Posts by Carol Ross
Using Social Media to Influence Public Policy
One of the questions that I’ve heard from people interested in A Bigger Voice is, "How can I influence public policy?" This is an interesting question. I think it requires BOTH top-down (interacting with individuals at the top of an organization or institution) and bottom-up (interacting with the users/consumers/customers) approaches. The mistake I see people…
Read MoreBig, Bold Choices
A friend sent me the link to her new blog, part of a "citizen blogger site" set up by the Houston Chronicle. I rarely plug personal blogs (as opposed to ones that specialize in a discipline, like marketing or social media). This is one I can recommend because the writing is passionate, honest, and intelligent–something…
Read MoreOnline Communities
The ABV pilot has been exploring community-building for the past month. Part of our research and learning has been finding thriving online communities and understanding what makes them work so well. A few interesting communities that we’ve identified: Rosa Say’s Joyful, Jubilant Learning Community. Notice the use of providing a topic–movies–that anyone can contribute on.…
Read MoreSimple Missions
In reading this article about Adolph Kiefer, a 90-year old legend among Olympic swimmers, I learned something about mission statements. Kiefer, an Olympic medalist from the 1936 games, has owned a catalog company supplying all types of aquatic equipment for 61 years. He’s also the inventor of many things that swimmers take for granted today–nylon…
Read MoreAre We So Successful That We’ve Lost Our Way?
In a call with a mentor today, he talked about a company that proactively challenges whether they are drinking their own Kool-Aid. How? By seeking a third party assessment of how they do business, when business is going well. The intention here is to seek help so that the organization can thrive. Most companies only…
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