Our last post of the year is a gift to all Mac users: a new resource for Mac tips - the venerable Mac for Mom. 

What is it?
Mac for Mom is a blog of Mac tips.

Who's Mom?
I'd forgive you for thinking maybe Mom is a giant corporation that makes robots, if you'd forgive me for thinking you watch too much TV. Mom is actually my Mom. She is a real, iBook toting, flesh and blood person.

Why is it called that?
Mom told me she thought the name of the site suggests it's for people who find "for Dummies" books too difficult, but it's really just meant to suggest that it's easy. Not George Bush easy, but easy enough for a Mom who is new to Macs. 

What's this got to do with Whitewater?
For many years, I've emailed Mac tips around the office. This worked well enough as long as people followed along. However, when new people joined - people who would be most likely to benefit from some extra guidance - they'd get a slew of older Mac tips messages all at once. Obviously, not a very effective means of distributing information. 

When my Mom got a Mac, I initially thought I'd drip feed her the tips from Whitewater to help her get the most out of her Mac experience. However at that point, it seemed obvious that a blog would work better than email. Email required too much organization for me to drip feed her the older tips. She was in the same position as people who had newly joined Whitewater. So I decided to design a blog for her. 

Later, when Paula suggested some kind of Eejits Guide to Macs for new joiners, it didn't require much of a leap to see that the people at Whitewater would benefit from having the Mac tips available on a blog. It would be a central library of categorized tips that new joiners could refer to; people no longer had to file messages in their email; they could use it at home; and they could subscribe to the RSSS news feed. 

And so we have come full circle: Mac for Mom is a collection of tips written for the people at Whitewater, but available to Mac users everywhere, on a blog designed for my Mom. 

Have a great Christmas break - we'll be back blogging again in the New Year.

Brad Bell

Posted by Whitewater Team at 05:16 PM | Permalink

Steve Bridger, in a one-liner in his post about 'Buzz Marketing Directors', awakened me to the concept of generosity in blogging and linked me over to this post. Maintaining a blog clearly requires a certain generosity with time and energy - both commodities in short supply.

But as Steve Rubel points out, it's the bloggers who are generous not only with their time but with their expertise, their links, their thoughts, insights and experiences, who are the ones whose sites become resources we value.

Seth Godin is a prime example. If you're interested in viral marketing, and the generation of inspiring ideas, you'll be familiar with his work but you might not know how much he's doing to promote the use of web 2.0 technology by and for non-profits. He's released a free download for non-profits, 'a one-page cheat sheet with six cool (free) things you can do before the end of the day.' It might all be stuff you know already: if so, be generous and pass it to someone who doesn't.

Anna Crofton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 02:39 PM | Permalink

From the comfort of my sofa last Saturday night, along with several million others, I felt emotionally obliged to dial in a vote for my favourite on X Factor. It was 'incredibly close', and my vote 'would make all the difference'… and, well, Ray is such a cutie!

So I guess it should come as no surprise that, sandwiched between the two installments of Simon Cowell's ratings smash, I came across another offering relying on this most responsive and lucrative of telly formulae.

Yet ITV's Extinct is different. It combines the 'democratic' premise of a glut of reality shows - the audience phone vote - with the urgency and serious undertones of the one-night-only telethon, in the vein of Children in Need or Comic Relief. Most impressive from a professional point of view is that it carries a fundraising message throughout, for one, openly-branded charity.

Running every night for one week, just before Christmas, drenched in celebrity endorsement and with beautiful, high-budget production values, Extinct encourages viewers to vote for the endangered species they want to save. A percentage of the call cost goes straight into the 'prize fund', to be distributed among the eight 'finalist' animals, with the highest amount being used to fund a project to protect the 'winner'.

This brilliantly subtle PR/fundraising combination from WWF applies every direct response trick in the book, while coming across as a credible, educational, mainstream programme. Interspersed with VT of cuddly pandas and earnest studio chat, the viewer is frequently referred to an additional donation phone number and website. Straight to WWF. Exclusively to WWF.

I'm dying to know how this partnership came about but, however it was negotiated, the result is impeccable. And as a charity marketer, it makes me really wish I'd thought of it first. All that's missing is the Christmas Number One.

Michelle Taylor

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:44 PM | Permalink

OLT has welcomed a great variety of new members to the fold in 2006; charities of all shapes and sizes, representing a range of fantastic causes. In the last three months we're excited to have been joined by:

Meningitis Trust
North West Air Ambulance
Terence Higgins Trust

THT has joined just in time for its 25th anniversary year next year - this is going to be a massive year for the charity and we believe that tribute fundraising will help make it even bigger.

With a few more charities poised to join, 2007 looks set to be a busy year!

Clare Hallsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 11:26 AM | Permalink

A magazine subscription offer mailpack I received some time ago (before the operation).

Dear Mr Couldry,

As a perceptive, open-minded, fun-loving 21st century woman, you may despair of finding a magazine that doesn't preach at you, trivialise you, stereotype you - or just bore you.

Well they certainly didn't stereotype me.

Nick Couldry

Posted by Whitewater Team at 02:50 PM | Permalink

It's time to invite your Finance Director to the next fundraising brainstorm. Or have her manage your next donor acquisition campaign (so she can climb the steep learning curve on how difficult it can be).

The days when charities could get away with opposing any hint of restricted donations in their direct marketing might be over!

'Dorothy Donor' gave to charity because we asked. That was all she needed. She believed in what charities stood for and that they would spend her money wisely.

Not so her sons and daughters, the Baby Boomers. They're far more demanding... and they just love ear-marking! They want to know what their gifts will achieve, preferably something tangible which they could even visit one day! (Just to be sure you actually spent their money where you said you would.)

Finance Directors love to tell direct marketers that they can't ear-mark. Oh.. except Corporate and Trust fundraisers; because they've learnt the hard way: no ear-marking means no donation.

Hmmm. I think the Boomers are starting to teach direct marketers the same lesson... it's just harder to see what's happening. If your charity is struggling to recruit new donors of the 40 to 60-year-old variety, maybe, just maybe, you're seeing evidence of their aversion to your 'strictly-unrestricted-funds-from-direct-marketing' policy.

And yet it's not THAT hard to commit to more ear-marking. It just takes a little imagination and engagement from the Finance Director. So, next time you're planning an acquisition campaign, why not invite your Finance Director to the brainstorm?

Steve Andrews

PS. These issues were recently debated by Whitewater's clients at a Business Breakfast meeting. We'd love to see you at our next meeting... you just need to become a client!

Posted by Whitewater Team at 04:42 PM | Permalink