The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof has been on a roll lately with his columns about the right — and the wrong — way for charitable organizations to compel supporters to join them in the fight to meet their mission.
Earlier this week he argued, as he had in 2007, that the public is more compelled to get involved if they see themselves as saving one person — one cute kid, one mother who has persevered — versus the millions who may find themselves in the same situation.
"There’s growing evidence that jumping up and down about millions of lives at stake can even be counterproductive. A number of studies have found that we are much more willing to donate to one needy person than to several. In one experiment, researchers solicited donations for a $300,000 fund that in one version would save the life of one child, and in another the lives of eight children. People contributed more when the fund would save only one life."
People want to feel good. They don't want to think about the enormity of a problem that they can never truly solve. They want to write a check and believe they have had an impact.
Quite a few well-meaning people who see themselves as experts in issues marketing did not take too kindly to Kristof's comments. They'll have to get over themselves.
Yesterday, Kristof praised the marketing efforts of Scott Harrison, the founder of charity:water, an organization that has raised $10 million in the past three years from 50,000 individual donors and has provided clean water to one million people in Asia and Africa.
Why does Kristof think Harrison been successful?
He can assure new donors that every sent they send will make it to the field. He can do this due to the support of 500 of his "most committed" supporters, who pay to cover all administrative costs.
Donors can see the impact of their work. They can name wells and get the GPS coordinates to identify their wells on Google Maps.
Finally, charity:water has, creatively, embraced social media.
Assure your donors they're money is being spent effectively, allow them to see how they have made a difference and use social media to help facilitate building relationships with your supporters and tapping into their networks.
Revolution Health, which The Washington Postreported will be doing an additional round of lay offs this week, released momScore last month in connection with Mother's Day. The tool "evaluate(s) maternal and early childhood health across the country." Proud to say my home state of Connecticut ranks #2, second only to Vermont. My adopted hometown of DC ranks #20. The lowest scoring states are all in the Southern half of the country, with Mississippi coming in at the bottom.
Max Gladwell, who posts at Sustainablog as well as his own site, refers to moms are the most "formidable" of the "demographic groups gaining power through the social web." This post lists 16 "blogs and tools that are part of the nexus of social media, green living and motherhood." Max started following me on Twitter (I'm not worthy!) and I'll be returning the favor and subscribing to the RSS feed on his site so I can hear more.
“In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry — and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society — the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation.”
"Access doesn't last long if you have nothing to say," Jamie Drummond on the role of 'celebrity' in the success of the global poverty movement.
There are a great deal of rock stars working to alleviate global poverty. The most prominent is, of course, Bono. But while Bono can fill stadiums, one of the greatest of the global poverty rock stars is Jamie Drummond, who was profiled today in the UK's Guardian Observer.
Drummond is the Executive Director of DATA (aka One.org in the United States) and is the man behind the scenes who can claim responsibility for mobilizing G8 leaders to make historic commitments to provide aid to Africa at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 (getting them to live up to those commitments is the current task on his plate).
The article is definitely worth a read if you're interested in hearing how the debt relief movement "started" more than a decade ago, about Drummond's role in the Bush Administration's historic commitment to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic or how Drummond has embraced mobile technology and the Internet from the very beginning as a integral tool for mobilizing for global policy change.
Politics I've heard a few Republicans smirk and make the comment that Democrats only stay Democrats until they grow up -- and become a Republican. Not so fast, kiddies. LiveScience reports (via The Huffington Post) that a new longitudinal study says that people become more liberal as they grow older.
Digital Advocacy From late January, here's an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy about how nonprofits are using social media to engage supporters, promote their issue and raise money to meet their mission. Gone are the days (hopefully) when these organizations need to build expensive -- or crappy -- web sites to achieve these goals OR try to figure out how the hell to drive traffic to these sites, adding one more unvisited destination on the "information highway." As should be expected, the success of these efforts can be attributed to word of mouth. Gather.com's Tom Gerace knows what he is talking about when he says, "If you get contacted by a friend or colleague who points out a group doing great work, that can be (IS, Tom, IS) much more effective than trying to reach people with a random mailer that doesn't have the same trust factor."
