Wired Causes

You are browsing the archives of 2010 April.

Photo by Metro Library and Archive I’m working with a small group of Packard Foundation grantees on a social media lab where they are implementing different social media experiments. Part of the process includes regular check-in calls to reflect on…

Baby!

<a href=”https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10888″ title=””>

(Fantastic DonateNow button from Network for Good customer Heartspring.  We love you.)
UPDATE: apparently in the last 24 hours, Heartspring got rid of the baby button.  So the above link is gone.  As a colleague of mine says - “Nobody puts baby in the corner!”  But I guess they did. Heartspring, bring back baby!  That was my favorite DonateNow button of all time.

I’ve often joked about how the way to get someone’s attention - and compassion - is through babies and puppies.

And now - further proof, from the Neuromarketing blog.

This highly recommend blog notes an experiment in Scotland:

Hundreds of wallets were planted on the streets of Edinburgh by psychologists last year. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly half of the 240 wallets were posted back. But there was a twist.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist, and his team inserted one of four photographs behind a clear plastic window inside, showing either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family or a contented elderly couple. Some wallets had no image and some had charity papers inside.

When faced with the photograph of the baby people were far more likely to send the wallet back, the study found. In fact, only one in ten were hard-hearted enough not to do so. With no picture to tug at the emotions, just one in seven were sent back.

According to Dr Wiseman the result reflects a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations. “The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective,” he said. [From TimesOnline - Want to keep your wallet? Carry a baby picture.]

The results were quite startling. Fully 88% of the wallets with the baby photo were returned. The next best rate was the puppy photo, at 53%. A family photo netted a 48% return rate, while an elderly couple picture scored only 28%.

Attention nonprofit marketers: Want to keep your wallet?  Carry baby pictures.  Want to win hearts and minds?  Apparently, the answer is the same.

Baby!

<a href=”https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10888″ title=””>

(Fantastic DonateNow button from Network for Good customer Heartspring.  We love you.)

I’ve often joked about how the way to get someone’s attention - and compassion - is through babies and puppies.

And now - further proof, from the Neuromarketing blog.

This highly recommend blog notes an experiment in Scotland:

Hundreds of wallets were planted on the streets of Edinburgh by psychologists last year. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly half of the 240 wallets were posted back. But there was a twist.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist, and his team inserted one of four photographs behind a clear plastic window inside, showing either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family or a contented elderly couple. Some wallets had no image and some had charity papers inside.

When faced with the photograph of the baby people were far more likely to send the wallet back, the study found. In fact, only one in ten were hard-hearted enough not to do so. With no picture to tug at the emotions, just one in seven were sent back.

According to Dr Wiseman the result reflects a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations. “The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective,” he said. [From TimesOnline - Want to keep your wallet? Carry a baby picture.]

The results were quite startling. Fully 88% of the wallets with the baby photo were returned. The next best rate was the puppy photo, at 53%. A family photo netted a 48% return rate, while an elderly couple picture scored only 28%.

Attention nonprofit marketers: Want to keep your wallet?  Carry baby pictures.  Want to win hearts and minds?  Apparently, the answer is the same.

Baby!

<a href=”https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10888″ title=””>

(Fantastic DonateNow button from Network for Good customer Heartspring.  We love you.)
UPDATE: apparently in the last 24 hours, Heartspring got rid of the baby button.  So the above link is gone.  As a colleague of mine says - “No one puts baby in the corner!”  But I guess they did. Heartspring, bring back baby!

I’ve often joked about how the way to get someone’s attention - and compassion - is through babies and puppies.

And now - further proof, from the Neuromarketing blog.

This highly recommend blog notes an experiment in Scotland:

Hundreds of wallets were planted on the streets of Edinburgh by psychologists last year. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly half of the 240 wallets were posted back. But there was a twist.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist, and his team inserted one of four photographs behind a clear plastic window inside, showing either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family or a contented elderly couple. Some wallets had no image and some had charity papers inside.

When faced with the photograph of the baby people were far more likely to send the wallet back, the study found. In fact, only one in ten were hard-hearted enough not to do so. With no picture to tug at the emotions, just one in seven were sent back.

According to Dr Wiseman the result reflects a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations. “The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective,” he said. [From TimesOnline - Want to keep your wallet? Carry a baby picture.]

The results were quite startling. Fully 88% of the wallets with the baby photo were returned. The next best rate was the puppy photo, at 53%. A family photo netted a 48% return rate, while an elderly couple picture scored only 28%.

Attention nonprofit marketers: Want to keep your wallet?  Carry baby pictures.  Want to win hearts and minds?  Apparently, the answer is the same.

Photo by Halloween Jack Many nonprofits have are actively exploring social media - from dipping in their toes into the water with a low-investment experiment to jumping off the cliff. One problem is that many do not formulate a measurement…

Innovation in the world of mobile applications has been moving at lightning speed, and fortunately for us, there are many passionate people building apps that are working solely to help promote social good or to help vulnerable people in some way. The April Net2 Think Tank asked for examples of mobile applications that successfully use technology for social good. This post should serve as a summary of the responses we received.

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The Global Engagement Summit (GES) is a five-day training conference for students committed to global change. Delegates come together to understand the challenges of and opportunities for their engagement; to hone the skills and mindsets that will enable them to better plan, execute, and participate in change-based projects; and to connect with like-minded peers from around the world.

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After I presented at the Association of Fundraising Professionals, I chatted with the Chronicle of Philanthropy:

Ever wonder what it takes to develop an advocacy, public awareness, or marketing campaign that “wins” for your organization or library? Want to create effective print and online materials that truly resonate with the communities you serve or get political leaders to take notice?

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