Though the acquisition is off, we’re still planning on some changes to the Buzz Bin.  Namely, the blog and the readers would be better served if we split the content into two blogs. We feel like we’ve got a lot of great content, some strategic and some tactical.

First would be the Buzz Bin, which would continue with 2-3 Livingston posts a week, Qui Diaz on social media for social good, and interviews of leading voices. We anticipate adding a third strategy oriented voice to the blog in the next month or two. The leaner and meaner Buzz Bin would begin in its third major retooling on September 8.

Second, Livingston Communications would start a new blog, which would focus more on tactical execution. Larissa Fair would be the lead voice, and she will be accompanied by our weekly columns from Marinel Mones and Mike Nelson, Buzz Meter and Blogs of Fire, respectively.  The second blog would launch in mid-October.

As the Buzz Bin is as much yours as ours, we definitely want to know if these changes work for you, or if you prefer to keep the blog as is. Let us know.

Social Media Group and Livingston Communications have decided to part ways. In addition to my video commentary below, you can read Maggie Fox’s post on the Social Media Group web site.

Looking for more information on social media? Martin Diano of Dianosphere says as, “A firm believer in lifelong learning, part of the process to keep current about social media is to read just about everything I can about the topic.” Check out his top five books on the topic, and read them for yourself, if you haven’t already.

Rohit Bhargava offers a guide to Flickr use for marketers on his Influential Marketing Blog. Rohit says, “Flickr can be a marketing goldmine for the right project.” However, marketers tend not to target Flickr because, “marketers aren’t yet good at creating the one thing they need to have credibility in Flickr … quality non-marketing images.” Check out his 10 suggestions as to how you can use flicker more effectively.

Whether you are a business blogger or a personal blogger, Sonia Simone says that the most important factor as a blog writer is, “More than admiration, money or attention, you need to earn your audience’s trust.” Sonia offers suggestions on how to do just that on Copybogger. Her suggestions include adding the human element to your blog, taking a position and sticking to your guns, and treating your audience with respect. Sonia says to “never go for short-term gains at the expense of long-term trust.”

How do blogs compare with traditional print media? Arguments against blogs are that journalism wasn’t meant to be a conversation, and that not everyone can write a compelling piece. Denis Hancock of Wikinomics argues that blogs are “simply a new form of publishing tool.” And that blogs receive more editorial freedom, and “are unbounded by word constraints associated with print media.”

Toby Bloomberg conducted a survey of 99 people as “An industry pulse check from the people who are involved in the space.” Toby recaps what was learned about blogger relations, in the fourth of a series of posts. Several of the survey’s major takeaways are that patience, respect and values are important. See the detailed recap on Diva Marketing Blog and check back in the future for the complete series roundup.

When Chris Brogran stops the press to summon good deeds, people sit up and take notice. Beth Kanter (with prerequisite trust in spades) raised $3,000 in one hour at Gnomedex to send her sponsored Cambodian student back to college for another semester. The game changing Social Actions widget (below) makes it possible for any plugged in individual to highlight campaigns on a blog or profile. We Buzz Binners are committed to a better place.

The ChangeBlogging meme has arrived. On a meta level - not just the three question blog-a-long at the end of this post. Eyes are shifting from the internal “me” meme to a season of “we” and “us.” The winds of change are welcome - and overdue.

A year ago there were about 15 notable nonprofit and philanthropy bloggers. Today dozens of voices regularly discuss community and global change, often in relation to the role of the social Web. (Check out the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Give & Take blog roll for a solid starter list.)

The unofficial and growing network of Changebloggers is another testament to the trend toward good. Changebloggers, as defined by Britt Bravo, are “people who are using their blog, podcast or vlog to raise awareness, build community, and/or facilitate readers/listeners/viewers’ taking action to make the world a better place.” These actions occur across nonprofits, government, corporations and the general civic sector.

Here’s the great news: Social media platforms give anyone with a little reach and commitment the ability to influence, if not outright persuade. You needn’t be solely focused on societal impact to afford changeblogger tendencies. It’s a question of what are you influencing and to what end?

