Crowd Accelerated Innovation
Chris Anderson, father of the “long tail” theorem regarding the web’s impact, has come up with another theorem — “Crowd accelerated innovation.”
Here’s how Seth Godin summarizes it in a recent post: “Online video radically changes the reach and speed of the improvement cycle. Things like dance, snowboarding and TED talks keep getting better, and faster, because artists see the best and improve on it. Even more than that, it requires you to top what’s out there, or you’ll be ignored.” [Ed: italics added.]
But better, watch Anderson’s compelling video presentation of his online video theory. Anderson’s basic point … online video, because of both its dissemination advantages (speed, universal reach, yet narrowcast appeal to tiny passionate segments) and its far stronger impact (than print or images alone) on its human viewer, can terrifically — and quickly — raise the bar in all sorts of pursuits, from breakdancing to cell biology research.
Why not nonprofit fundraising?
For starters, fundraisers would need to start sharing stories and illustrations of their successful innovations on video. Of course, the key words are “sharing” and “on video”!
And if they started doing that, the question would become where to share them. They could simply be thrown up on YouTube, hoping a devoted audience would find them.
But maybe some central repository would be better. SOFII would be my candidate for that. SOFII already showcases scores of exemplary fundraising mail packages, print ads, and presentations. So it would be a logical evolution.
What say you, SOFII? And more critically, what say you, fundraisers?
Tom
3 responses to “Crowd Accelerated Innovation”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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When you say fundraiser, do you mean a professional fundraiser or do you mean a participant who is fundraising?
Primarily, as in the last sentence, I mean professional fundraisers illustrating specific programs/innovations that have worked for their organizations or clients. But I also see the value of volunteer fundraisers — “missionaries” — sharing their success stories.
Sorry to say Tom, but you’ve mixed up your Chris Andersons:
TED: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_%28entrepreneur%29
Long Tail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_%28writer%29