Podnosh is based in Birmingham in the UK, so often we write about exciting things that are going on near us.
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Perhaps inspired by the buy-one-give-one-away early campaign from the One Laptop per Child programmes an environmental housing developer in Sacremento is offering BOGOF on Houses.
If you buy one of their US homes they will train a mason in Burkina Faso to build a home there.
They call the project Real Estate Development 2.0. I like the idea and the communications built around it.
Last Thursday I was at the launch of Creative Republic, a self organising body to strengthen the voice of the full breadth of the creative industries in Birmingham. It has been pulled together by some very fine people and they are asking you to lend them your support by signing up to their charter. As Stef lewandowki puts it “This is open to anyone who considers themselves as working in a creative or cultural role or organisation in Birmingham and the region, as well as people who are just interested in supporting what we are doing. We’re throwing the net wide – and over time we hope to be representative of as wide a group of people as possible.”
I’ve done so. Without our names behind them these names won’t be able to apply the influence our business deserves. Oh and don’t forget to link to the site, as these people have done, and so have …..
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As you might gather I’m keen to see lobby groups, charities and the social sector using social media, but tone of voice is everything. I found this film through John Hemmings blog. There’s something about it that troubles me. It follows an Ofsted report highlighting important failings with the court support service CAFCASS.
The video is discordant. The combination of the emotive images (I imagine none of which show actual abuse by cafcass?) and the ‘told you so script’ grates.
So congratulations to Mothers for Justice for having their case supported by Ofsted. But please think again about how you convey your message. It’s now time for action, so tell us what you want to happen or tell us a story which will give legs to the campaign for change. Pressure groups are well placed to tell stories of real people’s real experiences and that’s where the emotional impact should be found when using social media.
