Stay Informed!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 05/09/2011 @ 12:00 PM

Tags: Recommended Reading

This morning, I came across an article from Nonprofit Quarterly about the role social media is playing in the nonprofit sector. Exactly a year ago tomorrow (purely coincidental timing), I blogged about this topic – as someone who does communications work for an organization like CFED, I’m constantly seeing new ways to think about how to make what we do relevant.

In last year’s post, I explored what was right about social media and how it was a blessing to nonprofits. At that point, we were even excited to have earned our 400th follower on Facebook! And, while I would still contend that social media has changed in a positive manner the way nonprofits do business, the article I read today paints somewhat of a shadier picture.

So, start by reading the Nonprofit Quarterly article here.

This thoughtful piece points to an interesting phenomenon – when organizations have disputes, social media quickly turns them into public relations gaffes by giving them more visibility. For example, when the Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians tried to negotiate a smaller pay cut with their employer who was seeking to balance the budget, the entire dispute played out online. While Facebook was responsible for allowing the DSO to connect with potential donors in a way that would have otherwise been impossible, so too was it to blame for making obvious to those donors the problems facing the organization internally.

What, then, do we make of social media? Was my argument last year about the ability to connect with audiences too glass-half-full? Or does the Nonprofit Quarterly article point to a problem unique to those organizations who mismanage their social media resources?

Ultimately, I think both observations are correct, and it really comes down to accountability. Social media forces organizations – nonprofit or otherwise – to be accountable. So, whether you’re being praised for the good you do or blamed for the bad, sites like Facebook and Twitter ultimately mean for better or worse, organizations are forced to be accountable.

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