DC: Setting the Stage for ChangeBlogging Results

One of the iDistrict’s most remarkable qualities is its focus on community change. As one example, marketing, PR, Web and social media gurus gather each month at NetSquared’s Pimp My Nonprofit event. We listen first, then offer digitally-derived insight and ideas, one nonprofit at a time. A meeting of the minds plus a way to contribute locally.

This fall, DC will be one of 35 cities visited by NetSquared’s Alex Steed. He’s touring the U.S., meeting with millennial activists about “the future of organizing.” We won’t be letting him out of here that easily, however. Alexandra Rampy (a.k.a. SocialButterfly) is rallying local changebloggers to meet with Steed. Our goal is to unite interested parties around something good (TBD). From there, we can do just about anything.

That’s setting the bar pretty high for Valley and NY folk.

If you were here with me, I’d make a toast. Instead - to help formally launch a new wave of social activism - a new meme. Three questions (with my answers):

• What is one change - big or small, local or global - you want to see in your lifetime? I’ll kick off with a big one. Poverty has to end. There is plenty of plenty to go around. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals are here to motivate.
• Who is already working this issue that you think others should support? Microfinance groups, like Kiva but beyond. Opportunity International, Grameen Foundation, Global Giving’s microcredit programs, and small micro-enterprise initiatives happening here in the U.S. and abroad - to name a few. Social capitalism at its best.
• How are you going to use your Web/tech/marcom skills to further this cause? (Or, what are you already doing that works?)
  I have badges on my personal blog for several of the above groups, and support a few of them too. That’s  not enough! I hope to get more involved with NEST, a local group that provides microcredit loans to women artisans in developing countries, and brings their wares to market in the U.S. They’ve already dipped their toes into PR and social media but could use some additional support.

Tagged in this meme (we’re all changebloggers in some way!): Minjae Ormes, Ike Pigott, Alex Rampy, Holly Ross, Jake Brewer, Josh Chambers, Colin Delaney, Maddie Grant, Andre Blackman, Mark Drapeau, Sarah Marchetti, Ryan Moede, Christian DE NEEF and Kenneth Yeung.

Peace.

The controversial Sarah Lacy spoke at Gnomedex. Yours truly argued with Lacy and Robert Scoble about business blogging, in what became a very public discussion (see extensive CNET coverage, image from said article). The usual, beaten to death PR Sucks meme arose (snore), but our specific argument arose over the feasibility of Lacy’s claims that bloggers can really monetize their business.

I believe most content generators a) don’t create for business/marketing purposes and b) won’t ever be in a position to successfully become superstars to the extent that the content itself will create enough opportunities to be self supporting. The era of turning on a blog and it being “special” ended last year (per last week’s Content Creation post).

CNET got my point right on the nose:

Lacy, Charlene Li [who is absolutely brilliant], Scoble and others, were “people who already have influential positions… Why should the average Joe Metroblogger care,” Livingston asked.

Both Lacy and Li came out of positions where their professional day jobs — BusinessWeek and Forrester — afforded them a much quicker ride to success. In the case of Scoble, he had to scrap his way to the top, but still had some special sauce as one of the first major corporate bloggers vis a vis Microsoft.

To really make it without these advantages, you need an unusual combination of skills to rise to prominence. You must be a natural. Scrapping your way to success through content creation today requires these four elements:

Not as simple as the wave of a hand from a former BusinessWeek reporter who had a easier path to prominence. By the way, Lacy’s journalistic past was something she needed to remind Gnomedexers of more than a dozen times. Most Gnomedexers seemed to feel Lacy’s laurels had worn thin, as demonstrated by the worst speaker rating of the event.

