Marketing Roadmaps

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Charity

Slurping Life and love for Parker

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cross posted to Snapshot Chronicles

Last month, I  told you the story of Katie Gardner, off to Uganda to take photos with children in the IDP camps. Katie was a recipient of donated photo gear that HP sent bloggers who wrote about the Capture Your Ever After photo contest.

Today, I want to tell you what Melody from Slurping Life has decided to do with her thank you gear. She is hosting an "online love offering" to raise money for the healthcare costs of a young boy with numerous medical issues. The HP photo gear is the featured prize in the associated raffle.

When we came up with the idea to give the bloggers some gear to donate to a charity of their choice, we knew they would have no trouble coming up with deserving recipients.

But the creativity of their choices has exceeded my wildest expectations. That a digital camera and printer and some photo paper could make a real difference in the life of a sick little boy and his family… That a digital camera and printer and some photo paper could make a real difference for the children in the IDP camps…

Makes you feel good. Real good.

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Finding Hope in Photos: Children and Uganda

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cross-posted to Snapshot Chronicles

This spring, as I wrote in May, I did some blogger outreach to mom bloggers about HP’s Capture Your Ever After photo contest. This post is a direct result of that project.

The background: Part of friendship is to say thank you. We decided to thank the bloggers who wrote about the contest by making a donation of an HP digital camera, compact photo printer and some supplies to a charity of their choice.We also decided to send the gear directly to the women, so they could have the pleasure of donating it personally to their favorite local charities.

Because the donation aspect was not promoted in advance, it was a bit of a surprise to the bloggers when they got the email offering them the gear, but  none of them had any trouble thinking of a cause that meant something to them personally. They also all took the time to let us know what they planned to do with it, even though we didn’t make it a requirement that they do so.

Tracey Clark’s donation is going to war-torn Northern Uganda next month with Katie Gardner of San Diego.

Katie is part of a group connected with Children of the Nations. They will be spending three weeks working with children and families in the IDP (internally displaced people) camps.  Some of the folks going will be doing counseling, but Katie and small group of four or five others will be doing photo projects with the children.

She told me that working with third-world children, giving them a chance to use photography as a creative outlet has been a dream of hers ever since she saw the documentary Born into Brothels which documents the lives of children who live in Calcutta’s red-light district.

"When kids take pictures, they have a unique view. I’m really looking forward to helping these children experience the world in new ways through photography. I hope it gives them hope for the future."

Including the camera and compact printer donated by HP, Katie has two brand new digital cameras, two printers, a handful of used polaroid cameras and cash donations from friends and family to purchase supplies. They still need a scanner so they can scan in the polaroids and leave the originals with the children. If  you’d like to help, drop Katie a note at katieann10@gmail.com.

Katie thinks it’s important that we hear and see the smaller stories from Africa and other third world nations, not just the larger than life efforts of celebrities like Madonna and Bono so she is developing a blog to document her Uganda trip. You’ll also be reading more about Katie’s project on Snapshot Chronicles and on Tracey’s blog, Picture This.

Over the summer, Katie’s kids in Uganda, Tracey’s daughter Julia (age 9) in California,  my son Douglas (age 7) here in Massachusetts and two friends of Katie’s in San Diego, ages 7 and 9, will take pictures using some simple themes, including laughter, friends, sunshine and where I live. When Katie returns in August, we’ll do a series of posts showing their worlds through their eyes. It should be interesting to see the differences and similarities between the American and Ugandan children.

Katie says she hopes these pictures will help Americans better understand what is happening in Uganda:

"Not only do I want the kids in Uganda to have a creative outlet to think about their lives in a new way, I want people back home to be transformed by seeing the world though these kids’ eyes. And I want both sides to really see the potential for hope in places where people have been suffering for so many years. I want people back home to be moved to see how they can make a difference; and even if not in Africa, then how can we make a difference in our own backyard? I’m lucky enough to go overseas, but it’s so easy to be the catalyst for change in our own families and neighborhoods when we allow ourselves to open our eyes to what’s going on around the world."

Bon voyage, Katie.

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Check out Invisible Children, another group that helps the children of Uganda.

Update, 27 June: Tracey’s post Picture Hope

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I’m Backstage at Sundance

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In case any of you were wondering where I’ve been for the last week, and warning, where I am likely to be much of next week as well, I’m Backstage at Sundance.

Well not literally of course. I’m covering general news and monitoring the blogosphere for interesting Sundance tidbits for the HP blog, all from GetGood Strategic Marketing world headquarters in Hudson, Mass. But as we all know, there’s only so much time to blog in any given week, so for the next little while, most of my writing will be over there, not here. And of course there’s lots of great Sundance blogging from the folks on the ground at the festival — film reviews, press conference reports, celebrity sightings. Be sure to check it out.

