Juliette Powell: Digital Media has changed the face of Humanitarian Aid

(This post was translated from French. The original interview was published in Voir on Jan 28, 2010 and written by journalist Elias Levy.)

Author of 33 Million People in the Room, a bestseller on the power of social networking, former TV interviewer/producer at MuchMusic & MusiquePlus, and recognized expert in interactive new media, the dual citizen (US, Canada) Juliette Powell is firmly convinced that social media is radically transforming the concept of “human solidarity”.

Social media is playing a very important role in humanitarian assistance to the stricken people of Haiti.

Juliette Powell: “Absolutely. We often under-estimate the impact of social media, yet we are now seeing their efficiency in managing the humanitarian catastrophe in Haiti. The NGOs in this devastated country have been empowered by digital media to help source and provide humanitarian aid and medical care to the Haitian people. The use of social media helps relief workers accomplish their difficult task faster: Oxfam benefits from using YouTube; Unicef from Twitter; the UNDP (United Nations Development) from Flickr; the International Red Cross from Apple who has made its iTunes service freely available.

Since telephone infrastructure has been destroyed by the earthquake, the only means of communication in Haiti is through the Internet. Social media can spread information clouds very rapidly which can help rescue survivors in care areas using photos of disaster areas taken from satellites to survey population flow.

The whole online community has galvanized to be at the service of Haiti’s millions: Google has made available its satellite images to help the victims of the earthquake while Missing Persons are listed and discussed on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace. These realities reminds us that now, humanitarian aid can not live without the digital and social networks that feed it. ”

Are many donations to Haiti are raised through social media?

“Yes. Last week’s figures speak for themselves: 21 million of 150 million dollars raised so far for Haiti have been collected through donations made through social media. Since this unspeakable tragedy has befallen the people of Haiti, a movement of unprecedented solidarity very tangibly expressed through social media, has emerged to demonstrate that in emergency situations digital and social media is faster and more effective than traditional media.”

How does social media also play a role in the democratization policy of certain countries?

“It is undeniable that social media also plays a major role today in the struggle for democracy waged by people under the yoke of dictatorship. For example, through the use of social media, Iranian youth - many opponents of the radical regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - came to remind the world that they are wish for democracy and that they strongly reject the traditional insular vision of Iran defended by the current Iranian president and his supporters. Pictures and  videos of the strikingly brutal repression by the Iranian police of political activists and citizen journalists opposing Ahmadinejad was transmitted via the Web by dissidents and shared worldwide via social media.”

Why are you visiting Montreal, the hometown where you grew up?

“The Studio XX and the National Film Board (NFB) have launched a special training project called, ‘First Person Digital‘ a program for women to explore new narrative avenues. This project aims to inspire future filmmakers. First Person Digital distinguishes itself by offering a cross-disciplinarian production methodology cross-pollinating aspiring filmmakers, designers and the digerati.”

33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell (Published by Financial Times Press, 2009, 200 pages)

From International Space Station (ISS), 14 cities, Al Gore, U2, David Suzuki, Shakira, Matthew McConaughey, Salma Hayek and many more top celebrities will be taking part in a world premiere artistic event on October 9^th to raise awareness about the issues facing our planet’s water.

As I wrote about in my June 4th story in HuffingtonPost on September 30th, circus entrepreneur, Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil and of the ONE DROP Foundation decided to become the first private explorer in space to engage in a Poetic Social Mission in Space. During his 12-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Laliberté’s unique social/humanitarian mission will have one clear purpose: to raise humanity’s awareness of water-related issues.

The Network Effect

The One Drop Foundation is using social networking to create a global domino effect using your tribes, network and sheer belief that together we can build better world!

Laliberté’s mission in space is dedicated to making an impact on how water, our most precious resource, is protected and shared. ONE DROP’s goal: to play a role in changing and influencing how safe water is shared and made accessible around the world.

Why unite to fight water crisis?

• Nearly a billion human beings do not have access to safe drinking water.
• More children die every year from drinking unclean water than in all of the world’s armed conflicts.
• Fully half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900.
• Collectively, the women of South Africa walk the equivalent of 16 trips to the moon and back each day just to collect water.

What is Moving Stars and Earth for Water event?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LdNj0kV9P4

On October 9 Laliberté intends to lead an artistic performance from orbit entitled Moving Stars and Earth for Water. The two-hour global show will link up with live performances and celebrity appearances from 14 cities worldwide. The whole endeavour will be streamed on ONE DROP’s website (http://www.onedrop.org) on October 9, 2009 at 8:00 p,m. EDT (GMT-4).

