Every once and a while, we at Beekeeper Group like to post about bee-related stories in the District and beyond.  So when I heard that my alma mater, GWU, recently developed its own urban apiary, I couldn’t resist sharing the story.

It turns out that the new bee colony is something to be proud of.  Through a partnership with Founding Farmers, one of DC’s greenest (and tastiest) restaurants, GWU has helped establish the largest restaurant-owned urban apiary in the country.  The University’s Lisner Hall roof now hosts six beehives, and it is estimated that each hive could eventually produce between 20 and 120 pounds of honey for Founding Farmers each year.

This sweet partnership will provide GWU and Founding Farmers with more than just honey, however.  GW’s biology department will use the bee hives to research the insect’s behavior patterns, while the student selected to oversee the apiary each year will receive a generous scholarship from Founding Farmers.  For both the university and the restaurant, the partnership also presents the opportunity to further their shared goal of promoting sustainability and green living.

You can follow the story of the Founding Farmers-GWU apiary on Twitter at @FFBees, and watch the video below to learn more about this exciting project:

Cities Abuzz with Urban Beekeeping

Thank you to the hundreds of you that participated in our Bee Mine Valentine’s Day contest. The three lucky Bee Mine contest winners are Katie Taylor of the American Heart Association, Sarah Nordstrom of Novo Nordisk, and Karen Metivier-Carreiro of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Watch their priceless reactions to the Bee’s special Valentine’s delivery in the video below:

So what does it take to get attention in today’s competitive online media landscape? Well, a life size bee certainly helps, but isn’t necessarily a requirement. We use our bee campaigns to bring attention to our model of building community both online and offline, and also to demonstrate how you can use similar tactics like online video, engagement through voting, creative media moments, and of course social media, to bring attention to your brand, cause, or issue.

It’s Not Just What Komen Did Wrong, But What Planned Parenthood Did Right:

Lessons Learned from Both Sides of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Backlash

This blog post was originally published as a guest posting on the Salsa Labs blog.

Almost everyone in the nonprofit community is doing some level of reflection in light of the overwhelming response to Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to withdraw Planned Parenthood’s eligibility for funding (which has since been reversed).   What likely occurred as a fairly straightforward, seemingly politically-covered boardroom decision is now being deemed a potentially unrecoverable failing of one the most prominent cancer fundraising organizations in the world.

Where did the Susan G. Komen Foundation go wrong?

The Boardroom Is Now Public

Organizational decision-making can no longer take place in a vacuum.  In fact, as we just learned, it won’t.  Whisperings about the true political intentions of some Komen leadership spread quickly, fueling the firestorm.  Organizations can get ahead of these types of decisions by releasing details of internal processes, which should include addressing potential dissent, in step with or before news of a major decision.

The financial eligibility restriction against those under federal investigation decision would have been an ideal discussion within the Komen blog.  The Komen community could have provided valuable feedback to Komen while giving the organization the opportunity to be the venue for, and a participant in, the dialogue.

Real-Time Communications

With social media such a well-known tool for managing media relations and crisis communications, people have become accustomed to real time responsiveness from the players in a controversy on these platforms.

While the Komen camp undoubtedly worked diligently behind the scenes on a response, their social media platforms sat silent, making way for the opposition’s campaign to surge.   Komen could have used social tools to let their loyal following know that their opinions were being heard and the decision was being reevaluated.  Instead, Komen’s silence inspired further retaliation as the online community likely interpreted this as willful ignorance.  Furthermore, impassioned anti-abortion activist messaging then became the most prevalent response.

Building Meaningful Community

The real lesson here is that building community is about more than just getting people to wear your ribbon or donate money.  It’s about building a relationship of trust and opening up channels of two-way communication about where the money is going and what causes you represent… and then standing by that commitment in both actions and words.

So what did Planned Parenthood do right?

Smart Social Media

Planned Parenthood immediately took to the web to grow support for their message.  The results proved that they already had a solid online community in place before the crisis that was ready, willing, and able to go to bat for their cause. According to The Washington Post:

Planned Parenthood blasted news releases via e-mail and Twitter and posted the information on Planned Parenthood’s Facebook wall. More than 2,000 supporters shared that post with their own friends on the social network. On Twitter, Planned Parenthood wrote ‘ALERT: Susan G. Komen caves under anti-choice pressure, ends funding for breast cancer screenings at PP health centers.’ More than 500 Twitter users reposted that message.”

Soon enough hashtags were trending on Twitter and even more of the public was taking notice, including prominent media and policy makers.  Donations to Planned Parenthood skyrocketed, and the community continued to fight on principle.

