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CONSUMPTION TO PARTICIPATION: THE NEW WEB AND PREVENTION A workshop for The 9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA Learning for Change, Inc.

While we’ve all been head down and working hard on the content of prevention, something subtle but significant has happened -- the Web’s become social. In other words, the web shifted from a search and read environment to participate and publish. The new Web has the ability to connect us and amplify the voices of positive change – but it is dependent upon us to engage. Whether focused on a particular issue or a particular approach to prevention the Web now offers low or no-cost applications that can help document and tell our community stories. Reaching beyond handing out information, the new Web opens conversations, readily supports sharing resources, and links us together to raise the visibility of the social issues we care about. This workshop looks more closely at three web-based content communities, forms of social media, and ways you can put these simple but powerful tools into play.

I. What is Flickr? Flickr is a content community organized around digital photographs and just about anything else related to photography from photo content and composition to the type of camera used. Even without joining Flickr there are several things you can do including search and send links to photos via email or other communications devices. Flickr allows us to share photos that would otherwise be tucked away in a box in a closet somewhere and put them online to organize, share and use in unique ways to tell change stories. What can I/we do with an account? By establishing a free account you can upload your own photos, organize them, set privacy settings, tag them, share them with others, start and/or join groups and make a variety of interesting products. The basic account is free. You must have or create a yahoo email account to join. What’s unique about Flickr? Flickr does more than handle photos. Flickr has created a community around photos and all things photographic. What this means is Flickr has created conditions that support community building and networking focused on photos. For example, there’s an environmental prevention group that I started. My hope is to engage coalition members in sharing some of the community conditions they are working on. As we combine both images and numbers we have a better opportunity for community stories to be understood more broadly. Over time we will have both the numbers and images to reflect the results of our work. Besides these things, Flickr has a group of vendors who stretch into additional services, offering everything from posters to coffee mugs, albums to moo cards and photo cubes to books (for starters). 9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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What about copyright? Creative Commons is an alternative to traditional copyright. By using Creative Commons others know how you’d like your photos used and they can act accordingly (and same in reverse). While traditional copyright law automatically covers all photos, even those made public, creative commons allows you to decide what ways others can use your photos. It is an excellent tool for expanding the reach of a photo (or other material/media) since the potential user doesn’t need to take the time to seek copyright permissions – you already have them and can easily follow and document them. For more about creative commons go to http://creativecommons.org or see the video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3rksT1q4eg that explains and demonstrates, in 4 minutes, how creative commons works. What’s it like being a New Flickr resident? Just like moving to a new geographic neighborhood, you’ll want to know the Flickr neighborhood too. Start with Community Guidelines (link at bottom of page) to get a sense of how things work. Then cruise around the neighborhood, search for photos, join a group, star favorites, etc. From organizing to tagging and descriptions to annotations there’s a lot of useful ways to use Flickr. Why upgrade? A free, basic account may be all that you ever really need. But if you find that you are outgrowing it you can upgrade to Pro account for only $24.95 per YEAR.

Flickr at www.flickr.com Free Account 100 MB per month upload, 10 MB per photo 3 Photo sets Photostream views limited to 200 most recent images Post any of your photos to up to 10 groups Only smaller images accessible (resized)

Pro Account ($24.95 p/yr) Unlimited photo uploads (20 MB per photo) Unlimited video uploads (90 seconds max) Unlimited storage Unlimited bandwidth Unlimited photosets Archiving of high-resolution original images The ability to replace a photo Post any of your photos or videos in up to 60 groups Ad-free browsing and sharing View count and referrer statistics

What ways might you use Flickr in your work in communities? • Tell your community event stories using photos that everyone collects and tags alike • Document community conditions and how they change (or don’t) over time • Celebrate all that is good in your community • Use photos you have to teach the community about your prevention issues by providing stories, descriptions, tags, and links to blogs, information, services and resources. • Remix and reuse photos to tell your story as it progresses over time • Use just the right photo to make the perfect point in a presentation, report, grant application or news story • Engage local youth in creating an event album that tells your community story using photos taken, tagged and loaded online – maybe use it as a community fundraiser? Other Resources • Tech Soup has a handout titled How Nonprofits can get the most out of Flickr at

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page8291.cfm?cg=searchterms&sg=flickr

9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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II. What is YouTube? YouTube is a lot like Flickr except the object or content around which the “community” converges is video rather than still images. While YouTube is the largest and most frequently visited video sharing service, there are others. For a nice listing, check Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_sharing_websites You don’t need to produce video to use YouTube, although a free site for showcasing your community is hard to beat. Even without an account you can view videos as well use the link or embed feature to share videos you find on YouTube with others.