This once-in-a-lifetime artistic event will have at its core, a poetic tale to celebrate water written by Man Booker Prize award winner author Yann Martel (Life of Pi). The tale will be gradually revealed as the program takes us through 14 cities around the world such as NYC, Rio, Santa Monica, Mumbai, Tampa. It will bring together personalities such as Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Dr. David Suzuki, Matthew McConaughey, Peter Gabriel, Salma Hayek, Shakira, Tatuya Ishii, U2, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and many others who will join their voices with Guy Laliberté and the ONE DROP Foundation to celebrate water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjFvACN3ayE

Under the theme Moving Stars and Earth for Water, the Poetic Social Mission will raise awareness about the issues of water in the world today from a variety of perspectives. This live event will be presented around the world by a global community of artists representing all cultures and creative disciplines and wellknown personalities. Celebrated around the planet, the artists are singers, actors, filmmakers, photographers, dancers, acrobats, poets, etc. What they all have in common is a concern regarding access to water and a desire to illustrate this in their own distinctive way.

Here are some simple but effective ways you can help the ONE DROP foundation fight against water crisis:

On Facebook:

Add the 1 Drop Avatar to your account

Join  fan page

On Twitter:

Follow ONE DROP account

Add the 1 Drop Avatar to your account

Live Webcast:

Be part of history: Don’t miss the live broadcast event on www.onedrop.org on October 9, 2009 at 8:00 p,m. EDT (GMT-4).

While my last post was about media literacy, this one is more focused on digital literacy and how it affects your career. Many of us are aware there exists a digital divide: some people have access to digital technology while others don’t, particularly in extremely poor rural areas and in developing countries. What we rarely hear about is the digital divide happening right here, in our homes, neighborhoods and in our companies.

Digital literacy is the difference between knowing how to consume digital media (like searching for information on the internet) and knowing how to communicate, produce and distribute a message using digital media (like starting a blog or producing and uploading a useful video to youtube). While the divide between those who are digitally literate and those who aren’t is generally thought of as a demographic issue, I tend to think of it as a psychographic barrier as well. In other words, the ability to use digital technology isn’t determined solely on where and when you were born, it is also determined by a person’s affinity to technology in general and to digital media in particular.

For those of you who want to tap into the current zeitgeist around the digital literacy required these days to build a career using social networking, here’s an interview with personal branding coach to the millennial generation, Dan Schawbel, who shares insights and tips from his new best-selling book: Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success. (Kaplan Publishing, April 2009).

While 33 million People in the Room details how entrepreneurs and companies can build social and cultural capital using social networking, Me 2.0 takes a different tact to communicate a similar message, what is the main hypothesis behind your book?

The main hypothesis behind Me 2.0 is that everyone needs to “command their career.”  Tom Peters, the inventor of personal branding, always stated that we have to be the chief marketer for the brand called us.  He was all about Me Inc. and how we had to think of ourselves as companies and use the same strategies to stand out.

Being the commander of your career means that you’re accountable for your successes and failures.  You have to take ownership and full responsibility for your career.

Although, you might seek advice from teachers and managers, you know who you are, what you’re capable of and have to make the decisions.  You need to be in the drivers seat and that’s the only way you’re going to succeed.  The four steps I’ve outlined in Me 2.0 (discover, create, communicate, maintain) are aligned to this main idea.

What are some of the new ideas and tips that emerge from your book that people can apply immediately?

• Reserve your name on the leading social networks, while purchasing your domain name and being an active contributor to your own blog.
• Get endorsements as much as you can from your managers, teachers, etc.
• Always think about how you can use what you’ve accomplished in the past to get your next opportunity in the future.
• Understand that the number of Twitter followers, Facebook friends and LinkedIn contacts is a marketing list that you can tap at anytime.  They are internet assets!
• Have a clear branding strategy before you engage online and offline.
• Focus on relationships instead of making money.  The personal equity will get you further than paper currency.

What companies/ individuals are best representing the strategy and tactics described in ‘Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success’?
When it comes to personal branding, Donald Trump, Oprah, and Madonna are three of the top ones that people have heard of.  Celebrity internet brands examples are Kevin Rose, Pete Cashmore, Rohit Bhargava and Jeremiah Owyang.   Companies that have strong brands through social media are Zappos, Comcast, EMC (I work there), and Ford.

*What specific tips do you have to effectively leverage each of the social tools: video on the net, blog, twitter, facebook, other?

• Blogs are more important than all the social networks combined because they are hubs of information  and are something you can control.
• Decide weather you’re better at doing video or writing.  Invest more of your energy in the one you do the best and promote that over time.
• Don’t be afraid of using these tools.  Instead, figure out which ones work the best for you.
• Learn about your audience before updating your status messages on social networks.  You don’t want to send the wrong signals to employers or friends.

