Livingston

Jun
24
2008

Tools are Only as Useful as Their Users

If organizations trust consumers to create programs, and consumers want control, then why aren’t more of us taking the reigns? Forget big brands for the moment. Yes, some people will create fan pages for Family Guy and Hot or Not Hotlists for Starbucks. Does this brand loyalty really benefit societal ills? Not so much.

Consider what matters. People are empowered to voice their concerns, harpoon issues, and rally support for pressing matters related to health, environment, education, politics, poverty. But they - we - don’t take advantage of this privilege.

lazyhabits Remarkable platforms have been built to further social issues, but lie dormant. It’s a reminder that support must start with self-selected community members who are compelled to act.

[ Image credit: source unknown, spotted at Lazy Habits. ]

Take Iowa/Midwest flooding. Craigslist’s Iowa pages are virtually devoid of calls to action for monetary/in-kind donations or volunteers. (On the other hand, Craigslist was one of the premier resources for families and service during the New Orleans flood.)

Then there’s Social Actions, a platform that aggregates user-developed campaigns across 29 do-good social networks: Care2, Change.org, Idealist.org, Razoo, MicroGiving, and GlobalGiving to name a few. Anyone can post their fundraising campaign to these sites. A search on Social Actions shows nothing on tap for Iowa.

The tools exist, but are untapped. Is there a good reason for this? Perhaps we think the Red Cross has it covered. In reality, the Red Cross disaster fund is depleted, having raised only $3.2 million of the anticipated $40 million it will take to ameliorate flooding the Midwest. Tack that up against the rising price of gas and food.

Another contributing factor in lack of action: people don’t know about - or how and why to use - the tools and knowledge at their disposal. Friend Jake Brewer at Idealist.org touched on this recently:

Where we’re very well known, we become even more well known. Where no one knows us (e.g. OK, AL, SD, WY, etc) well …no one knows us.”

Per yesterday’s PR Week article on “The Digital Effect,” 65.9% of marketers are “very willing” to let consumers play a significant role in shaping their marketing programs. But are marketers willing to educate?

Beyond that, if people are enabled to create communities and tools on their own terms, is the average consumer willing to learn how to do so?

Again, the imperative can’t be stressed for anything outside of cause marketing, CSR, advocacy, and social sector/nonprofit-related initiatives. Times are tough. Help your neighbor and educate your community.

What better hour than the present, when user-generated content is King and word of mouth is Lord?

UPDATE - JUNE 26, 5p.m.

A very thoughtful and fresh perspective was contributed via comment on this post from Greg Hollingsworth. I really appreciate his insights about the kind of turn-off-your-laptop-and-get-your-hands-dirty action that has been taking place in his home state of Iowa. For those who don’t live in that area and want to help via the Internet, Greg recommends two effective donation channels: Grant Wood Area Red Cross and/or the United Way of East Central Iowa. More on Greg’s insider POV here.

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by Qui Diaz | Internet Marketing |

12 Responses to “Tools are Only as Useful as Their Users”

  • Lindy Dreyer Says:

    June 24th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

    Thought provoking post, Qui. I love your passion. One of the ideas I’ve been toying with–how can groups like the Red Cross use their identity to help folks overcome the learning curve for new tools. It’s kind of opposite of Seth Godin’s idea that you have to be built ground up for social media, like Kiva.org, in order to harness it. But for folks in the flyover states, associating a new tool with a trusted institution could make a huge difference.

    Am I crazy?

  • Peter Deitz Says:

    June 24th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    Hi Qui, Thanks for mentioning Social Actions in this post. Social Actions is designed to show the full range of actionable opportunities. It’s both a surprise and disappointing to see the small list of search results for “Iowa”, or “midwest flooding.” I would say that the actionable opportunities are out there. In this case, the problem is that people aren’t turning to the social action platforms or Craigslist to list how people can get involved.

    If you haven’t seen it, ReadWriteWeb posted a blog entry yesterday lamenting the lack of meaningful civic engagement happening online.

    Bored with Web 2.0. Demand Change.
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/318887946/bored_with_web_20_demand_chang.php

    I remain a longterm optimist for social media helping to transform online and offline activism for the better. Remember, we’re still at the very early stages of this technology.

    As Clay Shirky points out in Here Comes Everybody, “communications tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.” Social networks and social action platforms are still technologically exciting. The exciting social stuff is still to come.

  • Greg Hollingsworth Says:

    June 24th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    I understand where you’re coming from, but there’s a difference that you’re not accounting for. Being from Iowa (more specifically Marion, which is a suburb of Cedar Rapids, IA) there is a simple reason that Craigs List is devoid of calls for help, we don’t need to advertise our plight.

    The people in this city (not to mention the corporations that call this area home, i.e. Rockwell Collins, Quaker Oats, etc…) have responded in more ways than can be imagined. We don’t put ads on Craigs List because we help our neighbors (even the ones we don’t like). There are stories floating around of people refusing help from FEMA because they would rather get to work cleaning up than sitting around filling out paperwork.

