1. Monitor Institute
Working Wikily:
O
Social Change with a Network Mindset
‫‏‬
Fall, 2009
Monitor Institute
A member of the Monitor Group
January 19th, 2009
BEIJING CAMBRIDGE CHICAGO DELHI DUBAI HONG KONG JOHANNESBURG LONDON LOS ANGELES MADRID MOSCOW
MUMBAI MUNICH NEW YORK PARIS SAN FRANCISCO SÃO PAULO SEOUL SHANGHAI SINGAPORE TOKYO TORONTO ZURICH

2. Who we are
Monitor Institute
part consulting firm, part incubator part think tank,
drawing on the talents of our own of new approaches. We work with analyzing and anticipating important
dedicated team and the resources of clients and partners to test and prove shifts in the rapidly changing context
the global professional services firm, new models for social impact. that leaders must navigate.
Monitor Group.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 2

3. What I do
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 3

4. Tonight’s conversation: three parts
 Social media is changing the social sector.
 The deeper opportunity it creates is to work in networks—to “work wikily.”
 Peer consult: how do you want to work more wikily?
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 4

5. First, get up and ask yourself…
How comfortable are you with
social media tools?
Stand accordingly…
Competing with Ashton Kutcher for Twitter followers?
NOT AT ALL
VERY
Somewhere in between?
Just got a Facebook account this week?

6. There’s a lot of new tools to use out there.
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7. We’ve seen a lot of social-media milestones this past year.
Jan. 20th: Obama takes March 28th: Earth June 13th: Iran’s Today: $22 million in SMS
office as the first Hour 2009 uses Green Revolution donations have arrived at the
president to have social media and protestors make Red Cross for relief work in
campaigned through mobilizes ten times heavy use of social Haiti, with a peak rate of $500K/
social media. CNN the number of media for organizing hour during the NFL playoffs.
partners with Facebook people as in 2008. and promoting the
to broadcast online cause.
users’ live commentary. October 18th: The UN End
Poverty Now campaign uses
social media to mobilize 173
million participants worldwide.
April 17th: Ashton Kutcher beats October 9th: The November 1st: Kiva
CNN.com in a race to become the first “Sweet Seeds for reaches $100 million
to gain 1 million Twitter followers. Haiti” initiative in in micro-loans
Facebook’s popular distributed through its
Farmville game online giving
May 25th: Target gives Facebook
raises over half a marketplace.
users the choice of how to give away
million in donations.
$3 million in company donations
among 10 charities.
As presented in “Social Media Blueprints 1.0” by ThinkSocial at the Paley Center for Media.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 7

8. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Take Iive minutes to talk with your neighbor:
How have you seen social media
altering the world in the last
few years?

9. The social sector is racing ahead to use these new tools.
According to a longitudinal study that included the 200 largest American charities, nonprofits are
outpacing both business and academia in using social media to fundraise, market, and organize.
A few key sta+s+cs:
“If you think about it,
89% of the respondents use social media often working on
shoestring budgets and
heartstring issues, the
81% consider social media in their strategy combination of
nonproBits and social
media makes perfect
79% use social networking and video blogging sense. Two of the biggest
beneBits of social media:
efBiciency and
57% publish a blog connectivity.”
45% say social media is important for fundraising Blake Bowyer, EyeTraf7ic Media
Source: “Still Setting the Pace in Social Media” by Nora Barnes and Eric Mattson at the U. Mass Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 9

10. We’ve been documenting the innovative results.
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11. The tools’ immediate use is gradually becoming clear.
There are now frameworks available from social media experts on how today’s tools can be
used in a disciplined way, such as the one below from Beth Kanter:
Beth Kanter publishes her ongoing thoughts about social media in the social sector at h?p://beth.typepad.com/.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 11

12. Advocacy work is being powerfully affected.
Many member‐supported advocacy organizaEons are feeling the effects of social media on the
way they engage consEtuents, according to research that we are currently conducEng.
Advocacy and engagement are changing: Fundraising and business models are changing:
• Social media is a major new tool • The donation-based “membership
for mobilization model” may be in decline
• Donors and activists are now • Direct marketing appears to be in
mingling decline
• Integration across multiple • Email remains the most effective
channels is a new challenge online fundraising channel
• Connecting online and offline • Integration is a new challenge in
activism is increasingly important fundraising
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 12

13. Take ten minutes to talk with your table:
How have you seen nonproIits
using social media?
Talk about what you’ve seen nonpro7its doing and how it appears to
have served their mission.
Write down the table’s list and pick a favorite example to share.