YouTube is the world’s largest video sharing service, with over 100 million videos viewed every day.

What can I/we do with a YouTube account? This is where YouTube goes social. By establishing a YouTube account you can comment on videos, create video responses, flag videos, and add your own – up to ten minutes in length. Larger sized videos can be added if you apply for and receive a “director’s account”.

How can we establish our Own Nonprofit Channel on YouTube? If you are a 501(c)3, you can apply to YouTube for a nonprofit “channel”. If accepted, you would upload your organization’s videos and then post the URL on your website, blog and other places on the social web. There’s also the ability to collect donations built in. Finally, embed your videos on your own websites/blogs and encourage your partners and members to do the same. The more linkages you can make, the more likely your message is to be seen and heard. The more provocative, unique or novel your video, the more likely it is to capture attention and potentially go viral. YouTube Videos by/for Coalitions, Now Appearing CADCA videos: • Franklin County Communities that Care at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZBL-yvqDxk

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• • Other • • • • • •

Butte Youth Now Coalition at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1YMf1AC5O0 Missoula Forum for Children & Youth at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XqcfgAhpE8 DrugfreeMercer at http://www.youtube.com/user/drugfreemercer

CADCA Youth Leadership Training hosted by Birmingham/Bloomfield Community Coalition at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxn1zv0wpmM Videos of Interest: What are Community Values at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqmj2EybIQI Let’s Be the Change at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J7RvJySMuc Come Out Shining at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL2aVQ6TJ6g Days of Caring 2007 – Metro United Way at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8A1RgogPvQ Project Tomorrow Launch Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXVwmx4Hrvc Generation Change – Doing My Part at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rCLcPnvz-Q

9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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Change the World in 5 Minutes – Recipe for Change at

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For the Change the World campaign with videos, short films, virals and music videos at http://programs.sbs.com.au/changetheworld/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IF0K7ESB9w

Other Resources • Tech Soup’s resource, Share Your Nonprofit’s Videos with the World at • •

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page5876.cfm?cg=searchterms&sg=youtube YouTube’s Video Campaign Tip Sheet http://www.youtube.com/t/nonprofit_campaigns YouTube for NonProfits (must be 501(c)3 to apply) http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits

III. Del.icio.us Del.icio.us is a collection of your favorite websites (bookmarks) – and everyone else’s. More specifically, del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website that lets you store and share bookmarks from the web instead of trapped inside your browser on your home or office computer. What’s unique about del.icio.us? Del.icio.us is unique in that your bookmarks are kept online. Regardless of where you are e.g., another office, conference, or at home your bookmarks are available. If you use the favorites or bookmark feature in your current web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Flock) you may find del.icio.us a most welcome addition. But what is really special is the fact that you can network with other people who are interested in the same things you are. Alongside each link is a small blue box that indicates how many other people also bookmarked this same source. By clicking on it, you get a list of del.icio.us subscribers with whom you can network. The list shows you all tags and any descriptive remarks. What can I/we do with Del.icio.us? Del.icio.us is helpful whether you are preparing to write an article/grant or just collecting articles to inform local planning. When it comes to coalitions and substance abuse prevention, del.icio.us can also help by tracking press releases, specific agency announcements, research reports, new data, data analysis, and all things newsworthy at all levels. Most especially, you can track all of your own coalition mentions in local media that post their stories online. Anything with a url (link) can be saved, described, tagged and shared in del.icio.us. What can I/we do with del.icio.us? • Find others with a shared interest and expand your network • When you meet new coalition members or providers, exchange user names and expand both your networks. Share tags so you’ll have some unique but common tags. • Attending a conference? Decide on a tag and share it with others who are attending so everyone gains from the tagged bookmarks saved to del.icio.us. • Share your bookmarks with your coalition members • Use del.icio.us to see what others are reading and noticing in your field of work Link to http://del.icio.us