If you don't believe ME that the promise of the future is NOT building more web sites, listen to Steve Rubel at MicroPersuasion who proselytizes about "the promise of small content that can go anywhere."
Word of Mouth Spike at Brains on Fire makes the argument that it's quality -- and not quantity -- that makes all the difference in word of mouth. Those few are willing to do some heavy lifting for your brand, your issue. Reward them, recognize them, help them to be the evangelists that will take the conversation -- and the love -- further.
Scott Pelley interviewed George Piro last night on 60 Minutes. Piro is the FBI field agent who was responsible for interrogating Saddam Hussein in the former Iraqi dictator's months in U.S. custody before being turned over to Iraq for his trial and eventual execution.
In addition to being a fascinating interview subject — great storyteller — he's absolutely adorable.
(Is it just me or can you see Mark Ruffalo in those eyes?)
G man takes on a whole new meaning (purr).
The entire two part segment is available to watch on the 60 Minutes site.
Kristen posted her annual End of Year meme and tagged me to do it as well. I have been posting these now for a couple of years, always prompted to do so by Kristen.
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make new year's resolutions. I make resolutions every day to take care of myself physically and emotionally. There is a reason I make these resolutions every day: I don't keep them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A whole bunch of folks had babies these year, but the person to whom I am closest was Amy, who gave birth to Jonas Aidan -- who resembles an old Chinese man more than most babies do -- on November 8.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
no
5. What countries did you visit?
I did less international travel in 2007 than I did in 2006. I spent a few days in Switzerland (Geneva) and a few days in England (London) in March and, in October, I went to Greece. All trips were work related and two out of three of those trips were with the great Johnny B.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
a social life that extends a little bit further than drinks at Smith & Wollensky
patience, but I'm not holding out any hope
hope for the political future of our country
7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I have a few . . .
I'll always remember June 16, the day I visited my grandmother after her apartment fire, because it will be difficult to ever get the sight and scent of her apartment out of my mind, as well as the sadness of seeing her on the balcony of her temporary living space, looking lost -- and old.
On a happier note, I'll remember April 8, the day Andrew and I met up at the Sackler. He was giddy (as much as Andrew can be giddy) about the pottery and I was giddy about spending time with him again.
Finally, I'll remember October 6, the day John and I explored Athens with Michael Darragh. I knew I was getting ready to move on, but I loved seeing something new with John, who has helped me to see so many other new things, often inside myself.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I really do think I grew as a manager. I wasn't always "nice," but I was always incredibly invested in giving my team the opportunity to strengthen their skills and, therefore, their value to the group. I think that's rare. Rarer than it should be.
Beyond that, and despite the fact that not being able to work with John every day SUCKS, I see the new job I will be taking on in 2008 as a big achievement because it is getting me back into advocacy work.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Folks, I ate like a pig.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
This year, it became pretty clear to me that I am getting old. Everything is falling to pieces. No major illnesses or injuries, but a general state of decay has set in. Lordy, it ain't pretty.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I love the brown jacket I bought at Anthropologie, but my Nikon D40x makes me swoon. Just ask Wyatt.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Al Gore for keeping up the fight, John Edwards for his populist message, Elizabeth Edwards for telling cancer (and her critics) to f*ck off, Wayne Coyne for continuing to have more fun than the rest of us, Jon Corzine and Martin O'Malley for fighting the death penalty, Heather Armstrong for her persistent honesty and humor. There are probably others. There are some good folks out there.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
How about appalled and angry? Ann Coulter is, and always will be, scum. She's just embarrassing.
