that you are building a social network. To do that you need a ‘networked mindset’ characterized by ‘openness, transparency, decentralized decision-making, and distributed action’. We encourage you to read the full paper ‘Working Wikily 2.0′ but here is a summary of the more important points for people working in the social sector. › Continue reading…

We have read a lot of books over the last year that aimed to be the “go to” source for understanding Social Media. Finally, one stands out. Here we review, ‘The New Community Rules’ by Tamar Weinberg – probably the single most important book to read this year if you are involved in marketing your organization or cause on the web. › Continue reading…

Nonprofits are embracing Social Networks: an industry survey reveals 74.2% of non-profits have a presence on Facebook. But is it being used successfully? Yes! At the Nonprofit Technology Conference session, “Confessions of a Social Media Campaigner” with Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Federation, David J. Neff, American Cancer Society and Carie Lewis, The Humane Society we saw some impressive results and heard some cautionary tales. › Continue reading…

Your community’s purpose is key to recruiting new members, raising funds, and staying on strategy. But too often in the rush to create online communities, we skip over this crucial step. Here are a couple of tips for developing that compelling statement of purpose to get your group off on the right foot. › Continue reading…