Running with a Media Moment

Planned Parenthood embraced the opportunity to bring women’s health and reproductive choice issues to the forefront.  They didn’t let perfection and ownership of the message stand in the way of “good enough” and “getting it out there.” The result?  Timely communications in an organic tone that people could relate to and easily share with their friends and families.

Support from Partners & Affiliates

There is, not surprisingly, a lot of overlap in organizational missions in the nonprofit world.  Often, organizations will band together into a coalition for a long-term fight.  But in the short term, it might be worth it to call in a favor or perhaps others will swoop in voluntarily in your time of need.  Thanks to organizations like MoveOn.org and Credo Action, Planned Parenthood’s call to action reached an exponentially larger number of activists than its base community.

Although none of us would want to be at the Monday morning meeting at Komen’s offices, we can and should do our own intake of the situation.  Many of the tools facilitating the downfall of one organization were the same tools providing opportunities to the other.  The difference is how they were used.  Most importantly, these tools give us the opportunity to get it right, even after we get it wrong.

The Beekeeper Bee had a busy day traveling all over DC to hand-deliver Valentines goodies and well-wishes to our three Bee Mine contest winners (and their appreciative office coworkers). Without further ado, they are: Katie Taylor (below, right) of the American Heart Association, Sarah Nordstrom (below, left) of Novo Nordisk, and Karen Metivier-Carreiro of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Thank you to everyone who participated! We had a great time. Check out our Twitter and Facebook pages for photos and recaps of the visits!

Voting for the Bee Mine competition has closed and the Bee, back from Miami, has been very busy preparing to surprise his new Valentines. Attendees of the Public Affairs Council 2012 National Grassroots Conference voted in large numbers for coworkers and colleagues to receive a surprise visit from the Bee. Three lucky winners will receive quite a shock today when the Bee arrives at their office to wish them an extra happy Valentine’s Day. They’ll be greeted with an array of goodies and a very excited Valentine!

Who could these winners be??? Be sure to watch Beekeeper Group on Facebook and Twitter today for live updates, and check back here on Wednesday for a post featuring the Bee visiting each special Valentine!

Beekeeper Group was thrilled to be part of yet another first-rate Public Affairs Council Grassroots Conference last week in Miami Beach. It’s pretty tough to beat warm weather, a cool breeze, sandy beaches and of course, the top Public Affairs professionals in the country! Corporations, non-profits, trade associations and prominent vendors and consultants gathered from all over for a week of presentations, networking and professional development. Here are our top 10 highlights:

1. Congressional Management Foundation’s Bradford Fitch gave an excellent presentation on how technology is changing the way Congress works, using CMF’s Inside the Hill video series.
2. Kathryn Harbath of Facebook shared her wealth of knowledge in a presentation on creating the ideal Facebook page for advocacy. She also offered superb Facebook 101 and 202 workshops on utilizing all the grassroots tools Facebook has to offer-.
3. Our own Travis Gianchetta was part of a new panel entitled “Going Public: Identifying and Recruiting New Advocates Online.” After opening with a water mishap and a warning to future presenters on the hazards of the podium’s slanted top, Travis discussed strategy for identifying and recruiting new advocates online.
4. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave a comprehensive presentation on social media strategy, complete with a “PLS RT” license plate from speaker Nick Schaper. Talk about dedication!
5. Voting was very competitive for our Bee Mine contest, with participants eager for their colleagues to receive a surprise visit at the office from the Bee on Valentine’s Day (stay tuned for updates and winners).
6. The Public Affairs Council discussed the results of a new, landmark survey on public attitudes on business and government. The results demonstrated the expectations people have for companies and which lobbying techniques resonated most with the public.
7. Entergy, American Heart Association and American Motorcycle Association were this year’s recipients of Grassroots Innovation Awards.
8. Justin Beland and Yvette Williams won our honorary comedians of the conference award as they shared some hilarious hospital related humor in their presentations on grassroots advocacy at the state level.
9. Uh, did we mention the conference was in Miami?! Networking sessions held beachfront were a great way for us to enjoy the local comforts while mingling with other professionals. Can’t beat this view!
10. David Lusk of Society for Human Resource Management presented on the art of building grassroots champions to speak and lead on your behalf.

What were your favorite moments of the 2012 PAC Grassroots Conference? Share them with us in the comment section below!

Recently, I was honored to be one of just a few select women technologists invited to the White House to advise members of the Administration on how we can use technology to promote equal pay for women.  This recent meeting, along with other National Equal Pay Task Force activities, represents the President’s commitment to stop violations of equal pay laws that still occur across our country.

According to the blog post announcing the Equal Pay App Challenge authored by U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis:

In America, women make up half of the workforce and two-thirds of our families rely on a mother’s wages for a significant portion of their income. Yet, women, on average, make less on the dollar than men, and the gap is even greater for women of color and women with disabilities.  Lower pay not only means less economic security for women, but also for the families that depend on them.

