Legends In Our Own Minds (Part 1)

OPEN ATTITUDES AND WHY IT PAYS TO LISTEN

“The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order that I may love myself is very different from the image I try to create in the minds of others in order that they may love me.” – W H AUDEN, Poet

THE TWO-WAY NATURE OF THE WEB TODAY

In my blog entry titled Why Conversations And Stories Matter I mention that authenticity, honesty, and personal voice underlie much of what is successful on the Web today.

Brand identities can only be developed on what other people and organisations think and say about yours -– not what you are saying about yourself. It is the stories that others tell about you that have a much higher value and hold a greater influence over your destiny and long-term sustainability as a nonprofit organisation in service for others. We can never afford to be “legends in our own minds”.

Some of the biggest and most successful websites you might have come across browsing the Internet are typical examples. Imagine life without Google or Wikipedia; TradeMe or eBay without user ratings, or even Amazon.com without user reviews. There are also a multitude of networking forums, email discussion groups, and loose gatherings in the blogosphere discussing every aspect of life under the sun –- possibly including yours.

These brand identities wouldn’t be what they are today without having been built upon the two-way nature of Web 2.0. And if you’ll notice, most of them have ceded a measure of editorial control around their service in exchange for the value that user-generated content brings.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. People who visit websites today expect change, reaction, reflection of comments and feedback. These are expressions of voice seeking response. The fundamental difference is that these acts of endorsement can be built into your website at source. If you want to engage with your audience, give them the opportunity to provide comment and publish the results.

Dynamic is obviously better than static. All it takes is some appropriate technology, an ‘open’ attitude, and an eye on your website’s publishing processes. The impact on your nonprofit organisation can be profound because user-generated content can:

• Provide fresh, continuing insights and feedback regarding how your organisation resonates with your audience.

• Address and even probably solve some questions about your organisation via support forums.

• Challenge your editorial thinking. These gives you a clearer pulse of what others think about what you say or what you do.

• Extend the value of news, stories or results published about your organisation’s service, calls to action or appeals via comment forms.

Bottom-line? User-generated content does add tremendous value to your nonprofit organisation persona over the Web -– with relatively low overheads. What’s more, referrals or recommendations from like-minded individuals inspire confidence at the audience level. That enhances and extends your organisation’s influence, social capital and reputation – things money can’t buy but ones that contribute significantly to your return on investment.

But to do all this stuff effectively, you need to rethink the way you communicate. You need to upgrade and vary your communications channels. Using this new approach, your website no longer exists as a static brochure-type ‘publication.’ It comes alive and becomes a new service that produces some remarkable dividends. And with that, it’ll be all well worth your while.

Click here to read Part 2 – Information Is Your Treasure Trove

To learn more about what the author of this blog and his company do for nonprofits, please click on this link.

Legends In Our Own Minds (Part 1)

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