Breaking It Down

(Robert Redford starred as the Natural in 1984)

This discussion, while interesting to Lacy et al, is not a new discussion, but relevant in that so many individuals and businesses are trying to create blogs for business purposes. Technically “blogging” is not the right term; it should be content creation. A blog is a publishing mechanism for a variety of content from the printed word and podcasts to photos and video. Anyway…

Can an individual — and to some extent a new business effort — successfully leverage content for leading edge value? Yes, in our own business consider Valeria Maltoni’s rise to prominence last year, and this year’s Jason Falls success story. A rise to the top for business purposes can be done. Business value usually comes in the form of intangibles like more web site transactions through integrated marketing calls to action, personal or corporate branding, speaking opps, networking contacts, etc.

But let’s examine content creators by type:

1) The Naturals - Folks who would blog if they were stuck in Alaska, alone with no hopes for any commerce.
2) Business people and entrepreneurs - From consultant to corporation, these folks are seeking to achieve financial reward.

The two are not exclusive. But most bloggers fall under the category of one, naturally creative. Doubt me? Check out DC Blogs, a list of thousands upon thousands of local bloggers who create for the sake fulfilling their inner Picasso. Most have no aspiration for monetization.

Also, consider how many people create content versus those that simply listen or comment. The actual blogger is a rare person, one in 20 to 25, depending on your source.

In the case, of business types who do blog, unless they are also naturally creative, they rarely post with the necessary frequency, long-term tenacity and substance to succeed. If an entrepreneur’s natural creativity cannot be brought to bear in this sense, it’s going to be very hard for them. A corporation can better weather this deficiency by deploying several voices guided by an editorial mission and calendar.

In addition to creative fire to achieve success, you must have something to say. You have to have subject matter expertise. Creativity and subject matter expertise do not mutually co-exist. Further, is there enough of both, to deliver targeted content excellence over a sustained Stakeholders must find the content relevant consistently or they will stop following a creator.

Last, but not least comes, community networking skills. This represents more than half of the battle. Content is not king of much>Unless you already have notoriety, generating a community network becomes an organic process. Developing enough Groundswell to successfully compel communities to generate word of mouth and propel content, requires strong networking skills - a skill set completely different from content creation.

Networking requires a sustained participatory commitment from the individual on top of content creation. Much of Now Is Gone focuses on participation within communities, and that’s because it is the community that drives adoption, not publishing or even subject matter expertise. Those are pre-requisites. Instead, the community adapts, and they only do so when they believe you are credible, and there is clear value for them.

Applied to the Gnomedex Conversation

The Lacys, Lis, and Scobles of the world have an unfair advantage compared to the average blogger. Their credibility with the community — in the form of BusinessWeek, Forrester and Microsoft — was already established. Their communities were much more willing to embrace them than the average unknown.

To their credit, Li and Scoble are clearly positioned for long term success. In addition to their notoriety, they network, create content, and deliver substance over time. I am far from ready to don Lacy a champion due to perceived weaknesses in her thought leadership and community skills. That being said, she is undoubtably a Natural. Journalists and authors have to be content creators in their heart. But how much longer will the BusinessWeek cache carry her?

Those of us who have had to earn or are trying to develop business success through content creation know the road is not easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. Much like publishing a book (according to Li there are only 50,000 published authors in the United States), for “the unfamous” the dream requires an incredible amount of perseverance and dedication. Trust me, I know. Because I’ve walked this talk from ground zero.

“Our mission is to break the world’s oil addiction.”

Compliments of September’s Wired cover story, I learned of Shai Agassi’s phenomenal start-up Better Place. An admirable mission as Green is my number one current cause. And social causes have rapidly become critical professional matters for those of us writing on the Buzz Bin.

Shai (see his blog here) abandoned a promising career at software giant SAP to fulfill his quest to end oil dependence. His vision of all electric cars is so ambitious it makes your mouth drop. Forget GM’s broken Volt model. Instead, envision battery power readily accessible through a networked grid everywhere. And the cost? One third of the gas-guzzling fuel costs the average American spends.

Impossible you say? Yet he has Renault, Daimler, the Israeli and Danish governments, powerful investors, and talented individuals across the globe getting in line behind him. He is attracting the world’s most incredible minds, and breaking so called rules left and right. And he is likely to break current paradigms for hybrid and electric cars.

