Consultengh

Engagement and Interaction

2012-07-24

also, how to do media so it runs on slow internet? engagement and interaction aren't just for NA... do all of these options for new media require a fast internet connection? what about mobile interaction? Do I need to focus my audience more than that? interaction, engagement What kind of interaction? What does that mean? How do you interact with a book?Can you interact better with different types of media? http://www.i-docs.fr/ "Interactivity is the way through which an audience relates to a content. In order for the audience to interact with that content, creators need to build an incentive, a way to attract the visitor into the story they have created." One reason why interaction is so hard to define is because the definitions are constantly changing. This article discusses the definition of interaction, looking at the differences between systems and inputs/outputs. Very scientific and analytical. How can I relate this to what kind of interaction my audience wants to have? I would love to have a deeper discussion about this article and the theories behind it - any chance of a roundtable sometime? From http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-interaction.html "All man-made objects offer the possibility for interaction." "Interaction is a key aspect of function, and function is a key aspect of design." "Today much of computer-human interaction is characterized by a learning system interacting with a simple linear process. You (the learning system) signal your computer (the simple linear process); it responds; you react. After signaling the computer enough times, you develop a model of how it works. You learn the system. But it does not learn you. We are likely to look back on this form of interaction as quite limited." Engagement: http://workbookproject.com/culturehacker/2010/08/05/a-content-strategy-for-audience-engagement/ "When audiences connect well to your content, they go through three stages of engagement: Discovery, Experience and Exploration as shown in below. The key to a successful content strategy is understanding (a) that there are these stages of engagement (b) what content is required for each stage and (c) what the goals are for each stage. Failure to appreciate or acknowledge that there are these stages of engagement typically results in audiences being expected to do too much work too soon � which most won�t do � and hence the content fails at the Discovery stage and the real experience never begins. " In order to get to the highest level of engagement - contributing to the canon - the audience must be lured with every level of interaction. The first, sniffing it out: is it familiar? Evolution tells us that familiar is safe and good. Repeating past satisfying experiences is a successful strategy for entertainment. Needs to be reassured that your content is worth their time and attention. Reduce percieved risk by communicating values that audience values for this particular project or content. Is it familiar? Will I like it? (more specific, personal question) "The teaser has convinced the audience your project is something they might like, but what can you tell them to reassure them it�s worth their additional time and (possibly) money?" The first barrier to entry is just getting the audience to know that your content is out there, and that can be fixed by SEO, recommendation, social media etc - but the first thing you want the audience to see is the teaser (is it familiar?) "Stated simply, buyers rarely make decisions not to purchase based on price � it�s all those other barriers that have to be overcome first: value, suitability, risk, convenience, context and so on." I'm in. Seeing it for what the content is. "It�s only when the audience touches the target content that it can see it for what it is. If your Discovery content has done its job then the audience� expectations will be met or exceeded. But if you have deceived or misled them then they�ll be disappointed." The second barrier is willing engagement after they've seen the content. Make this barrier easy to cross- signpost the content they are supposed to research further. Am I alone? I want more. I want to help. The audience now listens for affirmation, asking questions both to themselves and to others. Good content stimulates debate. "Content in this Exploration category is intended to reward and empower the advocate and to educate: it provides additional understanding and value to the target content. In this regard it may be acceptable to have �expositional� content such as character biographies, backstories and so on." "Collaboration is not that same as participation. Participation might be passive (reading additional content and exploring the world) or active � voting, sharing, commenting, discussing, Tweeting and so on. Collaboration is adding to the storyworld: writing fan fiction, creating videos or illustrations. It�s providing new content that you, as author, are free to embrace or reject. Between participation and collaboration is tollgate 4 � it�s a barrier created by the audience� perceived lack of time and skills, fear of ridicule and lack of information about how to contribute to the world. You can lower this barrier by providing tools, methods, encouragement and a supportive environment." "The more complex the world, the more handholding you need to do." "TDN: What surprised you? RYAN: I think how willing a lot of the subjects were to really share their stories. A lot of them were really excited to be part of the project. I think sometimes groups producing these things are hesitant to feature outsiders, or even just the general public. But for a lot of nonprofits, the general public is often their target audience, so including them and having them tell their stories rather than trying to impose the organizational view on others is important. And I my case, it was actually easier than I thought it would be. It took a lot of time and research to find my subjects, but they were just really great to work with, every single one. And I think that comes from the fact that people have a desire to tell their stories, to have their voices heard." Hi, I'm Lindsey Engh. This blog is dedicated to my musings over the role that communications in nonprofits can help change the world. The changing landscape of social media and communications, and how nonprofits can better This blog is dedicated to my reinterpretations of how nonprofits and social enterprises can use social media and new media to make their audiences truly care about the mission.

11 College Campuses with Major Occupy Movements

2011-12-12

**This guest post by Kaitlyn Cole originally appeared on the Online Universities blog.

Occupy Wall Street has been going on for months now, and although reactions to the movement are mixed, there are protest locations numbering somewhere near 1,000. Within that number are several college campuses that boast major Occupy movements, whether there�s a presence on campus, or simply very active students involved in their local Occupy chapter. There�s even an Occupy Colleges movement, formed to protest college tuition hikes amid staggering student loan debt. Like Occupy Wall Street, Occupy movements on college campuses have been met with mixed reactions, some finding great support in university administration, and others fighting an uphill battle. Read on, and we�ll take a look at the beliefs, incidents, and status of 11 college Occupy movements going on today.

1. Occupy Duke: On the Duke University campus, students are getting involved in social activism. And although there is a local Occupy movement, Occupy Durham, students at Duke have decided to strike out on their own, citing issues with the Occupy Durham group, as well as a need to focus on problems within the university. Occupy Duke has created a peaceful camp on campus, offering a space to "create a platform for discussion." Occupy Duke member Anastasia Karklina shares, "A lot of students here are from different economic backgrounds, and this is a self expression, a way to protest and express the way you�re discontent with the way things are, so I don�t see it as occupying yourself or occupying a privileged institution." Faculty on campus at Duke have been primarily supportive, and have formed a group, calling themselves "Faculty in Solidarity." Duke administrators have permitted an indefinite campout, and the dean of students has praised the movement�s high level of commitment. Occupy Duke tries to have at least one faculty or staff member present at all times, and Occupy Duke member Maria Arias indicated that having a faculty member on hand helps students to better understand the arguments being made by Occupy Duke and the larger Occupy movement. "It�s a good cause, well worth supporting," Professor of Literature Kenneth Surin said.

2. UC Berkeley: UC Berkeley�s Occupy camp has made the news recently, with an incident between protesters and police on Nov. 9. Berkeley�s Occupy demonstrators attempted to establish an encampment on campus, but it was dismantled, and protesters were pulled off the steps of the administration building, some with the use of batons. Previously, the university administration indicated that protesters could stay around the clock for a week, provided that the camp didn�t have any signs of people living there, such as tents and stoves. The protesters did not comply, and set up an Occupy Cal tent site. The resulting incident that followed as police attempted to dismantle the site has sparked a debate over whether the police reaction was acceptable, or went too far. Still, the incident and fervor that has been sparked only goes to show that Berkeley has a strong Occupy movement that is not going away any time soon.

3. Seattle Central Community College: One might expect major protest movements to be centered on large universities, but in Seattle, a small community college is providing nighttime shelter to the city�s Occupy protesters, which now number somewhere between 100 and 200 overnight. The protesters, who have been through weeks of tension with Seattle�s city hall and police, agreed to move their tents to Seattle Central Community College, spending their nights on campus and days at protests occurring at Westlake Park. The group has promised not to interfere with academic activities, but the college has already decided they�d like the movement to leave. The college estimates that the demonstration is costing $20,000 a week, with reports of vandalism, and a need for additional security and cleaning crews. Demonstrators say they have no plans to move, while college administrators are researching legal ways to remove them from campus. Still, some in the college are finding a way to make use of the Occupy presence, with some professors hosting classes right in the camp. Professors offered their knowledge and resources, teaching protesters how to get their message across with history lessons, Martin Luther King letters, and more.

4. Boston University: Students from Boston University have been an active part of the Occupy Boston movement. They typically get involved by meeting on campus at Marsh Plaza, and then marching together to join other protesters. On Nov. 8, about 30 students also set up their own overnight encampment at Marsh Plaza as a contingent of Occupy Boston, right next to the statue of Martin Luther King. They vacated the space the following morning, after police officials and the dean of students asked them to leave, citing the lack of a proper permit for protesting in the space. This is not the first bit of trouble BU students have run into with Occupy Boston. In mid-October, about a half dozen BU students were among the 141 Occupy Boston protesters arrested in a police confrontation. Originally, 100 students had marched to join the protest, and the college�s BU Occupies Boston page has more than 500 members.

5. Auburn University: In early October, Occupy Wall Street found its way to Auburn University, as supporters began gathering at Ross Square on campus. The group has had good support even from the beginning, with over 200 people liking the Occupy Auburn Facebook page within its first week of existence, and by mid-October reaching more than 500 people. The group has spent time handing out leaflets at game days, discussing the movement, and gaining interest. The Occupy Auburn movement has been quick to point out that they don�t intend to be freeloaders, rather, they want to spread the wealth for others. On Oct. 28, the group gathered at Toomer�s Corner, displaying signs that shared phrases like, "I have a job and I Occupy Auburn." Feeling misunderstood, the group wants everyone to know that they�re not looking for a handout, but a level playing field. They�ve encouraged others to engage in local banking and shopping to help discourage corporate greed and bailouts.

6. Brown University: Beginning in early October, Occupy College Hill has been a presence on the Main Green at Brown University. Initially, the group boasted about 60, and that number has held strong. One of the larger events held by the Brown University group was One Night Stand, in which Occupy College Hill and nearby Occupy Providence participants camped out the night before Brown University�s semi-annual meeting of the Corporation. The next morning, they confronted members of the Corporation, and shared discussions about grievances aimed at improving the university through teach-ins. Specifically, Occupy College Hill shared that they are concerned at the university�s lack of support for the Providence community, by not paying property taxes even though the university can afford to do so. Some of the university�s staff and faculty came out to show their support, including the chancellor, dean of the faculty, and associate dean for student life.

7. University of New Mexico: The (Un)Occupy Albuquerque group at the University of New Mexico has already had lots of run-ins in its short life. In late October, the group had several incidents with authorities, including the arrest of a man threatening protesters with a knife, and paramedics called to the area to treat someone who had collapsed, and subsequently died. The university responded by citing a difficulty to determine who exactly was a part of the (Un)Occupy protest. (Un)Occupy Albuquerque held a funeral procession for the First Amendment, citing an apparent violation of their constitutional rights by UNM. The ACLU came to the group�s rescue, and they were issued a new permit after a new agreement was facilitated. In early November, UMN hosted an Occupy Wall Streed/Unoccupy Albuquerque teach-in, focusing on the issues underlying the Occupy Wall Street movement with speakers including UNM faculty, deans, students, community activists, and even New Mexico Senator Tim Keller.

8. Oklahoma State University: At its inception, Occupy OSU identified itself as mainly a "group of people who are not afraid to go to jail," citing the very real possibility of arrest as a protester in the Occupy movement. But they haven�t let that possibility keep them quiet, with plenty of events that have already happened, and more planned with the intent to air their disagreements about what�s going on at Wall Street. In late October, Occupy OSU joined the Occupy Your Capitol effort, staging a demonstration at the Oklahoma City capitol building. The group has focused its efforts on being a part of larger movements within the state, joining up with Occupy OKC and offering help in the form of supplies and lending their numbers to larger demonstrations. OSU�s occupation plans to take their cause to the Payne County Courthouse in Stillwater to make their movement even more prominently known in Oklahoma.

9. Humboldt State: Occupy Humboldt has found lots of support on campus, with several weeks of occupation at HSU on the Humboldt State Quad, and perhaps most interestingly, formal support from the Associated Students of Humboldt State University. On Oct. 17, a resolution from the Associated Students expressed support for the presence of Occupy Humboldt on campus, recognizing the constitutional rights of the occupiers, and calling on campus administration to allow occupiers to sleep and camp at the site. The camp on the HSU Quad has several tents, each with a purpose, including a library, first aid station, and sleeping quarters. The university has seemed to remain benign, and as of late October, reported seeing no need to confront participants or force them away. In fact, one HSU student and Occupy Humboldt organizer reports that the police have even been supportive.

10. Occupy UCLA: On Nov. 9, Occupy UCLA made a huge stir when 11 students sat at the middle of Wilshire Boulevard, shutting down the street for two and a half hours. The students were arrested, but all were bailed out. In all, 200 protesters were there to make their voices heard. These particular students were protesting as part of ReFund California, protesting tuition hikes and service cuts at public universities in California. Previously, Occupy UCLA had pitched tents on campus at Bruin Plaza, but the campout was short-lived due to missing permits. Interestingly enough, the campus has also been home to another Occupy movement, Occupy UCLA Athletics, a group that has voiced its disenchantment with the UCLA football program.

11. Occupy ISU: At Iowa State University, more than 200 people turned out to protest as part of the Occupy movement. The group has plans to make a difference at the state level, with the hope that a smaller movement can have a larger impact if applied at the right level. The Occupy ISU students made their voices heard by walking out of classes together and brandishing signs in solidarity, moving from the campus out onto the community streets. The students highlighted problems with school debt, and inability to find jobs after graduation, with one protester in particular wearing a box that shared, "My Student Debt is Boxing Me In." Other students shared their problems, highlighting the plight of so many: working multiple jobs with a full course load and struggling to pay tuition and rent. The group has more events planned, and has worked together with the local Occupy Ames group.

Want more #occupywallst posts? Here's one.