14. But there’s an even deeper change: the rise of networks.
The current change in one sentence is
this: most of the barriers to group
action have collapsed, and without
those barriers, we are free to explore
new ways of gathering together and
getting things done.
Clay Shirky, “Here Comes Everybody” (2008)
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 14

15. But there’s an even deeper change: the rise of networks.
Hierarchies connect us in formal Networks connect us as peers on
superior/inferior rela:onships, o<en voluntary terms and require a shared
on contractual terms, to focus on a sense of purpose.
single agenda.
Today’s tools allow us to recognize, use, and create networks
with ease. As a result we now have more opportunities than ever
to use networks for practical goals.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 15

16. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
What is one network that is
important to doing your work?
“Hub” “Link”
“Node”
Draw a dot for yourself in the middle, a dot for everyone else in the
network, and lines for each meaningful connection between them.
For example: the 20‐odd people I rely on in my 100‐person of7ice for
everything from teamwork to career advice.

17. Working in networks lets us work differently—“wikily.”
There’s a different set of organizaEonal structures,
values, and pracEces that today’s tools make
feasible. We call it “working wikily.”
• Openness
• Transparency
• Decentraliza:on
• Distributed ac:on
• Collabora:on
• Listening “Working Wikily”
• Independence
• Mutual alignment
• Diversity
• Sharing
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 17

18. Working wikily can be done in many contexts.
OrganizaEons can run from centralized to decentralized and sEll do their work wikily:
Centralized
 Nonprofit organizations (without a
network structure)
 Membership organizations
 Nonprofits with an explicit
network structure
 Coalitions and alliances
 Networks of networks
 Ad hoc networks
Decentralized
Developed from Plastrik and Taylor’s “Net Gains” (2006); Patti Anklam’s “Net Work” (2007); and, Krebs and
Holley’s “Building Smart Communities” (2006). Images courtesy of orgnet.com.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 18

19. And it can be put to many uses.
When the problem is… Working wikily can be used to…
 Social isola:on  Build community
 Collec:ve problems  Engage volunteers
 Lack of power  Advocate for policy change
 Fragmented efforts  Coordinate resources and services
 Stovepiped knowledge  Make knowledge accessible
 Capaci:es exist elsewhere  Access capacity on‐demand
 Not enough capital to grow  Get to scale
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 19

20. …for building community…
2008:
1980: 162 Countries
205 Members
400,000 Ministers / Priests
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21. …for engaging volunteers…
1985: 2008: 400,000 Volunteers in
Single-site U.S. 104 Countries
effort
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22. …in advocating policy change…
1998: Email to 2009: 5+ Million
100 friends Members
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23. …for coordinating resources & services…
Total Loans Total Loans
2006: $1 million
2009: $100 million
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 23

24. …for making knowledge accessible…
14 Countries
1,300 Trained Volunteers
Interagency Program
Integrated Fire Management
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 24

25. …for accessing capacity on demand…
Internal, “Open Sourcing
Proprietary Social
R&D Labs Solutions”
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 25

26. …for getting to scale…
‐ EGYPT‐
Typical HFH country
HFH Egypt: 1,000 houses
programs: 200 houses
a year on average
each year
Source: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman, “Habitat for Humanity—Egypt,” Harvard Business School Cases, October 3, 2006.
Copyright © 2009 Monitor Company Group, L.P.. 26

27. Who wants free crowdsourced consulting?
Raise your hand if you want help
thinking about how to do your work
more wikily.
We’ll take as many ‘clients’ as we have tables.
Listen to the questions. Think about which you could help the most.
Get up and join your favorite or wherever there’s space.

28. Let’s help these people out.
1. 10 minutes: the ‘client’ describes their need, interrupted
only by clarifying questions.
2. 10 minutes: the table offers ideas while the ‘client’ stays
silent.
3. Share your conclusions with the group.
It doesn’t matter if you’re not an expert.
Listen carefully and think of options to suggest.

29. Q&A

30. Thank you.
Noah Flower
Monitor Ins:tute
noah_flower@monitor.com