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Morpheus
Newbie
Posts:8
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| 14-03-2008 12:49 PM |
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Hi,
The teen site Bebo has been named "best social networking site" [http://tinyurl.com/2ccorm] beating the big boys Facebook and MySpace. Bebo which is used mainly by 13-24 year-olds came out best in a Computing Which? survey of usability, features and security.
Oh it's difficult this new media thing. Just when you get a handle on Blogging you have to start 'social networking' and just when you get your Facebook page the way you want it someone comes along and tells you you need to be on Bebo.
One way to try to keep up is to try to be everywhere. I'm not a great believer in organisations having presences in these spaces - I think people have better voices than organisations. But you could try to get your particular voice and passions out in all these spaces. There are a couple of problems with this. The first of course is times and resources. But there is another. You have more chance of sounding like a real and passionate human if you are committed to a community. If you're trying to be a Facebook player and a MySpace jockey and a Bebo bopper (or whatever the term is), you're going to find it difficult to fit in with the subtly different discourses on those playgrounds.
I'm a great fan of getting others to play in those spaces for you. Why try and sound like a 13-24 year-old on Bebo when there are 13-24 year-olds who'll do it better. Help your supporters, their kids and their mates be your presences in these rapidly shifting spaces. Computing Which? may think Bebo's where it's at but you can bet your friends list that the kidz know better.
But we could take this further. Maybe those young people we are encouraging and enabling to be our cause/campaign's voices could be our eyes and ears as well as mouths. What if we could find ways that they could feed back into our planning the thoughts, ideas, concerns and passions of their communities. They could also help us understand how to talk in these spaces: the discourses and language they use They're out there playing maybe they could tell us what it's like when they come in for tea.
But let's take this to the next stage. What if we pooled this intelligence. Of course we could and should pool our experience of playing in social networking spaces - feel free to add your own here. But we could also share that knowledge we get from our 'cause ambassadors'. If your young people (or even your own son) let's you know that there's a Bebo buzz about Barack Obama's stance on climate change or the volunteer in your office (or your daughter) drops in that Facebook etiquette says your 'Wall posts' are short and active... let the rest of us know. It might lead to some new conversations or at least stop us looking silly.
As a start why not ask the first 13-24 year-old you come across which social networking site is the place to be for them and then for you. And then ask them for a tip on how to play there... post the responses here.
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RedKnight
Posts:9
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| 17-03-2008 9:58 AM |
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These IT literate LiveWeb people are everywhere.
Of course, you could ask a teacher whether he would like to get his class involved.
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Roxster
Newbie
Posts:8
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| 18-03-2008 9:54 AM |
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| Great post Morpheus, lots of inspiring and exciting points. Lets hope some orgs can see the value and perspective of taking it wider and getting different ears and eyes involved. |
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Asterix
Apprentice
Posts:22
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| 19-03-2008 10:19 AM |
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... ears, eyes and particularly 'voices' Roxster... In my experience the real challenge is allowing other voices to join in the marketing chorus (ugh). Open Source wikitalking (cf Wikinomics) is a big step.
But I think the organisations that embrace the Wiki logic and make communications everyon's job will be the ones that shine.
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RobJ
Apprentice
Posts:11
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| 20-03-2008 12:19 PM |
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It should be relevant to all and I personally believe it is for survival long-term, but I know where I am in a rural area, many orgs are still just getting to grips with the basics, partly due to capacity and partly to that's just the way it is for them then and now. Now, if they had an enthused champion join them as a volunteer, supporter, fundraiser etc etc, who also was into what we're talking about, things change. Radically and quickly. (I've experienced this with the most unikely groups down here - it's great to see how quick they evolve).
All I can do in my role, is let them know its out there and keep on driving the message by doing what I do (openly!) and being aware of the right moment to support them to make a change when they are ready.
I think that over the next year or so, we will see a big shift in take up, when more orgs will realise the ease and convenience of it all can make such a profound difference to their work and the benefits it can bring with very little investment needed.
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Roxster
Newbie
Posts:8
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| 21-03-2008 10:59 AM |
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yes yes yes - totally agree with you, but its getting that shift to take place.
the meeja are playing, the funders are playing, we are playing, but the small charity with a couple of PCs and a dog can't play because they have a box, but the instructions don't match with the pieces or the picture (and there is one missing!). they want to play but they can only play between 2pm and 5pm (on a tuesday and a thursday), they want to play but someone keeps taking the dice and hiding it (or selling time using it and they can't afford to pay that), they want to play because they can see us all having fun but their parents look at how the game was in 1993 (they had a bad experience with t'internet back then) and they won't let them adapt to change, they want to play but you can get hurt or a virus or ... or ... it goes on.
this is why we are running around day in day out saying play with us, we'll explain the rules, sit alongside you as you play for the first time, keep coming back to check you understand .... and I KNOW it IS working !
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RobJ
Apprentice
Posts:11
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| 24-03-2008 9:24 AM |
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Totally agree with what you say there, although the 'champion' example wasn't me in a few cases. One example, literally a bright young thing who happened to join as a volunteer for other tasks with a local conservation org, but into 'web 2.0' at home to connect with his like minded friends. Saw the benefit of helping this org with some of his top tips, and now it's transformed the way they work, communicate and importantly fundraise. New audiences, new voices, new avenues of essential funding to support their work.
All well and good when it works, it can and does...well... mostly...if not..then as circuit riders we come and pick up the pieces if their volunteer/they got it all wrong!!!
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Roxster
Newbie
Posts:8
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| 25-03-2008 10:07 AM |
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I think that's why we need simple, small, fun starting points. There's no point throwing the whole of Wikonomics, Naked Conversations and the Cluetrain at people let alone a whole set of URLs. If we could just get people chatting. Microblogging their stories and short tips. Just SMS messages - no big techie deal. Coffee queue. Meeting. Buss. Connect them and let the Network effect works its wonders.
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Asterix
Apprentice
Posts:22
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| 27-03-2008 10:19 AM |
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Along these lines... I watched a short clip about 'Media Snackers' the other day as part of a presentation which was in Welsh at the E-Democracy conference held by Ofcom and the Welsh Assembly.
The main idea of Media Snackers is that young people are as we know, fickle media consumers into everything at the same time, 2-way comms, media-savvy and web-literate. Creating as well as consuming content.
The conference itself was to identify ways to engage people across all demographics in politics, in issues and in their communities. It was attended by a groups of school children as well as us grown-ups, ranging from politicians to charities to policy-makers. What interested me was that in the same way as you are pointing out we al need to be able to 'play' together online, the conference was attended by someone with downs syndrome instead of someone representing their needs, and children instead of a young person's charity.
As we grown-ups need to know how to use the technology, these kind of conferences also need to be accessible to young people and other members of the target-audience, not just policy-makers. And good on Ofcom and the Assembly for making this possible. Unfortunately some of the content was not as compelling as it could have been in order to capture the young people's attention and they are trouped out half way through. But the idea was spot on and should be seen more often where possible both on and offline.
Worth checking out http://mediasnackers.com/intro/
also see: http://www.mediatrust.org/youth-media/docs/COMM_GUIDE-1.pdf
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