At the intersection of social media and sustainability
A couple of weeks ago, I was having dinner with a few very good friends and we started talking about Twitter. They didn’t know why it was useful. I explained that frequently, people share great finds (articles, things they are doing, things other people are doing, etc). More detail about Twitter in another post. This one is to share a couple of things that I’ve learned about applications of social media to sustainability.
I see the intersection of social media and sustainability as a part of my emerging new research, teaching and consulting agendas (by the way, have you checked my new research blog? No? Go ahead and check it out then come back). And one of the great things I’ve learned is how you can apply these social media tools to enable environmental non-governmental organizations and Crown corporations to reach out to a broader audience. Examples that a variety of awesome social media gurus have done for environmental causes and the such follow (this is a short link-love list – if you find yourself not included, feel free to drop me a comment). And the most exciting thing of them all? I heard about them on Twitter 
- Dave Jones from Hill and Knowlton alerted me to the work he had been doing to help World Wildlife Fund Canada to spread the message about Earth Hour Canada. He spoke to a room of 18 people from the WWF Canada as sort of a “socmed bootcamp” and got them started on Twitter, Facebook and all that jazz. Dave is a great Canadian social media/PR person, and I offered to contribute to the Vancouver Earth Hour volunteer team.
- Darren Barefoot, Julie Szabo (Capulet Communications) and Monica Hamburg (in collaboration with Capulet) helped Forest Ethics, Greenpeace Canada and Sierra Club BC launch a social media campaign (that included Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and blogger outreach) to protect the Great Bear rainforest. I wrote about their campaign on my blog a couple of times. Excellent work here too.
- Before they merged with Third Whale, Dave Olson (mentor and good friend) helped spread the amazing work of HappyFrog.ca all over the Twitterverse. I even did some podcasting and liveblogging of EPIC ‘08 as part of Dave’s FrogSquad!
- Third Whale is also on Twitter. The account is managed by relentless and ultra-enthusiastic Emily Jubenvill (who by the way is considered Canada’s greenest life-style person). I had a chance to chat with Dr. Boyd Cohen (who works in the corporate sustainability field) and is an entrepreneur. I foresee great things in the future of Third Whale.
- Social Signal (headed by Rob Cottingham and Alexandra Samuel) helped BC Hydro spread their message on energy saving tips through a variety of social media tools. Although I could very well recommend some improvements to BC Hydro’s Human Resources policy, I think the work that Rob and Alex did with them was most excellent! Obviously, that speaks to the fact that Social Signal’s work is superb.
- The recently launched site that my friend Anthony Nicalo is co-leading (FarmFed) is yet another excellent example of the convergence/intersection of social media and sustainability (in this case, sustainable farming, sustainable food policy). I have a guest post for their blog that I will email ASAP.
- Finally, and not to toot our own horn, but the Vancouver Twestival is another space where sustainability (in this case, water sustainability) and social media converge. Rebecca Bollwitt is the main focal point for Twestival and Lorraine, Keira and I are helping Rebecca in whatever we can. I predict that Twestival will be a great event, and I’m very grateful to 6S Marketing, The Opus Hotel and everyone who has donated prizes for the raffle. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
In summary – social media and sustainability can and SHOULD intersect. I am actually quite excited that my work in social media (e.g. my blogging and micro-blogging, participation in social media events, etc.) is offering some leads in regards to contract work. At this juncture in my life, even though I love research and teaching, I will for sure accept some social media contract work, but only to the extent of what my abilities can do. Remember, in regards to social media, I’m still a newbie
Related posts:
- Measuring influence in social media (the Klout score)
- Canadian social media and social computing data/statistics
- Social Media for Sustainability and Public Policy
- Digital media and sustainability: Friends or foes? – NDMD ‘08
- Digital media and sustainability: Friends or foes? – NDMD ‘08
Thanks for the links. (I was glad to come across your work a few days ago).
My two cents: I wonder whether an additional way to think about the connection between social media and sustainability is in rebuilding social capital – and in that regard, one of the principal means is through the harnessing of the cognitive surplus for widespread social benefit (e.g., http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html). Another is in linking individual behavioural action and change to wider system outcomes (”if I change X, and I assume that Y proportion of people did the same thing, how would Z change?”)
If we take a really, really broad view of sustainability, centring it on the wellbeing of social systems (nested inside the capacity of the natural system), then the emphasis switches from “how do we use social media to communicate important messages about the natural environment” to “how do we engage people in the sustainability project”.
right on ! What’s really great about social media is the instantaneous conversations that ensue and become very powerful in making a difference. It’s where people are in dialogue and connecting via their network of common interest. Traditional media might point you in the dreiction of someone with interest but social media connects you in the moment (by the way I love the way you sent me to look at your blog and invited me to come back…nicely done)…I like where Justin suggests the engagement factor…that’s what social media delivers naturally…cheers @MolsonFerg
David Jones did a fantastic job coming into our office and sharing his wealth of social media knowledge. Being a web guy myself, I knew that social media has a lot to offer but didn’t really know how to utilize it to its full potential. David helped point us in the right direction and, though there’s still lots of work to be done, I’m really excited about it as we go forward. Thanks @EarthHourCanada