“When we change the way we communicate, we change society” Clay Shirky What’s the Big Idea?

Nicole de Beaufort President, Fourth Sector Consulting Communicator and Planner for organizations wanting systems change, transformation, and public will building Children and Food Healthy Food and Farms Early Adopter Mac “and” PC Social Networker

Debra Eschmeyer Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellow National Farm to School Network Center for Food & Justice, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College Food Justice Advocate Mac “and” PC Communicator Off the grid proponent Grower

What do you want to take away from today’s session? Remember, there are no stupid questions.

Source: Obamafoodorama.com

 Create community and conversation.  Save money! Lower barriers to accessing information: get info out without print expense  NOT a replacement of traditional relationships or organizing; a reinforcement. Purpose of Social Media

 Technology is the means to enable relevant social experiences.  The Internet is confusing – networks make it easy to connect to things you love.  For social media to truly be effective, the technology has to become boring and invisible.

 Although, the iPhone changed everything.

 Making Meaning

 Making Order. "What, after all, has maintained the human race on this old globe, despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities and courage to advocate them?" - Jane Addams

 We are awash in conversations: online and off.  People are now “curating” their lives onlin e

 Social devices providing a platform for communication.  It’s about the communication and not the device.  Applications, computers, etc. are ephemeral and discarded when no longer useful.  We still have a knowledge gap though.

Steps to Successful Social Media

 Strategy first, then social application! Steps to Successful Social Media

 Publication tools with blogs (Typepad, Blogger…), wikis (Wikipedia, Wikia, Wetpaint…) and citizen journalism portals (Digg, Newsvine…)TypepadBloggerWikipediaWikia WetpaintDiggNewsvine  Sharing tools for videos (YouTube…), pictures (FlickR…), links (del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia…), music (Last.fm, iLike…), slideshows (Slideshare), products reviews (Crowdstorm, Stylehive…) or products feedbacks (Feedback 2.0, GetSatisfaction…)YouTubeFlickRdel.icio.us Ma.gnoliaLast.fmiLikeSlideshareCrowdstormStylehiveFeedback 2.0 GetSatisfaction  Discussions tools like forums (PHPbb, vBulletin, Phorum…), video forums (Seesmic), instant messaging (Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Meebo…) and VoIP (Skype, Google Talk…)PHPbbvBulletinPhorumSeesmicYahoo! MessengerWindows Live Messenger MeeboSkypeGoogle Talk  Social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Orkut…), niche social networks (LinkedIn, Boompa…) and tools for creating social networks (Ning)FacebookMySpaceBeboHi5OrkutLinkedInBoompaNing  Micropublication tools (Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku, Plurk, Adocu…) and alike (twitxr, tweetpeek)TwitterPownceJaikuPlurkAdocutwitxrtweetpeek  Social aggregation tools like lifestream (FriendFeed, Socializr, Socialthing!, lifestrea.ms, Profilactic…)FriendFeedSocializrSocialthing! lifestrea.msProfilactic

Where conversations take place *and beyond Source: Baekdal.com

 April 2009: Facebook hit its 200 millionth user, up 100 million since August  Even before Oprah got a Twitter account, nearly 2 million people were using it.

 As of April 2009, Facebook was the world’s 5 th largest “country,” and growing.

 Moldova, 2009: Facebook, Twitter served as organizing tools for flash mobs and planned protests.

 Obama.collecta.com

 Swine Flu: from “OMG!” to global pandemic on a Sunday afternoon. Viral media to track a virus. Source: spectrumscience.com

Source: Forrester Research

 As recently as 200 years ago we got our information (news, gossip) from the marketplace.  Now it’s a “both/and.”  Quality trumps all.

 Jump in.  Spend time listening.  Follow what interests you.  Find people you know.  Start a conversation.  See what happens.