Why? Because he was tasked by fellow entrepreneurs to change the world, to make a difference for the environment. In his relentless passion to achieve what he sees as the world’s biggest environmental challenge — oil addiction - he has turned the heads of many, and may become one of our generation’s greatest heros. I hope so.

Many times on my personal blog (this piece is cross-posted there), I’ve stated a definitive intent to use my communication “powers” for good.

At Gnomedex this weekend, I will have the great pleasure of meeting Beth Kanter, one of the leading change bloggers out there. Beth’s work is so prolific we felt compelled to interview her yesterday. Voices like hers, like la Marguerite, like EcoGeek, speak to me every time I open my reader. It’s dedicated, 110% committed people like these change bloggers, like Agassi, that let you know the impossible can be achieved.

Inevitably my mind returns to our internal mission: Building a significant social cause practice, and using our social media skills for good. In the past week, we’ve made several steps that have put us in position to kick some real butt on behalf of organizations trying to relieve poverty, end genocide, educate America, and more.

We live once. No one will remember us for marketing body armor, wireless networks, cars, software, etc., etc. What will your legacy be?

Yes, we have to pay the bills. Not everyone can direct corporate strategy in this way. Or maybe you can just quit like Agassi — like me — and start your own company. But all of us, every single one of us can do more. As communicators we have the ability to help in ways most people cannot. We can use social media and traditional channels to heighten public awareness, help fundraise, and build better companies. And it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t some cause that every person holds dear to their heart.

2008 is 66% over. What are you doing to make Earth a better place this year?

Beth Kanter, a professional blogger and consultant to nonprofits, uses social media tools in the nonprofit sector for social change. Currently, Beth collaborates with the Summit Collaborative, where she helps build the capacity of nonprofit organizations through her works on technology evaluation projects, curriculum development, research and planning. She will alsobe a featured speaker at this weekend’s Gnomedex conference.

Beth’s professional blog, Beth’s Blog, ranks as a top fifty most influential female blog. Currently, Beth is the Contributing Editor for Nonprofits and Social Change at blogher and writes for Netsquared blog. In addition, Beth has also written articles that appeared in nonprofit publications like TechSoup and Nonprofit Times.

BB: What got you into this space, and what keeps you in it?

BK: I’ve been working with nonprofits for 30 years! I was a classical flute major in music school, hoping to play flute in a symphony orchestra after I graduated. That didn’t happen.

I figured if I couldn’t play a role on the stage, maybe there was an opportunity for a role behind stage. As part of my research, I interviewed orchestra managers about what skills I needed to learn or have in order to be an orchestra manager. This was circa 1979. The advice I got was: learn how to type. So, I took my metronome and practiced typing exercises at adagio (very slow) and worked up to allegro (very fast). I was a fast and accurate typist and that helped me get a job at the Boston Symphony in the development office. Not too longer after I was there, the first PCs arrived so I spent time teaching myself how to use it and then helped others in the office. My whole nonprofit career has been about following my curiosity - and self-learning and teaching others.

I stay in this sector because of the passion, and the sense that you work has an impact. Also, most nonprofits have limited resources - so you have to be creative and I love that. When you work with or for nonprofits, small interventions can make a huge difference. All of these reasons keeps me in the nonprofit sector.

BB: How has your personal mission evolved over the years?

BK: If you look at my biography, you will see that I have followed my passions and varied interests in the nonprofit sector. When I first started off, I worked as a staff person for arts organizations for a couple of years before realizing that I was a project junkie. I was better suited to freelance work. So, for the first 15 years of my career, I focused on working with arts organizations as a consultant - in the area of marketing, fundraising, organizational strategic planning, and research.

In 1992, I got obsessed with online communications, technology, and the Internet. I started working with the New York Foundation for the Arts as the community networker for an online network of artists. I was responsible for learning how to use the Internet (very early days) and then teaching others. That pattern again! During the 12 years at I worked with NYFA, I designed and lead many different technology training projects for artists, arts organizations, and arts educators. I loved it!

