The Art of Activating Slacktivism
by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 23 Mar 2010
Today's guest post comes to us from Dan Morrison, Founder and CEO of Citizen Effect who is driven by the idea that anyone can make a real and significant impact in the world. Citizen Effect provides everyday citizens the tools and networks they need to work directly with communities in need around the world.
I love the word “slacktivism.” It is a classic oxymoron. The word conjures up the image of a male college student (sorry guys) sitting on his couch playing Grand Theft Auto and texting “90999” to support Haiti Relief in the five seconds between games.
And that is a great thing. When I was in college, the college quad was the realm of the activist who wanted to save the world. The dorm room was the realm of the slacker who could care less. Technology has now allowed slackers with a conscience to get involved in the causes they believe in but are too lazy to get up off the couch and support.
Slacktivists are an entirely new market segment that we, as cause marketers, are all salivating over, because so many slacktivists are so willing to procrastinate by picking up their mobile phone or going online to give and spread the word about our cause. Slacktivists are the definition of the long tail and cause marketers are going to bed every night trying to dream up schemes about how to get 1 million slacktivists to text them $10. Unfortunately, for most, that is never going to happen.
But I don’t blame the slacktivists – they are who they are, and are giving in a way that is comfortable to them. I blame marketers, like myself, who scheme about how to
change slacktivists into the fundraising juggernaut of the 21st century, rather than focusing on giving them what they want – an easy, effortless way to give and get on with their lives.
Slacktivism emerged because social media tools gave slackers with a heart an opportunity to get involved on their own terms. It is a mistake to think that slacktivists are just lazy. Some are too busy or uncomfortable getting involved with a cause in a public manner. Texting, tweeting and social media gave them the ability to give during the limited time they had or provided the social cover they needed to get involved. So I think we should ask not what the slacktivist can do for us, but what we can do for the slacktivist.
For the slacktivists that is more slacker than activist, we have to give them more easy ways to give. Texting for Haiti was simple and you can expect organizations, big and small, to leverage text-to-give programs at the next fundraiser you attend (check out Causecast’s mobile text2give program). And suggestion to the Greenpeace volunteers lining the streets of DC – ditch the long schpeel and just ask people to text you $10 to save the planet. And next time there is a global catastrophe, let’s make it even easier - “Tweet 90999.” The more tools we can develop to integrate giving into our daily lives, the more slacktivists will give.
But I cannot resist the temptation that there are slacktivists that are activists just needing the right excuse to get involved. They may not be many, but are a tantalizing segment because converting one slacktivist that texted $10 to an activist that raises $5,000 is well worth the investment. But how do we move from mobile and online giving to offline doing?
At the threat of stating the obvious, give slacktivists the same social media tools you use to entice them to give. Nonprofits spend too much time trying to figure out how to use social media tools to entice new donors to give them $10, when they should be figuring out how to empower their existing donors to leverage social media tools to raise money for them. It is the classic “don’t ask a man to give $10; teach him to fundraise $100” scenario. Because asking ten people to raise $10 from ten people ($1,000) is much more efficient than ask 10 people to give you $10 ($100). You win even if only two people achieve their goal ($200).
We can also learn a lesson from why texting 90999 worked for Haiti – it was easy, new and fun. People hate raising money – it is as stressful as moving and getting divorced. But if you give someone the control to choose their own project and empower them to fundraise while doing something they love, you can unlock the activist within. At Citizen Effect we have had people of all ages that never raised money before raise thousands of dollars with chili-fests, yoga workshops, cross-country bike rides, swim-a-thons, and simple online campaigns. How? By providing them a platform to market, promote and fundraise for the cause of their choice. And most importantly, allowing them to leverage their true social network – their trusted group of friends, family, and co-workers.
So what do we do with the slacktivist? For most, we continue to cater to their need for fast, easy ways to give. And for those few with the activist living within, empower them with the tools they need to engage their trusted social networks doing what they love to do. A Grand Theft Auto tournament for Haiti is a great place to start.
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"I think we should ask not what the slacktivist can do for us, but what we can do for the slacktivist." Right on, Dan!
Meeting slacktivists on their turf with engaging, quick ways to give is a terrific way to 'taste' philanthropy and cultivates a positive giving habit. Offering slacktivists simple tools (like CitizenEffect) to successfully fundraise with their friends transforms them to activists, and builds pride and rapport with the cause they mutually supported. Here's to new social media fundraising platforms and to future activists!
Karen Bantuveris
CEO
VolutneerSpot, DOING GOOD just got easier!
I respectfully disagree with almost everything in this in post. My response is here: http://changecharity.blogspot.com/2010/03/its-not-about-you.html
LOVED the post! I shared my own views about it with my readers on my blog:
http://askmanny.com/2010/03/slacktivism-can-it-be-a-good-thing/
Jeff, thanks for your response. Totally respect your view, and while I am an eternal optimist, I do not think that everyone wants to be an activist. Some people just want to give and that is awesome. For those that want to do more and have the time and resources to get more involved with "receivers", absolutely - give them all the tools they need to get more involved (those are the people that Citizen Effect actually targets). But the hard, cold reality of life is that many people will never have the time, inclination, motivation or desire to get anymore involved with a good cause than texting 90999.
The key is segmenting the market and giving each segment what they need. Easy ways to give are the gateway to get slacktivists more involved. A fundraising platform like Citizen Effectis for those that want to do more. During the Obama campaign, once you gave, they were all over you to make phone calls, have a party, go canvassing, because they knew once you gave, there was a higher likelihood that you would do more - but it wasn't 100% would do more, it was more like 1-10%. So let's develop the easy tools for the 90% of slacktivists to give, and then find the smaller but significant group of slacktavists that wants to do more and give what they need to get more involved.
Thanks again for the great comment.
Dan
Those folks raising money for Greenpeace on the sidewalk are not volunteers. They are actually getting PAID to harass the civilians and compete with homeless people for dollars. Please do not encourage them with additional schemes. They are a blight on the face of the earth.
Dan,
Thanks for you follow-up response. I go back and forth on this issue: It is important to segment the market, but I'm concerned that giving people a way to text a donation (or a way to donate via consumption, ie Product Red) will pacify those on the edge to do more. Obviously, if you over expose, you will also alienate those same people and getting nothing out of it.
So, I agree with you that we need to find a way to segment the slacktivists from the semi- to full-activists, but I'm not sure if text donations are the answer. I worry that might just breed complacency. Of course, I don't have anywhere near a good answer and I admire you for trying to figure it out. I just hope that you do keep in mind that in reality, people might not want to do more than text, but ideally, we would have them all on their feet. Anything that pushes us to that ideal I support.
Thanks again,
Jeff
Many activists, however, do use the web social media in addition to their demonstrations, litigations, and sit-ins. Moreover, Slacktivist who go too far in some countries by challenging the authorities are suddenly arrested, harassed, and their computers taken away. In the Western world, the Slacktivism model may be a good critique, but not necessarily in other less democratic places in the world.
Thanks
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For most, we continue to cater to their need for fast, easy ways to give. And for those few with the activist living within, empower them with the tools they need to engage their trusted social networks doing what they love to doindustrial ethernet
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