Comments on: Case Study in Free Agent Fundraising @AbolishCancer

By: Amy Sample Ward

Amy Sample Ward — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:00:16 +0000

Hi Darah-

Thanks for following up to Debra’s questions!

I think you’re right about one of the unique things in using Twitter is that it is so public and accessible – I could connect with anyone that’s on there, even if they’re famous 🙂

I definitely do not think you are crazy and I really do believe that you are catalyzing hope and community around finding a cure. I’m curious about your thoughts, as Eric points out, on leveraging something like video. There are various tools that allow you to tweet videos, like you can photos with twitpic etc., and even bringing in video to the site using youtube and embedding tools. The personal stories are so powerful to work like yours and I am curious if you see the @abolishcancer work using other tools like that?

By: Amy Sample Ward

Amy Sample Ward — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:55:26 +0000

In reply to Eric Andersen.

Hi Eric-

Thanks for joining in – I’m glad you’re following @abolishcancer now and think it’s probably a good idea, even without a sponsor 🙂

I like your idea of leveraging videos in the @abolishcancer strategy as it is driven so much on personal stories. Videos could certainly support that! Would love to hear from Darah says…

By: Eric Andersen

Eric Andersen — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:16:32 +0000

Very interesting case study. I had never heard of @abolishcancer before, but I just followed them on Twitter. Maybe I should have waited until there was a sponsor ready so a $1 could have been donated:)

Darah, have you established communities anywhere else online (e.g. facebook, youtube)? I would think that assist in spreading the word. You can also use youtube to show videos of the organizations that have benefited from your fundraiser. That can really motivate others to share. Good luck

By: Darah Bonham

Darah Bonham — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:20:12 +0000

Amy- thank you for the post and Debra thank you for the question. (BTW i’m a male, but i won’t hold that against anyone 🙂 In response to your follow-up question about next steps… we are considering a couple of different options for where to go next…but you are right, in that the network and community is what makes the twitter feed work. So many people have been touched by cancer that it’s no longer taboo to talk or tweet about it. Anyone can get the support or give the encouragement.
Another fascinating component to the way the site works is the felling that, even though someone can’t donate money and can only follow one time to have a $1 donated, they feel empowered to GET OTHERS on board to do the same. On the most recent day when we had a sponsor, there was a frantic sending of tweets by people that none of us knew, to get celebrities and people of pwer to tweet about us and follow. It was as if they knew they could make a difference by connecting through Twitter and getting the message to go viral. The beautiful thing about Twitter is that YOU CAN connect with anyone, including the rich and famous.
One, of very few critics of what we are doing, tweeted back that we were encouraging false hope to get a cure. I replied that we were doing the opposite, we were providing more hope becuase people were connecting and able to make a difference.
We truly believe that a revolution can be started on Twitter (or other social networks) when people believe in the message and feel as if they can make a difference. What’s not to say that we could be over 1 million strong one day, and a powerful voice in leading a “common man’s (& woman’s) charge to end this disease.
Maybe I’m crazy, but maybe, just maybe, I’m on to something.- Darah

bonham.darah@gmail.com

By: Amy Sample Ward

Amy Sample Ward — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:21:29 +0000

In reply to Debra Askanase.

Hey Debra-

Thanks! I’m really happy to share Darah’s example and highlight the impact achieved via @abolishcancer – my pleasure!

I couldn’t agree with you more, though – she isn’t just catalyzing funds for organizations; she is also creating a community of people, organizations, and sponsors passionate about finding a cure for cancers. And doing it within the social media tools that so many people are using allows the networked effect of actions to amply that impact and the connection to the cause.

I’ve pinged Darah to get follow up to your question as well.

By: Amy Sample Ward

Amy Sample Ward — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:18:14 +0000

In reply to Steve Wiilliams. Hi Steve- Thanks for joining in. Happy to share something you and your readers find valuable as well!

By: Amy Sample Ward

Amy Sample Ward — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:14:20 +0000

In reply to Scott Meis.

Thanks, Scott! So glad you found the profile helpful. I was excited to share the example as I think there are so many “free agents” out there and organizations could really benefit from supporting them, but it’s hard for organizations to wrap their mind around the ways free agents are operating if they haven’t yet encountered one!

Thanks again

By: Debra Askanase

Debra Askanase — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:13:28 +0000

I’m so glad you profiled her – I’ve been curious about how this came about as well.

Darah IS creating community. She’s connecting causes, people, organizations, sponsors, and weaving them into community. She’s an original network weaver and she proves that one person can weave a network. The next step, it seems, would be for her to really create a community online where each person who has been touched by the organization can connect with the others. Does she have any plans for doing something like that with @abolishcancer?

By: LunaBlu___

LunaBlu___ — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:00:17 +0000

In reply to amyrsward.

RT @amyrsward: Would love to hear your thoughts! Case Study in Free Agent Fundraising @AbolishCancer – https://amysampleward.org/2010/06/18/case…