Making the Case for Financial Diversity

2011-10-31

Right this very second, Occupy Wall Street protesters are braving the first snow in New York because of a belief that banks have become too big for the people's good. While it's true that big banks across the major world markets have severely and negatively altered the global economy because of risky practices, there is such a thing as too little bank intervention. Most people in the US are tired of the way that big banks manifest themselves into our everyday lives, but for those that have no other option, banks provide a necessary utility that, in their absence, people feel helpless and tied - the same as those feel in Zuccotti Park. Vinolia's story below illustrates the need for banking and financial options in order for people living without to be granted the same opportunity for success and improvement as those living with a multitude of financial options.

Vinolia's Story

Vinolia Atatsi's leopard-print headscarf, tied neatly around her head, quietly hides the anxiety that she feels during her first cooperative meeting with Lumana, the microfinance organization she recently joined, located in her hometown of Atorkor, Ghana. Two weeks after receiving her first loan with Lumana, Vinolia, a porridge seller by trade, woke up to flames licking the sides of her mud-and-palm-leaf hut, destroying absolutely everything she had worked so hard to achieve. Her clothes, her cooking pot, family photos, notes, porridge ingredients, the palm-leaf roof, her entire life savings, and her Lumana loan were all gone, in the blink of an eye.

A fire is always a tragedy, no matter where in the world. However, in Vinolia's small village of Atorkor, little factors add up to make this fire a bigger tragedy than most. Unlike most families who live in the West, Vinolia hides her savings underneath her mattress, making her money more vulnerable to theft and natural disaster than if it were kept safely locked away in a bank. This is because Vinolia's local bank - the Anlo Rural Bank - doesn't offer interest rates that match the increasing rate of inflation in Ghana, meaning that Vinolia would likely lose money if she kept her hard-earned money in a Rural Bank savings account. So now, because Vinolia did not have the option of reliable savings, her savings have been destroyed.

Another reason makes this fire a deep-seated tragedy: although Vinolia's home cost around 1,200 cedi (USD$775) to build - more money that Vinolia has seen collectively in her lifetime - her home is not considered insurable by Ghanaian standards, as it is made of palm leaves, mud, and cement. This means that when Vinolia woke up to flames, she watched her house burn down knowing that there would be no settlement to collect. She was on her own.

The Need for Financial Diversity...

Since Vinolia's local government structure has failed her, she now has lost everything, leaving her with only one other option � her microfinance loan. For most Atorkor residents, Lumana's financial products fill an important gap in the local economy: another, more beneficial financial option for Rural Bank patrons. In an area where there is little to no quality - or even acceptable - options, Lumana represents a chance for residents to make choices about the type of loan or savings account that fits their needs best. Can you imagine if you walked into a bank needing a student loan, but received the only option the bank offered - a car loan - instead? This is the reality for most students in Ghana, who find it impossible to receive a loan that will allow them to go to school.

It's important to provide financial products that customers can use to support their lives and their businesses. If customers can't support their livelihoods, then their banks have failed them, and more diversity in the financial marketplace is paramount to establishing a local economy that runs smoothly day after day and provides opportunities to local people. Not only does financial diversity create a more robust local economy, but it also creates more healthy competition, which leads to better customer service.

... With Customer Service

No matter how evil big banks are behind closed doors, every time I walk into any bank in the US, I am greeted with a courteous hello and customer service that sometimes tiptoes into �extremely annoying� territory, with bank managers running up to explain how a simple deposit works. Yet, yesterday I walked into my local Ghanaian Rural Bank to make a simple withdrawal that should have taken five minutes, but didn't walk out, frustrated and late, until an hour later. Bank bureaucracy and dismissive employees make every trip to the bank a struggle, leaving long lines and despairing customers in it's wake. The worst part? This particular Rural Bank has just won an award for being the best Rural Bank in all of Ghana. I shudder to imagine what the other Rural Banks must look like.

One doesn't realize how important customer service is until you don't have it. Every Lumana microfinance client wants to save for their children's education or an important asset for their business, as well as make financial choices that reflect their own interests or personal situation. However, the lack of flexibility in most financial products in their vicinity have made it impossible to tailor a loan to their lifestyle, and banks do not allow them to do so. This rigid outlook to banking is instantly felt when one walks through the doors to a Rural Bank all over Ghana - do you really think that locals, if given the choice, would actually choose to bank with such an institution? It's just that they have no other choice.

We live in a world that revolves around our economy, where we are no longer limited to basic human necessities such as food and water. Now, financial products, and the flexibility of those financial products, make it possible for the poor to receive an education, create a business, and lift themselves out of an oppressive lifestyle. Taking out a loan is not a catch-all for poverty, just like taking out a student loan in the US is not a ticket out of the projects. However, taking out a small loan - for anyone in the world - is a beginning to creating opportunities outside of the bounds of hand-to-mouth living. This is why financial diversity is important, and why we need to continue striving to create economies and marketplaces that work for the local community.

Now, the real question: how can we create a banking sector that is a cross between Ghana and the US, to truly serve the global economy?

Still interested? More posts on my experiences with microfinance in Ghana can be found here.

How to Use the Twitter #fail Hashtag, Part II

2011-10-18

**Part I of this post can be found here.

We all know that big corporations with a lot of money often end up skimping in the customer service department: automated answering machines, unlisted phone numbers, long wait times, and archaic ways of getting in touch. However, since the rise of social media, more and more companies are finding that these new tools, especially Twitter, allow consumers unlimited methods to share reactions, opinions, and recommendations on certain products or services, either positive or negative. Therefore, companies are finding that listening to certain hashtags and personal handles are cheap and easy ways to appease angry customers fast - before the noise starts to spread.

By strategically using these tools, you'll be able to raise your voice above the clutter and get your way in record time, even from the biggest of customer-eating corporations. Hence, I give you Exhibits A & B: Bank of America and Mailchimp as examples for your own customer service needs.

Exhibit A: Bank of America

Bank of America isn't doing so well. After new federal regulations set limits on debit card swipe fees, big banks are expecting an estimated $6.6 billion a year in lost revenue. For banks, this means it's time to get creative: Bank of America recently announced they will be charging debit card users $5 per month, starting early 2012. Personally, I'm planning on switching all of my banking over to Ally come January, but since I'm currently in Ghana, having an international bank that partners with Barclays is helpful for the time being.

I logged online last week to check if a transfer went through, only to see an $8.95 fee glaring straight at me from my balance sheet. **Note: Let me also be perfectly clear - this is not the first time I have logged onto my Bank of America online banking to find incorrect, exorbitant, or confusing fees. Usually, all it takes is a polite yet firm phone call to customer service to remove it. Since I wasn't interested in wasting money on a phone call to customer service from Ghana, I went straight to my Cotweet panel.

This was the first message I sent. Notice the #occupywallst and #bofa hashtags? Since the protests down in Liberty Square are quickly gaining media traction and Bank of America is one of the targets, popular hashtags like these are sure to garner more attention than by simply using the Bank of America Twitter handle.

Their reply, 15 minutes later.

Since I'm in Ghana, I gave it to them straight. Call me here and suck up the cost!

It turned out that the cost was legitimate, as a checking account maintenance fee occurs without a direct deposit to the account every month. However, that doesn't mean I'm still going to pay it. The fee was removed as a courtesy, and since I'll be canceling my Bank of America accounts in the very near future, I will no longer have to deal with excessive fees to a large and unruly corporation.

Exhibit B: Mailchimp

My significant other runs an art curation website called Art Sumo, which relies heavily on email marketing. Every day, his customer base receives a lovely and exotic painting of the day directly to their inbox, courtesy of email marketing service Mailchimp. Since his business model depends on developing world artwork, he is currently hanging in Ghana procuring paintings from small artists all over the country. Even though he is abroad, to his customers, it's still business as usual; a painting is still expected by email everyday.

However, when my boyfriend logged onto his Mailchimp account only to find the site blocked from his IP address, he took matters into his own hands with social media.

His first Twitter message to Mailchimp.

I decided to join the party, too, for some extra oomph.

The reply, a couple of hours later.

Although Mailchimp's first email wasn't all that helpful, the problem was quickly remedied with a direct link to someone on their support team. It turns out that Ghana is a blocked country on their list, and so they first asked us to change our network. Um, that isn't possible, Naysawn told them. After a few email exchanges, Mailchimp did the unthinkable:

They unblocked Ghana.

The Moral

Both of these customer service debacles could have ended with very different stories - like hours spent on hold listening to bad opera - but instead, were solved within minutes of logging onto Twitter. Social media allows customers to voice their opinion, so make sure you leverage your input! So far, I've had the best experience with a good-humored tweet (so your tweets are not taken as the enraged ravings of a lunatic) and a strategically placed #fail hashtag, other popular hashtag (i.e. #occupywallst) or company Twitter handle.

Want more examples? Part I of this post can be found here.

Occupy Wall Street from Africa

2011-10-11

Logging onto Facebook has turned into such a surreal experience. As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows across America, my news feed has been overcome by links, videos, articles, and photos from friends all across the nation expressing their satisfaction and voicing their guesses as to what will happen next in Liberty Square. Even from Africa, the movement can't be ignored.

I'm not overtly political, and I especially don't care to participate in American politics, because I feel as though the time I invest in order to understand the complexity of the system does not lend itself to the most benefit. In today's world, I think the most actionable way to create change in the world is through the private sector. However, this movement is bigger than American politics. It's essentially the much larger story of how our free market economy has failed us and millions of people around the world, and how our markets no longer serve the people's common interests. When I read or listen to the voices of the Occupy Wall Street protest, my thoughts tend to go towards one of two ideas: the internet's role and the banking sector as a whole.

The Internet

First of all, I continually marvel at the extent that the internet has penetrated my life; so much so that I, an ex-pat American who feels little faith and dedication to the American government, can receive real-time updates to a movement happening all across the country so that I stay informed and most importantly, identify with my fellow peers halfway around the world. Sure, while I'm not able to watch inspirational videos such as this one, this, or this one because of a slow and expensive internet connection, reading the transcript of the Occupy Wall Street movement's requests still brought a tear to my eye. I'm not absurdly sensitive either - it's just that it's been so long since I've felt faith in my country, and it feels good to see the change that the world needs originate in part on my home turf.

Banking

Secondly, as I write this post from the office of a microfinance institution in Ghana, I wonder about the future of banking in the world's economy. For example: in Ghana, most people have very meager choices when it comes to banking, and financial diversity is a concept that doesn't exist. If you were to bring your next paycheck to a bank in Ghana, you would have one of two choices:

Throw it into a savings account that would charge exorbitant fees for withdrawal with as low as a 1% interest rate, or;
Put it into a current account that would only be accessible by your physical presence at the bank, causing many people to travel hours to simple withdraw their own money.

As Ghana's inflation rate continues to jump, for most people it's better to simply live paycheck to paycheck or stuff their money under a mattress, rather than leaving money in an institution far from home, where the value in a savings account would slowly but surely drop.

It's obvious to me that banking is an irreplaceable necessity - money makes the world go round, and pouring money into places that really need it through investments and transactions is the single most important thing we can do for poverty alleviation. Even in the US, where the financial sector makes up a large amount of the GDP, it's important to realize that all banking is not inherently evil. While I agree with many of the Occupy Wall Street demands and sentiments, I still wonder what will fill the hole in our economy left by investment banking and an incredibly diverse financial sector. Does banking need to disappear all together in order to create a fair economy, or do government regulations need to be instated to better protect the American people? Will our democracy allow for a more - insert American curse word (i.e. socialist) - economy?

Photos courtesy of Jessica Teore.

If Occupy Wall Street is all about creating a more fair and just economy, I think the first step is better financial education. For example: in Ghana, we require first-time clients to attend a three-day business course that teaches them simple cost-benefit projections, goal-setting, and other topics that are relative to their businesses and skill-levels. Likewise, those taking out loans or other financial products in the States should be able to give a clear reason and understanding for taking out the loan, instead of using their own capital. If more Americans were educated about sub-prime mortgages, I wonder if some parts of the financial crisis could have been prevented.

I'm actually in the middle of reading Too Big to Fail, by Andrew Ross Sorkin**, right now, and it's the first time I've actually understood what even happened during the financial crisis. While I remain hopelessly confused by derivative trading and valuation (I'm not alone - it seems that even Alan Greenspan can't really understand how some derivatives were being valued!), I find it alarming that most Americans do not understand how the financial crisis came to be. I think that most Americans feel above learning about their different financial options - perhaps a skill set that seemingly doesn't need to touched until 401ks and Roth IRAs - but in reality, an individual's finances should be a required, government-sanctioned part of public education. This includes readable, explicit, unambiguous transparency regarding regulations, lawmakers, and other factors that directly affect the US economy. In short, Americans should not be left in the dark again.

Where are you in the world right now, and do you agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement? What can this movement do to create a more fair and sustainable marketplace?

**Note: This book is a literary masterpiece. After reaching out to every expert, watching every bias documentary, and reading every op-ed, I still didn't understand what had actually happened until I started reading this.

A Ghanaian Breakfast

2011-10-04

There's nothing better than brunch. When I lived in Seattle, I even started a brunch review blog with my significant other as a devilish plot to sneak away free breakfasts ("Hello? Yes, I'm from SeattleBrunchReview.com and we're coming to review your brunch today... can you please set aside two of your best dishes for free?"), but quickly became a delightful reason to wake up on Sunday mornings and go to 'work'. While the blog still exists, our entries have petered out as we move on to other things - but, let's be honest, not as important as brunch!

I haven't had much reason to talk about breakfast since I've been in Ghana, preferring instead to focus on arguably more significant topics like microfinance and internet in Africa, but this weekend's spread deserved its own post. My sister, brunch partner, and I stopped by Big Milly's Backyard in Kokrobite for a relaxing two days of sunning on the beach, playing in the waves, reading in hammocks, exploring the town, and of course, munching on Ghana's finest breakfast.

The Breakfast

Even though lots of quality coffee comes from Africa, it's hard to find a good cup in our little town. Luckily, a full french press with soy cream and sugar housed in delicate ceramic mugs instantly washed away any coffee cravings I had felt during my time in Ghana.