14. Where did most of your money go?
eating out and clothes
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I don't think I got excited enough this year, but I got excited when I got the invite to go to Greece and I got excited when I met the folks with whom I will be working in the new year.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Don't give me a hard time, but Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks had the right amount of righteous indignation to get me to sing along every time I heard it. It was released in 2006, but I bought the CD this year.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you
happier or sadder? sadder
thinner or fatter? definitely fatter
richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had taken care of myself more: emotionally and physically.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
read about Britney Spear's persistent downward spiral
updated my status on Facebook
20. How will you be spending New Year’s?
I think I will be at Julia's.
22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I was already there.
23. How many one-night stands?
zip
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I loveHow I Met Your Mother, although Kid Nation was a sincere source of fascination.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate people. I dislike a few, but they're irrelevant.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I honestly can't remember (what I did -- I am well aware of how old I am.) I'm at the point where I'm not a big fan of birthdays.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I could have used some more time with friends and less time working.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
This was the year of the headband.
34. What kept you sane?
That's awfully presumptuous of you . . . I guess Steve did the best he could.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I watched every episode of Homicide this year and I fell in love with Kyle Secor (aka Baylis). Someone needs to give that man (and Andre Braugher) a job.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
There's no one political issue that stirs me. I get riled up pretty easily day to day and there have been points throughout the presidential campaign where I was ready to impale myself, usually because of some ridiculously folksy thing Mike Huckabee said or because I can not believe that anyone would give serious consideration to Rudy Giuliani as President of the United States. But, I was thrilled with the recent Supreme Court decision to enable lower court judges not to follow federal sentencing guidelines for crack offenses, addressing the longstanding disparity between sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offences. That was one of those, "Wait, someone actually wants to right an injustice?" moments that comes so infrequently.
37. Who did you miss?
I missed Chris. But I took care of that, didn't I?
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I really like Cooper. He tells great stories (I like stories involving his son in which he adopts a voice that sounds like Beavis -- or Butthead, I can't tell -- with a lisp) and, in general, is just a f*cking charming guy. Plus, he was apparently a rock star in a former life. I hope we stay in touch . . . and I wish him the best.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Sometimes doing what's right for you hurts more than doing the wrong thing. (I think I knew that already.)
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I try to keep the house nice and neat I make my bed I change the sheets I even learned how to use the washing machine But keeping things clean doesn't change anything ("Hate it Here" by Wilco)
I'm tagging Kaitlyn, Qui and Samantha, although I am not sure any of them will do it.
Before leaving New Orleans, I drove down to the Lower 9th Ward to see The Pink Project. More than two years later, the devastation from Katrina can be seen all around the city, but, nevertheless, much of New Orleans has returned to "normal."
Like most cities across America, it's much to easy to ignore the depth of the poverty that exists down the street and over the bridge while dining at restaurants with white tablecloths, watching the streetcars go by.
From the Pink Project web site:
Pink is a virtual city of Hope. A hybrid of art, architecture, cinema and media, Pink is conceived as an informational, commemorative, communication tool which raises awareness and activates individual participation to heal local wounds in need of global aid. Donate now.
Robert Lynn Green, Sr. (504) 201-8860 E:mail GRROB1207@aol.com Joyce Hilda Green - U.S. Citizen 11/08/31 to 08/29/05 1:00 pm U.S. Airforce (25 YEARS 8/12/1980) Shanai "Nai Nai" Green 04/11/02 to 08/29/05 4:00 am We want our country to love us As much, as we Love our country The strength of Our country Belongs to us Mr. Bush Rebuild - New Orleans The Lower 9th Ward Cross the Canal Tennessee Street NOT IRAQ Tourist Tell Your Senators Your Representatives Our President Robert Lynn Green, Sr. (504) 201-8860 My Birthday and Life Wish
Update:Today the New Orleans City Council voted to demolish four low income housing developments destroyed by Katrina to allow developers to build mixed income housing. People are not happy.
I spend too much time beating myself for not being the voracious reader I once was.
But Virginia Heffernan in today's New York Times Magazine makes me feel much better. (Hell, I read the Sunday Times. I can't be that much of a deadbeat.)
