Virtual Personae

How to Create a Blog that Actually Attracts Readers

Last week, I spent 45 minutes talking to a machine, and it taught me something vital about blogs, the human condition, and the limit of my patience. I’m moving—only about ten blocks—but arranging for everything to arrive on time with the power turned on has marked an epic struggle between myself and half a dozen digital recordings who can only comprehend what I’m saying on the fourth-go-round. When I finally heard the voice of an actual person, I felt the rush of victory—and I recognized something universal.

Humans crave interaction on a personal level. When something is wrong, we want to hear sincere sympathy; we want the person on the other end of the line to recognize us and the importance of addressing our situation immediately. We gravitate toward personalized interactions, even when the ‘interaction’ doesn’t actually occur; it’s enough for us to know that the person we see streaming online or on t.v. is at least pretending to speak to us. We listen to the spokesmodels peddling breakfast bars and household cleaners because they show that they’re just like us, except, maybe a little bit happier since they’ve switched to the superior brand.

Anthropologist Lee Drummond calls the development of a bond between an audience and the media persona a parasocial relationship, and he demonstrates that the allure of personality, even when that personality has no idea that the reader or viewer exists, keeps an audience invested. It sounds a little devious when employed by someone trying to sell you face cream, but creating common ground with visitors to your site is a great way to apply this age-old marketing strategy.

I’ve mentioned that the holy grail of your online presence is consistently updating content, and here is the addendum: assign that task to one person and allow their unique voice to come through. Not all web-publications need to be attributed to the Executive Director; give a voice to someone who can provide ground level information, like a case worker, volunteer, or development staffer—someone who has a panache for creative writing.

Blogging can be a fantastic strategy for achieving your new content protocal, and although it can be scary to produce content outside of the carefully cultivated image of your organization—try it. Chances are, your readers will enjoy connecting to your organization through the eyes of a charismatic insider. And your stats will love you for it.

Why Philanthropy is the Best Investment you can make in Hard Times

If you’ve found yourself in economic hardship or lost your job, one of the first places you might be tempted to cut back is your charitable contribution. However, non-profits are a vital source of renewal for the economy, and philanthropy is one of the most positive steps you can take to invest in the future. Why?

1. Philanthropy is an investment in all of us.
Non-profits promote not only individual well-being, but also the image of our culture that we present to the world. For example, research non-profits in the US have spent decades working within the best health sciences industry on the planet, and the impact of that research has provided better treatment for patients globally. Organizations like CIMIT support collaboration among doctors and clinicians, and provide funding for students pursuing technological innovation. CIMIT provides a forum for discussing pressing issues in health sciences, and their online media attracts tens of thousands from across the planet. Like other health industry non-profits, CIMIT’s research and technologies benefit the world—while employing American scientists and promoting American industry.

2. Donations create jobs and put money back into the economy.
Non-profits are dedicated to directing the highest amount of resources into serving society, and they have boards committed to overseeing this process. Moreover, money donated to non-profits is often spent on sustaining our most vital resources—ourselves, our education, our environment and our youth. Even donating to organizations that benefit the poor in third world countries, like Save the Children, supports an infrastructure that creates jobs in the US. And those young people on the street asking if you have a minute to talk about the environment—charitable organizations pay their salary, and they’re the ones most likely to send their earnings straight back into the economy.

3. Our needs are as diverse as our cultural heritage.
Non-profits work to improve the lives of people everywhere—even those non profits not specifically designed to feed and shelter those who have fallen on hard times. One of my favorite non-profits, the Boston Children’s Chorus, fosters musical excellence in youth and brings together children of all economic and cultural backgrounds. Why is it important to support organizations like the Boston Children’s Chorus when other needs are so great? Because the Chorus enriches the lives of children, their families, and their communities by bringing them together to be inspired by music. The impact extends to an entire community and serves as a global example—a standard we cannot afford to concede.

4. Funding NPOs is a quintessentially American activity.
Organizations designed to improve society have existed since the colonization of North America. In fact, the original settlers designed the American experiment to serve as an example for the rest of the world to follow. And leave it to Americans to develop a system in which social programs have to compete to attract funding dollars outside of the tax structure—a situation that certainly encourages competition.

5. Reap the benefits of giving back.
Give whatever you can afford to give—even if it’s $5 or an hour of your time. You’ll feel amazing. You’ll create positive connections and friendships that will brighten your day and may extend your life. You might even bump yourself into a lower tax bracket. Whatever your motivation for getting involved with a non-profit, you’ll go to bed knowing that you’ve made a positive impact on someone’s life—something we can all feel good about, no matter what’s happening on Wall Street.

Why your NPO can't wait to Embrace New Media

Non-Profits often have an attitude of weathering the storm rather than taking a risk on something new. If an innovative technology stands the test of time, NPOs eventually get up to date, but this can put your organization years behind on strategizing and cultivating your message for new media, and you can lose out on an entire generation of donors and collaborators in the mean time.
So why is it time for your NPO to jump on the new media bandwagon?

1. Generation Y is the future of philanthropy.
And cultivating those donors means embracing their medium of choice. Even now, baby boomers are leaving the job market, putting a large number of current donors on a fixed income, and removing a significant portion of the current workforce within the next ten to fifteen years. That means that mid-level and executive level positions will be readily available for Generation Y. While it might be too early to gage how philanthropic this group will be, keeping your NPO off the radar significantly decreases your chances of connecting with your future donor base.

2. You're on the web, and so is everyone else.
Almost three quarters of the North American population uses the internet. If you exclude the very old and very young from that statistic, why, the internet is ubiquitous. And since chances are that you found this post using a search engine like Google or Yahoo, listing your site unlocks your organization to literally millions of potential donors, collaborators, and people in need whom you would otherwise miss.

3. Being online is not enough.
You already have a website so you're ahead of the game, right? Well, no. The single most important part of keeping your website relevant is: consistently updating content. This creates more searchable terms, provides reason for the online community to revisit your site and stay invested in your organization, and it gives news organizations, online publications and bloggers a reason to link to your site, which increases your relevance online. In short, creating new content is the holy grail of web presence.

Cultivating your NPO's online presence is key to the longevity of your organization, and creating a strategy to best represent your mission using the tools available is a great place to start.

So, how has your organization harnessed the power of new media? What problems have you encountered?