Squidoo Lenses and Nonprofits

A couple of folks have asked for my take on Seth Godin's Squidoo project.  Apparently there's been some flap on how nonprofits use or choose not to use Squidoo.

Before I get into that can I just say that the term "guru" is officially the most overused term on the internet.  Surf the blogosphere and It won't take long for you to find something ridiculous like "...be sure to check out internet marketing guru, Seth Godin's interview with internet nonprofit blogging guru Michael Kirkpatrick.  The gurus share a hyper-sarcastic exchange about being gurus and the use of the term guru on blogs.  Next week's post will be about the blogging for the self-promoting guru."

K, moving on.

Squidoo's faq page says nonprofits should have a "lens" because:

"you could invite all 45,000 of your most important donors to build sites on their favorite topics. The invitation would set the default royalty cash flow to "Donate my royalties to JDRF." If each lens generated as little as $2 a day, that'd be a whole bunch of money earned for the charity. You'd also earn a bounty on every successful lensmaster you brought in."

Apparently, not many nonprofits have squidooed prompting the indignant guru, Godin, to call them clueless.

You know what?  I feel Godin's pain and have first hand knowledge of why squidoo is having little traction in the nonprofit sector.  Here are some of the contributing factors:

1. The '60's:  So many managers in the sector use the 1960's as their reference for grassroots mobilization.  It was similar in politics till Howard Dean showed up.  Now politics is different.  Nonprofit managers need primers on blogging, ad revenue, and search engine optimization and network effects among other things.  Till they're educated, squidoo seems like a "scheme."  Right now nonprofit managers would rather do a terribly inefficient bulk mailing than generate ad revenue.  The '60's ended more than 35 years ago but still have a profound impact on nonprofit management.  Here's my plea to the nonprofit managers out there who are children of the '60's:  Please, please put the pipe and tamberine away and look at the real opportunities for revenue on the internet.
2. The Board:  Most nonprofits have an inefficient decision making system that involves running everything by their boards.  Squidoo would undoubtedly get struck down in a typical nonprofit board meeting.  Many nonprofit boards are filled by pseudo-influencers who do not donate and do not raise money but are prefectly content casting a vote on whether the organization can allocate $1000 for new chairs in the office.  I find it surprising that most boards woudn't push for something like this because it would involve zero work or effort on their part.  And unfortunately, for many boards that is the criteria for getting something approved.
3. "What if someone writes something bad about us" Lenses and blogs are so far off the radar of nonprofit decision makers that any discussion of them will focus solely on the risks.  "What if someone says something bad about us?  What if someone misrepresents us?  What if someone writes about a topic that we don't support?  How does that impact our brand?"  In defense of nonprofits and their boards, these concerns are valid.  But urging people to use typepad, squidoo, or blogger to generate ad revenue for an organization doesn't inherently increase the risk that someone will say something bad about them.  Plus, its a competitive world.  People say not so favorable stuff about other people and orgs all the time (See my jabs at Godin and Kirkpatrick above - I don't even know those guys by the way but I'm sure that they will survive my angst).  A nonprofit organization should be able to withstand that sort of thing as well if it happens. 
4. The Ask. Managers and development directors find it difficult to believe that revenue can come from anything but painstaking years of cultivation and uncomfortable asks.  Its just what they're used to.  This will change over time as new managers take over.
5. How could it be free?  The development director at a HUGE nonprofit in Boston once told me that they would never try a service that they didn't have to pay for because they would have concerns about the quality and how it impacted their brand.  To which I responded, "do you use Google in the office."  I was told that, "that was different."

There are more but the broader point is that nonprofits are not clueless, they're just not ready.  The nonprofit sector has always seemed like a insulated pocket of socialism in a capitalist world.  Nonprofits are 10 years behind on everything.  It's like being in Moscow in 1991- you couldn't get a decent pair of jeans or Nintendo for another 10 years.  I know an Executive Director that attended a conference about generating revenue on the internet this year and is very gung ho about incorporating a web site into their long term strategy.  THIS YEAR!!???  2006.  Meanwhile in the "for profit sector", Amazon was leading the way in e-commerce over a decade ago.  Nevertheless,the conference worked.  More education will change the current environment.

So, there is hope for squidoo and nonprofits.  I hope so. It may take time - maybe 10 years.  :-)  In essence, Squidoo is another take on Third Party Fundraising and I'm a huge proponent of the concept.

I hope Noel found this helpful.

Comments

[Noel Guinane]

Hi Syam,

I think you made some good points regarding non-profit's reluctance to move with the times, though in this case I can understand their wariness to involve themselves with Squidoo, looking as it does suspiciously like an advertising pyramid masquerading as good intention.

I've known Seth for some time, through his books and a couple of conversations. He does not have a problem with misrepresenting information in order to make money, as his marketing advice suggests. You don't have to take my word for it. All you have to do is read some of the reviews for his various 'books'. Here is an example from Publishers Weekly regarding his latest, All Marketers Are Liars.

"Readers will likely find the book's practical advice as rudderless as its ethical principles."

http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/bd.aspx?isbn=1591841003&pub=pw

Noel

[Celeste W]

Hi, Syam. I've responded to your cross post here: http://www.netsquared.org/godin. (Note that I called Jim Collins a "business expert" -- not a "guru." :) Like him, I do not think it's about nonprofits becoming like businesses. It's about nonprofits (and businesses) becoming great, e.g., using the right tools in the right ways.
.

[Celeste W]

Corrected url referenced above: http://www.netsquared.org/godin