In Egypt, Applaud the People...Not Facebook or Twitter.

I've been glued to my laptop and television for the past few days just watching the events unfold in Egypt, devouring all the photos, articles, videos, and tweets that come my way. It's absolutely riveting to witness the bravery and spirit of the Egyptian people as they take to the streets to fight for their rights. And I'm so deeply moved to know that a people can come together, irrespective of class, age, and religion, to push for change that is so desperately needed.

Why yes, those are people praying. (Scott Nelson, NYTimes).

It's funny though because as I listen to the news and hang out on Twitter, one of the most prevalent themes about the recent uprisings in the Middle East is the role of social media in mobilizing the people. Pundits left, right, and centre have been quick to assess the role of Twitter and Facebook in igniting these revolutions. And overly enthusiastic social media evangelists are in a frenzy to call the uprisings a "Twitter revolution". I think it's rather silly though to frame the situation in this way, completely disregarding the political, social, and economic issues that are essentially at the crux of this revolution. And I think it's sheer naiveté to believe that Facebook and Twitter are the only means by which people on the ground are organizing, as if their only point of contact were in cyberspace and not physical space. The buzz surrounding social media has truly been overwhelming and as Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his infamous New Yorker article, "where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools". 

Of course this is not to say that the role of social media should go unnoticed or downplayed. I do believe that it has played a critical role in the developments in the region, not only by helping to organize internally within the country, but also by getting information out into the world with such ferocious speed, energy, and urgency. Jared Cohen of Google Ideas captured my sentiments best when he described social media as "an accelerant". These tools have undoubtedly changed the media landscape and the implications are significant. After all, the mere fact that the government of Egypt felt it necessary to shut down the Internet and mobile communications is testament enough to its importance. There's no dispute there.

But let's not let the allure of these new technologies overshadow the bravery of the people. Yes, digital media and communication technologies have made it profoundly easier for ordinary citizens to mobilize, organize, and coordinate their efforts and that's certainly nothing to scoff at. But at the end of the day, it is the people who are the driving force of this (and any) revolution. And Facebook, Twitter, cellphones, telephones, fax machines, telegrams, or whatever the current technology of the day is, are only tools that people have at their disposal to use. In the end, it is still the people who must take to the streets and risk their lives for a better future. And as we grapple to understand these new technologies, I hope we don't lose sight of this very basic truth.

(Emilio Morenatti, Associated Press)

Cultivating Culture

In my ongoing mission to foster and cultivate a culture that is more open and embracing of social media at jhr, I held a "Social Media 101" workshop a couple of weeks ago for all of our staff members and interns. I set out initially to demonstrate what exactly this "social media thing" is and how our organization is currently using it to advance our mission. It was a great way to get everyone on the same page because oftentimes, we get so busy and caught up in our own individual departments that we forget to actively involve ourselves and work in synergy (yes, I used that favourite buzz word) with the other departments. Working in social media, I have the pleasure of working with all the various departments on a frequent basis. Synergy, not silos! Rah, rah, rah!

Many non-profit organizations are quickly capitalizing (though many more are still hesitant) on the potential that social media has to offer to expand their donor and volunteer base and to raise awareness for their cause. I follow the work of many charities and NPOs very closely, trying to learn from their successes and yes, more importantly, their failures. I wanted to share these teachings with my colleagues too to show them that social media does work and that it can have an impact. And really, what better way to demonstrate the success and failure of another NPO than to actually hear from another NPO? The lovely Erin Swanson, Communications and New Media Coordinator of water.org, graciously spared her time to tell us about her experiences with water.org and the many lessons she's learned from managing their online media channels. It was such a great learning moment for everyone (myself included!) and I know that our staff and interns left that boardroom feeling more inspired to join the social media bandwagon. In fact, I've been watching my "jhr team" list on Twitter and seeing a lot more activity from them. And in the past few weeks, there's been so much more dialogue on how to really amp up our social media efforts. I know it's geeky but I won't lie, it makes me feel oh so warm and fuzzy inside! ONWARD WE GO!

