See What’s Out There

One of my presentations at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (08NTC) was The Age of YouTube: Using Online Video to Reach the Masses.

Here is the session description:

Broadband is finally here and the organizations that are creating compelling and viral video content are reaping the rewards. Those gala dinner videos are no longer enough. Readily available digital video cameras and editing software allow your organization to capture stories and introduce a wider world to your mission. Video content can be seamlessly integrated into your website and provide the compelling hook for fundraising and advocacy. Portable media players enable you to embed your message in hundreds of sites. But, how do you capitalize on the opportunity?
Takeaways:

1. The benefits to using web video
2. Case studies of innovative uses of video
3. How to effectively use video in your e-campaigns

I opened the session looking at the world we live in — the environment nonprofit messages are competing with. Here is the video I showed at the start of the session:

Here is the slide deck I used for the session. Mostly, these are just illustrative of talking points.

| View | Upload your own

Here is are relevant links to the videos we talked about from the session:

The power of video to breakthrough all the clutter. Example: Yes. We. Can.

The dinner video.
Other pieces you can make from a dinner video. (American Jewish World Service Passover Video)

Bread for the World video we showed as an example of something easy you can do with your staff.

Videos from Amnesty International showing both the man-on-the-street technique and how you can use video in an online campaign and how you can make videos with very different tone out of the same source material.

The funny video.
The serious video.

The PSA type video. An example from Chicago Foundation for Women and a very edgy UK one from Greenpeace International.

A documentary-style video from Columbia College Chicago.

Care2 is an online community where you can promote a video and seed your list in order to reach new audiences. If you are interested, you can learn more by calling Clinton O’Brien
Vice President, Business Development
Email: partners[at]earth.care2[dot]com
Phone: 202-785-7308

AOL quietly offers a program of free banners for certain organizations. If you are interested you should call us at See3 and we can tell you more about it.

If I left something out of this list that I mentioned in the session, please let me know with a comment.

Steve Grove’s YouTube for Nonprofits Tip Sheet. (Steve did not make the session at the last minute, but we got his tips. I will ask Steve some of the questions and publish the answers.)

The Basics

• Reach Out. Post videos that get YouTube viewers talking, and then stay in the conversation with comments and video responses.

• Partner Up. Find other organizations on YouTube who complement your mission, and work together to promote each other.

• Keep It Fresh. Put up new videos regularly and keep them short—ideally under 5 minutes.

• Spread Your Message. Share links and the embed code for your videos with supporters so they can help get the word out.

• Be Genuine. We have a wide demographic, so high view counts come from content that’s compelling, rather than what’s “hip.”

Your Channel:

• Design Your Channel. Go to Channel Design, then choose a color scheme to match your logo or other materials, and decide which modules you’d like to display on your public profile.

• Add Banners and URLs. Go to Branding Options, upload your icons and banners, and enter any of the other options you’d like to use.

• Choose Your Top Video. The top video on your channel automatically plays each time someone visits your page—choose it wisely. Update this video regularly to keep it fresh, or keep your most important video there as an introduction.

• Get Donations Flowing. Sign up for Google checkout, then go to your Google Checkout Options, enter your ID and Merchant Key, and choose donation amounts. Once you’ve filled in the information, the button will appear on your public profile and all of your video pages.

Your Content:

• Direct Dialogue. Make videos that create a dialogue about your work and what you’re trying to achieve. Ask questions and solicit video responses.

• Call to Action. Harness the power of user-generated content by asking supporters to submit videos to your cause. Create a group to collect these videos together; find ways to give recognition to the best ones.

• Tell Serial Stories. Engage viewers with a series of videos that tell a story around a specific theme, and keep them coming back for more. Once you’ve created a few episodes, put them into a playlist. This allows you to develop several video narratives targeted at particular demographics.

• Respond to Current Events. Address relevant news stories by posting videos that explain your position. You can then embed them in emails to your supporters—a video message can be more effective than a text-laden email.

• Use Endorsements. Whether they’re from celebrities or people you’ve impacted, it helps to have supporters chiming in about why your work matters.

Networking and Distribution

• Tag and Title Well. Tag and title your videos with relevant keywords—that’s how users will find your content as they navigate YouTube.

• Embed, Embed, Embed. Broadcast your videos over the web by embedding them on your website and encouraging supporters to do the same on theirs.

• Click “Subscribe”. Subscribe to the YouTube channels you’re interested in to stay up-to-date on their content; they may return the favor.

• Engage and Interact. Draw attention to your work by interacting with both allies and adversaries through video responses, text comments, or joint projects/debates.

• Make Web Traffic a Two-Lane Road. Use your video description field and branded banner URL to drive users to your website, and link to your YouTube channel from your website to encourage people to interact with your video content here.

