Some journalist friends of mine are interested in doing some stories probing the claims and accusations that show up in political advertising during the election season. Anyone familiar with the state of journalism will be interested in the fact that journalists are pursuing crowd funding as a means of support for in-depth investigations (Hats off to you Spot.Us!). I'll save my rant on the lack of funding for quality non-commercial journalism in an age when corporate media consolidation is running rampant slashing editorial budgets for another post...
But the means of my friends' campaign is of immediate interest. They are using an online social media website called The Point that allows anyone to post a cause or petition, and ask people to sign on in a pledge of support in the form of a donation or action. The pledge is only fulfilled if the organizers hit their target for either number of members or donation pledges.
I like the social action bent of this style of online giving. It makes people feel that they are a part of a very specific endeavor and they can feel the momentum of the campaign move forward as they track the progress of the campaign. Plus it allows anyone interested to comment and to see what others who register pledge to the campaign. A good strategy for this one would be to get someone to set the bar early- like at $100 or $250- and challenge people to dig deep. The social nature of this tool lets people see what others are doing, so if people pledge small at the beginning, that pace will probably be set without some additional effort on the part of those running the campaign. But the real point is to get people involved by making it easy and fun to participate.
Coupled with other online media such as email, websites, and other social media sites, this tool gives organizations one more way to break through donor hesitation by letting them know that their credit card will only be charged if the full goal is attained, which gives donors the confidence of knowing that they will only contribute if the means are there for the project to move forward. In other words, they won't waste their money.
One more bright and shiny web 2.0 tool to build movements and get some change for your dollar!
Check out the tool: http://www.thepoint.com/
But the means of my friends' campaign is of immediate interest. They are using an online social media website called The Point that allows anyone to post a cause or petition, and ask people to sign on in a pledge of support in the form of a donation or action. The pledge is only fulfilled if the organizers hit their target for either number of members or donation pledges.
I like the social action bent of this style of online giving. It makes people feel that they are a part of a very specific endeavor and they can feel the momentum of the campaign move forward as they track the progress of the campaign. Plus it allows anyone interested to comment and to see what others who register pledge to the campaign. A good strategy for this one would be to get someone to set the bar early- like at $100 or $250- and challenge people to dig deep. The social nature of this tool lets people see what others are doing, so if people pledge small at the beginning, that pace will probably be set without some additional effort on the part of those running the campaign. But the real point is to get people involved by making it easy and fun to participate.
Coupled with other online media such as email, websites, and other social media sites, this tool gives organizations one more way to break through donor hesitation by letting them know that their credit card will only be charged if the full goal is attained, which gives donors the confidence of knowing that they will only contribute if the means are there for the project to move forward. In other words, they won't waste their money.
One more bright and shiny web 2.0 tool to build movements and get some change for your dollar!
Check out the tool: http://www.thepoint.com/
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