Also during this time, I started to get curious about other types of nonprofits organizations and effective technology use - and broadened my consulting and training projects to work with many different types of nonprofits. In 2000, I started a personal blog about Cambodia to learn more about the culture and one for my professional training work - actually coding my entries in HTML from scratch. Someone introduced me to blogging software, and I was hooked. I’ve been exploring social media and Web 2.0 for nonprofits since about 2003 — all with the underlying theme of learning and teaching others.

BB: What are you going to try to relay to our fellow geeks at Gnomedex?

BK: That with a little creativity, fun, geekiness, and passion - you can use web 2.0 tools — like blogs — and go out and create change in the world.

BB: How do you envision social media - the people and the tools - taking a more active role in society?

BK: There are more and more nonprofits that have mastered the art of social media strategy related to their missions and programs and integrated with their marketing strategies. There are so many inspiring examples. I think of organizations like the Nature Conservancy, Human Society, American Cancer Society, National Wildlife Federation, Red Cross, and many others are using social media to create awareness, reaching out to the next generation, and inspiring action for their important work. The best examples are those organizations, like the ones I’ve mentioned above, who avoid shiny object syndrome and really connect their missions to why they’re using a social media tool. They’ve also done a great job of having the discussion internally and educating people within their organization about the possibilities. Another hallmark with the nonprofits that have used social media in an amazing way - is that they’re not afraid to learn and experiment.

BB: If you could get all social media voices to unite around one issue, what would it be?

BK: That question is hard for me - I don’t think I could pick just one issue!!!! I’ll start with my big passion. That’s actually the secret sauce of activism and person-to-person fundraising. Anyone who knows me, knows that I care for the children of Cambodia … particularly programs like the Sharing Foundation offers that helps life young people out of poverty. My family and I have sponsored a young woman, Leng Sopharath, for her college education - and it isn’t that much money in Cambodia (may 5% of what it would cost here in the US), but know that little amount will make all the difference in her world and what she can do. I’m also very interested in animal rights (shelter dogs are my weakness), creative commons, environmental causes, and poverty reduction programs that help young women.

BB: Do you have any words of wisdom to share to the Gen Y change bloggers you recently featured on your blog?

BK: Follow your passion and curiosity. Don’t be afraid to keep learning and sharing what you learn on your blog. I think Gen Y perspectives about nonprofit leadership and technology are fresh, inspiring, and very important for people who have been in the field for many years to pay attention to. These are our future nonprofit leaders. That’s one reason why I wanted to compile a list and do interviews. I also encourage them to continue to be smart and be professional, but don’t be afraid to challenge and keep us all thinking!

BB: What about the Gen X’ers and boomers?

BK: I’m a proud member of the babyboom generation and for some reason I probably have the technology habits of a Gen Y (or so I’ve been told) I know there are other folks of my age or generation, who are also big users of the social media and technology, but there are others who are not. For that last group, I would encourage them to learn from the Gen Y’s in their midst and honor their knowledge.

BB: What’s next for Beth?

BK: That’s a great question! Most people who know me call me "prolific" in my writing and sometimes I feel that my insatiable curiosity keeps me going in too many directions. I am hoping to have an opportunity to become more scholarly in my approach to the understanding of social media and nonprofits and take it to a deeper level. At the same time, some new areas of inquiry are attracting my attention. I hope to carve out some time for deeper synthesis, reflection, and creative thinking over the next 6-12 months and take my writing/blogging/training work to a deeper level. Stay tuned…

The concept of backing up your computer is now coming to social networks like Twitter. Tweetake allows Twitterers to back up their friends, followers, favorites and tweets into a CSV file. Founders Alfred Armstrong and Nikki Pilkington decided to create Tweetake after Twitter proved to be unreliable (i.e. Twitterers losing followers).