For video production tips, go to: http://youtube.com/video_toolbox

The last session I attended at the NTC in New Orleans was:

E-Advocacy: Mission over Membership
Designed by Mr. Charles Lenchner | DemocracyInAction.org

E-Advocacy can mean different things to different people. What if we were able to separate the organizational self interest to build membership and raise funds from the planning of issue based advocacy campaigns? What would campaigning look like if we only cared about the real world result? Our panelists will discuss this issue using real world examples of successful campaigns, along with insights that can help YOUR organization plan better advocacy campaigns.
Takeaways:

1. Guidelines for getting mission driven results
2.Strategies and tactics that work
3. Cheat sheet: how to plan your next online advocacy effort

On the panel was Colin Delany from e.politics

Here’s 2 minutes of Colin talking about how he was part of a campaign that went after Toyota on environmental issues as part of the campaign to increase fuel economy standards. He offers some advice on online advocacy campaigns.

New Orleans, March 21, 2008 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Humane Society of the USA has just won best overall video in the 2nd Annual DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards, sponsored by See3 Communications and NTEN - the Nonprofit Technology Network.

Their video, called Overlooked: The Lives of Animals Raised for Food won best video out of the 160 entries to this year’s contest. Other category winners included Greenpeace International, ASPCA and Center for Constitutional Rights which won for their video George Bush Hates Santa.

More than 5000 people voted in the contest.

All of the winning videos can be seen at DoGooderTV, home of nonprofit video.

The 160 entered videos were then judged by a panel of experts in video and nonprofits, including Jeff Pulver, founder of the Video on the Net conference, Danny Alpert, Executive Producer of See3 Communications and award-winning documentary filmmaker, and Suzanne Muchin, Principal, ROI Ventures, a Chicago-based organization helping social entrepreneurs create scalable enterprises.

Here is video of Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, giving out the awards at the final lunch at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans.

This is a great widget made with the Sprout technology. Sprout is a tool that lets you easily build your own widget. What I love about this widget is that it includes a link to video — using the See3 logo as the key. Check out the menu on the right side. If you are going to the NTC in New Orleans, let me know, would love to see you. And if not, you should!

Thanks to Deborah Elizabeth Finn for pointing it out.

As part of our preparation for the NTC in New Orleans in March we have decided to give up to 6 organizations some free consultation with See3 Executive Producer Danny Alpert. Danny is a producer, director and editor whose films have aired on PBS, HBO and A&E and have been nominated for an Academy Award and national Emmy Awards. Here are the details:
——————————————

Free Online Video Consultation at Nonprofit Technology Conference

Not sure how to use video to its highest potential in telling your organization’s story and begin incorporating video into your messaging? Sign up for a free one-on-one storytelling strategy session. Sit with Danny Alpert, See3 Executive Producer and Award Winning Documentary filmmaker and brainstorm on new video stories, approaches and styles, explore how to repurpose your existing audio-visual assets and how to distribute your media to the widest and most effective audiences. This is one of the most fun-and maybe the most productive-30 minutes you can spend for your nonprofit’s communications.

Only 6 people will be selected so reply today to info[at]see3.net and tell us how you might use video (for example, do you have a campaign coming up, are you redesigning your website and want to include video, and so on). We will work with you to set up a convenient time during the conference.

We are in the middle of the DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards. These are annual awards sponsored by See3 and NTEN to showcase the video work of nonprofits in the US and around the world. The winner will get an expense paid trip to the Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco next year.

I am just in awe of the work people are doing out there. Not every video is great, but the work is so important and often so moving. Some of the videos are thoughtful and emotional. And some are funny. You can see for yourself at the home page of the DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards and click on the Watch button to see the videos.

Here’s a funny entry from Greenpeace International.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2nd Annual DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards

Chicago, IL & Seattle, WA January 11, 2008

See3 Communications and NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network announce the co-sponsorship of the 2nd Annual DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit their videos to the contest, hosted on DoGooderTV, the video sharing platform for nonprofits. The grand prize winner will be announced at NTEN’s annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in New Orleans on March 21. The winner will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to the 2009 NTC to be held in San Francisco.

The theme of this year’s contest is From the Ground Up: Using Technology to Engage Constituents and Make the World a Better Place. The goal of the contest is to highlight the work of nonprofit organizations and to spread the word about the creative ways they employ media to bring about social change. Last year’s winner, Avaaz “Stop the Clash of Civilizations” received a standing ovation when played at the conference. This video has been viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube.

Nonprofit organizations and their constituents are invited to submit videos used in support of a 2007 campaign. Videos can be from a wide variety of issue and interest areas including (but not limited to) activism, environment, education, disability, economic development, human services, international development, health, and the arts.

Entries will be accepted until February 15, 2008 at which time finalists will be determined. The finalists will be shown on www.DoGooder.tv beginning March 1, 2008; individuals will be able to vote on their favorite entry through March 20, 2008. For complete contest rules and to submit or view videos, please visit the video contest home.

