Interview with Heather Mansfield on MySpace: Where Pop Culture Meets Social Activism

Thanks Andrew... it's great to be here!

Amazingly, this is still one of the largest myths about MySpace. Here are some stats:

• 77 % of users are 18 and older.
• 72% earn $50,000 or more per year.
• 52% of users are female.
• Very culturally and ethnically diverse.

MySpace is still the largest social networking website in the world. It has 110 million active users. MySpace receives more page views than any other Web site in the world — more than 1.3 billion a day. It is the third visited website in the United States only behind Yahoo! and Google... and the fifth visited website in the world. It grows by 250,000 new users per day.

In comparison, for example, Orkut.com is the second largest with 109 million users. Hi5.com is the third largest with 70 million users. And Facebook comes in fourth with 69 million registered users.

Since MySpace is completely customizable with html – unlike most other social networking websites – you can design your MySpace to drive traffic to your website, get new e-newsletter subscribers, and insert donate buttons or fundraising widgets. MySpace functions as basically a portal to your Web 1.0 tools... and over 110 million people that at your fingertips.

Also, MySpace has very few rules and little to no censorship. You just can't override the advertising banner or upload pornographic photos... otherwise, anything goes... and this is what I love about MySpace (in addition to all the great music!)... it’s the greatest experiment in the masses self-organizing and controlling the message that our global society has ever seen.

I also like that MySpace is in over 20 different languages... and they are launching MySpace Latino on April 11!

Someone told me a story recently about a session at the NTEN conference last month. The presenter asked the 200+ participants in the room if their nonprofit was using Facebook. 90% raised their hands. The she asked who has received concrete results from using Facebook... 1 person/1 nonprofit raised their hand. Everyone laughs...

The strength of Facebook is its ability for people to communicate with one another one-on-one... and to easily find people that they went to school with or worked with. An organizing tool, Causes and Groups haven't resulted in much new website traffic, donations, or e-newsletter subscribers.

BUT I'll just say this... my theory is that the future of Facebook for organizing around nonprofit mission is Facebook Pages:

http://www.facebook.com/business

Lots of benefits there.

As far as the future of MySpace, it is still growing faster than Facebook with 250,000 new users per day... compared to Facebook's 200,000. There is space on the Internet for two powerful social networking websites... especially since these two couldn't be more different.

I am super excited about these:

http://apps.myspace.com

They will truly change the way MySpace functions and how people use it. MySpace has been very cautious about launching these and isn't actively promoting them.

I am testing two Apps on the NPO MySpace page... and Change.org is launching a MySpace App in a couple of days... very exciting!

A lot of the Apps on Facebook are now on MySpace... but as I mentioned, MySpace is being much more cautious, slow and deliberate about launching them. Since many folks on MySpace don't understand html, the new Apps will allow them to more easily design their MySpace.

Also, on MySpace... you have a public view and a backend... the Apps in the backend on MySpace function in a way that they don't on Facebook.

Change.org is the only social networking website built specifically for nonprofits. Approx. 1,000 nonprofits have signed up and we and have over 100,000 active members.

Change.org allows nonprofits to custom-design and brand a social networking site... and then provides a number fundraising and e-advocacy tools and widgets that nonprofits can use to build a powerful, social networking community of fundraisers and activists. In a relatively short amount of time you can have 5-100 individuals fundraising and promoting your organization online - via email, MySpace, Facebook, etc.

Change.org also offers MySpace and Facebook Apps... allowing nonprofits to use MySpace and Facebook... to drive supporters to Change.org where they can donate, fundraise, take action, etc. A really amazing site.

We've just started giving weekly webinars for free... they are posted here:

www.change.org/bestpractices

www.myspace.com/grassrootsinternational

www.myspace.com/thehumanesociety

www.myspace.com/gpus

www.myspace.com/itsyourworld

Just to name a few... try to regularly check out the NPO MySpace for the Nonprofit of the Month:

www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

Unless you are a large national organization with millions of members, I don't see the point of this. Do people really want another login just to go on that organization's social network to chat? They are already on MySpace and Facebook... so I say go there... where they are... where it is convenient for them. A lot of nonprofits are afraid of MySpace and Facebook because they can no longer control the message... but releasing control is the power of Web 2.0! And you can control the content on these sites more than you may think...

I highly recommend Change.org for your social network that is more branded for your organization... and all the tools available there to integrate your Change.org community with MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Why reinvent the wheel, you know?

There are so many actually. My guess is there are 25-50,000 nonprofits on MySpace... only about 10% seem to really understand all the tools available to them on MySpace... and I see mistakes all the time... MySpace is vast... enormous... so many tools there... and most nonprofits don't have a clue really.

If you are thinking of getting on MySpace or already on MySpace, see my MySpace Best Practices:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/myspacebestpractices.htm

If you are not on it yet, pay particular attention to the design best practices!

Minimum:

MySpace
Facebook
Change.org
YouTube

Design and integrate all four to drive traffic to each other, and back to your website... then list the Web 2.0 icons on your website, such as:

www.transfairusa.org

After you have mastered these, think of branching out into the world's of Digg.com, Twitter.com, and Flickr.com.

Hi5.com is another to watch... but build the Core 4 first... MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube are all in the top five visited sites in the U.S.... and top 10 globally. Go where the people are! Then use Change.org - the only social networking website built specifically for nonprofits...

Fundraising has not hit yet on MySpace or Facebook... but when it does you will 100,000+ friends to tap into.

Just putting the button or a fundraising widget on your MySpace (just like a website) won't work. You have to do the ask via bulletins and use your MySpace blog to organize a fundraising campaign.

Also, is your MySpace designed to drive traffic to your website and e-newsletter subscribe? You can funnel thousands from MySpace to your e-newsletter... and they may become donors 2 weeks or two months down the road.

Also... ask people on MySpace to create a fundraising page for you on Change.org!

More:
www.diosacommunications.com/myspacebestpractices.htm#fundraising

For those who are not aware:

http://impact.myspace.com
http://www.myspace.com/impactawards

A few nonprofits are testing their new Impact profiles... but when they are going public and what exactly they will entail... I don't know!

My speaking schedule:
www.diosacommunications.com/services/web20trainings.htm

I also give webinars:
www.diosacommunications.com/services/webinars.htm

That's the beauty of Web 2.0... I moved back to my hometown of Springfield, MO where the livin' is easy... now traveling less and webinar(ing) more... doing work I love!

Absolutely! I can't say this enough... you use MySpace to drive traffic back to your website [and Change.org]:

For example, Grassroots International:
www.myspace.com/grassrootsinternational

Now G.I. receives 25% of its traffic from MySpace alone... and 10% of it's new e-newsletter subscribers... they have only raised $1,000 on MySpace... but who knows what they people have done once they visited their website and subscribed to their e-newsletter?!

Well... I have 30,000 friends on the NPO MySpace... when I send around an email campaign via bulletins on MySpace... that results in anywhere from 50-150 actions being taken. I think that is good rate.

The problem 90% of the nonprofits on MySpace do not know how to "work" this site correctly...

Again.... it took almost a decade for online fundraising to take off... still only makes up 7% of all giving... be patient with social networking fundraising... it won't happen overnight... and I can't stress this enough... if fundraising is you major focus... use Change.org!

Thank you everyone!