9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Coalition Blogs The CADCA Coalition Institute keeps a running list of coalition blogs. You can click to view or subscribe to others blogs or add your coalition blog by contacting Sue Stine via blog link http://prevention.typepad.com/

Tools to assist you with social media: RSS Reader (also called an aggregator) If your are tired of searching and your in-box overfloweth, this is the tool for you. Unlike search, this tool will bring you any new content on any site you have subscribed to. Each RSS reader listed below has a section for more information or help but are easy to use. • • •

Netvibes at http://www.netvibes.com Google Reader at http://reader.google.com (requires you sign up for a Google mail (gmail) account Bloglines at http://www.bloglines.com

Other important and helpful resources Research and Data sources • Pew Internet & American Life Project at http://www.pewinternet.org/

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Amanda Lenhart, Sr. Research Specialist, presentation on Teen Online Stranger Contact and Cyberbullying video presentation available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyQX087o4fY

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Family, Friends and Community Report at

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Center for Safe & Responsible Internet Use including the topic of Cyberbullying hosted by Nancy Willard, MS, J.D. at http://www.cyberbully.org/

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/216/report_display.asp

Recommended reading • What is social media? Available at http://www.icrossing.co.uk/ebooks Recommended websites and blogs • Tech Soup at http://www.techsoup.org • Nonprofit Technology Network at http://www.nten.org/ • Technology in Prevention at http://technologyinprevention.blogspot.com • Beth’s Blog: How Non-Profits Can Use Social Media by Beth Kanter at • • • •

http://beth.typepad.com/ CADCA at http://prevention.typepad.com

Technology and Social Media Resources http://www.coalitioninstitute.org/Coalition_Resources/Technology/Technology.asp Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) http://www.nten.org/ NetSquared (an initiative of Tech Soup) http://www.netsquared.org/

Wiki Website (a website where you can contribute) Technology in Prevention Wiki Website available for you to view or better, join in and participate at http://technologyinprevention.wikispaces.com A start-up Social Network for Prevention http://connectedcommunities.ning.com

9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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GETTING STARTED While it may at first feel overwhelming, don’t be intimidated. Just start where you are with what you are interested in and learn as you go. Rather than start with outreach, spend time internal to your organization, inquire into how staff may be using social media outside of work to discover a good starting place from which you can grow strategies internally. Wherever you start, start small. I often use a worksheet developed by David Wilcox (London) that neatly categorizes the types of communication of social media and the various audiences with whom we may engage. Providing information alone, as we know from prevention research, is insufficient to achieve a change in behavior. We simply must look to additional interactive strategies including the three P’s (programs, policies and practices) across some or perhaps all four of the categories listed on the worksheet below. This worksheet is a slight adaptation to David’s original (creative commons) worksheet found here http://socialmedia.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/whoandwhy.pdf.

To use the worksheet, I) determine who it is you want to help (left column, pre-populated but you may change based on your organization. II) Across the top is the question, why do you want to help them? There are four categories for consideration and discussion. 1) InformInformation e.g., broadcast, print-based materials to websites. 2) Communication/Conversation e.g., cards, letters, email, text messaging, blogs etc. 3) Collaboration/development e.g., action plan, assessment, report. 4) Learn/Share e.g., capture the learning in whatever format fits and publish the results in a way that others have ready access and inform their own work.

Why do you want to help them? Inform Information

Communication Conversation

Collaboration Development

Learn Share

Your Board

Who do you aim to help?

Your Staff

Cross-agency partners Coalitions

Youth

Note: You may also want to try this format to assess your past/current aims and outreach with a look at what is already in place in these areas. 9th Annual Michigan Substance Abuse Conference, September 8-9, 2008, Lansing, MI From Consumption to Participation: The New Web and Prevention LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, Learning for Change, Inc. Checotah, Oklahoma

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