YouthNet blog

Thursday Nov 16, 2006

Oh my God! They killed Pudsey!

Intelligent Giving, the new independent guide to charities, has put the boot into the BBC's Children In Need. There are four things wrong with Pudsey (the appeal's mascot), researcher Adam Rothwell says:

1)      Since Children in Need is a grant-giving charity donors' money will incur admin costs from both it and the organisations it funds;

2)       Donors have no control over where the money goes;

3)      The organisation's Summary Information Return this year "contained information that was in some parts incomplete, in others plain false";

4)      They don't provide enough information about how they judge the success of projects or future plans.

I'm not qualified to know whether this argument is conclusive, but hats off to Intelligent Giving for a PR triumph. Attacking the BBC's treasured annual tin-rattling jamboree has garnered extensive coverage in The Times, The Observer and probably lots of other places too.

And they've been quick to rebut the subsequent accusations that have flown about their own work.

I like the new Intelligent Giving website. Their discussion boards are a bit dormant at the moment and some of the 'humour' is weak, to say the least ("Shop with Alain de B'Argain") but basically they're providing a service that the public needs. (See my interview with David Pitchford for some background).

Charities should be held to account. Chief Executives and Chairs should worry about whether they are doing their jobs properly. There should be debate in the press – especially at a time when politicians are planning large scale transfers from the public to the voluntary sector.

And the BBC should reply directly to the criticisms Intelligent Giving has made.

Posted by Tom Green ( 4:06 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]

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TheSite.org goes mobile

We've got some big news: mobile users can now access one of the key services from TheSite.org on their phones. We've made our Local Advice Finder database of over 13000 organisations available on mobiles so young people can find help wherever they are.

This is the first phase of our mobile development plans. As Tom pointed out on this blog some months ago, the mobile platform is an exciting distribution channel for publishers (including charities) and one that we think is going to be key in the years to come.

But why mobile?

1. There are lots of them.
There are three times as many mobile phones as PCs worldwide and virtually all phones on the market today are web-enabled. As devices, mobiles are going to become increasing rich with features and offer the same download speeds we expect with broadband.

2. Young people use them. Loads.
In the UK, 96% of 16-24 year olds have mobiles. Young people rely heavily on mobile devices (generally phones but increasingly hand-held video gaming devices too) to retrieve and share information. This generation has grown up with mobiles and don't have the same voice-only associations that older people have with phones.

3. It's a good route to the hard-to-reach.
Only 34% of people over 15 in DE groups use the internet, while 76% use a mobile phone. It's clear that organisations like YouthNet have a much higher chance of reaching the hard to reach, i.e. those who are considered to be socially excluded or disadvantaged, if we use mobile technology to reach them.

4. Mobile devices offer something that other access points don't.
Mobiles are popular because they are personal, personalised and portable.

• Personal: Very few people share mobiles (unlike PCs) and often store data on them that they wouldn't want others to see.
• Personalised: Ringtones, screensavers and other personal settings help mobile users create individualised devices that say lots about their personalities.
• Portable: No one leaves home without making sure their mobile is in their pocket or bag. People use their mobile while on the move and they are increasingly used for functions beyond their original purpose. 

And why not mobile?

It's hard. Mobile publishing isn't like normal web publishing - as well as the opportunities listed above, there are major limitations in terms of screen size, (current) data download speeds and navigation options. But this doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Quite the opposite. For organisations that can crack this, there is amazing opportunity available.

We are committed to delivering many new features and lots of content both for TheSite.org and do-it.org.uk over mobile platforms. We'll keep you informed here, but in the meantime, try out our first service and let us know what you think.

To view Local Advice Finder on your web-enabled mobile, visit www.thesite.org on your phone web browser.Thanks to Claire Easterman, our mobile project manager for the info for this post. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 1:18 PM ) Link to this post Comments[4]

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