Chasing water(falls)

Today the online world is buzzing about one thing. Water. Why? I'll tell you why.

• Because nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean and safe water
• Because every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease
• Because the water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
• Because women in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to collect water.
• Because more people on earth have cell phones than toilets (Read this case study of India).
• Because over 200 million hours of labour each day are consumed just to collect water.
• Because investment in safe drinking water and sanitation contributes to economic growth. For each $1 invested, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates returns of $3 – $34, depending on the region and technology.
• Because we should be outraged by these numbers and figures.

Need more reasons? Read here for some more hard hitting facts.

Now I've been watching videos and looking at photos related to water all of this morning as a way of getting myself inspired to write this blog post for Blog Action Day. And in almost all those videos and photos, there's a little snapshot of clean water flowing and all I could think to myself was, "Dear God, that water is beautiful". And it's something that we in developing nations take for granted every single day. And I'm not claiming to be the exception. I take extremely long and hot showers and yes, I leave the tap running more often than I'd like to admit. Let's face it, water isn't something I (or you) think about every day. We don't sit at the end of the day and thank any higher being for granting us access to this amazing natural resource. It's just there. And it'll be there tomorrow.

But then I watched this video from the good folks at charity: water and it made me think twice. What if our city's taps went dry? What would we do? It's a startling look at what people go through every single day and it's something that could so easily be affecting us.

So what are you supposed to do now that you know this? 

• Take time to look at the water flowing out of your taps at home. You couldn't possibly imagine what it would be like to have to drink and bathe in contaminated, dirty water. Be thankful and be more aware next time you leave that tap running.
• Educate yourself on the water and sanitation crisis that we're currently in the midst of.
• This time be the educator and tell your friends.
• Sign a petition to support the UN to bring clean water to millions around the world
• Donate to non-profit organizations and charities that work to bring developing nations access to clean and safe drinking water.

The following is a list of organizations that you can learn from and get involved with to help fight against our water crisis: water.org, charity: water, Wine to Water, The Water Project, Circle of Blue, End Water Poverty, Water for People, Imagine H20, The Samburu Project.

Tech for Change - September Round Up!

Weeeee! September's been one helluva month! Tons of stuff going on in the non-profit world and as always, there have been some fantastic examples of technology being used for the greater good. Namaste to you too.

Every September, charity: water runs the September Campaign where they ask all those celebrating birthdays in that month to give up presents and instead, ask for a donation to help build a well in one of the developing nations that they're currently working in. This year charity: water celebrated it's fourth anniversary by drilling a well for the Bayaka people in the Central African Republic, bringing them the essential safe and clean drinking water that they need. Aside from raising an incredible $682,638 for the water project, charity: water effectively and impressively made use of the live-streaming technologies available to us today to show us how they conduct their work on the ground in this remote country. On September 7th, they broadcasted the live drill via their Facebook page, although with much difficulty. Take a look at the video below that explains the challenges they had to face during this live drill. There are so many things that NPOs and charities can learn from this example. Being open and honest about both their successes and failures, charity: water gives a whole new meaning to transparency.

Free the Children's annual 'We Day' brings together youth from all across Canada to celebrate and inspire positive change within their communities and beyond. One of the most impressive aspects of this year's campaign (aside, of course, from the actual day's festivities) was what they did with their Facebook page. Such a simple concept but it's potential is really très incroyable! For every 'like' that the page gets, Free the Children's sponsors have agreed to donate $1 to the organization. That's one click of a button that takes a person quite literally less than a second...could there be an easier call to action than that? The current 177,387 'likes' can answer that for you.

The week of September 20th was a big one as world leaders all convened in New York City for the 2010 United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Summit. Acknowledging the importance and potential impact digital media has to influence people around the globe, the United Nations Foundation partnered with Mashable and 92nd Street Y to host the first ever UN Week Digital Media Lounge. Described as "a place for bloggers to have exclusive in-person access to experts on issues like poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS, women's health and climate change, the UN Digital Media Lounge was a unique and innovative way to include more voices to this ever crucial conversation.