Twitter - July 2009

DIRECTOR’S BLOG
Andrew Beeforth’s latest Cumbria Life article

see also the website http://www.cumbrialife.co.uk

July 2009

Do you twitter? I’m not asking about your conversational style, but enquiring about whether you are participating in one of the more recent forms of what I have only just learned is called ‘social media’. Twitter is along with Bebo, MySpace, Facebook, ‘LinkedIn’, Flikr and blogging all ways of keeping in touch with people who share interests and passions.

But why raise this on the charities page? Well, because if used properly they can be harnessed to raise money and enhance the work of charities.

You may be suspicious of these ‘time wasting distractions’, however if you are in your teens or twenties gaining information and communicating through multiple internet based platforms is already second nature. Watch your children or grandchildren use a computer. It’ll be an education to see how their fingers glide across the keyboard and seamlessly move from screen to screen.

Social media is not all about telling people what you had for tea or whether you’re going to the pub. Matters of real importance and new social and political movements have been born and developed through these tools. The protests following the Iranian elections are just one example.

Businesses that fail to grasp new technology are likely to fall behind their competitors. So it’s important for our local communities that our charities adopt these tools if they haven’t already.

The cost of participation is very small. Most of the software is free and for less than £200 a group can buy a camera and digital sound recorder. With these tools they can upload pictures and movie clips onto interactive sites which show in a very real way the value of a group’s activities. We experience significant movements of people into and out of the county. Are these the tools for reaching out to the Cumbrian diaspora, that is people who have lived and worked here, but now are away but retain an association and affection for our communities? With over 3,000 local charities in the county they can also be the introduction to our very welcome ‘offcomers’.

What’s also important about Facebook, blogs and Twitter is that unlike conventional web sites they provide opportunities for people to enter into discussions. Users of a caring service can provide feedback and make suggestions for how services could be improved and share ideas with other users. Donors can challenge a charity about its stance on particular issues and do so in an entirely public space.

Thanks for reading. I’m off to do some tweeting and to update my status on Facebook, but only after popping next door to say hi to the neighbours.

For previous articles go to http://www.cumbriafoundation.org/news_events/index.htm
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All rights reserved 13/07/2009
Registered charity 1075120