Posts Tagged ‘social media’
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Do Something, technology and social activism: a Q&A with Melanie Stevenson
We recently had the pleasure of meeting Melanie Stevenson, responsible for business development for premier US charity Do Something, whilst on her sabbatical, visiting London. With the largest national database of volunteer opportunities for teens, Do Something have been a truly instrumental force in helping change the face of social activism in the USA, inspiring millions of young people to engage with and take an active role within their communities.We caught up with Melanie to find out more about her role at Do Something alongside global attitudes towards social activism amongst young people…
It’s clear from the popularity of Do Something that young people in America are very socially conscious and proactive when it comes to volunteering. Have you seen any particular trends emerge over recent years? If so, to what extend do you feel trends have been influenced by wider political and social changes?
You’re right, teens in America are passionate about giving back. 1.2 Million of them will take action through DoSomething.org’s programs this year. Next year, we anticipate 2 Million Do’ers to activate through our programs.Some trends we’ve noticed are:
- Customisation – This is the ‘Starbucks generation’ (think grande java chip frappucino with whip no drizzle). Young people today expect volunteer opportunities to fit their personalities and lifestyles. Whether they have a minute or a year, whether they care about global human rights or the environment, they should have opportunities to give back. It’s our job to make it easy to find them.
- Self-Starting – Young people are more likely than ever to see a problem, plan a project, and take action. They’re opting for direct activation over traditional “volunteerism” which is a more scheduled and structured experience. A few tips and resources help them get started, but they’re truly becoming “social entrepreneurs”.
- Social Shopping – Not only does a brand have to be cool and functional to win a young person’s heart – it has to have heart itself. 89% of young people today will switch brand loyalty based on cause association. Where they spend their money is part of how they live responsibly.
Young people today grew up online, where they can find exactly what they’re looking for whenever they want. In an instant they can create a customized pair of sneakers, find any “how to” guide you can imagine, and dig up dirt about a store at their local mall. These trends are direct responses to the power of online.
You mention ‘the power of online’ – to what extent do you feel developments in technology and social media have aided awareness of volunteering and social causes? Are there any particular technological developments or innovative social media campaigns that have inspired you?
Developments in technology have absolutely magnified the power of volunteering and social good. The single best way for a young person to find out about something is from a friend. And social media has turned that peer-to-peer conversation into a public forum!One of our most exciting social media programs was a recent campaign called Make Art. Save Art.
Art is being cut from US schools every day. We asked young people to create and share works of art as advocacy messages for arts education. The designs were shared over 350,000 times on Facebook and Twitter, and posted over 1,000 times on senators’ Facebook fan pages!The technology we’re most focused on here at DoSomething.org is mobile. The average teen sends over 100 text messages per day with a 100% open rate! It’s their preferred method of communication and their phones are by their side at all times. We’re working actively to deliver our programs more and more via mobile, and reward young people for their participation.
You’ve had the opportunity to travel and meet other youth volunteering agencies around the world. Have opinions towards volunteering and social activism differed? Have any particular organisations or individual stories inspired you?
My recent travel to Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, and England were such an inspiration! Each country has a unique perspective on the world of social activism. History, culture, politics, economy and even geography all play into how passionate the population is about social change, and how willing or able they are to take action. Everyone I met inspired me and challenged my perspective in some way. I was particularly inspired by the way the v20 are at the core of everything v does. We have an incredible Youth Advisory Council at DoSomething.org, but it challenged me to think of even more ways to collaborate with them and celebrate their accomplishments. -
Is it time for charities to forget advertising and provide useful services instead?
I recently sat on a panel alongside Scott Burnett of LoveLife, South Africa’s largest HIV initiative for young people. We were there to talk about digital innovation in international youth service programmes, and I found myself in the surprising position of being massively impressed by a WAP site called MYMsta.OK, stay with me here… WAP is the ideal way to reach young people in South Africa, where only around 10% of the population has access to the internet, but 75% of young people have a cell phone. What’s more, instant messaging via a mobile-based social network can massively undercut the cost of text messaging, giving it instant appeal for the youth market.
MYMsta (“Make-Your-Move-sta” – named by the youth so you’re not supposed to get it) is a mobile social network with a difference, seeking to connect the youth to their peers, but also to deliver positive health messages to its users. In short, why pay to advertise on other people’s communication channels if you can deliver a service yourself, and in doing so win the loyalty of your target audience by saving them money? And what better place to offer sexual health advice on demand than on a mobile phone, where dates are arranged and hearts broken?
Here in the UK, the popularity of Blyk shows that many young people are prepared to accept advertising messages on their mobile in exchange for a free mobile contract, but while there are a few apps using the “provide useful unrelated service in order to deliver important messages” logic (MacMillan’s find a coffee shop app, for example), I’m not aware of charities embracing the concept in a big way. (If you are, I’d love to hear about it.)