When the weather is hot, the best breakfast is light and fruity. Papaya, guava, oranges, bananas, and pineapple graced our fruit plate, and the cinnamon toast made with homemade bread was the right touch of sweet.

My muesli came with groundnuts, sultanas, moringa seeds, bananas and warm milk & honey, such a treat as cereal and dairy are scarce - or imported, and quite expensive.

Brunch in Ghana may just beat any other; sitting in wicker chairs, twisting our feet in the sand, sipping on coffee and watching the sunrise is the best way I can think to start my day.

For those that do love brunch as much as me, I promise to bring the blog back in full swing as soon as I'm back stateside. Keep a look out for guest posts on this blog, too!

Like this post? Check out more Travel posts here.

Why the New Facebook Will Fail in Africa

2011-09-27

Facebook announced several hefty changes this week at their annual F8 conference in San Francisco, changes that will make the old Facebook platform nearly obsolete in functionality.

If we can gather anything from Mark Zuckerberg's rather confusing keynote address at the conference, it's that Facebook is trying to change the way that we view online social sharing, by creating a Facebook utopia where every action, word, or application is documented and shared with our friends and the rest of the online universe.

From this year's F8 livestream, it's also obvious to see that Facebook is headed mainstream. However, even as Facebook reports its 600 millionth user, growth rates in the US and parts of Europe are slowing and growing stagnant, leading many to believe that Facebook growth in these developed countries has reached its saturation point. As the top ten countries with number of Facebook accounts quickly reaches into developing countries, it's an interesting question to ask: who, in fact, is Facebook's intended audience?

Facebook in the Developing World

In top Facebook countries such as India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Mexico, the Facebook community continues to grow in spite of the lack of computer penetration and less-than-ideal internet speeds, served instead by internet caf�s and Echo mobile connections. Even though Facebook's new announcements are directed towards their users in the first world (try loading Timeline on a 50K connection speed!), that's not to say that Facebook doesn't innovate for the developing world: most users in the third world still use a low-bandwidth version of Facebook called Facebook Lite, and Facebook has also recently released a free mobile site called Facebook Zero; both platforms guard against slow internet connectivity problems common in the developing world.

Facebook in Africa

In Africa, where the number of languages rivals the number of people, Facebook is universal. To many Ghanaians, Facebook is the internet - Google, Twitter, and other major internet platforms do not yet exist (at least, theoretically). However, the way that most Ghanaians use Facebook is different from those in the US. Ghanaians are incredibly private people, and so do not see Facebook as a space for optimum sharing, as Facebook does. Most Ghanaians that I've watched play with Facebook use the platform similarly to the way they use their simple, Nokia phone: to send and receive SMSs (Wall Posts and Messages), and to nonchalantly browse through the different options available to them. On the Ghanaian version of Facebook Lite, their options are limited, consisting of their News Feed, Inbox, Groups, and Notifications. With the number of investments the government is pressing, Ghana is expected to become the IT hub for West Africa in coming years. Young people everywhere are realizing the value in computers, but still, the culture does not permit the kind of open, complex social sharing that Facebook is currently soliciting.

How Can Facebook Expand to Africa?

Africa is the new technology frontier, but in order to truly saturate an open market, Facebook needs to answer some important questions. What infrastructure does Facebook plan to put in place in order to push their new platform in Africa? How do Timeline and other new applications make sense without high-speed, broadband internet? What is the prototype of the typical user of the new Facebook, and how far do most technology-poor Africans fall from that prototype? How can Facebook bolster technology education in Africa in order to market their own product?

While I commend Facebook for their innovation and vision, in the developing world, their new model just doesn't make sense.

For more on technology in the developing world, check this out.

Librarians in a Digital Age

2011-09-13

What I Thought Librarians Did

To be honest, I never really knew what a librarian actually did. When I was a child and a voracious reader, my mother took me to the library every chance she had just to satisfy my bottomless appetite for books - the gas to and from our house must have been cheaper than constantly stocking our own shelves with shiny new covers. I loved the library: the smell of used books, the crinkly covers, the unstoppable power I felt by owning my own library card, the dark corners where I could hide all day, surrounded by piles of books. When catalog systems were first introduced in my library, I scorned the idea of using the library as a quick-stop; I was one who enjoyed spending hours at the library, always wanting to give each book it's rightful time and thought to guess at the plot, admire the binding, and read the first couple of pages to see if it was a keeper.

As a child, librarians were never very helpful. Either they were shushing me, eyeing me witheringly as I checked out my second maximum amount of books for the month, or re-shelving novels that, in my excitement, I had accidentally put back in the wrong location (to be fair, I now realize that children and books don't always mix - hence the board-back books of my teething youth!). Librarians always seemed to be either re-shelving or checking books out; even when I ventured to ask a librarian of the whereabouts of a specific book, the first place they went to was the computer, to check the catalog. As I grew up, I found myself thinking: why don't libraries employ only housekeepers and computers? Maybe librarians were just another leftover habit from an older age - like how some writers still use typewriters in the face of the newest Word processors.

One can imagine my surprise then, while flipping through my college course catalog, to find that Library Science is actually a degree (the required courses were Shelving Books Without Bending the Cover and How to Politely yet Sternly Escort Small Children to the Exit, I joked to myself)! My feelings on librarians didn't really change until I was in the midst of Phonology 201, which required a one-day seminar on finding information in scientific databases, taught by... a librarian. As I sat in the dark room, trying to understand what URL to type in order to find data on Icelandic geminates for my final paper, the realization dawned on me. Perhaps librarians exist not to shelve books or scold naughty children, but - to help others access information.

What Librarians Should Do

If this is true, then the role of the librarian was first created in order to help the common public access books which couldn't be accessed outside of the library. However, if the role of the librarian is to help the public access information, then how is this role changing as books are becoming more and more obsolete? Since that first seminar in my university library, I have realized more and more that since most information is now housed online, librarians need to become experts in helping the public find, save, and share information for any particular subject or purpose. The new librarian must understand how to search scientific databases, how to give lessons on current technology and systems, and how to turn children and adults into data sharks.

While working in Ghana, I've realized the need for a librarian more than ever. Information is so difficult to come by - the lack of books and libraries are only shadowed by the lack of computers and the internet. Even children understand the importance of WWW, but sometimes angrily, for the most part enduring quietly, don't have access.

Meet Myra: The New Librarian

I recently met the librarian for the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana, an American named Myra Michele Brown from Washington, DC, who was just completing a three-year tour of West Africa. Her chosen title was Information Resource Officer: Myra was in Ghana to bring information into the hands of those who craved it. Myra has created a computer lab at the US Embassy, which is open and accessible to everyone - especially children. During her workshops, which she took on the road throughout West Africa, Myra taught children and young adults how to use Google, Wikipedia, and other favorite websites used for discovering information. Most importantly, however, Myra taught her students how to save information, through the use of social bookmarking tools like Delicious, Digg, or Stumble Upon. Counting upon the inaccessibility and unreliability of most African computers, Myra knew it was paramount for her students to learn how to save information once they had found it, since once their internet time ran out or the electricity switched off, their information was (poof!) gone.

Myra is a new breed of librarian, as someone who recognizes the potential of information and what information can bring to those who don't have it. Even for those of us lucky enough to be data-rich, us social media gurus and tech hounds, we still need systems for storing our information and locating new information, or else we run the risk of swimming in the same pool of water day after day. Libraries should become a place of discovery and collaboration - such as the US Embassy library in Accra, where children excitedly whisper their findings to one another as they browse that massive, omnipotent keeper of information, the web. Librarians have always acted as guides, and so they should into the next age of information: technology and the internet.

As Seth Godin says, for the right librarian [or Information Resource Officer], this is the chance of a lifetime. However, they should choose their titles accordingly.

Group vs. Individual Lending in Microfinance

2011-09-08

**This post originally appeared on the Lumana blog.

Every Sunday, Lumana staff go to Dzita to do repayment meetings. Because of the destroyed road, it�s a huge chunk out of the client�s busy work day to hike down to the Lumana office in Atorkor - about an hour's journey. Since Lumana is all about customer service, the staff go directly to them. Long drive aside, it�s an enjoyable way to spend the day; the staff camp out in the local school right on the beach, read books or sip Orange Fantas while they wait for clients to stop in. For a second, our microfinance lives seem almost like a Corona commercial� until Aloryida dropped in.

Aloryida is a part of the Milenorvisi Dzita co-operative, which has recently fallen behind with their loan re-payments. When the staff asked for an explanation as to why she was the only one from her co-operative present, she angrily explained that her entire co-operative � women who had hand-picked each other to be a part of the same group � had become annoyed with her constant badgering about repayment and meeting obligations, and subsequently turned their backs on her. Now, she spat out, her business was suffering as a result and she feared that she was the recipient of black magic, or �juju.� This seemed to be the only reason in her mind that her luck could have turned so fast.

Eric, Lumana's loan officer, calmly reassured her that he would visit the rest of the co-operative and remedy the situation, having dealt with similar circumstances in the past. While I�m confident that the Milenorvisi co-operative group will get back on track, it�s important to note just how important these social ties are, and how quickly co-operatives can unravel because of them.

Ever since Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, microfinance has been largely associated with group lending, or co-operatives, primarily because of the popularity and proven worth of the Grameen Foundation group lending model. Grameen initially popularized this model because of the benefit of community risk management; in other words, group liability.

In the financial loan world, you hear a lot about liability. If I were to take out an auto loan in the US, most banks would want a record of some kind of collateral, in case I couldn�t repay the loan. With the borrowers that most microfinance organizations work with, however, it would be futile to try and record collateral for each client, because they just don�t have any. Even if a client is doing relatively well in terms of cash flow, at any given time their money could be spread across many different avenues of savings, expenditures, or loans of their own. Most of Lumana's clients don�t have spare change lying around. Portfolios of the Poor is a great account of how poor people use and keep their money, if you're interested in learning more.

Therefore, group lending comes with the theory that group collateral aids against liability. As most co-operatives are self-chosen, they sign up for a loan knowing that if one person in their group can�t or chooses not to repay, the rest of the group must cover that one person�s debt. This is a big risk for a poor group of people, no matter how small the amount is. In short, group lending creates strong incentives for group members to monitor each other, in order to make each of their peers succeed in their loan repayment.

The comparative findings for group versus individual lending are mixed, at best: in a report from Innovations for Poverty Action, a team of researchers intermeshed in the Philippines for three years found that group vs. individual lending had absolutely no effect on the borrower�s repayment rate. In yet another report from the University of Munich, researchers suggest that the only real distinction between offering group vs. individual microfinance loans lies in the way microfinance organizations approach their screening process since individual and group loans require a different degree of monitoring, as well as the environment in which the microfinance organization is situated.

Although Lumana, along with many other microfinance organizations, have seen great success with the co-operative model, social situations like the one that Lumana's staff experienced last Sunday are creating a shift in many microfinance organization�s lending approaches from group lending to individual lending. While the individual loan guards against social risks that could potentially throw an entire co-operative off balance, it also challenges microfinance organizations to rethink their model: what borrower incentives will be put into place to ensure the loan is repaid? Rethinking repayment incentives to protect against risk management often involve a closer look at the community in which they work.

*Curious about what else I'm doing in Ghana? Check out my other posts on microfinance here.

How-to: Storytelling in Photos

2011-09-06

It's easy for nonprofits to get caught up in the storytelling craze and reach over for the nearest multimedia tool - the Flip cam. Great for family vacations, but not so great for promoting your latest achievement to showcase to potential donors.

Video can be a wonderful asset for an organization, but if the money and resources aren't there, it's best to wait until they are - until it's possible to create something aesthetically pleasing and truly powerful that can be shown again and again. Besides, there's plenty of other media alternatives to turn to when a story needs to be told; like photofilms, a glamorized slideshow of still photography combined with music, text, or voiceover. In this post, I'll detail the tools needed to create this simple, and yet compelling, form of storytelling.

1. Create a Slideshow with Powerpoint

Create an empty Powerpoint presentation, and insert one photo per slide. The background of the slide should stay consistent throughout; for more vibrant photos, I find that black tends to make the colors 'pop' a bit more. For a four-minute video, 40-50 pictures will usually suffice for your photofilm. However, this depends on the length of time you choose to spend on each photo (which could vary according to your audio recording). Also, make sure you include a slide at the very end that credits the photographer, as well as any music that you used for your photofilm.

Tip: Use a photo-editing tool such as Photoshop, iPhoto, or Adobe Bridge to trim and perfect your photos, or to give each photo a cohesive tone and style.

2. Record your Audio

Mac users can choose to use GarageBand, and Mac and PC owners can use Wavepad, a free audio recording and editing software that users can download from their website. Both tools are easy to use for beginners, and Wavepad users can even benefit from short tutorials on their website.

For the actual recording, it's best to pick the quietest place possible - a carpeted room is usually best. For the best sound quality, you will need three pieces of equipment:

A recording device. An audio interface such as this USB interface is easy to connect with your computer, and will also be compatible with professional microphones.

A microphone. A microphone package such as this will allow for clear vocal recordings.

A standard microphone cable. Something like this to connect the two pieces together.

Don't worry about making mistakes - it's easy to cut out mistakes in the editing phase afterwards. If your speaker stumbles or pauses, continue recording the duration instead of stopping and starting again.

Tip: While you can use the built-in audio recorder on your computer, it's important to note that the sound quality will not be as clear. Even though the sound equipment listed above is an investment, it's much, much cheaper than quality video production. If you or your organization plan to do interviews or other storytelling in the future, I would highly advise investing in a good quality audio package.

StoryCorps also provides great content-side tips for interviewing for personal storytelling.

3. Edit and Enhance your Audio

When editing your audio, be sure to focus on:

Cutting out mistakes
Adding or reducing pauses where necessary
Reducing background noise and increasing speaker volume
Adding and syncing audio with background music
Fading audio and music in and out
Trimming the ends and deciding on the length

Both Garageband and Wavepad allow you to mix audio, overlapping the speaker's voice over music and fine-tuning the volume.

