At
the recent Communications Network annual conference held at the Ford Foundation
in New York City, 20 volunteers known collectively as the Gorilla Engagement
Squad, used Flip Cams to conduct video interviews with 120 conference attendees. In addition to asking participants what
resonated from the sessions they attended, Gorillas asked: “What has and hasn’t
changed about foundation communications over the past five years?”
What Has Changed About Foundation Communications in the Last Five Years? from Communications Network on Vimeo.
As
commander-in-chief of the Squad, I was thrilled to see the wealth of engaging
compelling content captured by my colleagues using what I call a “conference
2.0 engagement” strategy. It’s all just a further extension of the evolution
from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 in which we recognize that folks are no longer
satisfied to be talked at -- we want to talk amongst ourselves.
As
these videos demonstrate, it no longer need be just the insightful experience
of presenters and the quick chats with folks in the halls that shape our experience
of conferences. Conference 2.0
engagement strategies -- captured by our peers -- can communicate the
collective mood of a gathering.
Because this organized collective of my peers chose to commit acts of
journalism (did Clay Shirky coin that great phrase?) I can quickly test my
sense of reality by perusing the Twitter stream or viewing eight or ten brief
videos featuring 40 or 50 of my colleagues.
While
I love to be inspired by those of you who shape panels and present winning experiences,
I’m more of a sucker for how we, as participants, let what we hear shape and
inspire us.
So
here’s my take-away, that I’d like to test with your sense of what you heard at
the conference and in these videos:
The collective fear of”
seasoned” (a.k.a 35 year old +) foundation communicators is receding. Assuming budget cuts don’t get us,
digital natives who intuitively grasp new(fangled) media tools, aren’t going to
either. We are growing more confident in our capacity to adapt to a landscape
where change is the only constant. Clay Shirky’s exhortations to experiment are
not a threat -- they are an oft-repeated invitation we are ready to embrace.
Whether
you agree or disagree, we welcome you to talk back on our blog here. I’ll be inviting the Gorillas to chime
in since, whether they know it or not, their work is not done here.
Loved the Gorilla Squad idea as a way to capture the conference. It was fun and inventive and reminds us all that we have stories to tell and share.
Liz
Posted by: Liz Wainger | November 02, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Susan,
Great working with you at the conference as a fellow Gorilla.
I generally agree with you that the field is warming to social media, and we are much farther ahead than we were even a year ago.
But I also think it depends on where one works. Some foundations are less uptight about experimentation than others. Some embrace opportunistic use of such things -- some still don't. But, yes, I admit it's getting better -- it's getting better all the time.
Posted by: Bill Hanson | November 04, 2009 at 02:21 PM
Susan,
Agreed that foundations are warming to social media as new tools in the communications toolbox. It is great to see. The bigger challenge will come as we try to integrate the collaborative principles behind these tools into our program work. Foundations are beginning to use social media to open our typically closed and limited funding process. We are starting to invite feedback from a broader audience, and we are welcoming it from the earliest idea-generating stage through the evaluation of the completed work. We are experimenting with crowd sourcing. There is a big mountain looming ahead to climb, but it is going to be an exciting journey to watch and participate in.
Posted by: Larry Blumenthal | November 05, 2009 at 09:32 AM
While I know there are still some skeptics out there, I have to say that my experience as a gorilla (hmmm...not a phrase you'd expect to write in your life, really) -- has definitely helped me connect with the strategic possibilities in the social media world. As a dedicated editor and practitioner of the craft of creating "publications" to reach audiences -- I have to realize that the audiences are changing, and our sense of what a publication is better change as well.
It's exhilarating, though, to "just try things" as Clay Shirky suggested. Like jumping off the high dive!
Posted by: Rebecca Arno | November 05, 2009 at 04:50 PM