Northern California Grantmakers

Alternate title: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Blog*

Dear Diary…

I must confess I’m not very good at keeping a diary. I want to, very much, but I just don’t seem to find the time.

Ironically, I do have a blog (other than this one) that I write for pretty regularly.

For many people out there in the blogosphere, blogs are like their personal diary where they document their thoughts and exciting events.

What’s the blogosphere? The blogosphere is the interconnected community of blogs on the Internet. But perhaps there are a few more terms that require defining before we go any further.

Is “Blog” Even A Word?

Short for weblog, the word blog is both a noun and verb.

Blog: what you’re reading right now.

To blog or blogging: the act of writing for a blog.

Blogger: one who blogs.

Simply put, a blog is a website with individual commentary. Blogs can be personal, corporate, for entertainment purposes, political or focus on a specific issue area, i.e. Philanthropy.

You Are Here

When I started this social media series I outlined four areas that I would focus on:

• Listening: I’ve covered how to use Google Alerts, an RSS reader and Twitter as tools for listening to online conversations in Philanthropy.
• Sharing: I’m just beginning to cover this topic. See the last two posts which covered how Twitter can be used to share.
• Engaging & Connecting: This post on blogging will begin to talk about how to use social media to deepen and develop relationships with grantees, colleagues and partners.
• Why do any of it? Though I plan to do one post specifically on this topic, I have been providing arguments for why grantmakers should use social media in every post.

We’ve covered listening and with the posts on Twitter we’ve now entered the territory of sharing. And blogs are a perfect example of how a foundation can use a social media tool to share.

Blogging is Sharing

Whereas Twitter limits you to only 140 characters for announcing news or pointing people to online articles, a blog allows its blogger (author/writer) the ability to write as much or as little without limitation. Though, general web writing guidelines recommend short blog posts (oh irony, I know you well).

But the point is, bloggers create their own content. They muse or comment on whatever topic they choose.

For grantmakers a blog can be a powerful tool. By sharing their perspective on issue areas or highlighting the work of their grantees, foundations have the ability to shape conversation about the future of Philanthropy.

To Blog, Or Not To Blog: That Is The Question

And how are other grantmakers making use of blogs?

Here are a few NCG members who blog:

*The California Endowment [Bob's Blog]: shares the foundation’s position on policy issues and their grantmaking priorities.

*Mitchell Kapor Foundation blog: uses the blog “as a tool to share [their] grantmaking philosophy, practices, and processes.”

*REDF’s blog [Fuel for the Field]: “highlights the unique perspective of REDF and their partners.”

*ZeroDivide’s blogs: covers a wide range of technology issues and features postings by multiple staff members.

Blogging is Engaging

Unlike a press release, which is a one-way communication piece, blogs allow individuals the ability to leave comments, which allows for two-way communication.

Take the example of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scroll down their blog’s page and you’ll find this:

The content on this site is posted by employees, grantees, and persons unrelated to the foundation. This comments section serves to facilitate open dialogue and encourage the exchange of ideas.

“The exchange of ideas.”

Simple, but very powerful when you think about it. It’s a phrase often used to describe education, especially the university experience. What if we continue to apply that lesson of learning to our work as grantmakers?

If we continue to see the world, our communities, as a classroom for learning, then anyone potentially could be our teacher, our mentor, our cohort. Engaging and connecting with others allows for continual learning, collaboration and, as an added benefit, our relationships with colleagues, partners and grantees are deepened and enriched.

For the benefit of all.

Tomorrow, how exactly to start up a blog.

* Five points if you can name that reference.

The Social Media & Grantmaking blog post series will cover a wide range of topics. Check out the introduction post outlining the series.

To see all the posts in this series, simply type “social media series” into the search box located upper right of this web page.

This is the second post on Twitter for the social media series I’m writing for this blog.

In the last post for this series I covered some of Twitter’s basics:

• What it is
• How to set up a Twitter account
• How to use Twitter to listen to online conversations about Philanthropy

As I mentioned in the first post that kicked off this social media series, if you’re just beginning to explore how to use social media listening is a good first step. The next step is sharing.

We use NCG’s Twitter account to share member news, share our own news and point people to news articles, research and/or commentary that we think is relevant to the philanthropic community.

Think of your emails. When you get one that you think your colleagues would find useful, you forward it along to them.

But instead of sending an email to 100 people about the latest report on grantmaking, you use Twitter to announce the report.

The Anatomy of a Tweet

Okay, so you’re ready to do more than just listen on Twitter, you want to actually post your own tweets. Here are some Tweeting basics:

• Tweets can be no longer than 140 characters.
• A ReTweet (RT) is a repeated tweet. It is sometimes used in a reply to allow everyone to see the original tweet. It is also used to forward a message onto one’s own followers.
• The hashtag (#) is a community-driven practice of tagging an individual tweet by using a hash in front of the tag. Example: Putting #philanthropy in a tweet about the grantmaking. Hashtags allow the community to easily stream a particular subject.
• Because of the limited characters in a tweet, if you want to include a url (web link) in your tweet you have to shrink it using one of several URL-shortening services such as tinyurl.com, is.gd, ow.ly, and bit.ly.

For a more detailed explanation of these terms, check out an expanded Twitter glossary on Blogging Bits and PC Magazine’s Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners.

So How Are Grantmakers Using Twitter?

