Just a tidbit here, but one with some mileage? The beauty in the MySpace, YouTube, etc. example is how they allow their users to connect to one another. This site - http://www.communitymx.com/content/article.cfm?cid=A1A63 - deconstructs their model to show you how to build a social networking database. In this way users can self-select their circles of interest and remain in close touch with one another. Why lament that only the under 25s use these sites - and are not in your current donor demographics - and instead create communities of interest for yourself?! If there are any technical readers of my blog or others willing to give it a go, let's have a discussion about how this might work for charities.
And if that is too much too quickly for you, here is another quick web 2.0 tip. Allow your visitors to comment on your news items, feature stories and appeals. You'll have first hand access to what people really think about your issues and how they react to and interact with one another. But you will likely have to be prepared to moderate, with a light touch or heavy is up to you.
Comments
Re : How to MySpace your charity!
Hi Barry - that's bizarre. It's one thing to have a primary demographic of over 25s, and another to not allow anyone older to (truthfully) give feedback. It must surely have been a mistake as they say nothing about being deliberately age-specific and I understand that in the US the demographic is older. Possibly a young enthusiastic person drew up the survey and had a mental block!
I'm going to start a new social networking thread on the blog so please come along and contriubute?
Cheers, Sarah
Re : How to MySpace your charity!
I am certainly not technical but I would like to try to create a community more attuned to our donor profile, even if the only qualification were a broader age range. I recently attempted to complete a questionnaire on My Space only to be thwarted at the first hurdle because there was no option in the question on "age" that was over 25!