4. Sync Audio and Pictures

Now that your audio is finished, we'll go back to your Powerpoint slideshow. It's time to tell your story through photos by structuring your Powerpoint presentation based on your audio: it's easiest to do this in the Slide Sorter View on the bottom right. Key things to keep in mind during this phase:

Words and stories should guide images.
Add or delete photos based on the length of the audio.
Pauses should follow the end of a still.
Make sure that whenever a new theme, person, or object is introduced by the speaker, there's an image to go along with it.
Pay special attention to the beginning and end of your photofilm - what will the audience hear during the opening or closing credits?

Once you're finished matching your slideshow to audio, save your Powerpoint as pictures, an option located in the File menu under Save As Pictures. Powerpoint will then save your slideshow as a series of JPEG files to your desktop.

5. Plan Transitions with iMovie

Open the folder that Powerpoint created, and you should see all of your stills saved as JPEG files. Drag the contents of the folder to iMovie, and watch as your photos are automatically organized in the order you intended. Drag and drop your audio file into iMovie, and you've got a video! To plan transitions (the amount of time you want to stay on one still before moving to the next), click on the timer on the bottom right hand corner of each individual still and manually type in the amount of time before moving onto the next slide. You can also plan transition animation, add in text, crop photos, and add video adjustments such as exposure and vibrance, as well as make bulk commands such as transition time and photo cropping.

When you're positive that the audio is correctly in sync with your stills, you're ready to publish and share with your followers!

6. Upload to Youtube, Vimeo, or Export!

iMovie actually has options for uploading your photofilm directly to Youtube, Vimeo, or just exporting as a Quicktime file to your desktop. Depending on how you plan to use your photofilm, upload your video to Youtube (you'll need an account to do this), grab the embed code from the Share tab when it's online, customize the size, and paste the code onto your website, blog post, or newsletter, with a short explanation of why the photofilm was created and the story behind it.

Finished? Your photofilm may look a little something like this:

This photofilm was created for Lumana to highlight their programs and operations in Ghana, largely shaped through lessons learned from their clients.

The Digital Naturalist also provides three other examples of exquisite photofilm storytelling, as well as other tips for structuring your photofilm.

**Like this and want to learn more? Find my other posts on storytelling for nonprofits here.

The Twitter @Reply: What You Thought You Knew, But Didn't

2011-09-01

Don't be afraid to use the @Reply tag - in fact, use it as much as you can when promoting new content to targeted influencers. Just make sure you know how to use the @Reply tag first! This screencast will teach you everything you need to know about promoting your content correctly and effectively.

Want more Twitter? Learn how to use the #fail hashtag to successfully get what you want from big businesses here.

Impact Investing: On the Ground, Part 1.5

2011-08-30

**This is a three-part series on the importance of impact investing in today's markets, and why you should care about it. Part I can be found here.

It sounds like a clich�, but it's true - when you're on the ground, you are better able to see the big picture.

I've been thinking and writing a lot about impact investing lately, not because it's the latest buzzword or even because it's an emerging asset class, but because mixing money and impact is the only way that poverty will ever cease to exist.

Let's be clear about one thing: poor people can, and will, pay for products that fit their lifestyle and needs, that are affordable, and that they recognize as valuable. These three characteristics make them just as much as a customer as you or I. Let's take farmers, for example. Over 85% of the world's farms are smaller than five acres (that's 445 million farms out of 525 million farms total). That's about 800 million people worldwide that make their living from small-plot farms, a potentially huge market opportunity - yet there are currently no mainstream small-plot irrigation methods for developing world farmers (International Food Policy Research Institute). Most all irrigation methods on the market are for farms that are so much larger that it doesn't make financial or economic sense for small farmers to purchase, and so they are continually stuck with less-impactful methods such as bucket irrigation (bringing water to crops via a bucket). How can a poverty-stricken farmer make more money to bring his family out of poverty when there are no other options to sustainably scale his crops in the first place?

Innovation has continually taught us that the only money worth having can be found in the top 10% of the world. This simply isn't true. For a small, innovative start-up that designs a scaleable, affordable small-plot irrigation method for farms of five acres or less, their market opportunity is 445 million farms worldwide. If the definition of poverty is the lack of access to goods, choices, and opportunities, then by investing in start-ups that treat the poor as customers and provide these goods, choices, and opportunities that allow poor farmers to make more money for themselves and their families, we will demolish poverty once and for all. Think of it this way - if 400 million small-plot farmers each bought a small-scale irrigation system for $50, the total investment on their part would be $20 billion, more than ten times the annual global sales of current irrigation systems.

To me, this is the real difference between philanthropy and impact investing: a change in mindset by realizing that one can make money while creating products for the poor, while inviting the poor to play a part in the global economy. Even while philanthropy encourages meaning before money, it's not enough to think of poverty as a philanthropic endeavor that doesn't affect those living in the West. Since poverty directly affects most every issue that we consider 'first world' - such as climate change, global economic development, quality of education, and technology innovation - not including the world's poor in the global marketplace will be incredibly costly in the long run.

*For those that want to read more, I would highly recommend Paul Polak's Out Of Poverty, which addresses this issue with actionable, realistic methods.

The Case for a Social Entrepreneur Safety Net

2011-08-24

Sanergy at the 2011 Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.

The world is crawling with young people who want to make a difference. As more and more schools and universities incorporate social enterprise and philanthropy into their curriculum, it's obvious that the trend towards work on purpose isn't slowing down any time soon. For those young people that do not find the right job in the social sector, they may try to turn their passion into a startup, with the term social entrepreneurship burned into their brain from their corresponding degree or school activity.

While the interest in social entrepreneurship continues to spread like wildfire, no matter where I look, I fail to see the safety net that will surely be necessary to catch so many young, inexperienced, potential social entrepreneurs upon graduation or trying to turn their first idea into a reality. After finding that perfect idea and gathering resources, finding capital is the most important and difficult aspect to a newly formed social venture. Since social enterprise generally connotes a profit-seeking venture, most young social entrepreneurs will try to make a profit from their idea to keep their business sustainable, but the difficult part is finding start-up capital to get their idea off the ground. The lure of emerging markets such as impact investing may further convince young social entrepreneurs of their idea's certain feasibility.

Social entrepreneurship has turned into a bubble, and everyone wants in. The question is, do emerging markets such as impact investing have a large enough safety net to hold the social entrepreneurship bubble?

The 2011 GSEC Trade Show with participants and contestants.

In a recent Next Billion interview with Felix Oldenburg, the Ashoka director of Europe and Germany, Felix spoke of the 'dangerous promise of impact investing,' in that impact investing is predicated on the ability of social ventures to generate income. For those inexperienced social entrepreneurs banking on the possibility of impact investing as a way to generate capital, they may be sorely surprised when that $1T in assets promised by JP Morgan doesn't immediately materialize in the form of investors.

Even though investing in socially focused businesses is turning into an emerging asset class, young, inexperienced social entrepreneurs are not going to be the recipients. Why? Just because markets may be changing doesn't mean the mindset is: it will always be considered risky practice to invest in an amateur.

So, where do start-up social enterprises receive their experience and resources, in order to work up to a place where investors feel comfortable financing for a return? Incubators.

The biggest problem for young social entrepreneurs is finding capital, but the typical investor isn't ready for them yet. Incubators, like those of Echoing Green or Ashoka, grow social enterprises to a point where investors do feel comfortable and excited about personally investing. Impact investors should consider investing in social enterprise incubators, who then fund social entrepreneurs, which is the best way of getting those necessary resources, capital and experience into the hands of all of those social entrepreneurs who need it. This is the type of safety net necessary to catch the next generation of social entrepreneurs inspired with ideas from their Social Enterprise degree.

The 2011 GSEC Awards Banquet with participants and contestants.

In a 2010 discussion turned entrepreneurship vs. education debate between tech entrepreneur and professor Vivek Wadhwa and Tech Crunch founder Michael Arrington, Wadhwa disagreed with Arrington's reactionary statement that 'the best thing [for a young person] is to go to Harvard for a year and drop out [to start your own business.] Everyone knows you were smart enough to get in.' Wadhwa argued that no, not everyone is the next Mark Zuckerberg, and it's important to stay in school, while you can, when you can. His point was that for every Zuckerberg, there are a thousand more students that drop out with an idea and fail.

The same holds true for social enterprise programs and degrees; not every student who graduates with a degree in Philanthropy or Social Entrepreneurship is going to be the next Muhammad Yunus. In my opinion, to be successful in a venture with a double or triple bottom line is even more difficult than starting the next Facebook; for students whose heads are filled with social change lingo, their expectations for success may be unrealistic when it comes to starting their own social venture after they graduate from their Social Enterprise 101 business course.

We need to invest in more incubators as a jumping off point for young social entrepreneurs, since these are the kinds of safety nets that are necessary to fund start-up ventures. Impact investing, though promising for larger social enterprises, isn't going to cut it for students emerging from Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship programs with an idea and a passion for change.

How to Use the Twitter #fail Hashtag

2011-08-16

**Part II of this post can be found here.

While I'm sure there's still folks out there who believe that the collective voice instructing businesses to create a social media presence is an elaborate scheme dreamed up by social media consultants everywhere... I'm here to tell you that no, it's really not.

If businesses aren't listening and responding to their customers, they lose them - it's as simple as that. For customers, this realization can be a wonderful revelation into the world of good customer service experiences, if you know the channels to shout to. As most businesses have at least a Facebook or Twitter account, brandish these tools like a sword: use your calm and clever insinuations to their bad customer service to get what you really want.

So far, I've had the best experience with a good-humored tweet (so your tweets are not taken as the enraged ravings of a lunatic) and a strategically placed #fail hashtag. To prove this point, I would like to point to my own experiences - two recent customer service headaches turned triumphs, thanks to social media.

Exhibit A: American Airlines

The airlines industry may just be the least regarded in consumer's minds right now. As a customer, what makes our inherent frustration even more acute is our general inability to make a choice when it comes to flying; finding a seat on a flight usually comes down to the cheapest price.

I recently flew from Granada, Spain to Accra, Ghana on British Airways - a one-way ticket that earned me around 3,000 miles on BA's mileage partner, American Airlines. Since I had already entered in my mileage information when purchasing the ticket, I patiently waited for my mileage credit to show up in my AA account. After waiting for a month and a half, I sent in a request for missing mileage, via a form on their website.

Three weeks later, and still nothing. C'mon AA, I had places to go and tickets to buy! After filling out yet another customer service ticket on their website and failing to receive a reply, I took out the big guns: I went to Twitter.

This tweet was sent to @AAdvantage on July 18th:

Obviously, AA's Customer Relations ran a tight Twitter ship, since their response came a sweet 15 minutes later:

Ahh, finally, a human response! After going back and forth for a couple days (mostly because I insisted on being served over the internet since I didn't want to waste minutes calling from Ghana), I received this reply:

30 days, huh? Six days later I received this email from AA Customer Service:

Dear Ms. Engh,

We're sorry you've been kept waiting. Thank you for using British Airways for your travel needs.

I understand that the flight have recently been adjusted on your AAdvantage account to accommodate your request. Still, I wanted to acknowledge receipt of your message and apologize that you had to contact us again.

I'm glad I could verify this information for you.

Regards,

Some Nice Gentleman from AAdvantage Customer Service

All in all, one of the easiest customer service experiences I've ever had... after I took my request from their website to Twitter. I doubt I would have received a reply if I had left my problem up to the abyss of online customer service forms!

Exhibit B: Ally Bank

Let me start out by saying: I love Ally Bank. When they first opened their doors, I sang their praises to friends, telling them about the joys of chatting with a rep online instantly, reimbursed ATM charges, and the best interest rates in town; I think that I alone probably accounted for 50% of their new sign-ups in their first year of operation! I still love Ally for all that they stand for - but not, as I recently learned, for their international standards.

Although I had called Ally to let them know I would be out of the US for several months, I still arrived at an Accra ATM to find my debit card blocked. I had other cards, of course, but keeping in mind that Ally's 'refundable ATM fees' policy was a major reason for my love affair with Ally in the first place, I was not about to pay any kind of exorbitant international fee, no way. Not only that, but I wasn't able to access my online banking to check and see what the hold was all about.

As with my American Airlines debacle, calling Ally's customer service and wasting dollars on minutes was the last thing I wanted to do. However, since Ally wouldn't divulge account information over email (incredibly annoying at the time? Yes. Makes sense now? Yes.), I was forced to spend 20 minutes of my day talking to Ally customer service.

First Call: "Why yes, ma'am, we're so sorry for the inconvience. We'll have this fixed right away!"

Second Call, after the problem wasn't fixed and I had to explain the situation all over again: "I'm so sorry, ma'am, I see what the problem is now. I'll have it fixed right away."

Third Call, after the problem still wasn't fixed, I had to explain the situation yet again, and I was wasting another 20 minutes on the phone... well, you get the idea.

Somewhere around the fifth call, I gave up. I was in rural Africa, and frankly, my banking situation could wait until I was back in the States. I didn't think about the problem again until I came across this NYT article about US banks beginning to offer tiny, secure microprocessing chips (E.M.V chips) in their credit cards, to concur with industry standards overseas. Curious if Ally did the same, I asked:

They didn't.

Well, they did ask...

A quick reply, one hour later:

I was definitely not interested in going through the same inefficient phone song and dance, so I specified my requests:

Three days later, I received a phone call (remember, I'm in Ghana) from a customer service rep that had been working on my case. Although I didn't get the answer I wanted (apparently Ally's security measures don't allow access to their online banking while I'm in Ghana, although my card is no longer blocked), my frustration was finally resolved, especially when I received a direct line (!) to an agent briefed with my case to call if I had any more problems while traveling.

The Moral

Customers, you have a right to just say no to bad service. Social media channels make it easy to have your voice heard and your requests completed, so use them! Send out questions to a company's Twitter handle, or start a conversation about a certain aspect of a product on a company's Facebook page. Especially in a bad economy where prices are low and competitive (and businesses know it!), give your money to those whom deserve it.

