Werth-It Fundraising Blog

Today I can say that I finally understand the point of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogging.  Let me tell you what I’ve learned.

When I first wrote about Twitter (www.twitter.com) on this blog (February 27, 2009), I couldn’t understand why people would care what I’m doing.  That’s what Twitter asks, that you write what you’re doing in 140 characters or less.  However, as I’ve been using it, I see the point.  People use it to promote their businesses, to talk about what they’re writing or meetings they’re attending, or things they’ve learned.  They share videos on YouTube and talk about what they mean.  It’s a quick way to reach a lot of other people.

Although initially I dismissed Twitter, I’ve found it useful.  For example, I’ve used it to connect to other fundraising professionals who also share the CFRE credential.  Although earning a CFRE doesn’t guarantee that someone is a good fundraiser, it does mean that they’ve raised more than a million dollars, spent five years in the profession, and passed written exams (many fine fundraisers don’t hold it, however).  Connecting to others with a CFRE keeps me updated on what other good fundraisers are thinking and reading.  Since I live in an area where there are about 20 people with a CFRE, connecting on Twitter links me to a wider world of fundraising professionals.

Facebook is much more social (www.Facebook.com).  There are pictures and brief postings from people.  I use Facebook to keep up with friends and colleagues who are often far away.  It’s fun.  People still link to things they’re reading or watching on YouTube, but they tend to be amusing rather than professional, for the most part.  It’s also easy to send a personal message to someone, even when I don’t know their email address.  I like seeing pictures of what people are doing.  It’s social.  It can still be used to promote business and upcoming seminars, but for the most part it’s just enjoyable.

LinkedIn is more professional (www.linkedin.com).  There are no pictures right now, just straight text.  It’s a good way to view someone’s resume or to see what they’re doing.  I don’t use it for immediate information but to get a sense of who people are professionally.  I also like the feature where I can ask or answer an obscure question: I’m linked to other fundraisers and learn a lot this way, very quickly.

Finally, of course there’s blogging (just search on “blog” but there’s www.wordpress.com if you want to create on, amongst other platforms).  With blogging, I get to reach a wide audience with my messages about fundraising and board development and nonprofit organizations.  I can explain something and post it.  I can write short postings now and collect them into a book later.  I can answer questions that often come up with my seminar students.  I can publicize speaking engagements.  I can even sell products.

Blogging and Twitter are both linked to Google Search, and so I find that posts on either quickly show up on searches.  By using my name, Katherine Wertheim, and the word “fundraising” I find that I have moved higher when people are looking for fundraising help.  I get calls and emails from people who would never have known me otherwise.  I can use these media to publicize things I’m doing, or to publicize the work of other people that I find to be worthwhile (or “werthwhile” if you will, a play on my last name).

It’s still a wide-open world of social media and networking.  There are other websites I haven’t mentioned, like Yahoo Answers, where people can get answers to any question, or Wikipedia, where people can post information quickly, or Plaxo, which seems to be to be like LinkedIn.  It feels like the early days of radio or television or cable, where people didn’t know what to make of the new technology but were working on figuring it out.  These social media sites are changing the world.  Are you going to change with it?

I’m going over to Twitter right now, to Tweet about posting this blog.  Look for me at www.twitter.com/KathWertheim.

For questions on fundraising and social media, please contact me, Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, at katherine@werth-it.com.