I came across this article on MSNBC today:
"Charity makes waves with Web word of mouth"
It discusses the use by charities of social networking venues and virtual worlds to reach, connent with, and keep donors.
A learning curve is mentioned for any technology tool classified by the the author as Web 2.0, and she says some groups have not figured the system out yet. We are also seeing this with major businesses.
Doug
3 comments:
Related to this article, as a frequent SL tourist over the last few weeks I came across an example of a charity that I think is getting it right in SL: the American Cancer Society. The ACS has had a "Second Life Relay for Life" for three years, and (quoting from an in-world notecard): "Last year the residents in this virtual community of amazing, giving people raised L$32,128,730 or USD $118,500!"
I think this idea "works" because it fits both the experience of Second Life and the experience of the Relay for Life.
More info can be found at this page at the ACS web site. To find the ACS in-world just search for "American Cancer Society."
P.S. On a personal note, I was planning on walking in this year's event in SL (in July), so if anyone thinks it would be a fun thing to do in SL, let me know and I'll start a "team." :)
I wonder what effect the banking issues mentioned earlier could have on charities. It would be a shame if they had trouble converting the L$ into real US$. It is a good idea though. I don't know about other people, but I always seem more willing to part with my dollar when I'm online than in real life.
It would also be interesting to see if the sweatshop concept from last week's class/reading could apply somehow to this Relay for Life. Hire a bunch of people for dirt cheap and have them walk with the idea that they raise more money than it costs to pay them. I know the Relay for Life is supposed to be a volunteer thing, but if it helps raise a few bucks for a good cause then why not. Kind of seems like cheating and it may not work, but something to consider.
There are many charitable organizations on SL. ACS is a good example. Check Sporminore at 117,118,420 where you can get more info and also the "tip jars" script that allows to collect Linden's. I don't know what regulations exist in this space, but it would be interesting to find out.
Gritz, walking on SL? no flying allowed?
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