And for Businesses: You guys need to have a presence on social media channels because a) people use your products and services on a daily basis, b) people like to talk and share their experiences with others, and c) the most popular way to talk and share experiences is through online channels, like social media. If you're a business that sells a product or service, no matter what it is, chances are you've got customers talking about it. Hopefully, they're happy with what they've bought, but more often than not, customers are unhappy, and they want to make darn well sure that no one in the history of the world ever makes the same mistake by purchasing your product or service. In the latter case, well - for the sake of your own livelihood, you better be listening and ready to appease, as well as defend yourself.

Want more examples? Part II of this post can be found here.

Impact Investing: What is it? Part I

2011-08-11

**This is a three-part series on the importance of impact investing in today's markets, and why you should care about it. Part 1.5 can be found here.

If you had to choose, would you rather invest in war, or education?

As the old saying goes, what's popular isn't always right. Money makes the world go round, but as the financial crisis has shown, money flowing into the hands of the wrong companies or people can create more harm than good. The global economy's next task will be to place money in the hands of those who do good, and who will make money for others who plan on doing good, too.

What is Impact Investing?

Impact investing is the active form of socially responsible investing - seeking out commercial investments that return social impact and profits (The Chronicle of Philanthropy).

Traditional investing is a profit-only bottom line, meaning that for the amount of money investors put into a commercial company, they expect that money and more back into their own pockets. Impact investing is different than traditional investing in that investors seek more than one return on their investment; instead of only receiving the same or more dollars back then what they initially invested, impact investors expect a double bottom line on their investment: profit and social impact.

Two Bottom Lines

Investing, by definition, means to purchase an ownership interest in a company. In contrast, 501c3 non-profit organizations are not 'owned,' and therefore may not benefit any one individual or company with its profits.

The inability of investors to finance non-profits has given rise to a number of new tax structures (L3Cs or B Corporations) and hybrid organizations (a non-profit that forms a for-profit entity that can be privately invested in and uses its net profit to perform charitable work, such as TOMS Shoes) - all of which are collectively called social enterprises.

Since tax-exempt organizations are not able to take investments, donors are only able to receive one bottom line when they donate to a tax-exempt organization: social profit, the amount and type of social impact the organization creates. However, social enterprises can take investment capital, and investors that finance start-up social enterprises receive two bottom lines: social impact and a minimal profit.

Impact investing opens up new avenues for social entrepreneurs in need of early-stage funding, who can turn to investors interested in shaping social benefit while receiving minimal returns. In theory, social entrepreneurs no longer need to compete with other for-profit startups since they can now find investors happy on making marginal returns, so long as the enterprise is providing a social service that really does make an impact. As the practice of impact investing emerges and gains ground, so too do those who are working towards a common language and an infrastructure to bring the model to scale into a full-fledged industry.

Creating Sustainable Investments

Investors started searching for an alternative method to traditional financial markets after those crashed in 2008, realizing that, in the face of ecological limits, the riskiest investments may be those that depended on the existing economic order or the continued heavy use of diminishing natural resources; even riskier were those investors and companies that stayed fixated on short-term exploitation. In the face of loss, investors began exploring how impact investing could play a role in current global crises and ongoing crises such as poverty and climate change. In the very midst of what some experts called the Second Great Depression, impact investing did more than just keep its head above water - it grew in both name recognition and assets.

Although impact investing isn't exactly a new practice - companies and individuals have been financing sectors such as microfinance and clean energy for decades - the buzz around this new form of investment reached a full-fledged roar late last year when JP Morgan declared impact investing as an 'emerging asset class', with the potential to reach $1 trillion in assets by 2020.

As more people become aware of problems such as climate change or scarce resources, they continually realize that investing in innovative approaches to these critical problems is considered just smart investing. Sure, you can make millions while investing in questionable corporations such as Halliburton that may or may finance war, or you can create a better world when you invest in socially sustainable organizations like Vittana that has taken on the task of educating the next generation of youth in the developing world.

Those with cash in pocket have traditionally had to make the choice between profit or philanthropy; now, we no longer have to make that trite distinction.

**Next week: who's who in impact investing, and how you can get involved too.

The Slave Castle in Elmina, Ghana

2011-08-09

This weekend, I took a trip over to Cape Coast and Elmina in the Central Region of Ghana. For those of you who are interested, here are the general directions from Anloga:

Grab a tro-tro on the side of the street headed towards Accra around 6-7am, and squeeze yourself in with twelve other good-natured Ghanaians. About two and a half hours later, get off at the always insane Accra-Tema station to find another tro-tro or bus headed towards Caneshie Station, where you'll alight to more chaos, purchase a ticket off a sidewalk peddler, and walk towards the lines of tro-tros with cardboard signs proclaiming their destination. Hop in one designated towards Cape Coast, and settle in for the two hour journey. Once you see the sandy beaches and smell the salty ocean air, jump off and barter a price with a taxi driver to drive you over the bridge and towards Elmina.

Besides relaxation, the primary agenda for the weekend trip was to tour the oldest and largest slave castle in all of Africa, located on the coast of Elmina. The fortress was built in 1482 by the Portuguese and later seized by the Dutch in 1637, and was also a major stop of the Atlantic slave trade route until the British overthrew the Dutch in 1871 and eradicated slavery in Ghana. Now, the castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and much of the original building materials and architecture remains.

The omnipresent storm clouds and waves crashing against the rocks below makes the castle such a formidable fortress of no return, that one has to wonder if the Portuguese didn't have a morbid satirical sense when choosing the location.

Inside the slave castle, looking away from the sea.

The Portuguese painted a skull over this door, which was used as a prison cell to punish slaves that fought too hard for their freedom.

Now, the sand below the castle is littered with canoes being built.

The Dutch installed these cannons to protect themselves from enemies.

Another addition by the Dutch - lookout towers to spot approaching slave ships or far-off enemies.

Elmina is a poor fishing town made rich by tourism. Since most of the destitute villages along the Volta coast where I live count fishing as their primary industry, it's interesting to see first-hand what a considerable effect tourism has on the economy of a formerly poor village. The Elmina slums lie to the west of the castle.

An inscription in Dutch that was hung after the Portuguese were captured. It's disheartening to see all of the Christian insignia throughout the castle, drawn there by the same hands that were holding people as captives below their feet.

This is where the male slaves were kept, usually 600 to one room.

When the castle was built, the ocean water lapped at the base of this door. Slaves would exit the castle onto the gangplank of the slave ships that would take them to Jamaica, America, and parts of Europe. This room is named, 'The Room of No Return.'

There were hundreds of small, barred rooms like this scattered throughout the castle. Many of them were filled with bats, but most of them sat empty. I wondered if slaves, captured by the Portuguese, were also forced to build the fortress themselves, and in doing so, what they must have thought while putting bars over so many of the entrance ways of the castle.

Two thoughts in particular stayed with me as we walked around the castle buttresses and through its dark dungeons. I thought about the castle as a tangible, symbolic reminder of past crimes of humanity, whereas other crimes, such as drought or hunger, never leave a trace once it's gone. Do physical reminders of crimes past make it easier to never commit again?

A friend with me also wondered what future generations will look back on as horrifying and medieval - what present-day structures will our grandchildren tour and puzzle about the nature of humanity today?

We stayed at the Stumble Inn in Elmina, highly recommended by a friend and vouched for by me. I could have basked in their organic, hospitable welcome and comfy bamboo cushions for weeks.

The Price of Margaret's Retirement

2011-08-04

**This post originally appeared on the Lumana blog.

A loud SQUAK almost makes me jump backwards as I open the gate to Margaret Kpodo�s compound � I look down and realize I�ve just bulldozed a chicken with the fence, and as I snicker, it angrily picks itself up and preens its feathers, throwing angry glances as it stalks away.

Margaret�s compound is always a zoo, quite literally: a very pregnant goat chases her two baby goats around the perimeter (I didn�t know pregnant goats could run that fast!) followed by very excited dogs, and dozens of chickens roaming freely alongside dozens more children while their working parents look on. Margaret bursts out of her house, arms open, warmly coming to greet Mercy and I (Mercy is Lumana�s Assistant Loan Officer, and a stellar translator). I ask Margaret, jokingly, if all of these kids are hers. �Of course not! I live here with my brother, daughter, niece, three cousins and their families, and my old mother,� she laughs.

This is the third time I�ve met Margaret; the first two times were in co-operative meetings with Lumana's field officer Richard, where she was shy and gracious. Now, however, in the comfort of her own home, she is anything but quiet: welcoming, hospitable, and animated, it�s a pleasure to chat unguarded. We�re invited into her sitting room and chairs are provided, and I can see into her tailoring shop that most likely doubles as a bedroom, half-finished skirts and cloth strewn all over the chairs, the walls, the desk, and the floor.

�Business isn�t good,� Margaret says, her voice sobering. �Most of my tailoring work is seasonal, since people only need new clothes around Christmas, Easter, or a funeral, and I don�t feel good anymore. Also, people don�t come to me sometimes because I�m getting older and they think I can�t do the new fashions, even though I know it all.�

�Do you think that if your tailoring business doesn�t get better, you will still continue?� I ask, noting that Margaret suddenly doesn�t look as happy as she did when we first walked in, sitting on the ground in her doorway, clutching scraps of fabric in her fingers and wearing a sad, weary smile.

�I have already started a new business. I sell cassava and corn locally in Atorkor every day, which I buy from Anloga. That�s becoming my everyday business, and tailoring has become an on-the-side type business,� Margaret states matter-of-factly. �But, don�t you miss doing tailoring? You�ve been doing it for more than 30 years,� I ask, a bit forlornly.

Wait, let me back up: I have spoken with so many of our clients that are working in an industry (fishing, farming, tailoring, food selling) just for the sake of making more money to survive, but finding little to no joy in the job itself. Before this interview, I learned that Margaret has been creating beautifully crafted clothing for her Atorkor community for years and years, even passing her artisanship onto her son; I was very much hoping I would be able to talk with Margaret about her love for the feeling of Ghanaian-made Kente or batik running under a sewing machine. Crestfallen might be too strong of a word, but I�m definitely feeling a little sad.

�I see. So, you sell cassava and corn now, and only tailor a little� for what are you planning to use the next loan?� I ask, feeling like I already know the answer. �I would like to start another business, a provision store. With my old age, it�s not easy to work hard anymore, but I could run a store,� Margaret replies.

Okay, that makes sense. We continue chatting about her family (�My family is from Atorkor, and my brother is the chief of the village.�) and future aspirations (�I would like to stop working one day, but first I need to make enough money to do so.�), but Margaret�s voice turns quieter and quieter, and she seems to withdraw further into the doorway. Despite the world-weariness written all over her face, however, she continues to mention her plan for using the next Lumana loan to create another business.

Last question: �Margaret, if you started a provision store, would you continue selling cassava and corn, as well as doing tailoring on the side?� I mildly ask. She nods her head assertively, saying, �Of course. I will continue doing as many jobs as I can.� As we thank her and leave Margaret�s compound, I notice that she does not accompany us to the gate.

What's Cool About a Cost-Benefit Analysis

Margaret�s story is similar to many others I�ve listened to, either over a frying pan cooking the day�s catch, or in small huts with corrugated tin roofs. Create a business, the business collapses, start over again with a new business, and repeat. When I ask, people seem to have a general idea of why their past venture failed, but when it comes to revenue earned or their return on investment, it�s clear that these questions have never been calculated. Reflection or asking �why� about past failures aren�t common; in Atorkor, Ghana, the only direction left is forward.

While this courageous business mindset is impressive, I can clearly see that it exhausts many of the people living and working in Atorkor, like Margaret. Having worked since she was five years old (she started helping with the cooking for the family when she was barely able to see over the stove), this woman needs a break. I usually ask our clients if they would like to stop working one day, and the answer is always a decisive yes, followed by a despondent ��but, only if I can.� Margaret isn�t that different from you or I; while she is able to lift more on her head at sixty than I can do in my arms at twenty-three, she would still like to relax, see her children grow up and her grand-children play around her, and be able to gracefully enter old age with a financially secure peace of mind. However, her living circumstances � and the necessity to always run on survival mode � have forbidden this.

Success in Mozambique

A former business major, Adan, who used to work at a microfinance institution in Mozambique told me an interesting story relating to the rural business mindset: Feliciana was a school girl living in a poor village, trying to earn money for school and her family from three side businesses, one being a hair extension salon where Feliciana spent most of her time. While visiting her salon, Feliciana told Adan that she often spent the entire day on one client. On the day of an appointment, Feliciana would spend 1.5-7 hours traveling to and from town (in Africa, rural travel depends on many external factors) to pick up the required extensions that would cost anywhere from 50 cents to $5 (which the client would then pay for), and then, no matter how skilled of a weaver she was, she would usually spend the rest of the day pulling, braiding, and pleating, for a small labor fee of 50 cents or less � all of this for one, single client. After listening to Feliciana�s story and realizing she was most likely spending too much money on this one business, Adan took time to go over her expenses - a simple calculation of her profit margin - and within fifteen minutes had determined that she only made about 3 cents per client because of travel and other related expenses. Because of Feliciana�s long distance to the nearest town, Adan and Feliciana determined together that the hair extension business was not profitable and had to go.

Rural Business Education and the Good Life

Of course, hair extensions are a different beast from tailoring, but in the same way that costs and expenses were able to convince Feliciana that she would be most profitable elsewhere, these same projections, simplified to rural needs, can aid Margaret and many of Lumana's other clients to calculate their own profitability, and thus allow the indisputable wisdom of numbers to make difficult business decisions for them.

Small business owners in developing countries, no matter how rural, are not magically exempt from the rules of engagement. Depending on the amount of money, business practices are scaled up or down, and quintessential business calculations should be as well. Margaret deserves the opportunity to live quietly, without having to worry about food on the table or what business she will start next. In order to do so, however, she must stop living day-to-day; introducing fundamental business concepts into her operation will allow her to look to the future and make educated decisions about profitability, to ensure a graceful transition into retirement.