The most recent (and exciting!) outcome of these activities is the launch of the Equal Pay App Challenge, where developers can create interactive applications to educate the American public about the pay gap and help promote equal pay for men and women.  For me, this challenge represents the intersection of two of my great passions – promoting women in the workforce and using technology to solve problems!

Since the Equal Pay App Challenge is part of the Challenge.gov movement, those involved have the opportunity to win awards and scholarships through this contest, in addition to the good deed of supporting equal pay.

What are you waiting for?  It’s time to get working on your equal pay awareness app!

A recent article by POLITICO’s Anna Palmer entitled “K Street’s boom goes bust” describes how many DC lobbying firms reported stagnant or negative revenues in 2011.  Their sluggish year is attributed to the slow economy and, perhaps more significantly, major shifts occurring in the public affairs industry.  The article describes how a few new kids on the advocacy block are starting to rival the traditional lobbying establishment:

“Fights are no longer just about which side has the most — or best — lobbyists. The new world of Washington influence is more diverse: Traditional access lobbying is waged alongside campaigns that use media, grass-roots activism and the Internet — activity often not reported in federal lobbying filings.”

The article goes on to cite the recent SOPA/PIPA debacle as an example of the power behind grassroots and online campaigns, as well as individual internet users, when they make their presence known in Washington.

This isn’t to say that the big K Street lobbying firms will be closing their doors any time soon.  However, the reality of this “new world of Washington influence” has significant implications for those of us in the public affairs industry.  A TechCrunch article on this very topic notes that “social lobbying,” where social networks trump cash as the currency influence, is becoming a preferred method for “savvy” special interest groups to promote their causes.

Though some believe this movement towards “social lobbying” is the result of negative connotations associated with traditional lobbying, it also seems to reflect our growing propensity to spend time online.  As we become more mobile, connected, and web-dependent, it makes sense that special interest groups would want to engage activists where they are: on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and wherever else our web roamings lead us.

While it may be difficult to predict the future of the Washington influence game, for the time being, it seems as though online and grassroots activism is solidifying its position in DC.  As we move through 2012 and complete another election cycle, perhaps we will see if it is indeed here to stay.

[Image courtesy of MapBox.com]

I recently had the opportunity to attend NetSquared DC’s meet up on modern mapping and new data visualizations.  The focus of the event was to provide non-profit organizations with tips on how to use open source mapping tools to promote their mission, so there was considerable overlap with the work Beekeeper Group does in the advocacy community.

Here are some of the key takeaways I had from the meet up:

1. You don’t need a technical or GIS background to use many open source mapping tools.  This highlights the accessibility of these technologies, even for smaller organizations.  Map Box, with the TileMill application, is one example of these easier open source mapping programs.
2. One of the worst mistakes a group can make when using a map is “polka dot fever,” where a map is filled with data points with little or no context.  Think about the end goal of your map before you make it, and use visual tools that will best tell that story to your audience.
3. Mapping is a great way to make quantitative data visual, personal, and relevant. Danny Harris’s work in using maps for storytelling at People’s District is a great example of this practice.
4. Make sure your maps can go mobile!  Since many of your users will access maps on an Android, iPhone, or iPad, it is crucial that your maps are designed to respond to various devices.  When creating a mobile map, prioritize speed, bandwidth detection, and ensure that the touch interface is functional.

For inspiration on how to create an awesome map for your organization, the presenters recommended books such as Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and online resources like Visualize This.  Since I’m a bit of a map nerd myself, also I think blogs such as Big Map Blog and Strange Maps can provide unique inspiration.

Has your organization ever leveraged maps for an advocacy campaign or cause?  What recommendations would you add for others who are interested in using cartography within their organizations?

Join us the week of February 13-17 as Beekeeper Group celebrates Social Media Week here in D.C.  Hosted in only 9 cities around the globe, Social Media Week is a global platform, offering a series of interconnected events and conversations on up-and-coming developments in social and mobile media.  Connect with us and help us examine how these new forms of collaboration have drastically changed the way we gain knowledge and share information.  Social Media Week 2012 will embrace the theme of  Empowering Change through Collaboration, examining how social media acts as a facilitator for change in economics, culture and politics.  More in the video below:

The Social Media Week D.C. Advisory Board (of which I’m honored to be a Member) has been working hard to provide many ways to participate.  Currently, D.C. already has 27 events scheduled, including various workshops, dinners, documentary viewings and even a pub quiz!  Each of these events is designed to generate conversation amongst social media advocates on the trends and developments that have generated and encouraged significant change all over the world.

Not interested in attending any of the listed events? Host your own! Social Media Week welcomes your submissions, just be sure to submit before January 31st!