    Perhaps the Red Cross has only raised $2 million so far, that is roughly equal to what Rockwell was able to raise within 24 hours of the flooding. The people here didn’t wait for FEMA to show up, they gpot to work immediately, be it sandbagging, rescuing people from flooded out homes or opening their homes to displaced people.

    You are correct in stating that there are many people in this area that haven’t heard of Craigs List, or various other sites that might be useful in times like this, but do not assume that we are un-savvy farmers. Cedar Rapids is a city of 160,000+ people with a ton of tech businesses and plenty of people who know what’s going on, the difference is that instead of putting ads on Craig’s List, we turned off our computers and got dirty helping to clean up.

  • Qui Diaz Says:

    June 24th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    Hi Lindy, I think the issue is that we’re trying to teach the tools rather than teach the need. If we focus on educating people about the issue, and why it’s worth their time/talent/treasure….and then back up what we’re saying by giving them the resources needed to spread the word, raise money, or any number of other actions…then they will determine the best tools/channels.

    But no you’re not crazcy. Teaching the average, non-Web 2.0 person ABOUT the tools available is tricky. While the Red Cross could certainly reach a lot of folks, teaching the dark arts of social media could lead to severe mission creep.

    A little disconcerting, because 80% of word of mouth happens off-line, and I think we all forget that sometimes!

  • Qui Diaz Says:

    June 24th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

    Peter - thanks for plugging the ReadWriteWeb piece - I had not seen it. You’re right - things are just starting to get interesting. Anyone who has not yet checked out Peter’s blog should - he’s been adding high-caliber insights for some time: http://blog.socialactions.com/.

    Greg, my sincerest appreciation for the point of view you shared. I mentioned in my earlier comment that more word of mouth happens off-line than online, and your testimony is the reason why. We get so wrapped up in providing the platforms! The tools! Well what about meeting people in the trenches where they are? Or in the case of your community, stand by for orders!

    No, absolutely I did not mean to infer that anyone is un-savvy, and I apologize if it came across that way. I’m excited about new ways for people to help themselves and help each other, bridging the digital divide that exists across a lot of issues, geography being one of those issues sometimes (but not every time).

  • Lindy Dreyer Says:

    June 25th, 2008 at 9:22 am

    Greg,
    I love your perspective. “We turned off our computers and got dirty helping to clean up.” That rules. (I share Qui’s sentiment…”un-savvy farmers” is not what I was going for, either. I’m sorry if that’s what I implied.)

    The thing is, there are a lot of us who are too far away to roll up our sleeves and get dirty, but able to help in other ways. And finding the right tools to harness that power is key to helping people unite to help each other in the face of adversity.

  • Greg Hollingsworth Says:

    June 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    I apologize if my “un-savvy” farmers point came off as a bit harsh, it was intended to be, being from Iowa (and having never once worked on a farm, not once in my life) makes me a bit reactionary to assumption about my state.

    Everyone in the flood affected communities most certainly appreciates any help we receive from outside of our communities, but in general, these communities will not ask for it openly, it’s just how we’re built.

    If you would like to help you can certainly donate to the Grant Wood Area Red Cross (http://www.grantwood-redcross.org/index.html?gwatitle.htm&1) or to the United Way of East Central Iowa (http://www.uweci.org/).

    If you’re interested in my unique point of view on this situation, you can read my most recent post at How To Split An Atom (http://howtosplitanatom.com/columnists/flood-of-information/)

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    June 25th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Greg: Qui was not calling you unsavvy, nor was she being tongue in cheek in her comments. She was contrite and apologizing for any misconceptions. Nor does anyone from the company see Iowans as unsavvy. Thanks for your views.

  • Greg Hollingsworth Says:

    June 25th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    I’m sorry, that line should have read I apologize if my “un-savvy” farmers point came off as a bit harsh, it was NOT intended to be”.

    I know that Qui was not attempting to imply that I (or anyone else in Iowa for that matter) is un-savvy. I was trying to speak more to the general impression that many people have about more rural, agricultural states like Iowa.
    I probably should have caught that before I submit the comment, but I didn’t, my sincerest apologies.

  •   links for 2008-06-25 by Kevin Bondelli’s Youth Vote Blog Says:

    June 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    [...] Tools are Only as Useful as Their Users » The Buzz Bin [...]

  • Qui Diaz Says:

    June 26th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

    Greg - Can’t thank you enough for your additional input. I updated my post with the donation links you provided and a teaser on some of the welcome insight you shared. This is part of a much bigger conversation, no? Like Peter prophecies, we’re just at the tip of the iceberg.

  • The Power Of Omission | How To Split An Atom Says:

    June 28th, 2008 at 1:16 am

    [...] emphasis) occurred on Wednesday, June 25th at approximately 10:30 am. I was reading a column on The Buzz Bin (one of my personal favorite new media marketing blogs) penned by Qui Diaz that was about the [...]

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