Here’s a great (and very short) TED Talk by Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, the social-voting news website.
Or go see it here.
His story is a perfect example of how giving up control can be a great strategy.
It happened in 2007, when Greenpeace held a poll to name a specific humpback whale to raise the awareness of the plight of whales. Put up for consideration were names like Libertad, Kaimana, Aurora, Shanti, and Manami. Yawn. Oh, and also Mr. Splashy Pants. I imagine if you really get to know whales, you tend to think of them as wise, dignified, and mysterious.
The people wanted Mr. Splashy Pants. Despite efforts to steer the voting toward the more dignified names, Mr. S.P. won overwhelmingly.
Greenpeace, to their credit, went with the people and named the whale Mr. Splashy Pants.
And launched at better-than-ever campaign that raised awareness of the issue like crazy.
Power to the people! Even if you don’t like it very much. They’ll make it worth your while.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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