I’m hugely excited by the prospect of a social network service, which genuinely benefits the target audience, run by a charity whose mission is to help ensure a generation of complete, creative and connected youth who have the tools to stay HIV free. So I’ll be watching their progress with interest, and just a little bit of jealousy.
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Robot enters House of Commons to Show MPs what Young People Care About
As MPs go back to work at Parliament today, v‘s new research has shown that just 10% of young people believe politicians are best able to change the country. The data collected through Voicebox shows that young people are caring, considerate, articulate and passionate. We hope our interactive robot in the Houses of Commons is an innovative way to make MPs sit up and take notice.
At a time when only 3% of young people have ever contacted their MP, the robot – nicknamed Voicebot - is a very modern twist on writing a letter to your MP. Until Thursday, young people can visit a website, put in what they care about and the robot will write it out, stroke by stroke, word by word, directly to the politicians.
Voicebot has been collecting comments from 1000s of young people.
The study and robot come at a time when respect among the public for the political classes is at an all time low. A study published earlier this year by Hansard Society indicates that currently only 24% of 18 to 24 year olds are certain to vote in the next general election – the lowest of all groups by a long way. And, contrary to some images, young people are the least likely of all age groups to be politically active – just 4%.
The full results of the Voicebox are also being fed into even more detailed work with the think tank Demos, looking at young people and their relationship with power and politics. This project, titled An Anatomy of Youth will review: young people’s portrayal in media, their presence in recent policy debates and existing information on young people’s behaviours and their attitudes.
Voicebot is part of v’s proactive research campaign called Voicebox, with over 5,000 people having taken part so far. The project is live and constantly evolving. The more young people that participate the more accurate picture we’ll create of young Britons today. Over the coming months, Voicebox will continue to collect and share data about lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours of young Britons. In an age when young people are using social media more and more, Voicebox uses new and interactive social media to engage young people.
Want to find out more about the data we’re collecting? Have a look at the results here.
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Promoting a Creative Generation
Today marks the start of Promoting a Creative Generation, a two-day conference in Göteborg looking at the role of children and young people in the new culture and media landscape.
Taking place within the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation and hosted under the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, 350 experts and participants will discuss the creativity and cultural habits of children and young people.
Gunnar Seijbold/ Regeringskansliet.
Swedish Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth says, “this conference is to learn more about both the possibilities and problems of the new culture and media landscape that our children and young people encounter. The digital cultural platforms create new and often difficult issues that, despite their different starting points, are clearly related. And it is almost always young people who are affected”.Keynote speakers include Renad Qubbaj from the Tamer Institute for Community Education in Ramallah and Professor Bamford, Director of Cultural Programmes for Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), London.
The conference programme focuses on different aspects of daily life for children and young people, recognising that, today, children and young people are to a great extent not only consumers but also producers in the new media landscape. Sessions will look at how to strengthen children and young people’s right to culture, how traditional cultural institutions can find ways to remain attractive and accessible for the new generation, promote the exchange of experience and knowledge on how public investments can help to ensure that children and young people’s right to culture in all forms is guaranteed and will also include participants trying out the younger generation’s world of digital communication.
The opening and closing sessions can be watched via webcast
In the UK, very similar questions are being raised by The New Deal of the Mind coalition, chaired by the journalist and former political editor of the New Statesman, Martin Bright. The New Deal of the Mind is a grouping of like-minded individuals who believe we must not let the recession crush creativity and innovation. Learning the lessons of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal, the coalition believes the creative and digital industries can help provide a route through the recession for young people and others. Check out their latest report, ‘Do It Yourself: Cultural and Creative Self-Employed in Hard Times’, exploring self employment options in the cultural and creative sector.
Of course this blog celebrates how creativity and innovation are changing youth volunteering, but revolutionising how young people can share their time and talents with others is becoming of much broader concern, across many sectors.
Any thoughts on these issues?
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Everyone working together
Here at v, we’ve been asking ourselves how we can do more to harness the power of social media and give young volunteers the tools they need to do our marketing and organising for us. (After all, we know they’ll do a better job than us.)
At our recent Generation Digital Conference, William Owen, strategy director at our digital agency Made by Many, shared the things we’ve learned, from letting go of centralised control (easier said than done: “the social web is disruptive, but some members of the SMT are still resisting”) to using existing APIs and building our own.
The presentation also includes case studies from Amnesty UK’s Protect the Human site, and generated lots of interest at the conference, so I thought I’d share it here.
Vinspired: Everyone Working TogetherView more presentations from William Owen. -
Volunteer Trends: May 2009
Just a quick update: I wrote about the Volunteer Trends presentation created by Mickey Gomez of the Howard County Volunteer Centre a while ago. He’s now updated it with some more information. Here’s his May 2009 presentation. It has a lot of useful stats regarding the increasing use of social media around the world, and how volunteering organisations are, and can, tap into them to increase their reach.
Volunteer Trends & Online EngagementView more presentations from M. Gomez.
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