Hello to my lovely lurkers. You are welcome to browse as long as you would like. Let me know if I can get you a cup of coffee.
"Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a woman fell from a building at 35th St. and 5th Ave. in Manhattan, a body part was found on 20th Rd. and 18th St. in Queens, and a pedestrian was fatally struck at 50th St. and 6th Ave. in Brooklyn."
and I thought, how the hell did a woman falling off a building at 35th and 5th manage to have one of her body parts end up in Queens and manage to have another body part fall with such force -- at 50th and 6th -- that it killed a pedestrian?
Not one of my finer intellectual moments. Or, perhaps, my finest?
My dad brought me to an Italian street festival in the south end of Hartford CT in, I guess, 1984, because Geraldine Ferraro -- the first woman vice presidential nominee -- was speaking.
At the time, I don't think I really "got it" that it was a big deal that Ferraro was on the ticket and I don't think the importance of it really sunk in until about four years ago (20 years later) when I had the opportunity to hear Walter Mondale speak about the decision to pick Ferraro as his running mate when he visited a grad school class I was TA'ing on the presidential campaign.
Both Mondale and Ferraro were back in the news yesterday, as Mondale endorsed Hillary Clinton and Ferraro, who is also endorsing Clinton, said something that makes me want to vomit in my shoes.
(I don't think the fact that her statement caused me to have intestinal issues is the newsworthy part, but you understand what I mean.)
In response to the debate last week during which poor defenseless Hillary was the target of criticism by her male opponents:
“'John Edwards, specifically, as well as the press, would never attack Barack Obama for two hours they way they attacked her,' said Geraldine A. Ferraro, the 1984 vice presidential candidate who supports Mrs. Clinton. 'It’s O.K. in this country to be sexist,' Ms. Ferraro said. 'It’s certainly not O.K. to be racist. I think if Barack Obama had been attacked for two hours — well, I don’t think Barack Obama would have been attacked for two hours.'
You have got to be kidding me! First of all, it's pretty damn okay to be racist in this country (Dog Chapman notwithstanding). I'll introduce you to some kids in Jena, Mississippi if you're feeling doubtful of this fact. Or maybe I'll just share a really dumb statement that Senator Joe Biden made earlier this year about Senator Barack Obama being "clean."
But, come on, can we PLEASE (I am begging you) STOP this nonsense. They are picking on Hillary because she is the anointed front runner. If they weren't picking on her, THEN, I would be concerned that they were being sexist. And, please, dear G-d, let us hope that she can take the jibes. My guess is that, if she is elected president, she's going to need to stand up to so much more.
Yesterday on This Week, George Stephanopoulos referred to single women as the "new evanglical Christians." We are the most powerful voting group in this election and we like it that way. We have stood up to more in our lifetimes than getting criticized by a group of politicians and so has Hillary.
Like Kirsten Dunst once stated so eloquently, "Bring it on."
There's an update this morning on last week's story about The Gap discovering that a manufacturer in India was using child labor to produce items for the chain's Gap Kids outlets.
The Guardian UK — the paper that "outed" the retail giant — reports today that The Gap is putting together plans to label all of its products "sweatshop free." The company will work with Global March Against Child Labour, an NGO dedicated to bringing an end to sweatshops, to determine all of the details.
The labels will go further than just proclaiming the fact that they were not made in sweatshops. According to the Guardian, consumers will be able to go online and use the information on the label to track precisely where their purchase was made. And, if it was discovered that the products actually WERE made by child laborers and/or in sweatshops, the company would be vulnerable to prosecution.
Will The Gap be adding computer kiosks to its stores to enable you to access this information BEFORE you make the purchase? Similar to restaurants that enable customers to access nutrition information from in-store kiosks? Again, as I said earlier this week, the company should be using this as a an opportunity to educate the public. Let them promote their dedication to human rights in the store. They could provide access to additional awareness-raising or educational information (both on the computer and to take away) at these kiosks. They could incorporate word of mouth tools that would enable customers to share information about sweatshop labor, the company's commitment, and YES, their merchandise right from these in-store computers.
