2008.04.26 3 B
From Missoula Bar Camp
Social Networking for Social Change
This session combined two session proposals, Technology as Tool for Social Change by Cole Moeller, and Finding Allies Through the Web by David Merill.
David Merille has been marinated in Global Warming issues. There are organizations supporting the proposals of the non-profit he started. There are affiliated action groups. He needs to find potential activists most effectively and most rapidly. David has a website, and a small national list, with global warming news. Email blasts, 35 groups around the country - scattershot. Not highly descriminating. Facebook - good intern project - David has a couple potential intern projects.
Cole Moeller, the co-initiator of this session was coming at it from a more general perspective. What are the tools?
How MoveOn has organized is a good model for how this network would be set up. Pocketless issue. MoveOn has been able to have 3.5 Million members, get the pulse and get them to take action towards some results. Jeanette Russell mentioned the group [Moms Rising]. They grew their list in 18 months to 140,000. Their issue is working mothers. Global Warming, climate change, is about that level interest.
Moms Rising had Joan Blades. You need someone of that caliber and skill, they know how to take a pocketless issue, which is no small task. They grew it with smart campaigning and good online tools. A woman was kicked off Delta for breastfeeding. They asked people to tell Delta to allow it. They grew their list by 40,000. If you can find something in the news and execute with rapid response, you can grow a list. Grow your list through simple petitions.
Know that the people are out there. More and more people are becoming alarmed, and they should be. Political figures, it is a feel good response. We have to see positive things about renewable energy and global warming, and not put a fire out with a squirt gun... We need a national mobilization. David is sure they're out there, tippy points, "I'm alarmed and I want to do something."
Next national disaster. That would have been a good time to put out a policy solution. The reason the numbers go up, is the message gets forwarded. The tools are important to make it easy to forward to friends. Go into your CRM, and examine the telephone tools. Not rocket science. You don't need sophisticated online tools. They just need to be used right. You need a rapid response, in the paper right then, not just a random sign the petition because the governer gave you a deadline.
Fireseason is coming up. MoveOn.org is the most successful example. They have a coalition member base. This momsrising.org group, 140,000 in 18 months. It doesn't happen a lot. They did it with 2 halftime people. They don't have full time people. Now they have 6 halftime people, getting an average 45 dollar contribution. No foundation money. With pretty basic online tools.
People want victories. Anyone can be a member. Most people that we know - that's not the model. Anyone who supports the mission is a member.
David said, we want people to forward emails, contact members of congress, and gold standard for us, having other groups that meet on a regular basis. If you don't have people meeting a couple times a month - pressure them, maybe go back. We find - just have people randomly interested. He's not looking for paid activists or national groups. People new to the issue tend to be bolder. Have presentations, show up, start a group.
Some tools/methods mentioned in the group: [Facebook], [twitter] (it's cool because it keeps things out of the mailbox), [The McCarthy's Core Protocols].
People have a spiritual need to contribute.