Why might this tool be useful? In case you want to change your Twitter name, you’d have a record of your current friends to add to your new account, which is a big plus. Backing up your account also gives you the flexibility to go through old tweets – as needed. The CSV file is divided into 11 columns, which includes names and screen names of your Twitter friends, their location, profile descriptions, a link to their images and URL, as well as a time/date stamp, and current tweets. (image from StartupMeme)

Buzz Meter Ranking: 3 out of 4 Buzz Bees

Positive: Tweetake is simple and easy. All you need is your Twitter username and password. With one swift click, you can have a CSV file of your all of friends, followers, favorites and tweets.

Negative: Although it is a good back up service, you still need to back up your own computer files at the end of the day if you want your Tweetake file to still exist.

Conclusion: Tweetake is just as simple as backing up your computer files. It’s an easy and fast procedure that gives users a chance to protect their tweets and profiles. If you’re a big Twitterer, then you should definitely use this tool.

It was either a stroke of genius or a moment of weakness that prompted SXSW’s Interactive Panel Picker. The website works by crowdsourcing potential panels that attendees (or, wishful attendees) want to see.

Since the Web 2.0 community is all about being interactive and promoting conversation, this appears to be the perfect solution to picking from a number of abstracts. On the other hand, the choices are a bit overwhelming with over 1,250 panels to sort through (including everything from successful foodblogging to fashion, and social media for nonprofits to moms who are technology geeks). Maybe it was simply too much to sift through for the SXSW Advisory Board and staff.

One of the drawbacks of the panel picker is that it has the potential to turn into a popularity contest. Users who have large social networks and “A-list” status can draw more attention and votes to their panel. People who may have a stellar idea but do not have a large social network to recruit votes from could be left out in the cold. The good news is, only 30% of the decision is placed directly in the hands of the consumer.

Not only that, but it can be a bit off-putting to see 100+ blog posts begging for votes. It almost makes people feel guilty for not voting, or, for not voting for their friends and colleagues. Some questions that come to mind: are people voting for content, or voting for their friends? And in the end, does good content drive "popularity", or can someone be popular without providing meaningful and relevant content? Building relationships is important and an integral part of social networks, but is the panel picker diverting attendees from looking at the big picture?

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, and it’s definitely an honor to be chosen to speak at SXSW. However, how much impact can you really make within the echochamber?

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center tracked where people are finding their news. On his blog, Lance Turner sums up the study saying, “In short, bad news for newspapers, but good news for online news, with modest growth in the audience there.” Less than 50% of Americans are reading printed news papers, and there is an increase of 9% in people getting their news online.

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting social causes. Posting a touching cancer awareness video on Strategic Public Relations, Kevin Dugan shows how social media can make a positive difference. Kevin says that social media’s benefit to non-profits is that, “Rather than a .org telling you how your support will help someone, the very people you are helping can show you.” See Kevin’s post for how social media has played a role in the Stand Up To Cancer (SUTC) drive, and find out how you can get involved.

How has a flattening world changed public relations? Dave Fleet of davefleet.com says that many PR professionals are safe and anchored. This comes from having knowledge and easier access to a certain location. Further, staying ahead of the knowledge curve by understanding social media will keep you “untouchable.” Dave says that those at risk may be writers, web developers, media monitoring specialists and proofreaders.

Fractals of Change’s Tom Evslin offers insight into pricing strategy – using the example of blog-based ad networks. Tom says that the strategy “…that I’m recommending here is to keep revenue as low as it can be and still fund growth.” His argument is that, “The more that bloggers make from your ads, the more space for ads you’ll have available as bloggers tell their friends which ad network to use.” Take a look at Tom’s post, and find out more on his strategy.

Find out three steps to protect your blog from a law suit on The Marketing Technology Blog. Douglas Karr says that it’s wise to, “Add a Disclaimer to your Blog with a link in the Footer.” He also suggests making your blog part of a limited liability company and giving to the Electronic Frontier Fund. Check out his post for more details, and offer your own suggestions.

Check out an interesting interview of David Meerman Scott on Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Blog. David “is an award-winning online thought leadership strategist,” and he offers in-depth insight into the social media scene. He covers topics on strategy, what he’s learned from speaking across the country, personal branding, and more.