See3 Communications creates compelling visual media and internet marketing initiatives that enable nonprofits to maximize exposure, deepen connections and produce results. Our background in video production, web development and nonprofit marketing and fundraising are combined to create campaigns with emotional appeal that compel target audiences to action. For additional information about See3 Communications, visit www.see3.net

NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network is the membership organization of nonprofit technology professionals. NTEN facilitates the exchange of knowledge and information within the nonprofit community. We connect our members to each other, provide professional development opportunities, educate our constituency on issues of technology use in nonprofits, and spearhead groundbreaking research, advocacy, and education on technology issues affecting our entire community. For additional information about NTEN, visit www.nten.org

Contact Information
Mary Dombrowski
Director of Operations
See3 Communications
(773) 784-7333
mary[at]see3[dot]net
www.see3.net
www.dogooder.tv

Holly Ross
Executive Director
NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network
(415) 397-9000
holly[at]nten[dot]org
www.nten.org

Our favorite conference of the year is the NTC - the annual conference of NTEN - the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network. This is the conference were more than one thousand nonprofit professionals gather to share and learn about how technology can advance the mission of nonprofit organizations.

I will be leading a session about online video — more to come on that — and we are once again a sponsor of the DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards, sponsored by See3 and NTEN — more to come on that also.

I am very excited that David Pogue, my favorite New York Times technology columnist, is the keynote speaker. For those of you who read this blog you know that I am a big fan of David Pogue. You can see previous posts from me on his work here and here.

So, register for the NTC today and meet us March 19-21 in New Orleans!

As part of the new YouTube for Nonprofits, Google has integrated Google Checkout donation processing for organizations in the program. What this means is that if you are in the program, viewers will see a “Donate” button both on your channel page and when your video is playing in a standard page.

Here’s an example in the channel page:
24 Hours for Darfur Channel

Here’s an example on the standard video page:
24 Hours for Darfur standard view

If you are a 501(c)3 it’s a no-brainer to sign up. Why not?

What we don’t know yet is whether it will work. If a decent percentage of people who view a nonprofit video actually give, then we have a revolution on our hands. The viewers/donors might look similar to what we see on Facebook causes but we will wait until we have some real data before speculating further.

What we at See3 would like to propose to Google is an addition to their nonprofit program that could greatly enhance the value to organizations. We all know that a newsletter sign-up or advocacy ask is an easier ask than a donation. Imagine if next to the Donate button we had a “Join This Cause” button. And when a registered YouTube user clicked on it, the email address (and other info) of the user was transfered to the nonprofit. (Like with comments, the system could tell a non-registered user that they needed to register.)

Another approach — not as good for the nonprofits but maybe more acceptable to Google — would be more like the Facebook approach. Don’t give me their email, but connect me to them through the social network. I think there has to be something more than Subscribe — which they already have. There has to be a way to say, “I am a supporter, but this doesn’t mean I have to watch every video you produce all the time.” A one-click to Join would have the most benefit if it enabled the nonprofit to message the viewer on a regular basis beyond pushing out new videos.

Facebook has taught us that people will opt-in to support the cause far more than they will donate. You can see the evidence in the mostly small donation totals in the Causes application.

Maybe we can make this request to Google through out friends and partners at NTEN. What do you think Holly?

Mining is in the news a lot recently because of the terrible tragedy in Utah where six miners are presumed dead in a mine collapse and at least three more have been killed trying to rescue them. Another kind of mining made today’s news. It’s called mountaintop removal and it is the most common mining in West Virginia and Appalachia generally. It is just what the name implies. They remove the top of a mountain to expose the coal vein. In addition to destroying the trees and vegetation there is another big problem with this technique — where does the mountain top end up? The answer is in the valley, where the streams and rivers run. With an entire mountaintop in the river the river stops, or gets diverted. It is a big mess.

The news today is that the people in the Bush administration that regulate this industry — who happen to have been industry lobbyists before they joined the administration, surprise surprise — just announced new “rules” that basically interpret a law saying you can’t mine near the streams and rivers to mean that you can dump all your waste in streams and rivers. Obvious isn’t it. (And they say China is being Orwellian with language as they prepare for the Olympics.) You can read about it more in today’s New York Times.

But this is all very abstract and if you were an organization trying to mobilize people against this practice, the most powerful weapon is video. Show people what “mountaintop removal” really is and they will be shocked and surprised that we are allowing corporate profits to decimate whole areas of the country. The folks at I Love Mountains.Org have done just that. Their video was a runner up in the See3 - NTEN video contest this year. Their video is too long, and there are other production quality issues with it, but they don’t really matter. Just look and see what it means to SHOW people something versus just telling them about it. How are you showing your issue?