Catching up
After Simon's feedback to this post, and then reading this on Bryan's blog, I can't help feeling that I'm playing catch up! Especially as JustGiving are reviewing results from up to a year ago!
I was specially interested to read about Simon's 'lessons learnt' now that JustGiving are into the next stage of the application work. I can't help but wonder, while all us marketers are rubbing our sticky paws together with glee at the possibilities, if the dark cloud of charity infrastructure is lurking just over the horizon.
This somewhat pessimistic view leans on one of the 'lessons' that Simon refer to on Bryan's blog: the importance of application designs coming from Facebook-users themselves, rather than fundraisers giving them what we think they want. I'm waiting to be convinced that charities are ready to embrace Facebook (esp as many are just beginning to see the potential of online) and give 'Facebook-donors' this type of control... from managing the application, sending speedy approvals, and giving satisfactory answers to the question, "Where do these funds end up?"
Having said all that, your results could prove me wrong! I certainly hope they do.
Imogen Bielby
Comments
Hi Imogen!
I don't think it *needs* to be difficult, and I hope it won't be in the coming months. It's certainly going to be interesting to watch and we're going to share as much info as we can.
The Facebook platform has allowed for much greater user control. This in turn provides the best and clearest user feedback you could ever ask for. User control is a defining feature of where the web is heading in general, and I don't think *anyone* can fight it, if a portion of their existence is dependent on the web.
One final interesting snippet: Since launch, Facebook has become our second biggest referrer, after Google. And it's getting ever closer to number one.
Posted by: Simon | August 22, 2007 11:51 AM
To me, that sounds like a reason to be optimistic. Interactive design is entirely user-focused. The ideal is to provide users with as much power to accomplish a task as the technology affords, as simply as possible. Even if we give users what we think they want, we are still focused on users and what is best for them. The point where we have to worry is when we begin to entertain the idea of shifting the focus from the user to the fundraiser, and decide to give users what's best for the fundraiser.
In the world of commercial marketing, this tendency seems surprisingly common. The best example I can give is the DVD, which I believe is the only medium where marketers were actually involved in the design of the format.
"Any chance we can build our marketing model into the technology with region restrictions? We also want to force people to watch ads. Is there any way you can make the remote control stop working when the ads come on?"
For the normally powerful user, the loss of control is typically experienced as frustration and resentment, best summed up in the jokingly naive question, "Why do they hate us?"
Posted by: Brad | August 24, 2007 02:46 PM
Hi Imogen,Thanks for the mention!-)
While it's still early days, it's great to see nonprofits starting to get to grips with Facebook, both through Groups and fundraising-specific Apps.
For anyone interested in this rapidly developing area I've recently done a brief review of the main fundraising apps around at the moment. While the list changes almost weekly right now, this will hopefully be a handy intro to what's going-on: http://www.fundraising.co.uk/blogs/bryanmiller/2007/08/24/facebook-fundraising-apps-a-brief-review/
Posted by: Bryan | August 28, 2007 09:14 AM