‘Me 2.0′ is directed at gen Y, yet more and more evidence supports the idea that the ability to use social tools effectively to build career success isn’t directly correlated to demographics but rather with psychographics (head space) as well as affinity and access to technology. With that in mind, what can the ‘every person’ learn by picking up your book?
Every person can learn a little bit more about themselves from reading this book.  It’s also a source of inspiration and contains a proven set of tools that will work for anyone.  You don’t just learn about what’s available, you get to put it into practice.  A lot of research went into writing Me 2.0 and I think everyone will be challenged and see the potential of social media for personal brand building.

Dan’s book is in stores now and we’d love to get your comments on it, as well as any more tips you might have for building your personal brand using social networking. Time to share with the rest of the class..

Juliette

While most of us feel powerless as we collectively witness the seemingly endless disintegration of our financial, economic and political institutions, I tend to forget that we do still have a considerable amount of power - the power to elect a new President who reflects the nation we aspire to be, and the power to choose the people who, on a day to day basis, shape the fabric of our lives. As more and more people lose faith in our institutions, may this forum be an opportunity to celebrate the real heroes in our lives.

Why invest in relationships?
Whether I’m looking for a new job, a new apartment or a new point of view, my friends, colleagues and acquaintances are an invaluable resource for gathering useful information.  As the value of markets go down, the value of our relationships to navigate these uncertain times goes up.

With a little help from your friends, your network has the ability to keep you connected to business and social opportunities that you would not be privy to otherwise. In a world where most people’s financial capital is getting scarcer by the day, one cannot overemphasize the importance of building your social capital.  Reinforcing the foundations of your relationships has always been a good idea; nowadays, it’s essential.

Luckily, thanks to social networking platforms, it’s easier than ever to manage and cultivate relationships. Take my friend Kitt Grant for instance. Kitt is a television producer on shows like 360 with Anderson Cooper and the Today show. Because of the nature of her job, she’s always looking for interesting people to book as show guests. Last year Kit became a member of  the ‘A Small World’ (ASW) social network and started looking through member profiles. The next thing I knew, she had befriended me and we’ve been looking for ways to add value to each other’s lives ever since. With her inquisitive nature and easy smile, a few minutes spent listening to Kitt talk about her job and you naturally want to start suggesting people who might be a good fit for her next tv segment. Far from being a one-sided relationship, Kitt took an immediate interest in my company, the Gathering Think Tank and even reviewed the first draft of my book. From that experience, I began to think about the awesome power a network can wield when the people within it work together. But let’s get back to the power of just 2 networked people for a moment.

Say you have lunch with a friend, and between the 2 of you, you share 25 friends and friends of friends. If I were to calculate the number of potential connections between you and your friend, it would work out to 2 to the power of 25 or over 33 million possible connections.

There may only be 2 people at the table, but there are 33 Million People In The Room!

Of course not all of these connections could humanely be explored in one lifetime so the trick is to invest in those relationships that have the highest probability of giving you the maximum return on your time investment.

How do you find the most valuable people in your network?
Start with the people you know on your favorite social network. As Kitt found out, friends and friends of friends are a lifeline when it comes to linking you quickly with the information you need to make the best decisions about your next steps. As you go through your friends’ online networks, notice who is a natural born information hub. These are the people to invest in and learn from when consciously building your social capital. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, here are a few clues.

Invest in people who:

§    Care about others and really work to help others get ahead as they get ahead.
§    Pass on helpful and pertinent information.
§    Are tirelessly on the scene - and this doesn’t mean they attend lots of parties – they are actually the people producing the cool, worthwhile events, products and campaigns.
§    Know who they are and are very entertaining.
§    Are full of passion about what they do. It’s not about the money. It’s about changing the world!

Taking notes from Kitt’s winning networking strategy: once you’ve determined who to invest your time in, it’s in your best interest to stimulate and develop those relationships. With social networking tools, your entire network is at your fingertips.

How easy could it be to:

§    Forward along helpful articles, topical blog posts and other relevant information to various affinity groups within you network?
§   What about recommending suppliers or former co-workers?

All of these small things make a big impression. The resulting dividends on your time investment could be exponential. Chances are, your network is rife with high quality people who successfully build relationships and add value to your community.

I’d like to feature your real life stories about who they are. It could be you, a friend, a friend of a friend – whatever works!

Contact me at j (at) juliettepowell (dot) com or facebook me your stories today!

~ > j*