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Digital innovation among Scottish non-profits1

IT | Rob Dyson | 26 Apr 2011

The second Be Good Be Social event, organised by Ross McCulloch of Third Sector Lab, was hosted at Big Lottery Scotland in April; and - much like its English cousin NFP tweetup - it celebrated the growing use of social networks and technology by charities.

The theme running throughout presentations from MND (Motor Neurone Disease) Scotland, Quarriers, Cumbernauld House and Whizz-Kidz, echoed advice espoused by the likes of US philanthropy expert Beth Kanter; principly that being as transparent and flat-structured as possible helps bridge the spaces between supporters, users, and a charity's staff. 

What I admire about our sector is our frequent early adoption of new media tools and toys to transcend virtual - and physical - walls, and Be Good Be Social was no exception. Specially designed QR Codes were playfully positioned around the venue space for attendees to scan with their smartphones, like deciphering 'clues' in a game. This interactive experience took us out of the venue space and into a virtual space.

QR (quick response) codes are the increasingly ubiquitous - and pretty ugly-looking - barcodes used in TV, billboard and magazine adverts to direct smartphone-users to rich content elsewhere by scanning them with a barcode reader app (e.g. 'Red Laser').

Plaudits then, to Hugh Wallace of National Museums Scotland, Martin Keane of OneKind, and Alex Robertson at Challenges Worldwide for being inventive with their Be Good Be Social themed scannable QR codes - that were:

• Placed on the windows of the main conference room overlooking the river Clyde - directing the viewer to historical content about Glasgow's shipbuilding heritage;
• Hanging from the ceiling - taking the user to the Foursquare check-in for the Be Good Be Social venue;
• In the toilets - linking to joke items on lavatory etiquette;
• Even on the T-shirt of a brave member of the team - Holly Smith's QR code led to some of her biographical information on the web.

QR codes are free to create through a number of websites (have a search) and are crying out for charities to employ more strategically. I can see them being used alongside location media like Gowalla, Foursquare or Facebook Places to take supporters on a real/virtual hybrid tour exploring the impact of our work and further blurring the lines between charity, user and supporter. As I've said previously in Civil Society, I'll throw the gauntlet down to any charity big or small to be really creative - and manage to fundraise - using an integrated blend of new and old toys.

If you want to catch up on what you missed at Be Good Be Social, most of the presentations are available to view in high resolution on their YouTube channel.

Directory: Quarriers
Who's Who: Rob Dyson