Networked Nonprofit: Connecting With Social Media To Drive Change (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
With all the buzz, I was surprised it took me this long to finish this new book (probably because I was stuck in some historical fiction).As a follower of both Allison's and Beth's blogs, I was excited to see what they would put forth. The first few chapters were good, but included more generalities/theory I've seen before. I took greater value from the last few chapters, which provided case studies, examples and a few how-tos for strategically utilizing social networks to enhance the missions of nonprofits. As the authors point out, these ideas/this space is still new, and so for those of us working on issues of social networking/nonprofit work day-to-day, these real-life scenarios were the most helpful.I also appreciate their honesty toward the end in saying....what will the results be? We don't yet know...while stressing the importance of building relationships with these new tools - the core of advocacy work and fundraising.Lastly the value I find in this book is having a published piece on this topic to which I can refer when pitching projects/ideas. Because not all levels of management believe in the value of spending staff time and resources on social networking, the challenge we face is advocating for this work, while balancing this advocacy with working on the pieces that can truly help our organizations (not jumping into every channel simply for the sake of doing so). I'll certainly use pieces of this book when making arguments at work. But I also enjoyed the balanced argument.I think the only reason I'm not giving it one more star is because after avidly reading both authors and like-minded writers in the past year or two, the first half of the book was less valuable for me. That may not be fair ;)Overall, a fabulous read for nonprofit workers to understand the current/future directions of social networking and our sector. I've been an avid fan of Beth Kanter's blog for the past few years. It might come as no surprise that I pre-ordered her, and co-author Allison Fine's, book The Networked Nonprofit. And if you're a reader of their blogs, it might also come as no surprise that the book fully lived up to its great expectations.It doesn't have the common "social media hippie" talk. You know, the long-haired, world-peace-wishing, tree-hugging, social-media-is-going-to-solve-all-your-problems-and-here-are-the-tools-to-do-it talk.Good social media books talk less about the tools and more about the concepts and frameworks. That's what I loved about Flip the Funnel, and that's what I loved about The Networked Nonprofit. Both define and lay out a framework in which you can apply your own strategy.Sometimes it looks as if the authors are treading the hippie-talk territory. I think this is unavoidable. It's because nonprofits have been used to doing things in a particular way and a different approach might seem like a fairy tale at times. But the authors never end up actually sounding like our long-haired friends. Many positive, world-peace-wishing, elements are backed up with organizational structure research outside, and predating, the social media realm, and they are often balanced with real-world pitfalls to look out for.Although the authors provide a core framework, the book is chock full of examples and practical, how-to information. Reading the book will help you answer all those "I'm scared of social media" questions. The reflection questions at the end of each chapter are particularly helpful for a nonprofit manager building a social media strategy.The book is a fast read, but you'll keep it as source to reference. In that sense, it's a perfect (hand)book for nonprofit managers that are looking to increase the impact of their organization's mission statement in a connected world. I am going to be rereading it, and using it, in the months ahead.
What do You think about Networked Nonprofit: Connecting With Social Media To Drive Change (2010)?
Best book on using social media out there. Practical advice and great stories.
—divij
A must-read for nonprofit consultants and nonprofit decision-makers alike.
—Tia
a must read for nonprofits. honoured to be profiled alongside twestival.
—fluzzer
Excellent book on nonprofit usage of social media
—brianna