Storytelling is Hard

2011-08-01

Storytelling sounds easy enough. After all, it�s part of our genetic makeup to tell stories, and human beings are fairly adept at it � we have been telling stories since the beginning of our existence.

In Eweland, storytelling is a part of daily conversation. So far, I�ve heard the story of the Goat Farmer and the Thief, telling of the value of learning a trade or profession, the Children and the Hyena, the tale of the wisdom of parents, the Father and the Three Sons, about showing equal respect and affection to all children whom are the future of the village, and many, many more.

These stories all have something in common: they provide counsel for the benefit of the entire community. I�ve realized how easy it is to coax stories about the collective health of the village from individuals, but how difficult it is to take a guided tour in the individual�s shoes themselves.

The reason storytelling exists is because we want to better understand human nature and how it came to be. The reason most socially-driven organizations exist is not to combat a singular problem, but a problem that exists within a community of people. We want to understand the reasons behind the problems, and the best way to do that is to go directly to the source � the people whom the problem is affecting. It isn�t the statistics or government reports that make poverty stand out on the page, it�s the stories the people living in poverty tell that make the situation come alive for the listener.

I walked into my first interview three months ago with bright visions of intimate conversations and exchanged dreams over sweet cups of tea, but after an hour of one-word replies and repeated answers, I walked out feeling bested by the undemonstrative culture that is Ewe. Despite my acute preparation and candid conversation with Ghanaian staff beforehand, I realized I was going to have to kick this interviewing thing up a notch.

My personal conviction is that people most relate to each other through stories of hardship or personal struggle. While people around the world can have drastically different experiences when it comes to celebrating ideals of success, the trials of individual people are very much the same. I�m not talking about warfare, hunger or sanitation � those are problems of humanity. The trials of the individual are something in which every person can relate.

So, in coming to Ghana, my goal was to have Lumana's supporters in Seattle relate as much as possible to the people living and working in Atorkor, Ghana, instead of seeing them as charity cases. The similarities between the two cultures are most apparent to me in the entrepreneurial way of life, and what better way to approach that subject but to talk to people about the struggles they find themselves up against? Entrepreneurship is hard; every Westerner who ever started their own business can agree with that.

While my conviction still holds, I almost wish I had a vial of Veritaserum to slip in the client's drinks. Ewe culture demands no complaints, which makes it quite difficult to pull any stories of entrepreneurial-related complications out of their closed lips. I'm realizing how important relationships are to a good story or interview, which is why biographies take years to write - the writer needs to get cozy and personal with the person they're writing about.

In short, I'm beginning to see why most nonprofits that work in international development take the empathy approach when it comes to their fundraising strategies; with little time to develop relationships with the people they are serving, it's hard to truly understand someone's story unless you've taken a long walk in their shoes (or flip-flops, as the case may be here in Anloga).

While there seems to be no end to interviewing resources online, I'm struck by the fact that they're all for use in the US, or more developed countries. In order to tell a good story, you need great interview questions, and nonprofits working overseas need to tell good stories, perhaps most of all.

I'm working on developing a system to test interview questions in a more strategic, systematic way, while also looking into different forms of media that tell a story when words just don't cut it. I would love some suggestions along the way.

What Do You Assume...

2011-07-27

**This post originally appeared on Social Venture Partners Seattle's blog.

...about nonprofits? Or corporations? In a recent presentation at Microsoft, SVP's Grants and Program Manager, Mike Quinn posed this question to a group of employees interested in joining a nonprofit board. Their answers may (or may not) surprise you.

Microsoft

Lots of Resources
Smart, tech savvy
Very corporate
Data driven

Nonprofits

Passionate staff
Resource constrained
Doing a lot with a little
Consensus driven

Are these the assumptions you expected? Would you have a different list?

Because of the nature of SVP's mission - fundamentally, philanthropy development - they are often at the intersection between nonprofit and for-profit cultures. From experience, they have found that airing these assumptions is an important first step towards a successful relationship between a volunteer and a nonprofit. Unchecked assumptions on both sides can drive behavior and interactions, and actually get in the way of contributing your time and skills in an effective way.

Once you�ve called out your assumptions, there are a few important skills you�ll want on hand as you begin volunteering with a nonprofit. These include:

Self-Awareness
Empathy
Flexibility
Curiosity
Tolerance for Ambiguity

With these five skills, volunteers can navigate most major differences and miscommunications. The most beneficial aspect of these five skills is that they lay outside the scope of technical expertise, which makes them easy to transplant into any situation. In short, no matter what your professional background, the most important factor in a successful volunteer engagement is how you approach the situation.

If you�re thinking of volunteering your time and expertise with a nonprofit, you may want to check out SVP's Volunteer Handbook. Taken from SVP Partner's own experiences, this handbook covers the five skills mentioned above in greater detail, and guides you through pertinent questions about your motivations behind volunteering.

What About You?

Have you volunteered with a nonprofit and have your own experiences to share? In your experience, what were the key factors to a successful relationship?

10 Fool-Proof Ways to Promote your Latest Blog Post

2011-07-25

My process for writing a blog post usually goes something like this:

Wake up, yoga, a hot cup of tea as I settle down to my favorite spot at the kitchen table where I'm able to bask in the morning sun for an hour or so. Write, write, write... distraction, distraction, distraction... research, research, research... 'I should probably check my favorite blogs to see what's new in the world'... edit, edit, edit... add the finishing touches, like pictures, links or credits. One last read-through, and publish!

No matter the time it takes to write a blog post - sometimes as little as two hours or as much as two days - by the time I hit the publish button, I'm always ready to give myself a self-congratulatory pat on the back and take the rest of the day off. A tangible piece of work up on the website! I'm definitely done for the day.

I hate to say it, but the finished blog post should only be the beginning of a blogger's job. Even if you're the best writer in the world, your content will never promote itself. But, never fear! With this list in hand, you can easily start promoting your blog today.

1. Facebook

Why? Facebook is the most popular social networking platform in the world. With over 500 million users, the marketing potential is huge. Your friends, family, peers and colleagues all reside here - your biggest fans! Facebook also makes sharing very easy, so make sure you actively encourage your friends to repost your content to their own pages.

How? Consider starting a separate fan page for your blog, and then adding a NetworkedBlogs link to your page. Many bloggers also create a separate, like-minded Facebook group with no direct affiliation to themselves that they are then able to curate and spark genuine interest and conversation. Most importantly, Facebook is a conversation. Post your blog post URL as an attached link so Facebook can pick up the meta-data, and pose a question to your friends. Don't forget to respond when someone replies.

2. Twitter

Why? Twitter users see hundreds of tweets go past on a daily basis. In order to pick out the information that is most applicable to their interests, smart Twitter users make use of hashtags and Twitter communities. Twitter makes content easily searchable, so long as you're using the right keywords.

How? Do your research - figure out where your target audience hangs out, and format your tweets accordingly (try these popular hashtags first). Use a bit.ly account to shorten and track your links, and always respond to RTs or DMs. With all that Twitter volume, tweets only show up for a short amount of time, so remember to always double-promote your content. I tend to post my blog link once for the morning crowd, and once for the afternoon crowd. Use Time.ly to find the best times your tweets will have the most impact.

3. LinkedIn

Why? LinkedIn is another major social networking site that focuses on niche sectors and business. Many individuals are able to pick up new clients, promote new products or websites, or receive a full-time job because of the way they utilize the Groups, Companies, or Q&A sections of LinkedIn.

How? In the Q&A section, ask compelling questions in order to be recognized as an industry expert. The more valuable your questions are to the community, the more people will be encouraged to click through to your profile. Join and create Groups relative to your niche, and update your profile with a link to your blog. Utilize LinkedIn's plug-ins that allow you to stream content from your Wordpress blog or Twitter account. Post your blog as a status update to your profile, too. Also, keep in mind that you can export your LinkedIn contacts to Excel to be added to your email client at any time.

4. Digg

Why? Digg is the most popular social news site on the internet, and getting to the front page can get your blog a lot of views. Users are also able to add friends to their Digg networks, as well as comment and share with other networks.

How? Digg helps drive traffic to your blog if you make it to the front page, but that can be difficult at first. To best promote your blog on Digg, get ready to become a part of the Digg community by sharing other content first. Build up a following before using Digg to promote your own site. Also, Digg's social aspect can help you network with other like-minded bloggers and communities by commenting on their submissions, sharing their content, and adding them to your own network. The best way to use Digg as a blog promotion tool is to become a valuable member of the community by sharing unique and interesting content.

5. StumbleUpon

Why? Another social bookmarking site, StumbleUpon is one of the biggest social networking sites on the planet, coming only second to Twitter with 11 million users. The major difference between StumbleUpon and Digg is the content: StumbleUpon usually houses more alternative content than Digg, which is primarily a news source. Many bloggers credit StumbleUpon as being a major source of traffic, ranging from 130 to over 14,000 unique visitors daily from StumbleUpon. Worth it!

How? StumbleUpon is not designed for direct self-promotion! Just like Digg, StumbleUpon is a social community, meaning that you've got to engage your audience in the same way that you would on Facebook or Twitter. Become a StumbleUpon advocate - join, search for interesting content and share with like-minded followers, keeping in mind that too much self-promotion will put you off the map for good.

6. Targeted Forums or Wikis

Why? Promoting your blog in targeted forums means that you are promoting your content to people that are already interested in what you're selling and want to learn more. Forums can be a great source of traffic if you're able to provide quality responses to other contributors, answer questions, and make full use of the forum by asking your own questions.

How? Google 'forums' with your target audience (i.e. 'art world travel buyers forums'), and then once you find a couple, read the FAQ so you know the rules. Join the forum and listen to others at first so you understand how members interact with each other, and thoughtfully comment on interesting threads, always leaving your blog URL in your signature.

7. CommentLuv

Why? CommentLuv is a Wordpress plug-in that can be used with any blogging platform. By registering, CommentLuv users are given an automatically generated drop-down list of their last ten blog posts in which they are able to choose the post when entering their blog URL into the comments field of any other blog.

How? Automatic blog promotion! If you're a blogger writing from a blogging platform - Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr, or others - it's a no-brainer to sign up. Basically, in the comments section, you are telling your reader exactly which post you want them to click.

8. OnlyWire

Why? Promoting your content takes time. That's where OnlyWire steps in, as it allows you to submit your blog posts to multiple social bookmarking sites at once, including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Google+, StumbleUpon, and many more. There is a paid version and a free, ad-based version.

How? Not only does OnlyWire save time by streamlining the submission process for your content, but it also generates more backlinks and and improves search engine ranking. If you have a Wordpress blog, you can download the OnlyWire plug-in to start automatically submitting content to your favorite social media sites. You may also download the desktop application or bookmarklet, depending on the type of access you'd like OnlyWire to have.

9. BlogEngage

Why? Simply put, BlogEngage is a social blogging community. Bloggers submit their favorite or most recent blog post to the site, and have other members vote if they like the post. Like other social bookmarking sites, you are able to share and vote on other member's posts. BlogEngage also provides backlinks to each blog, which are then given value by Google.

How? Because of spam, BlogEngage is no longer free to join (unless you join one of their membership services or email the founder), but once you purchase the one-time fee, start hitting up the community! Set up social groups, share content, vote for others and build your social profile. BlogEngage helps you network with other bloggers, build up credibility by showing others how serious you are about blogging, and increase blog traffic to your site by sharing content with hundreds of other followers.

10. Great Pictures

Why? The easiest thing you can do to automatically make your blog more searchable and appealing to your readers is to post a couple of great pictures. Flickr, Google Images search, and Picasa all make it extremely easy to find suitable pictures online if you don't have one yourself. Creative Commons licenses make it possible to use other people's photos without any legal obligations, so long as you appropriately credit the source.

How? Remember to use pictures when posting your blog post to Facebook; either upload a photo and then post your link in the attached status update, or attach a link and use the arrow buttons to sort through which pictures from your post you'd like Facebook to use when posting. Always use one or two pictures within your blog post to break up the monotony of paragraphs. If possible, have the picture speak for the blog post itself. Use cartoons or photos that convey the attitude or outlook of the post. Make sure people are drawn into the story by the pictures!

11. Guest Blogging

Why? Of course, the biggest promotion tool of all is guest-blogging, one of the best ways to promote your blog long-term. However, as I said in the beginning of this post, this list is composed of promotion ideas that you can start doing today. While guest blogging may be the most fruitful, it does take time to build relationships, send email requests, and research the actual post. However, I highly encourage you to work guest blogging into your long-term promotion plan - Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You To Be Rich has a great overview of the right way to approach guest blogging.

There are hundreds of social sites online; it's easy to get swept up by the desire to hit them all. The thing is, you don't need your content in the hands of every single person who ever clicked through a page on the internet - it's most important to market your content towards the audience that will benefit most. No matter which promotion tools you decide to use, always remember to target your content, give each promotion tool a separate, appropriate title, and credit your sources!

What are your fool-proof, never-fail blog promotion outlets or tips? Let's crowd-source this baby: share your wisdom in the comments field below!

Marconi, the Ghanaian Tailor

2011-07-18

**This post originally appeared on the Lumana blog.

As I walk into the small, sky-blue, wooden shop, a bright barrage of fabrics greet me: trousers and button-ups hang across the wall, advertising the latest styles to customers, and scraps of discarded cloth clutter the floor. Two of Marconi�s six employees look up, nestled at their station while eating their lunch of rice and beans out of the single bowl Marconi keeps in his shop, specifically for the bagged food one can buy all over Atorkor.

Marconi Midodzi greets us and waves from across the room, not even glancing at the fabric as he precisely guides the bright orange blouse through the antique sewing machine. A slender man, Marconi has grown up in Atorkor surround by family, and has been sewing garments for his small community for the past eight years. When he stands up to shake our hands, with a measuring tape draped over his shoulder and wearing expertly fitting clothes, he certainly looks the part of a professional tailor.

