Words in Reality & Reality in Words
Politicians use words in an effort to change reality; but reality and history also change words. That’s Mark Forsyth’s argument in his pithy TED talk. We often write about ways nonprofits may tell their stories better to potentially influence
"So What?" - Your Weekly Guide to Advocacy With Impact is a short, and (we hope) catchy update on what’s new, savvy, shocking, or inspiring in the worlds of policy advocacy and advocacy evaluation. Sign up now!
Archives for blog topic “Advocacy Strategies”
Aug 17 2012
Aug 10 2012
Teddy Bears, Dictators, and the Power of Ridicule
Recently, the Swedish advertising agency Studio Total pulled a peculiar stunt: they flew a small plane into Belarus (Europe’s last dictatorship) and dropped lots of teddy bears along with messages about democracy and free speech.
Aug 03 2012
Arresting Images
Ken Mueller’s profile of Soles4Souls for the Inspiring Generosity blog has one really cool takeaway: pictures can play a huge strategic role in a non-profit’s social media presence. He outlines eight ways Soles4Souls is using images
Jul 27 2012
Pay it Forward
At the request of one of our clients, we attended The Economist’s World Oceans Summit in Singapore a few months ago. This week, we received a follow-up note asking Summit attendees for feedback. They (wisely) offered access
Jul 20 2012
If It Looks Like A Duck, Swims Like a Duck, and Quacks Like a Duck…
Is it a duck? Well, not necessarily. That’s what we tell clients trying to understand how events or trips they’ve hosted potentially influence participants. In our experience, even if participants claim that an event (like, say, the TechSoup Global Summit)
Jul 06 2012
Telling your Story in Style
We recently came across a very cool tool: Sparkwise. This website helps non-profits select the kinds of online data they want tracked and puts it all together in a user-friendly dashboard. Want to keep tabs on likes and re-posts of your
Jun 29 2012
On Salience
In a provocative op-ed for Al Jazeera, political scientist Tarak Barkawi explains how “9/11 stole my whiteness.” The politics of race in a post-9/11 world is, let’s just say, tricky—and Barkawi underscores the ways in which a singular, tragic moment
Jun 08 2012
How Much For That “Like”?
Three weeks ago, we wrote about the challenges Facebook faces in turning a profit from its massive reservoir of user data. Since its IPO went bust, Knowledge@Wharton asks: what is all that data worth?
Jun 01 2012
Digital Advocacy
Remember Komen’s defunding of Planned Parenthood? (Yup, it’s been a few months—ages in our speedy news cycle.) Well, this week The Chronicle of Philanthropy did a piece on Planned Parenthood’s extremely effective social media response.
May 18 2012
Our Next Advocacy Evaluation Breakfast: A Closer Look at Global Health Policy Networks
Globally, why have deaths from certain conditions declined faster than others? Typically, people’s answers focus on the quality of medical interventions. What’s missing is consideration of the actors: the individuals and organizations
