Here are a four articles that deal with the difficulty of engaging followers, fans and readers beyond the “like” button – particularly when suddenly faced with critical voices.
Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category
This is the second presentation from the GeOnG2012 conference: In the hours after a rapid-onset emergency social media can help humanitarian agencies and emergency responders get a better idea of what the situation is like on the ground.
While almost everbody agrees that online volunteers can bring valuable skills and resources to disaster response operations, things become more complicated when established humanitarian organizations try to work with the Volunteer and Tech Community (V&TC). A new guide is trying to improve how both sides can work together.
Social media dashboards aim to inform people about what is going on in a disaster zone. That raises some interesting questions: is there a “duty of care” when relaying information? Is there a moral and/or legal responsibility when people take bad decisions based on incorrect information that you provided?
Storify is one of those tools that I still find it hard to get my head around. MSF UK has recently started to use it to spruce up their press clippings and share them with supporters and staff.
The problem with many social media campaigns is that individual messages of support get lost and that the campaign never gathers enough momentum to go viral. Thunderclap is a service that helps you focus the voices of your supporters on a specific date. The UN is now using it to promote World Humanitarian Day (August 19).
The LSE has just released the first report in a three-year research project focusing on the gap between what people know about human suffering and how they react to it. “Who cares? Challenges and Opportunities in Reporting Distant Suffering” should be required reading for anyone who works in communications, media relations or advocacy in the aid sector.
I have just spent a few days brainstorming on a policy paper about how information collection and analysis can be improved to lead to better decision making in times of crisis. This blog post contains some of our central thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think about them.
