YouthNet blog

Thursday Aug 30, 2007

So who does read the voluntary sector blogosphere?

Professional Fundraising ran an interesting article this week about Intelligent Giving, "the independent site for the smarter giver". The site has ruffled some feathers in some parts of the sector, notably after the Institute of Fundraising Awards dinner, when it listed the charities that paid for tables (you can also read a short interview with Dave on our blog here).

Whilst I don't think "the blogosphere exploded" as Professional Fundraising put it, it did cause some controversy. We were caught up in it as well, as YouthNet went to the dinner, and paid for a table, as our Deputy Development Director Sarah explained in her comment on their blog.

Anyway, I've got some time for sites like Intelligent Giving, and the debate that they often spark. What I found particularly interesting about the article though was Intelligent Giving Editor Dave Pitchford's comment that he estimates around 50% of their readers are from the voluntary sector.

That got me thinking about the introspective nature of the voluntary sector in the UK, and how much of a problem this is for the sector. Being a fresh faced youngster, I haven't been in the sector as long as most, but it strikes me that we can be almost neurotic in raising and debating issues that start off small and can appear insurmountable, once we've peered at them and prodded them from every angle.

So, some of the questions I've got are:

Is it such a problem that sites like Intelligent Giving are read mainly by people in the voluntary sector?

How do we engage with "the public" more on the issues of transparency, effective ways to give and charity governance?

Why would you read blogs about charities and voluntary sector issues unless you worked in the sector yourself?

 

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 9:07 AM ) Link to this post Comments[3]

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Friday Aug 24, 2007

The Big Ask goes digital

Friends of the Earth's "The Big Ask" campaign site is a great example of using digital media to encourage participation and deliver a compelling campaign message. The landing page creates a real sense of community and I like the way your own message can sit alongside "famous marchers" like Thom Yorke, Stephen Fry and... um... James Blunt.

Allowing individuals to participate like this is also a good way of reinventing the more traditional ways of protesting, as well as lifting the time and location based restrictions of a protest march.

On TheSite.org we've added a lot more content relating to activism and campaigning, including a pool of "virtual volunteering" opportunities that aren't limited by your location.

Sharing views and forming groups virtually now seems to have passed a tipping point, whereby genuine change can be created from the virtual world – let's hope we see some more examples of this soon.

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 8:56 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]

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Thursday Aug 16, 2007

It's rose tinted spectacle season

A-Level results are out today, and its open season for student bashers everywhere. The Telegraph reports that a quarter of all results will be "A's", prompting the annual avalanche of scorn on our educational system, and the young people that pass through it.  

Journalists must love this time of year – just open the article they wrote last year, change the date, increase the percentage of grade A's, and away you go.

For students it doesn't get much easier once they've done their A-Levels, because apparently degrees are much easier now as well. In fact, they're not just easier, most of them cover pointless subjects that bear no relevance to the "real world" and are no use to man nor beast.

Not only that – according to some, this increase in "soft A-Levels" is also undermining the economy. I'm not necessarily arguing the facts on this on this one. What does appal me though is the level of negativity about young people that's packaged up at the same time.

So, just in case anyone missed the message, if you believe everything you read, young people are a bunch of ASBO-ridden, disrespectful, poorly qualified wasters.

The weight of implied criticism of young people is immense in this country, and it will surely have a detrimental effect. Imagine if parents told their kids that, despite doing all they can to achieve excellent results in their exams, it was only because "exams are easy now".

So how do young people gain the respect of their elders? Join the army and fight an unpopular war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Excel at sport and join the ranks of the over-paid, over-privileged footballers?

I'm reminded sometimes of one of the classic sports clichés – you can only beat what's in front of you, and what we seem to be creating is a society where young people have no perceived value, and very little to aspire to.

Rant over – I just think endlessly telling people they're useless and they offer nothing of value is no way to nurture, encourage and inspire a generation.

 

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 8:49 AM ) Link to this post Comments[4]

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Friday Aug 10, 2007

Johnson & Johnson puts the heat on The American Red Cross

Johnson & Johnson are suing The American Red Cross after they allegedly violated an agreement made over 100 years ago. The violation related to use of the logo to sell products – in this case health & safety kits sold by the American Red Cross to generate income for their disaster relief work (you can check out the store here).

Putting aside the obviously unpalatable prospect of an global business giant suing a charitable organisation that has carried out live saving work for over a century, this raises some really important issues and questions for charities and businesses alike.

Driven by the rise of the ethical consumer, brands and businesses have become increasingly ethically conscious – Marks and Spencer's Plan A being a great example. This means charities no longer have the bragging rights on "doing good" – introducing an element of competition which is causing considerable nervousness in the non-profit world.

On the flip side, non-profits are becoming more commercially savvy – and the private sector is also facing some commercial competition from charities.

So, is this law suit an inevitable by product of the line between charities and businesses blurring?

If The American Red Cross did violate their agreement with Johnson & Johnson, does the fact that they're a well loved charity that does fantastic work make it "OK"?

If charities are going to compete with the private sector for punter's hard earned cash, as a sector do we have the skills and savvy to take on "big business" and win?

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 8:41 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]

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Thursday Aug 02, 2007

Calling all you (custard) pie eaters

I'm a big fan of Flickr, and nowadays the non-profit world is full of organisations and individuals using it in all kinds of inventive and effective ways (stand up NSPCC, Beth Kanter and Greenpeace, amongst many, many others).

This made me chuckle though - Frederico Duarte is using Flickr to track the spread of "Pastel de Nata" cakes – Portugese Custard Pies to you and me. If you spot a Pastel de Nata, be sure to snap it and send it to Frederico's group on Flickr.

Funnily enough, at YouthNet we're using Flickr as a tool to build up our stock of pictures for www.TheSite.org. So, if you're a David Bailey in the making and fancy seeing some of your images on the UK's (perhaps the world's?!) greatest information, support and advice site for young people, you can find out more here.

Cheers to the Doors of Perception e-newsletter for the tip on Frederico's project. 

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 4:56 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]

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