A few things I definitely want to note for my marketing and PR readers. I posted yesterday at Backstage about how Sundance is really embracing social media. In the last two weeks, they announced deals with iTunes and YouTube. Starting Monday, folks will be able to purchase short films from this year’s festival on iTunes. And on YouTube, there’s going to be a Sundance Channel section with all sorts of Sundance content — festival coverage of course, but also clips from programming and so on. Not to mention the festival screenings being held in Second Life. More details and links in my post over at Backstage at Sundance.

HP is trying something new with the Backstage blog this year: "En Español." Many of the general posts as well as posts of interest to the Hispanic audience will be translated into Spanish. From HP Hispanic Marketing Manager Kathleen Haley’s post today:

… we will have the most exciting entries about the festival, as well as specific entries that are relevant to the Hispanic market and our Hispanic readers — whether that be a celebrity sighting, a great movie (Padre Nuestro or Summer Rain directed by Antonio Banderas) or a big event. Keep coming back to see the latest on HP and Sundance en Español!

Finally, regular readers know how strongly I feel about donating to charity, early and often. Friday at Sundance, actor Kevin Bacon announced a new charitable initiative that plays off the well known game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Together with Network for Good, Bacon has created  sixdegrees.org, a charitable community in which celebrities and regular folks alike share their favorite charity. When you donate to someone’s charity through sixdegrees.org, you can display a “badge” from the person whose charity you supported on your Web site or blog. Linking us all together by doing good.

You can read more about sixdegrees.org and Network for Good at the Diva Marketing blog and my Backstage post (updated).

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The giving season

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Things have been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks, with no signs of slowing down until after Christmas. So posting here will be quite sporadic.

Before I (sort of) disappear to the holiday rush, I wanted to remind readers and friends that the best business gifts are donations to charity.  So when you sit down to send holiday gifts to your clients and employees, instead of a gift basket or a bottle of wine, consider making a donation. If you know the person well enough, it is nice if the charity is important to them, but that isn’t absolutely critical.

Here are the organizations that I am supporting this holiday season in honor of my clients: 

Have a great holiday season, whatever traditions you celebrate, and don’t forget to drop a few bucks in the Salvation Army kettle.

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New Workshop: Getting the Message Out – Be Heard, Understood and Remembered 

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Two months ago, I gave a short talk on communications to one of the dog clubs to which I belong. This group does a fair amount of lobbying on the state level, and the club officers wanted to give the members some guidance on how to speak effectively with legislators and other influencers. I’ve turned the material into an one-hour workshop:

Getting the Message Out – Be Heard, Understood and Remembered 
Whether you are talking to a reporter, lobbying a legislator, or speaking to your employees, you need to be heard, understood and remembered. Our one-hour workshop “Getting the Message Out” offers three tips that will help you tell your important message effectively and memorably.


While this is a for-profit endeavor when it comes to for-profit organizations, I’m happy to do the workshop pro bono for charities and civic groups. All I ask is that the group cover my expenses to get to their location. Drop me an email at sgetgood@getgood.com if you’d like more information.

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Giving Back and Where WAS Scott?

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It turns out I was the winner in the "Where’s Scott" contest held by guest bloggers Andrea Weckerle and Bill Green over at the Media Orchard. My guess, "Maybe he is in France doing damage control for Dominique de Villepin," apparently came the closest. We’ll find out tomorrow where he actually was.

I was asked to post my desired prize in the Orchard comments. After cycling through all the obvious jokes like give me all your traffic and so forth, I decided to be somewhat serious:

"For my prize for approximating Scott’s location, I’d like him to make a donation to a charity, amount and charity of his choosing. And then tell us about the charity and why it is important to him. He doesn’t have to share the amount."

Why did I pick this? Because I believe in giving back. Whatever our personal or professional problems may be on any given day, most of us in the PR/marketing blogging community are doing pretty well. We may not be rich or famous, but we probably have food on the table, a roof over our heads and the cash to fill our gas tanks. And we probably all support a number of charities as well as volunteer for community and charitable organizations. But… we rarely talk about it unless there is a tragedy like the tsunami or Katrina.

Robert French has tried to get the party started with Operation LinkLove but we need to do and say more, and more often. And not just about charities that are embracing social media. Every so often, we need to step away from the latest industry brouhaha and talk a little about the organizations and causes that mean something to us. They may not be blogging, but we are, and we can help spread the word.

That’s a meme well worth participating in.

So here are just a few of the causes and organizations I have supported recently:

American Diabetes Association. The Hudson MA school system does a School Walk for Diabetes each year. All the children, starting in kindergarten, are invited to participate. Douglas and I walked a bit more than two miles, which is a lot for a six-year old. Why did we do it? Well, we have family members who have diabetes, but just as importantly, I wanted to start Douglas off early with the idea that we do what we can to give back.

Muscular Dystrophy Association. Fellow marketing blogger Yvonne DiVita went to jail for a day for MDA, and I contributed to her bail money.

