In the Communications Network's debut of a new video feature -- our diavlog series (dialog+video+blog) -- we explore the question: "Should Foundations speak in human voices?" Susan Herr, president of PhilanthroMedia, and a regular contributor to the Communications Network website, speaks with Michael Margolis, principal of Get Storied, about how the new communications technologies -- notably Twitter -- enable foundations to engage in conversations with audiences, not as institutions, but as individuals. Over the course of their wide-ranging conversation, they also discuss Philanthropy 411's research about which foundations are Twittering, an assessment by social media expert Beth Kanter about the different ways foundations are Twittering, and blogger Sean Stannard-Stockton's (Tactical Philanthropy) assertion that these human-to-human interactions underscore the difference between sharing knowledge and wisdom.
Margolis comes to the conversation not as a new media guru but as a consultant who helps organizations harness their internal stories as key to building brands that reflect the values that underscore their work. His work and writings have been featured in Fast Company, Brandweek, Storytelling Magazine, LA Business Journal, and Silicon Alley Reporter, among others. Margolis is the also the author of the forthcoming Believe Me: Why Your Brand, Vision, and Leadership Need a Bigger Story, to be published in October.
Running time of the diavlog is 28 minutes. To view selected sections, use the guide below to fast forward to the time code indicated:
- Which Foundations are Twittering and Why (1:05-6:12)
- Should Anyone Besides Your CEO Represent the Foundation Brand? (6:12-8:39)
- Existential Crisis: Do We Have to Speak in Human Voices? (8:39-12:00)
- What’s Authenticity Got to Do, Got to Do with It? (15:30-19:21)
- Storytelling: It's Not Just For Outsider Audiences (19:21-28:00)
After viewing the diavlog, feel free to leave a comment. if you have ideas for future topics, email us.
In the Communications Network's debut of our diavlog series (dialog+video+blog), we explore the question: "Should Foundations speak in human voices? Read more>>
Comments
Great diavlog!
Thanks for putting this together. It's very interesting and something that I will share with foundation clients. Glad my 90 Foundations That Tweet blog http://tinyurl.com/nbq4n2 has helped to spur conversations about foundations' engagement with social media. I've been meaning to update the blog with more foundations on Twitter, and you've now inspired me to get going on that!
Kris Putnam-Walkerly, President, Putnam Community Investment Consulting & Author, Philanthropy411 Blog
Philanthropy 411 Got the Ball Rolling!
Thanks for getting the ball rolling on this, Kris. Our field really loves lists and the sleuthing you did to identify foundations that Twitter was a format to which we can really relate. In a similar vein, I am reminded of the brilliant scorecard that Center for Effective Philanthropy has done which gets board members to really care about things like how quickly foundations respond to grantees, simply because their performance is compared to that of other foundations.
Kudos for your approach, thanks for the legwork and thanks for checking in...