"Check out this new jacket I am buying. According to the new kiosks in the store, it was made in a factory that adheres to global human rights standards. If you want to learn more about the issue of sweatshop labor, click here. If you want to learn more about The Gap's commitment to being sweatshop free, click here. If you want to learn more about the jacket and other new items in the store, click here."
Do it.
What do you think?
By the way, Marka Hansen, President of Gap North America, posted a letter to their customers on their web site.
So, I read this morning on the BBC web site that Gap Inc. recently discovered that one of the items being sold at their Gap Kids stores in the U.S. and the UK was made by child slaves in India. As a result, they are pulling the item from stores and destroying all of the stock.
Of the kids who made the item, who were interviewed by the UK's Guardian newspaper as part of the investigation, one said that he had been sold by their parents to the factory owner four months ago to pay off a debt and another said that he had been beaten because he was apparently not working hard enough.
Horrific stuff.
Maybe I am missing something, but my very first reaction when I heard that they were going to destroy all of the items was this: they went through all of that to make those damn things and they're just going to be destroyed? Why not, instead, sell all of them and give every last dime of the worldwide sales (not just profit, but the entire purchase cost) to the kids who made them and to other programs in India that aim to improve the lives of children in poverty?
Set up a special display in the store, distribute information about the existence of slave child labor to educate customers and include information about the Gap's commitment to not working with suppliers who use child labor.
The things would sell out (I would buy them -- wouldn't you?). The material and effort that went into making them would not be wasted. More people would be educated about the existence of slave child labor and think harder about the next time they purchased an item of clothing. The company would communicate its commitment to the cause. And, most importantly, the kids' lives would change considerably.
Tell me if I am missing something. Am I overly simplifying this? Have they not already paid the vendor? That's a possibility. Would it be too prohibitively expensive to pay another vendor to produce the same item and then still do what I am suggesting? Could they then just donate the profits? I'm not suggesting they don't also conduct an investigation, change policies and seek out ways to ensure this does not happen again, but is there an opportunity for a little awareness -- and money -- raising in the middle of this fiasco?
Mashable pulled together 30+ resources (online) for U.S. Politics after getting the suggestion to do so from one of their readers. It's not exhaustive, but there are a few good things in there.
Marketing
BL Ochman at Marketing Profs gives a fellow PR hack a pat on the back for their blogger outreach effort. It's not tough, folks. She liked the pitch because 1) the writer reads her blog, he follows her on Twitter, he made reference to a post she had written on bad blogger outreach, he gave her information in an easy to understand way (bullet points, plenty of white space, "organized and brief," giving her the content in the email versus making her look for it), he was funny, he was timely and he told her she could cut and paste his email into a blog post.
Books
Our local DC PBS station, WETA, has launched a new book blog, Author Author, featuring author interviews and book reviews.
Search
LivePlasma aims to help you to identify new music and movies based on your current interests. Of course, Amazon has been doing this for years, but not with pretty graphics. My favorite movie of all time is Badlands by Terrance Malick, which, according to LivePlasma, means I should also like movies by Sofia and Francis Ford Coppola (I do), Francois Ozon (sure), Robert Altman (hell yeah), Antonioni (for the most part), Renoir (okay), Polanski (yep), Welles (uh huh), Ford (I'm not making the connection -- stunning landscapes?), Fellini (sure), Visconti (I don't believe I have had the pleasure), Sydney Pollack (ehhh) and Yasujiro Ozu (not familiar).
The one that started it all -- Badlands.
Digital Influence
For all of us who are desperate to point out that social media actually has a purpose beyond keeping geeks busy and indoors, there are quite a few folks posting in the past couple of days about the role that it has played in the fires in Southern California -- like this post from Fast Company, which cites the value of Twitter and Google Maps for residents in communicating information about the location of the fires and resources for evacuees.