School Year Abroad. This program is for high school juniors and seniors. It gives them an opportunity to spend a year in another country, living with a local family, but studying in a "regular" high school program so they can still graduate on time. I am an alumni (France 78-79) and have contributed to the scholarship fund nearly every year since I graduated from college. It was one of the best educational experiences of my life… still… and I would not have been able to go if I had not received financial aid.

International Association of Nobodies. Proceeds from the Cafepress store will be donated to charity. Buy your t-shirt today. Wear it proudly.

What charities do you support, and why? I’m not tagging anyone — except Scott 🙂  Tag yourself and give the causes you support some airtime.

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Cleaning out my Bloglines Closet

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I read a lot of feeds, on a variety of subjects, and take advantage of bloglines "keep new" to save things to look at/blog later. When I’m busy, the "blog closet" gets pretty full, and quite often, many of the things I’ve saved for later are over and done with.

But some things are timeless.

Others worthwhile.

And of course, some things, you just know I am going to comment on.

Like character blogs.  At Beyond Madison Avenue today, Mack Collier writes that character blogs would be a good solution to carry on cancelled TV shows. You betcha. Just take a look at the sheer volume of fan fiction on the Internet.  I would still pay for a Whedon-produced character blog featuring the characters from the Buffy/Angel-verses.

Great advice from the Copyblogger. Writing about this week’s NY Times article "This Boring Headline Is Written For Google," which discussed the ramifactions of search engine optimization on the news business, he reminds us: "Write for people, people." Amen. We don’t need fancy footwork (or cute headlines) as much as we need clear, concise writing. A little time spent there can save a boatload of hassle, not to mention cost.

Bonus links

Two from Neville Hobson: a European business blogging survey and some info on search behavior

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Grab Bag: Business Blogging in Wisconsin, World Water Day and Dr. Who

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Last week was my trip to the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee to present my Business Blogging 101 Workshop (full day format) at  the UWM School of Business Center for Technology Innovation. The hospitality of the faculty hosts was superb, the room was terrific and the audience totally engaged. I enjoyed most of my trip. Especially dinner at Mader’s German restaurant the evening before the seminar. YUM.

The only bad part? And the reason why this blog has been silent all weekend, a time I normally post? Around two in the afternoon on Friday, I got really sick. Flu sick. The kind of sick where you want to curl up and die sick. I toughed it out and finished the seminar (a bit early) and dragged myself to the airport to wait for the flight home. But I was not a pretty sight, trust me. I didn’t get home until midnight, and it took most of the weekend to get my equilibrium back. So I went ‘net-less until I checked email late yesterday afternoon.

What did I do instead? Besides sleep you mean? I read an absolutely terrific book, Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. It’s the legend of the Grail, but told from a female perspective, with dual storylines, one modern, one medieval. I highly recommend it. Think about it — it was so good, I didn’t miss my blog reading….

It must be a Grail period for me — tomorrow we are going to see Spamalot. From the sublime to the sublimely ridiculous!

To a more serious matter: World Water Day, March 22, 2006. Brought to my attention by blog buddy Yvonne DiVita. Yvonne has always helped me get the word out about charities I have been involved with, and I am more than pleased to be able to return the favor, and for such a worthy cause to boot!

Some facts from  WaterPartners International, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping fight unsafe and inadequate water supplies.

  • In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated March 22 as “World Water Day” to draw international attention to the critical lack of clean, safe drinking water worldwide.
  • The Global water crisis is the leading cause of death and disease in the world, taking the lives of more than 14,000 people each day, 11,000 of whom are children under age 5.
  • The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers. More than 200 million hours are spent every day by women and girls walking to collect water from distant, often polluted sources—time that could be better spent on more productive endeavors such as work and school.

Why hasn’t this problem been solved? Mostly because people just aren’t aware of the crisis. Those with the money to help aren’t touched by it.  In the developed world, the biggest water shortage we typically face is whether we can water our lawns in the summer. We buy water at the store, to which we drive in our cars….

And with my most cynical hat on, it’s about water, women and children, not oil and WMDs…. It just doesn’t get the play, in our politics or our policy, that the more macho issues do. 

So we need to make people aware. I urge you to check out the WaterPartners Web site. Their common-sense approach seems to be making a difference. Make a donation if you can. Blog about World Water Day. Help spread the word however you can. Even if you just tell one other person.

Because we can do without a lot of things in this world. Safe drinking water is NOT one of them.

And after you do a good thing, treat yourself to the new Dr. Who!!! Yes, the good doctor is back, in his 9th incarnation. The new series debuted last year on the BBC and now US viewers can see the episodes on Sci-Fi channel. Premiere was last Friday, with 2 episodes, Rose and The End of the World,  but it’s Sci-Fi — if you (or your TIVO) missed it, the shows will repeat two or three times before the next new episode this Friday.

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