Not sure exactly what it is you want to share on Twitter? Aside from re-tweeting (RT) other people’s tweets or tweeting links to your organization’s latest press releases, what else can you do on Twitter?

In 2009 social media guru Beth Kanter examined how different foundations were using Twitter. Here’s what she wrote in a blog post on the subject:

In an earlier post, I found the following types of patterns related to content shared on Twitter.

* Share history (Detroit Foundation)

* Talk vision and mission (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

* Share important research (Kauffman Foundation) (Hewlett Foundation)

* Retweet useful links shared by colleagues (Greater Cincinnati Foundation)

* Recruit job candidates (MacArthur Foundation)

* Important program deadlines (Hawaii Community Foundation)

* Reveal field insights (Columbus Foundation) (Case Foundation)

* Recognize employees or fellows (Kellogg Foundation)

* Profile grantee success or support their efforts (CF Community Foundation)

* Be responsive (Skoll Foundation)

* Ask questions about the future (Cleveland Foundation)

* Answer questions about the future (Knight Foundation)

I also recommend reading Beth’s blog post to learn more about the different types of voices that were being employed by these foundations: pure branding, personality, staff perspective, and pure personal accounts.

Go At Your Own Pace

Don’t worry, no one is asking or expecting you to become a Twitter maven right out of the gate.

You can ease into it. Start by just listening and re-tweeting if that’s what your comfortable with. Start with just tweeting your foundation’s news.

In its own time, I think you’ll find your own voice will evolve on its own. And that’s what you really want, to have your own unique voice (as a foundation or as an individual), so that these technological tools don’t completely sterilize who we are. After all these tools are in service of us, and not the other way around.

The Social Media & Grantmaking blog post series will cover a wide range of topics. Check out the introduction post outlining the series.

To see all the posts in this series, simply type “social media series” into the search box located upper right of this web page.

Every morning I start my day by turning on the local news. Even though I’m getting ready to leave for work, I have the news on in the back ground as a way to check the San Francisco weather (so I can figure out how many layers I’ll need) and as a way to keep myself up to date on what’s happening in the Bay Area.

Staying informed about what’s happening in Philanthropy is also a priority, so when I get to work I repeat the process, but this time I go online.

Keeping Informed

We all want to be informed about the latest news in Philanthropy, the latest research, find out what the field’s major thinkers, advocates and critics are all saying.

Listening to online conversations can keep a grantmaker informed about the issue areas they care about. And, many would argue, that being informed will make a grantmaker more effective in their work.

So, chances are if you’re reading this blog there’s you most likely read other blogs or visit other websites to gather news items. But, considering that your time is valuable, are you being efficient about how you get your online news?

News Run Around?

Most likely you have several websites or blogs that you go to for your Philanthropy news. But have you ever gone to one of those sites only to see that there’s no new news?

Wouldn’t it be nicer if the news came to you? So that when one of your favorite websites or blogs added new material you would know without having to spend time constantly checking for updates?

Well, here are two tools designed to alert you when new materials is published on your favorite website and bring the news to you.

RSS Feeds: Let The News Come To You

When we find a website we like we often “bookmark” it so we can return to it again quickly. The only problem with bookmarking is:

• You have to do all the work by checking the website.
• It can get complicated when you are trying to track many websites at once.
• You miss information when you forget to check your bookmarks.
• You end up seeing the same information over and over again on sites that don’t update very often.

Exhausting, right?

RSS Feeds solve this problem. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” It’s a news feed that you subscribe to.

And here’s a video from Common Craft that explains “RSS in Plain English”.

After you’ve subscribed to receive the RSS Feeds for your favorite websites, every time one of those websites is updated the new information is sent to you.

So now what?

If you want to subscribe to several RSS feeds, you’ll need some way to manage it all. And that’s where Google Reader comes in.

Google Reader: Like Email for RSS Feeds

I think of Google Reader like email for RSS. I check my email every day (many times a day) and I check Google Reader to see if the websites I’ve subscribed to have sent me anything new via their RSS Feeds.

Here’s a screenshot of what my Google Reader inbox looks like:

Immediately I can see which of the blogs I follow have published new posts. And I can read all the new posts here in one location instead of jumping around from website to website.

Setting Up a Google Reader Account & Subscribing to RSS Feeds

After going to the Google Reader login page, follow these steps to set up your account:

1. If you already have a gmail account, you can enter your log in information in the box that appears to get started right away. If you do not have a gmail account, click the blue “Create an Account” button.

2. Follow the instructions to supply the required information. Note that you do not have to use a gmail account to set up your news reader, but you must have an active email account. Once the information has been entered, click “Create my account” to go to your new RSS reader.

3. Add blogs or news readers to your site by clicking the “Add Subscription” button on the left-hand side of the screen. This will open a dialog box where you can input either search terms or the actual web address of sites you want to include in your RSS reader.

Here’s a quick tour of Google Reader.

And here’s Google’s official video tutorial on setting up a Google Reader account.

And I recommend checking out their other video tutorials on Google Reader Help’s Youtube channel.

So go ahead and set up an account. And make listening an every day practice to keep you informed and up to date on what’s going on in the field of Philanthropy.

The Social Media & Grantmaking blog post series will cover a wide range of topics. Check out the introduction post outlining the series.

To see all the posts in this series, simply type “social media series” into the search box located upper right of this web page.