photo by ausiegall

As you might expect at the end of the year AND decade, lists were among the most popular tweets in December. No New Year’s resolution lists, though … guess everyone’s saving those for their January posts.

What the Hell Are You Waiting For?

50 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits

The 4 Cornerstones of Social Media Monitoring

Is Your Nonprofit’s Story a Call to Action?

Three Reasons Why Storytelling is the Key to Social Media Marketing Success

BNET’s 10 Worst Ads of 2009

The Best and Worst Identities of 2009

Measure the Impact, Not the Influence

What Matters Now, Seth Godin?

10 Things You Need to Stop Tweeting About

Why Print Isn’t Going Anywhere for a Long, Long Time

Storytelling Through Social Media

Website at a Loss as to Why It Disappeared From Google

The Best Business Books of 2009

When It Comes to Online Content, More Niche Usually Trumps More Masses

100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010

Social Isolation and New Technology

5 Qualities of a Good Social Media Manager

Volunteers Give 10 Times More Than Other Americans

10 Best and Worst Internet Company Names of the Decade

Seth Godin’s latest attempt to make me hurt myself cognitively features 70 big thinkers on what they think you should be mulling over as we head into the new year. Lots of people I follow and respect are included, including Alan Webber, Tom Peters, the Heath bros. and many others. You can either hang out here and read it above or get the PDF here.

photo by fotodawg

I don’t remember who I first borrowed the idea from, but I really love reviewing my top 20 tweets each month. My approach to twitter is as editor/curator: I look for posts I think will appeal to those who follow me in the areas of marketing, communications, social media, journalism and related subjects, especially as they relate to nonprofits and small business. I of course liberally tweet my own posts since those happen to be the subjects I tend to write about.

What is particularly interesting is what my highest-performing tweets tell me about my followers on Twitter: they’re a fairly discerning bunch interested in real substance, not fluff. I can always tell when I’ve missed the mark, and it helps me quite a bit when considering what to blog about.

Here’s what was most popular in October. I encourage you to check out any you may have missed when first we tweeted. It’s all good stuff. Even my stuff (I think).

No More Excuses for Crap Communications

If Marketers Today Created the Stop Sign

Social Media and the Paradox of Choice

Why Every Communicator Should Blog

The Dangers of No Content Strategy

Your Communications Plan: What It’s Really For

Small Business: Get in the Social Media Pool

Why Nonprofits Are So Good at Social Media

All You Need is the Story

Results of the Fourth Annoying PowerPoint Survey

Build a Social Network for Your Business

Why Uncensored Blogging is the Future of Corporate Communications

Blogging is Dead, Long LIve Journalism

A Tagline is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Is Philanthropy Ready for the New Consumer?

Five Reasons Corporations are Failing at Social Media

My Five-Year-Old’s Future in Marketing

Hyatt: Managing the Boston Aftermath

Debating Seth Godin’s “Non” Slam

Small Business, Social Media Not Mixing

photo by jurvetson

Seth Godin’s recent rant concerning nonprofits’ fear of change/tardiness in adopting social media practices has generated some interesting debate about where he got it right and wrong.

I have a lot of respect for Godin and what he’s accomplished. That said, I think that anyone as prolific as he is in his writing is going to have a higher percentage of WTF moments than those who are, shall we say, a litle less generous in sharing their opinions. For example, the idea that making the Twitter 100 would serve as any kind of useful measurement is just plain stupid. But he also made some great points about the self-imposed culture of helplessness found in many nonprofits (it actually applies to just as many for-profits, but I digress).

I agree with Godin’s assessment that the majority of nonprofit organizations are (1) fearful of real change and (2) behind the curve on social media. Where’s the big surprise? Just as most businesses are not Ford or Starbucks or Dell, most nonprofits are not the American Cancer Society or World Wildlife Fund or Planned Parenthood, all notable for their use of social media. The vast majority of nonprofits are small, underresourced and overworked organizations that need to focus first on providing a service, whether it’s finding a home for the homeless, teaching kids to read or providing shelter to abused families.

Godin has no patience for the resource argument. He says that social media tools are free and easy to use, and that you should simply turn your vast horde of volunteers loose to promote the cause. Again, I think he’s being a little simplistic here. I don’t have control issues, but I do have messaging and education issues. Anyone who has managed in a volunteer organization knows that making effective use of volunteers is a time-intensive endeavor. If only it were as easy as Godin makes it out to be.

I personally believe that the use of social media is going to transform the nonprofit landscape, just as it’s changing the way we do business. But for the tens of thousands of nonprofits being forced to take on more and more work as government continues to abdicate its social service responsibilities, it’s going to be a long, painful evolution.

If you’re interested in following the conversation regarding Godin’s post, here are some great places to do so:

Seth Godin’s Non Post About Nonprofits: Deer in the Headlights?

Followers and Friends Not the Only Measure of Nonprofit Success Online

Seth Zeros in on Our Third-Worst Problem

In case you missed any of them, here are my 20 most popular links (in order of popularity) tweeted during the previous month. I think I post somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 or more links via Twitter each month, and these garnered the greatest response. They serve as my monthly reminder that there is some truly superior content out there to assist you in your own communication efforts; you have only to surf (or follow me).

Letting Nonprofits Act Like Businesses: One Foundation’s Brave Act of Leadership

Social, Global, Ubiquitous, and Cheap

50 Content Ideas That Create Buzz

Katya Andresen on the Six Most Miserable Mistakes of Social Marketing

Are We Breeding Social Media Ne’er-do-wells?

Social Media and the Paradox of Choice

Are You Antisocial in Your Social Media Efforts?

In Advertising, Stupidity Can Win You Awards

Communicate as You Wish Others Would Communicate With You

Five Steps to Building a Successful Social Media Strategy for Your Nonprofit

Your Story Doesn’t Move Me

The Basics of Social Media for Nonprofits

Sometimes It’s Best to Kill the Ones They Love

70 Percent of Journalists Use Social Networks to Assist in Reporting

Social Media Listening for Nonprofits

Shredding Some Misconceptions About Social Media (Part I)

Your Communications Plan: What It’s For

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers

Why Seth Godin Is Wrong

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