Book Review of CauseWired

Tom Watson explores the societal impact of online social networks in his new book CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World (Wiley, November 2008) CauseWired is the first book focused on making sense of social media in the nonprofit world. Watson not only gets it — but he also explains why social media matters in understandable terms.

The book begins by explaining that wired causes are on important aspect of how social networks impact our world. These "CauseWired consumers are superinformed consumers who expect to create and support causes, change politics, and have personal involvement in the brands they support economically."

"For nonprofit organizations and the philanthropists who support them, a grasp of the coming influence of social networks in causes will be, frankly, key to survival in a world where your grandfather’s style of check - writing charity no longer applies."

Watson addresses the hype factor of Web 2.0 and goes on to explain how the "sheer number of users is staggering" and can't be discounted. Part of his research for the book required him to dive into the medium. Tom's companion website for the book can be found at http://www.causewired.com/ and gives an ongoing account of changes that continue to transform wired causes.

To understand the context for wired causes, Tom Watson recounts his own personal journey through the many technological twists and turns he has witnessed. He wants the reader to understand why these changes in media and technology are transforming the "underlying human impulse to help others" and how to think about where this is all going in the future.

Tom begins with Hurricane Katrina as an example of social media creating a CauseWired movement. Bloggers were ahead of the mainstream media and the government when it came to telling the real story of what was happening on the Gulf Coast. Next came the photos on Flickr, the videos on YouTube, and numerous charities accepting online donations.

The book points to how the wired "infrastructure of personal interaction and its growth over the last three years creates fertile ground for fast - moving social activism online." It was this combination of technology elements that turned response to Katrina into a wired cause. And it still remains a wired social cause more than three years later.

"New technology and the human urge to communicate will create the basis for a golden age of activism and involvement, increasing the reach of philanthropy and improving the openness of politics, democratic government, and our major social institutions."

CauseWired then turns its attention to Facebook and the Causes application. Watson references the fundraising tool through the story of Eric Ding and his efforts to raise money for breast cancer research at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. "What Eric Ding was doing with Causes on Facebook was not about building a fundraising campaign. It was about building an audience," says Watson.

Facebook illustrates an example of social pressure leveraging social data to drive people towards social causes. It's the ability to pull mass groups together and directing them towards causes that mean something to them and the people in their lives. Expect this capability to appear across multiple social networks in many forms over time.

"Causes do not spread just because they are good; they spread because people spread them. This seems simple and rather obvious, but it is the secret sauce behind the rise of all the online social networks. In short, people like being asked nicely by other people they know to do things for them; that request validates the relationship. This precept is as old as recorded civilization."

Author Tom Watson then turns his attention to the Darfur conflict and the role of social media. The Genocide Intervention Network got its start from using various social networks like MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster. The organization has continued to engage people via Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Change.org, and has been able to acquire activists, volunteers, and donors through theses channels.

The book points out that "using the power of the network to distribute a story, to sign people up to support a cause, and to occasionally bring them into the street is at the heart of the CauseWired revolution." Other nonprofits like Bright Hope International have also been able to reach the next generation of supporters by embracing social media and networks.

CauseWired then focuses on peer-to-peer philanthropy, a topic I'm very familiar with from the People to People Fundraising book. Watson discusses DonorsChoose and its eventual breakthrough to become a successful online fundraising tool. The same disintermediated approach to supporting a cause is what has made Kiva so successful. And there are some statistics that suggest many of these people are "new money" donors making their first philanthropic gifts using these websites.

"If you give people a chance to make an impact, and you let them see the evidence of their impact, they will respond. They naturally want to make a difference in the world, they want to respond but mostly they feel helpless. We give them something very tangible and provide feedback." - Matt Flannery, Co-Founder and CEO, Kiva

And what about those Millennials? Tom Watson covers them in the book too. He points out that there are "twice as many millennials as Gen-Xers and already a million more millennials alive than Baby Boomers." They are also more ethnically diverse, volunteer in large numbers, are more in tune with social causes, and "this is the most technically savvy and invested generation in American history." They want real change and are willing to take action to make it happen.

This also extends to the political arena. The 2008 US presidential campaign, citizen journalists, and how people are engaging and giving are explored. CauseWired is one of the first books to cover what the campaigns have been doing and what it can mean for other organizations. Some readers might let their own political views cloud the merits of what is being done, but putting those biases aside will help to get a better understanding of what's going on.

"Young people do not separate their causes into neat little boxes labeled POLITICS and CHARITY. They simply respond to what moves them, what their friends recommend, and what they believe might change the world."

While some political campaigns seem to go on and on without end, there is another phenomenon to be aware of: flash causes. Watson uses the Southern California wildfires of 2007 as an example of a flash cause. Twitter, Digg, weblogs, Facebook Causes, and other social media sites immediately became a rallying point for information and mobilization during the disaster. CauseWired goes on to detail other examples of flash causes in action.

Watson believes that there are two major trends on a collision course: "On one hand, people are ever more conscious of philanthropy and its role in commerce and society; on the other, these people are talking to each other more than ever before." The traditional fundraising practices of acquisition, cultivation, and stewardship are forever changed by wired causes. Are you prepared?

Involvement and engagement are now being built from the bottom of the giving pyramid on up. The author notes that "some structure is necessary in successfully organizing an online cause; pure groupthink rarely leads to accomplishment." There are some good explanations of approaches and processes to engage people and build CauseWired leaders.

The book ends with an extensive list of websites, blogs, social media sites, and other books worth reading. This is a great place to continue your understanding of some of the major concepts and examples featured in CauseWired. And sprinkled throughout the book are comments and insights from respected people in the nonprofit industry like Beth Kanter, Joe Green and Sean Parker, Allan Benamer, and Allison Fine.

Tom Watson's CauseWired is must reading for anyone in the nonprofit world. I have covered a lot of the aspects of the book in this review, but there is so much more to be discovered in its pages. I still didn't give away the really really good parts. Order your copy today.