Are social networks worth it?

From a presentation at Forging the Partnership: 2011 DoD/USDA Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, IL

Power of Social Networks

View more presentations from Julie Swanson

I used to tell people that social media is free and easy. Now I say they are easy but not free. To use them well...you have to invest your most precious and limited resource...your time.

So are they worth it?

Here are three powerful reasons to use social networking tools.

1. Content: Information is Power
Anyone can create and anyone can publish. You have content that can help others and others can help you improve your content. What can you share that adds value.

A great examples of publishing content that adds value is Beth Kantor's blog

2. Connections: Relationships are Power
Social capital may be our most powerful resource. People are influenced by people they are connected to and networks allow us to organize quickly and creatively.

If you want to leverage the power of connections you need to focus on building trusted relationships.

Example: The story of Sameer and Vinay from Dragonfly Effect.

3. Credibility: The Power of Authentic Voices

Social networks could limit us to connecting with people like us but they are more powerful if we use our networks to bridge to people who have different perspectives and experience. One of the most effective ways to share authentic voices and diverse wisdom is to share stories.

Mercy Corps is a great example of an organization that invests in storytelling.

Prevention Speaks, our newest project, is working with communities throughout the US, to tell stories about community change.

Resources
Five Tips for Online Networks

Beth Kantor's Blog

Connected Citizens

Networked Non Profit

Dragonfly Effect

CDC Social Media Tool Kit ( I use this resource when I am working with public sector employees.)

Working Wikily

Have resources to add to the list? Put them in the comments.

Most groups tell crappy stories

This was my last session of the day.

Non profit organization have stories that touch peoples hearts. We work on important issues that people care about yet we lead with data? Worse...when we do tell stories "we tell crappy stories" ( that is a quote from Mark Rovner at Sea Change)

Mark did go on to share his top four tips for better stories:
1. Relatable protagonist…(as in someone you can relate to)
2. Conflict or tension (the more the better)
3. Bad guy ( if at all possible)
4. Kitchen sink details..(make it visual ...this is the show don't tell tip)

Mark referenced McKee's work and this article in Harvard Business Review

Storyteller's Toolkit

If you are interested in this title..you are not alone...this session drew a packed room crowd this afternoon at NTC ...but ( in my opinion) did not deliver the goods.

The first speaker said if you only take one thing away from this session I hope it is "Show don't tell" and then spent most of his time telling us about how to collect stories.

It was interesting that he is a Senior writer at Mercy Corps and his full time job is collecting stories (maybe he writes better than he presents?) He also shared that they routinely train staff to collect stories...it is a three day training including writing, taking photos, field work and one on one coaching.

What's $40,000/hour look like?

This is Dan Heath from the opening keynote at NTC 2011. I know he costs that much because we tried to get him to come to the Prevention Conference in Wisconsin.

His session was , hands down, the best one I heard and saw today. Why?

1. He made change easy. He gave us three clear steps.
2. He showed us what success looks like. He shared relevant, inspiring examples, stories and images.
3. He made us laugh.

I've read both Heath brothers' books ( Made to Stick and Switch) but was not bored by the content. It was inspiring to see him summarize a book in an hour.

What's an Ignite presentation?

20 slides, 15 seconds, total of 5 minutes.

How much can you communicate in 5 minutes?

Turns out...a lot!

Imagine if a conference session gave you awesome content in the first 5 minutes...and you spent the rest of the time practicing and sharing application ideas.

I love the Ignite tagline : Enlighten us..but make it quick!

Here is the description of Ignite on wikipedia.

Want to see some examples? Take a look at Ignite Week 2011

Recognizing awesomeness

How do we share credit and praise work well done?

Here is a story of a boss who bought his employees cars and trips to Fiji...we can't do that...but are there other ways we can recognize awesome contributions?

What we can learn from climate change

Work in Energy Efficiency is showing that using social science can result in reducing energy use. Are there applications for public health?

Robert Cialdini(expert in persuasion) told David Roberts of Grist, social psychology is:

"the least capital-intensive way of making change…Technology costs a lot. Incentive programs cost a lot (and as soon as they are discontinued, the behavior flops back). Legislation, legal constraints, taxes, penalties of one sort or another–those are costly in terms of social capital, which organizations and governments are loathe to spend these days.

What you have with social psychology is a set of procedures that are essentially costless to enact, but product levels of change that are comparable to those other mechanisms." From Power of Peer Pressure

Opower, an organization that Cialdiniu advises found they could reduce energy use by mailing personalized energy use reports to people that showed their energy use compared to their neighbors and game them a smiley face when they used less energy.

Why it worked:
Relevant, personalized feedback
Made the data visible ( in a way people could understand fast)
Showed a comparison ( more meaningful, easier to understand)
Social influence/Social norms: I am influenced by my neighbors and I am motivated to compete with them ( keeping up with the Jones in reverse)

A comparison of ten energy saving programs that use social science found that these strategies work: Make energy use visible, set measurable goals, market relevant benefits, leverage social norms and networks, promote competitions and goal setting, and speak to non-economic motivations. For more information
Visible and Concrete Savings: Case Studies of Effective Behavioral Approaches to Improving Customer Energy Efficiency Nov 2010