When things go wrong: Damage control in the Facebook age

Social media such as Facebook and YouTube have received much of the credit for the recent popular uprisings in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East. Closer to home, The Nonprofit Quarterly recently took a look at how these powerful new tools can impact the nonprofit sector – in particular, when things go wrong.

“When things are going well for an organization, there’s nothing better for them than to see ‘retweets’ and ‘Likes’ all over their social media dashboard. But what happens when things go bad? Can organizations turn off the tap they’ve worked so hard to turn on? What happens when the message spins wildly out of control?” asked the magazine.

As one expert told NPQ, “The loss of control you fear is already in the past . . . You do not actually control the message, and if you believe you control the message, it merely means you no longer understand what’s going on.”

Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, told NPQ that the use of social media forces nonprofits to engage as a member of a community in a way they may not yet be used to. More and more, constituents and donors expect immediacy and accountability in their relationships to nonprofits.

He says we are living in the age of a new kind of transparency and this is changing the way organizations need to do business. “People realize that anyone with a phone can do all this!” says Hoffman. Unfortunately, he says, most organizations haven’t caught up with this notion.

Controversies of all stripes are increasingly being played out in the public eye, as comments on blogs, Facebook updates, tweets, and YouTube videos have created a new portal into the inner workings of NGOs, aid groups, charities, nonprofit groups, and to a lesser extent foundations. If there is dirty laundry inside the house, it will be seen by many. Click here to read the complete report.