Social Media Week: Making the world a better place one click at a time

"You need to accept that you're part of the conversation, but that you don't get to determine the message."

27 September 2012 06:00

It’s unsurprising that the realm of social media inspires fear in some, and awe in others.

In recent years it has triggered widespread political revolution, felled dictators and disgraced revered public figures.

It has become a forum for debate, a maelstrom of citizen opinion and a platform for legislative and social change. It has the power to unite and divide communities, promote activism or incite anarchy, create and destroy reputations.

As Social Media Week continues this week Glasgow, it’s important to consider how this powerful communication tool can be harnessed for the power of good.

Ross McCulloch, 31, is one of many Scots who champion social media for its powers of positive social change.

While volunteering for the Scottish Community Foundation, Ross recognised the ways in which third sector organisations could benefit from the ever-evolving world of social media.

He then set out to educate others on the subject, improving the ways that charities and not-for-profit organisations communicate.

As founder of Third Sector Lab, a digital media agency, Ross passes on his expertise in social media to voluntary, social enterprise and public sector clients to improve the way they interact with their audience.

In 2010, he and a few like-minded people got together to form Be Good, Be Social – a website and series of events that help third sector organisations use social media for positive social change.

“Be Good, Be Social came about out of sheer jealousy for all the interesting 'social media for social good' meet-ups and events happening in London,” said Ross.

“A few of us got together to come up with an event we felt could really bring together the sector and Be Good Be Social was born.

“We've always wanted it to be a space to showcase exciting ideas without the stuffiness of traditional conferences. Be Good Be Social is all about peer learning and peer support.”

By training charities to engage with fellow campaigners, journalists, bloggers and similar organisations, Ross and his Be Good Be Social team are able to expand the organisations' outreach and therefore, hopefully, their capacity to instigate positive change.

Not only does Be Good Be Social educate the third sector in effective fundraising and campaigning through social media, it also improves the charities’ customer service techniques in the online sphere.

“Charities can level the playing field with social media by letting the people they work with have a voice like never before,” said Ross.

“It’s about integrating social media in to all elements of the organisation –wrestling it away from the marketing department, or worse - the IT department. Used properly, social media is everyone's business.”

Be Good, Be Social’s events have proved incredibly popular, so much so that the team have been able to expand outside of Scotland as far as Toronto. There are Be Good, Be Social events in the pipeline for other cities across the UK and Europe in the next 12 months.

The organisation also live stream and upload recordings of their events wherever possible, enabling those who are unable to travel to the events the opportunity to learn remotely.

By collaborating with high-profile sponsors and inviting experienced speakers on board from a variety of switched-on organisations, the Be Good Be Social events are able to deliver their message at no charge to the attendees across a variety of platforms.

“Our events usually sell out in minutes of being allocated, so we must be doing something right,” said Ross.

“I'm most proud of the fact that we've managed to keep the events free yet high quality thanks to sponsorship. We've had some amazing speakers from small groups such as Greener Leith to large charities like Oxfam.”

Ross and his fellow Be Good, Be Social colleagues are not the only Scottish example of people using social media for the power of good.

Martha Payne, a nine-year-old school girl from Lochgilpead, became an overnight social media sensation and mini-activist by blogging about her school dinners on her Never Seconds site.

Despite Argyll and Bute council attempting to put an end to the blog, a flurry of international support and celebrity endorsement from the likes of Jamie Oliver led to Martha's blog raising over £100,000 for Mary's Meals - a charity that helps feed children in the third world.

Martha now enjoys minor celebrity status, at primary school at beyond, for her social activism through social media.

Her father David Payne delivered a talk on children using social media for activism as part of Social Media Week Glasgow, showing that kids can do much more than just tag their friends in photos and fall out with their friends on the internet.

Despite social media's capacity for good, it's clear that even businesses, organisations and individuals with the best intentions tread a fine line between using it effectively and alienating potential audiences. Although their plans are to better the world and to connect with multitudes of like-minded or influential people, the effects of a poor social media strategy can be damaging.

As the Be Good Be Social team suggest, spamming people with incessant 'like me' Facebook requests or blocking Twitter news feeds in desperation for retweet endorsements will do little to endear global audiences to your cause.

Also, as any daft politician or provocative celebrity will note, an errant status update or 140-character quip can make the public turn on you instantly. Much like a pet Rottweiler that's enjoyed a lifetime of obedience, there's still the chance that one misplaced pat on the head will lead to a few missing fingers.

As Glasgow erupts with conversation - both online and in real time - about the advantages and disadvantages of social media, it's vital that users recognise that they are not always in control of their message, and that this volatile and unpredictable medium can cause as much harm as it can good.

"I'd say the worst thing you can ever do is make assumptions about how people will react to your campaigns - just look at Waitrose's recent social media mistake," said Ross, referring to the supermarket's ill-fated 'reasons to shop at Waitrose' campaign that caused a Twitter backlash.

"You need to accept that you're part of the conversation, but that you don't get to determine the message."

• Visit the Be Good, Be Social or follow Ross on Twitter to learn more about how to utilise social media effectively.