Health
HealthSquare.com is HealthCentral.com's "prescription drug destination." They are targeting consumers, but are health care providers reading? Pharmas will inevitably want to know. If the advertising folks can prove they are, they'll be in good shape. And provide information for the 50+ set on your advertising page. This is one industry where growing old makes you more attractive to marketers (comes via 901am).
Social Networks
Friendster apparently still has lots of friends in Asia and, while they are a smaller group, social network users in Latin America stay on longer (there's a bad t-shirt in there somewhere). Research from ComScore says that social networking is already twice as big outside of the U.S. and growing fast (posted to Mashable).
Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize (yaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!) and now folks are asking if he will run for President. Screw that. He gets to be a beloved elder statesman whose legacy will based on both what he did for the planet and the fantasy of what he COULD HAVE done for this country.
I saw Hillary Clinton laugh not once, not even twice, but three times today. The first time was on Face the Nation this morning, the second was on this evening's repeat of This Week and the third was this clip from Fox News,
which I found when I went to YouTube to see if I could find a clip of her interview on either of those shows.
I LOVE the laugh, despite the fact that its appearance three (at least) times today is clearly a sign that someone has advised her to throw in a giggle here and there. It makes her appear confident and able to dismiss the nonsense that gets thrown her way.
I am growing more and more comfortable with the idea of President Hillary Clinton. I can't help but think of the pride that I am going to feel when I do my part to help elect the first woman president.
I never thought it would happen in my lifetime but, more and more, it feels like it's within reach.
Update: According to this morning's Post (9/24), the Republicans weren't quite as amused by what Hillary had to say and, well, the Post doesn't think she said anything at all.
Another update: Lots of folks are talking about Hillary's laughter, including Jon Stewart, who didn't love it quite as much as I did.
I'm not quite sure what Sridhar Pappu wants us to take away from the article in this morning's Post about the political sway that Gary and Meg Hirshberg have in New Hampshire. If the Hirshbergs made the money to build their lovely Concord home selling oil and not Stonyfield Yogurt, maybe it would be clearer. My liberal instincts would kick in: wealthy business people have an unfair and undemocratic impact on our political process.
Oh, but wait, those instincts DID kick in . . .
The article is downright nauseating, perhaps precisely because the Hirshbergs seem to be blind to the fact that candidates are whoring themselves to them because they're loaded and not because of their incisive political minds.
The Hirshbergs have been privileged from birth -- Gary shares a tale of being bounced on the knee of Nelson Rockefeller as a baby (remember that when Pappu mentions the adoring glance that the couple gives each other when they think about how they once lived on only $26,000 a year). Like many people in that position, they seem clueless that they are just NOT as fascinating as they seem to think they are. People like them because they want to be associated with wealth and access too. In other words, Meg and Gary, people are kissing your a**. You are not as fabulous as they tell you. Snap out of it. Apparently the Hirshbergs are on a mission to defeat Hillary Clinton. Why? Because Meg thinks that people don't like Hillary. "I'm not justifying their dislike. I think a lot of it is unfair, but I can't make it go away and neither can she."
(Meg, darling, isn't fight against things that are unfair, yet seemingly unsurmountable, what it means to be a progressive?)
No, the Hirshbergs love Obama (they considered John Edwards for a while, but that seemed to be primarily because they "adored" Elizabeth). Meg was apparently won over when Obama told her that he shared her love for The West Wing and "that he wanted to be just like President Bartlett on that show."
(Excuse me, I need to wipe the vomit from my chin.)
Gary apparently once considered running for Senate, but realized that wasn't really such a great idea:
"In some respects not running for Senate was probably better politically. I am obviously politically active without having to go to Washington. Here I am able to meet with politicians and directly address the issues I care about."
Okay, maybe Gary isn't as clueless as he seems. Why buy a seat in the Senate when you can pay candidates to come and perform at your wife's birthday party?
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