"I�ve been a tailor for eight years," Marconi says, "but I only built this shop about six years ago. Having a storefront makes a big difference in how busy my business is, but I want to re-do the store: the wood spoils much too easily." I look around, and sure enough, see signs of weathering around the corners of the room. "Is that what you�ll use your next loan for?" I ask, scribbling in my notebook as I think about how Marconi will be the perfect case model for tangible client success.

Marconi�s answer, however, is far from my preconceived notions: "I�m planning to use the next Lumana loan to help buy a fishing boat, for my fishing business."

Fishing business? As we talk further, he tells me that, in addition to tailoring, he also bought a fishing net almost three years ago. A fishing net is a solid investment � about 900 cedi (approx. USD $600) for 12 yards of net, and during the high season, one net can bring in almost 5,000 cedi (approx. USD$3,300) in one day. Not only that, but fishing nets are no one-man job, either. Take an early morning walk along the beach (in Anloga, any day except Tuesday), and you�ll see a huge cluster of men all working to bring in the same net.

Simply put, this one man employs around 31 people on any given day.

Marconi has all kinds of plans for his tailoring business: he wants to remodel his shop to a heartier concrete, as well as purchase a design and knitting machine that would bring in an additional 8 cedi per one brightly stitched design, or 50-70 pesewas for a knitting edge. These future purchases would also make him the first person in Atorkor to have these additional frills that are in great demand. As a savvy Ghanaian businessman, however, he realizes that for now, using the next Lumana loan to purchase a new fishing boat is the most important investment he can make for his overall growth.

Marconi is a part of the Mercy Fashion co-operative, who are now collecting their forth loan from Lumana. Mercy Fashion is one of the first co-operatives that Lumana ever funded, and one of the most successful. So successful, in fact, that Lumana will not be able to support their growing enterprises for much longer � each individual in the co-operative are necessitating larger and larger loans for their expanding businesses.

At present, Lumana�s financial offerings are far from those of a larger commercial bank; however, our small-scale operations provide the resiliency and flexibility necessary to reach the substantial pockets of poverty-stricken villages that larger banks are unable to touch. While Lumana is not equipped (nor is it our mission) to provide considerably larger loan sizes to prosperous clients, as a younger organization, we�ve yet to see clients essentially �graduate� from Lumana�s offerings.

Before being accepted into the Lumana program, every single client must take a short Business Readiness Survey that clarifies the person�s intended business investment. From these surveys, we understood that � for all of our Business School desire to provide services to struggling entrepreneurs � not all of our clients are as business inclined as Marconi (no surprise there!). For clients who are able to employ 31 people on a daily basis � like Marconi � more financial services need to be made available to them.

We are currently developing a partnership with the local Anlo Rural Bank (ARB) so we are able to make these larger loans possible. Both Lumana and the ARB would provide one half of a large loan, so Lumana is able to continue working towards our mission of poverty alleviation by not only expanding to poorer communities, where the need is greatest and the loans are smallest, but also, continuing to invest in accomplished entrepreneurs that can stimulate their own communities� economies.

The more we invest in hard-hitting and effective microfinance clients such as Marconi, the more value he will propel into his community.

I like Google. Like, but not love.

2011-07-13

I like Google. I like how they make my life easier by linking my personal Gmail account to every other Google product I use, so I only have to log-in once to gain access to my entire Google universe. I like how Google has seamlessly integrated itself into my life, so much so that I use more Google products that I do any other piece of software. I also like how Google is always innovating, to the point where their customers actively boo new products (remember Google Buzz?) or new updates to old products (the direct-to-consumer sales with the Nexus 1 phone). The more public the failure, the more Google is motivated to innovate and make the idea better.

With the launch of Google+ two weeks ago, Google gracefully announced its successful foray into the social networking world, developers waiting with bated breath for collective opinion as spine-chilling visions of failed Buzz and Wave danced through their heads.

I like Google+ so far. I�ve been impressed with the simple, clean layout that makes Google+ look like a refined, cosmopolitan version of Facebook. Like with most everything Google has created, however, I like it, but I don't love it. At least, not yet.

Why is it that Google products always seem to come out with a bang, only to be forgotten and thrown out weeks later? The Google+ invite extravaganza reminds me of a similar invite craze � when Google Wave launched, everyone was either bragging about or asking for an invite. While Google seems to have mastered the bright and shiny launch, I find the real test in Google products lies in the feedback and testing stage. It remains to be seen if Google+ can ride the initial zing of anticipation into humdrum territory, and still be something of value to its customers.

My biggest complaint with Google Wave was that I couldn't find all of my friends with whom I wanted to collaborate. I quickly lost interest in a social tool that I couldn't completely use - why not just send an email? I can see the same downward spiral beginning with Google+, but for now, I appreciate that Google+ is more exclusive in its nature, by allowing folks to engage with people that truly matter to them.

Of course, some questions remain to be seen: how do people really feel about their social networks? Are people sick of never-ending friend requests from complete strangers? Do people feel the need to begin tightening their ever-expanding social circles? Do people like the fact that Google+ is another way for Google, first and foremost a search engine, to draw information from your profile in an attempt to make their ads more clickable? Facebook took off within three months because it was a sought-after tool; it remains to be seen if Google+ is something people really want.

Regardless of specific attributes, I think the most important contribution Google+ has made so far is making people question the fundamental values that each new tool provides. Not only that, but the way people search for information is becoming more and more exclusive, meaning that people won't come to you - you need to go where your followers are. While the way people engage online is becoming more and more advanced, the tools that are currently available do not mimic that offline interaction. As with any new online trend (smart phones, mobile technology, web 2.0, social media), understanding how we interact comes before building workable, functional tools. As far as social media goes, we've only begun to scratch that surface.

The Revolution Should Be Tweeted

2011-07-11

Social media takes a lot of abuse. From publications the likes of the New Yorker and the New York Times printing Malcolm Gladwell and MP Mueller badmouthing social media sites, it�s no wonder why the entire trend can be seen as just that: a passing craze.

While I understand these arguments � and hold many of my own � against the assault of information leading to the ultimate destruction of humanity, my business is with nonprofits and social enterprises, where the lack of cash to spend on communications is sometimes shocking.

Along that line, tools like Facebook and Twitter are powerful weapons to keep in the communications arsenal. I've listed out four specific reasons why below: Money, Information Overload, Marketing, and Relationships.

Cheap Labor

The Nonprofit Finance Fund comes out with a �State of the Sector� survey every year. Roughly each year since the recession hit mid-2007, the results haven�t been pretty. While demands for human services have risen steadily for the past three years, 54% of nonprofits surveyed in 2011 stated that they did not expect to be able to meet the increase in demand. Not only did they not expect to meet demand, but 60% of nonprofits surveyed had only 90 days or less of cash on hand to cover both operational and mission-related expenses (Nonprofit Finance Fund). Seems like the recession isn�t over, yet.

With a mission statement enforced by donors, it�s hard for both nonprofits and donors alike to commit cash to operational expenses � even though general operating funds are always desperately needed. Most nonprofits agree that the number one thing funders could do differently that would be most helpful to their overall mission is to give more towards the operations budget; the Stanford Social Innovation Review even coined a term for this destructive pattern of mission over operation: the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle.

Since donors primarily want to see outcomes in relation to the mission in which they invested, operational infrastructure such as communications are generally the first to go. Savvy nonprofits realize that their biggest donations come from relationships � but those relationships are beginning to change. Online giving grew 34.5% from 2009, and in this day and age of web literacy, most donors now prefer to give online. Social media constitutes a collection of free tools and communication overhead that won't eat into the alloted mission-related budget, while still allowing nonprofits to not only easily connect with potential donors, but to create relationships with them as well.

Of course, though, the argument that social media is free is only half true. While the tools might be free, the biggest cost to an organization is the time dedicated to keeping them up to date. Why should a time-strapped nonprofit dedicate a person to Twitter or Facebook? What purpose does it achieve?

In the end, it all depends on what the organization is trying to accomplish. There are many successful fundraising reports or engagement stories out there that exhibit the types of outcomes that all nonprofits should strive for within their field, yet the most important aspect of this trend is that social media encourages organizations to take a closer look at their interactions with their supporters.

Follow Your Audience

Even today, people are overwhelmed by the amount of information it�s possible to consume over the web. To control the information onslaught, people have committed to different methods and created processes for consuming information (do you read Digg or Reddit every morning? That�s a process. What about the New York Times, or your Facebook feed? Still a process!). Most people receive their daily dose of information online from the same source, with the occasional email or status update from friends sharing news snippets from an unfamiliar reference � but most likely, information with the same viewpoint.

As a result, the way people search for new information is becoming more and more exclusive; people no longer go out of their way to search for an organization, except through intentional, discoverable outlets (which reminds me - Youtube should be a part of your social media strategy too!). In order to gain new followers or tell the latest story, organizations need to work harder to �find� their supporters online, by reaching out to information networks that their supporters have already established for themselves.

Enter social networks, where more than 250 million users log onto Facebook daily to socialize with their friends, and 65 million users use Twitter every day to share 140 bytes of information around the clock. While an organization�s community might not necessarily be found posting on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter, it is important to understand that organizations must now spend the time to find their community online and directly connect with them - your people will no longer come to you.

Sell What You Want to Say

Nonprofits are businesses, but rarely run like a for-profit. As Ann Goggins Gregory & Don Howard state in their report of the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle, �Organizations that build robust infrastructure are more likely to succeed than those that do not. This is not news, and nonprofits are no exception to the rule.�

Many nonprofits are almost exclusively fueled by donations. In the basest of terms, then, nonprofits are still selling something � be it micro-investing in small, developing-world enterprises or mobile technology for non-literate farmers.

It goes without saying that these products are much more deserving of being purchased then the latest designer purse or �As Seen On TV� trinket, but because these nonprofits are selling human capital, the message can become a little blurred throughout transit from brainstorm to audience. Social networks make building a clear, transparent message and articulating the end product much more straightforward, because of limited space and because places like Facebook and Twitter rarely accept ambiguity. Building a strong and compelling motive to buy creates that robust infrastructure necessary for success.

Engage With Your Tribe or Else

Once a supporter makes that first step � be it a small donation or a �Like� on Facebook � the goal should be for the supporter to internalize the organization�s mission in order to create a long-term relationship. Social networks make it easy for organizations to engage with their audience by simply posting outputs or stories, listening to supporters and always taking their thoughts into account, and then continuing to reinstate the supporter�s belief in the organization�s cause by constantly sharing news and results about the great work completed.

Supporters not only need to understand what you�re selling, but they�ve got to buy what you�re selling, too. What does your supporter indirectly receive when they make a donation? State it clearly, and you�ve got a first-time donor, but deliver on what you�ve promised, and you�ve built a long-term relationship.

Don't Be Left Out of the Conversation

Using social media tools �properly' can be a huge hindrance to organizations simply logging online and sending out an update to their followers; with blog posts from social media �experts� explaining in grueling detail the right way to track metrics or carefully construct a Twitter update, it can be exhausting trying to wrap one�s head around the process. Sure, if your organization is planning a specific type of campaign or message to send out to its followers, this is where hiring someone like me would come in handy - in the same way that an organization wouldn�t hire an IT professional to run its daily data input, that same professional would come in handy when customizing the back database where an organization keeps track of its supporters.

Social media, above all, is a set of tools that socially-focused organizations can use to better engage and communicate with their audience. It's important to try it out, and there's so many simple resources out there to help: try We Are Media to start.

15 Things I Learned in Istanbul

2011-07-03

1. Make sure you call before visiting the many Turkish palaces, because the schedule can change at a moment�s notice � or the security guard�s whim.

2. Be prepared to guard your leftover scraps - Turkish waiters swoop down to take it from your table almost as soon as you've put your fork down!

3. Not all baklava is created equal. Karak�y G�ll�oğlu in Karak�y takes the cake, but stay committed: mornings at 8am are best.

4. The mosques are most spectacular at night.

5. Be a vigilant walker, especially on İstikl�l Caddesi. On a street where 7 million people supposedly pass daily, large groups can stop right in your path and overtake you without a moment's notice!

6. Find a good lokanta and stick with it - you'll eventually be rewarded!

7. Turkish evil eyes make the best souvenirs, no matter how clich� they are. The perfect magnet/keychain/trinket at only 1 lira!

8. Along those lines, if you leave Istanbul with nothing else, leave with fabrics. The silk is incredible, the pashmina velvety, and the jeans, irresistible. Follow the locals on İstikl�l Ave into huge, underground shopping centers or alley-side vendors to find the best deals.

9. The quintessential Turkish snacks are the balık ekmeks (fish sandwiches) served from fishermen themselves, docked at the Emin�n� quay right across from the Galata Bridge. Freshly grilled fish, onions, lettuce, and hearty bread for 3 lira (about $2) � there�s really no equivalent!

10. Turkish yogurt is a gift from the Anatolian gods! Eating a gigantic container each week definitely keeps the food poisoning away. Don�t forget the oh-so-delicious-yet-definitely-acquired-taste Aryan!

11. To find the real Turkey within the bustling worldliness of Istanbul, hop on a ferry to Kadık�y. The long, winding blocks of fresh produce, natural oils of every variety, shouting merchants and dried fish alone will transport you to another, older, world.

12. It's possible to live in Istanbul for a fair amount of time before realizing the absolute first step to becoming Turkish: setting out your leftover scraps for the dozens (thousands?) of queenly cats that rule the city.

13. Turks bargain more than they eat, and Americans are no match for their smooth-talking ways. You're probably better off purchasing your scarves as far as possible from Sultanahmet: a pashmina scarf costs 5 lira, no matter what the charming salesman in the Grand Bazaar tells you (in five different languages, no less!).

