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Wednesday Morning Roundup


by Anne Bothwell 22 Apr 2009 7:52 AM

Post-Facebook? Lots of arts groups and artists use Facebook, but is it working for them? A new study says no – at least for those trying to raise money. The Facebook application “Causes”  isn’t as effective as non-profits hoped and trails direct mail, events and other traditional fundraising, reports the Washington Post. Meanwhile, could Ning […]
CTA TBD

Post-Facebook? Lots of arts groups and artists use Facebook, but is it working for them? A new study says no – at least for those trying to raise money. The Facebook application “Causes”  isn’t as effective as non-profits hoped and trails direct mail, events and other traditional fundraising, reports the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, could Ning be next? Or at least a good option for groups that want to create their own social networks. I’ve noticed both newer affinity groups, like Dallas Art Salon, and more established institutions like The Ft. Worth Opera use Ning.  Any other North Texas Ning art networks out there? We’d like to start following you, so let us know.

To comment, or no? Whether to allow blog comments, and what purpose they serve, got lots of chatter yesterday when the folks at D magazine turned off the comments function on their popular blog Frontburner. Coincidentally, TheaterJones’ Elaine Liner also posted an interesting piece about why she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to talk back to critics.

Gives me an opportunity to say here at Art&Seek, we think comments are  important and we’ve been fortunate enough to have some extremely thoughtful commenters, with little of the vitriol that led D to make its decision. We moderate our comments – something Frontburner hopes to be able to do in the future.  But there have been very few remarks we haven’t been able to post.  So thanks for keeping it classy! We would, however, like to hear more chatter from you.  How can we get you talking? If you have thoughts,  email me at [email protected]. Or …um…leave a comment.

Tweet arias: Twitter your favorite opera plot and win tickets to more than 20 opera houses around the world. A freelance writer is staging her second challenge to capture the plot in 140 characters or less. Here are the rules.  Here are a few from the last contest, in honor of Ft. Worth Opera season opener Carmen:

“If a cigarette doesn’t kill you, the girl who made it will.”

“The bull doesn’t win. Neither does anyone else.”

“Don Jose: I hate Carmen. I love Carmen! I miss Carmen… I hate Carmen. Knife.”

Some others. Send us yours.

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About Anne Bothwell

Anne Bothwell is Vice President Arts at KERA. She invites you to join the conversation and connect with the arts community here on Art&Seek. View more about Anne Bothwell.

COMMENTS

  • Many non-profits are experiencing good results from causecast.org, fyi.

  • Hey Anne, I thought I’d respond to the bit about comments with a comment 🙂 :

    I think it’s a mistake to disallow commenting on a website. Or more specifically, a missed opportunity to connect with and engage your audience.

    There are ways to prevent the type of comments that sites like DMagazine and TheaterJones are concerned about. From spam blockers to email verification and editor approvals – there are ways to keep a website from getting bogged down in off-topic or hateful commentary.

    I also think that this is one of the virtues of online media and journalism over print media. As a reader, there’s no immediate way to talk back to a print article, and certainly no way to have your own thoughts included in the original. I think the ability to be a part of the original article is what makes online news so much more intriguing and accessible to most people.

    I think Imitating print media’s “broadcast” model is a sure way to disengage an otherwise interested and involved audience, and probably isn’t a great business model either.

  • Stage West has had success with Facebook and twitter as a tool to get the word out. We have not used either to specifically raise funds. Instead, we use those networks to let people know who we are and what we have to offer.

    As for the ability to comment: that is the beauty of the internet and those above mentioned social networks. They allow users and audience members to be a part of the commentary, project, play, etc. Interaction promotes THOUGHT. More individual critical thinking can’t be a bad thing, in my opinion. When we just listen to the words and opinions of one or two people and follow them en masse, we miss out on a lot of diversity.

  • Ning has probably the best zine social site anywhere on the net, with
    http://wemakezines.ning.com/ I suggest any Dallas zinesters, join up. The ning site is very easy to use, supports a specific collection of posters, is well organized, and handles a lot of info easily.