14. Babylon, Nardis, and Reina make up some of the best ways to spend a music-filled, moonlit night.

15. There is no better place in the world to get lost than Istanbul. The best days are spent languorously chatting over long breakfasts, followed by even longer meanders through looping side streets, always complemented with a small cup of �ay (tea).

Find more tidbits learned in Turkey from ArtSumo.

Only Tweet if You Have To

2011-06-23

About a month ago, I signed up for my very own, personal Twitter account.

I know, I know � you�re probably wondering what kind of credentials I even have as a social media consultant since I don�t have 5,000 friends on Facebook or 2 million followers on Twitter. It wasn�t that I was dragging my feet, worried about privacy, or didn�t have enough thoughts to fill an entire 140 character box a couple times a day. Twitter and I were even old friends, as I've been the typer behind @hubsea, @SVPSeattle, and @lumanacredit tweets; I certainly know how to yield a proper hashtag or RT.

It's not of these reasons: it's only because I have some very specific and deliberate ideas on how Twitter should be used, and until now, my personal needs hadn�t lined up with those ideals.

I believe that social media is a means to an end; we all have underlying intentions when we sign up for a Facebook account or build a profile on LinkedIn. For the most part, there are three main intentions held when creating a social media account.

1. Sharing Information

2. Branding Yourself

3. Building or Connecting with a Community

While I religiously search for place-based friends on Facebook when I�m traveling and collect LinkedIn contacts like Pogs, until now, I haven�t needed a reason to use Twitter to the above extent.

However, about a month ago, I (publicly) launched Consultengh, my social media consulting site. From the second I took www.consultengh.com live off the staging server, I suddenly leaped into the bright and brilliant Twitter realm of possibility. I had information to share and a brand to build, and Twitter was an excellent addition to my personal social media team to do it.

So, we�ll let this act as my social media �manifesto,� so to speak: My belief in the power of social media stems not from updating my Twitter feed on an hourly basis or collecting Facebook friends like coins, but from the community and resources that these tools ultimately offer.

Stay tuned: social media as a tool for nonprofits and social enterprises comes next.

Seattle + Anloga = Entrepreneurship

2011-06-15

My last week was frustrating.

A Seattle news station is doing a short piece on Lumana�s impact in rural Ghana, where they will be recounting client success stories as well as interviewing Founder Sammie and Director Cole. Last Monday, a Seattle-based Lumana volunteer taking her spring break in Ghana came armed to the Volta Region with a camera in hand and explicit instructions from the station in her pocket: collect footage to make as many Seattlelites bawl into their hankies during the allotted half-hour segment as she possibly could.

The idea sounds fine: rural farmers, fish-mongers, and tailors receive small but important loans � the money all hand-fundraised by a small group of US graduate students � to grow their business, save money, and subsequently put their children through college. While the station was expecting tears of gratefulness and riveting stories of triumph in the face of tribulation, we unfortunately got� nothing. While there were some fantastic shots of our clients working in the fields or rolling dough for traditional Ghanaian doughnuts, when it came time for the interviews, every client said the exact. same. thing. Here's a quick sample:

What would you do if you suddenly received 2,000 cedis (about $650)?

"If I were to receive another loan, I would invest it back into my business or start a new business."

Do you enjoy your work? What would you do if you did not work this job?

"I like it, and I have been working this job since I was a child."

Would you ever like to stop working?

"Hopefully I will always be strong enough to work. It's important to make enough money to support everyone that I live with."

Unfortunately, this doesn�t make for the most exciting TV.

From my perspective, we weren�t asking the right questions. Ideally, I would have had wads of time to meditate over the desired qualitative output, research the specific industry that our interviewee worked, and duly consult Lumana's Ghanaian staff over the delicate details of Ewe culture, but as most nonprofits well know, fundraising waits for no man. Now, after the flash footage grab last week, I'm able to take a step back. While the questions above are reminiscent of many other microfinance success stories, what I really wanted were questions that would allow Seattle viewers to truly take a long walk in these Ghanaian's shoes. Western-born Seattlelites just can't relate to the survival-type lifestyle that Lumana clients ultimately pursue. Instead of feeling sorry and pitying Justine, the fish-seller who can't do her job unless the sea yields a good catch, I want others to relate to her experience, in the same way that friends or co-workers relate to each other on a daily basis.

Since the great Pacific Northwest is on it's way to becoming Silicon Valley 2.0, the most obvious connection between Anloga, Ghana and Seattle, WA is the entrepreneurial spirit that unites them both. To enforce this theory, I ended up chatting with Josephine (who goes by Jos), a recent graduate from Anloga's secondary school, about her future aspirations. Jos comes from a very small island, Ada, about three hours away from Anloga, and because of the inaccessibility to the island, Ada literally has nothing located on it. No pharmacy, no store, no anything.

"So what would you like to do after college?"

�I would like to start a provision store in my village, because we have nothing. My parents also have no work, they used to fish but now they catch no more fish because of the sea. The land is not good for planting.�

I was about to turn away from another typical answer, but her confidence in the power of entrepreneurship really struck me. I asked her if she knew that opening a store on the island would even be profitable - I mean, wouldn't you need to do some sort of A/B test to see if the villagers on Ada could even pay for items from a store? Jos told me that when people wanted to buy something, they always have to travel - there was absolutely no question in her voice as she spoke of these future plans.

Although both places encourage entrepreneurship as a way of life, there are some very tangible differences:

1. In Anloga, being an entrepreneur isn't respected or celebrated. Similar to the way we breathe air or love a good, hearty meal, entrepreneurship is an instinctive aspect to being human; when survival is imperative, you just do it. Compare this outlook with the many different 'Entrepreneurship' courses that are almost primed as prerequisites to starting one's own business in Seattle.

2. Becoming an entrepreneur involves more gusto and responsibility than the average job - this is a constant for every person. However, in terms of elements needed to support an entrepreneurial way of life? In Anloga, it's money, and in Seattle, it's fortitude.

Bingo. What an interesting dichotomy - in Seattle, where money abounds, the real test for entrepreneurs begins before the doors (or website) even open; it's the courage to quit that stable job or live on savings that really holds the start-up back. Across the water in Anloga, people are absolutely sure of profitability, and that steadfastness springs from generation to generation. The only thing necessary for more entrepreneurship in the Volta Region is the lack of cold, hard, cash.

I think that Seattlelites can relate to that.

I'd love to hear what you think. The saga continues each week; catch me here and here!

I'm in Ghana!

2011-06-08

I'm currently in Anloga, Keta District, Volta Region, East Ghana working on a project for a microfinance organization called Lumana.

Lumana has a very interesting story. Sammie Rayner founded Lumana in her junior year of college after reading 'Banker to the Poor' by microfinance author Muhammad Yunus, and frustrated by the lack of opportunity for business students her age, joined a volunteer trip to Ghana to figure things out for herself. She befriended the chief of a small village, spent endless hours listening to the needs quoted by locals themselves, and developed a carefully crafted idea for introducing a finance model to the rural poor. Back home, she brought friends and family together, raised $5,000, and used that as the first round of loans for the first small group of Lumana clients back in Ghana.

For the past three years, Lumana has undergone the ups and downs typical of any nonprofit start-up - fundraising, balancing a revolving door of volunteer staff, working both locally in Seattle and globally in Ghana - but their biggest challenge, I believe, has been situating themselves as an organization made up of young graduates to be taken seriously by others.

In the past, their primary method of battling this overarching association was to conceal their age and inexperience as much as possible, both in meetings with investors and in their daily operations. This caused a conflict of interest, of sorts - by hiding their youth, they not only hid their exuberance for their work and their instinctive desire to continue learning about global development (because apparently, once in this field, you're supposed to be an automatic expert - continuous learning isn't as celebrated. What?!), but it also caused stagnation in their day-to-day direction. Trying to do everything perfectly can often lead to the disintegration of key aspects of an organization.

A year ago, however, what began as a request from other like-minded students turned into a thriving Fellows program, and Lumana members came to a realization: their largest asset WAS their youth. Education was the most important component that Lumana could promote, to not only their clients through the form of business and savings education, but also to their peers by emphasizing a new way for young people to see themselves in relation to global development.

I've been working with Lumana for about two years, and now, I'm on-location in Ghana developing an established and enlivened strategy for narrating Lumana's evolving story. It's a great opportunity - a young, smart organization at the forefront of emerging poverty models, as well as a reminder to young people everywhere not to be beaten down by the 'young person complex,' as Sammie prefers to call it.

While I'm here, I'll be spending my time with projects such as telling these client's stories, developing a practical process for on-going media output from Ghana that a summer Fellow (and many more to come) can take on, interviewing locals about their seasonal cash flow to pass on a greater understanding of poverty to folks back home, lots and lots of blogging (updates here and here!), and video clips describing the client's and Fellow's lives here in Ghana.

Want to learn how to create a social media strategy for a microfinance organization in rural Ghana? Tune in here; I'll be posting my findings, difficulties and results every week.

What We�re Learning about Public Education

2011-04-29

** This post originally appeared on Social Venture Partners Seattle's blog.

On January 5th of last month, Governor Gregoire announced her proposal to create a single, cabinet-level Department of Education. The move would unite the state�s early learning, K-12, and higher education agencies into one department with full authority to run the seamless, student-centered, public education system in Washington State - from cradle to career.

On January 20th, Partners, staff, and members of SVP's K-12 and Early Learning Advocacy and Policy Committees gathered at SVP offices to learn more about the Governor's proposal, how it affects Investees, and what we can do as individuals. We asked members of SVP Investees Thrive by Five and the League of Education Voters, as well as the Early Learning Action Alliance (a coalition of which SVP is a member) to share their thoughts on the heated topic.

The conversation was compelling and extremely well-informed, but most of all, inspired. I caught up with two SVP Partners after the panel, Jeanne Tweten and Alison Shaw, to get their outlook, and to ask them how we can do more.

Jeanne raised questions throughout the panel regarding her potential individual contribution to the numerous programs supporting young people in the community. For instance, Head Start currently trains parents in advocacy skills for their children, which is "difficult even for a highly educated parent with legal training!" Jeanne commented.

"Why not partner those with experience in the educational system and/or advocacy with parents facing the educational maze? The partner can walk through the process with the parent as a support/teammate/voice. Immigrant parents would especially find it difficult/intimidating to advocate on their own even after such training."

Jeanne also wondered: "How can SVP collaborate with other early learning supporters to identify viable candidates to support in future elections?" This would elicit �early learning support in the legislature upfront, reducing the need to change minds via lobbying."

Alison Shaw and I chatted about the points that resonated with her after the panel.

She was struck by the fact that easy progress could be made by stronger incentives to share successful (or unsuccessful) pilot programs across school boards. �I was unaware of the excellent results that the Bremerton School District has had in taking a P-3 [pre-school to 3rd grade] perspective, and integrating their curriculum. It seems that this is very connected to their (I think most people would consider) fairly radical decision to pour all of their Title I dollars into early learning.�

Along similar lines of information sharing, Alison was surprised that universities have nearly 25 years of data from all public high schools. The data covers high school performance, post-secondary preparation, and even overall college performance. However, this information is not shared with the relevant school districts. Alison wonders: why is this?

"Is it data that they consider a proprietary advantage in choosing students? Has no one ever asked them to be part of this critical feedback loop?"

And most importantly, Alison asks, how do we change the situation?

"If this [data collection and withholding] is indeed happening, that should change tomorrow. If Governor [Gregoire] or legislators can�t do this by edict, then I think this is a 'no-brainer' piece of progress that we could all advocate for."

For more information, check out these links:

Bill Summary and Information

League of Education Voters Testifies to New Proposal (video)

Gov. Delivers 'State of WA State'

Six Fun Ways to Engage Your Kids in Giving

2011-04-29

** This post originally appeared on Social Venture Partners Seattle's blog.

Although this post was originally written with year-end, holiday giving in mind, while re-reading it I was reminded these tips are great for year-round giving. Enjoy!

Winter vacation is just around the corner, and is a wonderful opportunity to focus on family giving and turning philanthropy into a lifelong practice for your kids. We've compiled our six favorite ways to turn giving into a fun, family activity, in no particular order!

#1 Adopt a Family over the Holidays

This could include giving gifts on the families' wish lists, filling stockings with fun trinkets and necessities, or a variety of food baskets. United Way of King County lists resources on their website to make this activity easy for your family, and SVP Investee, Friends of the Children King County offers a holiday adoption matching program.

Also, if you and your family have already connected with an organization, the holidays are a great opportunity to contact them personally to ask if there are any other specific needs with populations they serve.

#2 Give Your Kids a Moonjar

With three different sections in this piggybank, your kids can learn the difference between spending, saving, and sharing; why it's important and what each means. Moonjar also provides resources for parents who want to teach their children about philanthropy. Best of all, Moonjar is a local organization located right in Capitol Hill!

#3 Share Acts of Kindness with the Giving Game

The Giving Game is an actual card game hosted by the League, an organization that turns the act of giving into a school sport. You can print cards or order them off their website. Challenge your kids to give away as many as they can in a day of Christmas shopping; there are bound to be many irritated shoppers out there in need of a door held open or bags carried!

#4 Create a Volunteer Scrapbook

If you have volunteered with your kids throughout the year, take some time at the end of the year to make an album or scrapbook documenting past volunteer times or experiences. Don't have any pictures? Recreate photos from memory with drawings or stories!

#5 Include Your Kids in Your Year-End Giving Decisions

Do you have organizations that you give to every December? Set aside a day this winter vacation to go over the requests that you've received this year with your kids. This can lead to great conversations about the values you hold and want to share.

#6 Sign Up for a 2011 Family Service Project

Live in Seattle? The SVP Family Service Group is always rounding up families around the Pacific Northwest for fun, beneficial projects. Projects occur year-round, so go ahead and check out more on SVP's calender!

Moka Espresso

2011-04-11

Figuring out the macchinetta in Granada, Spain.�

The pieces.

Putting it all together.

Add some condensed milk...

mmmm, espresso, Spanish style.