Weekly news roundup

News from the Case Foundation and what people are talking about this week in the world of giving, tech and everything in between.

Is there value in being on Twitter's suggested user list? Earlier this week, blogger Anil Dash started what became a widespread conversation when he blogged about his experience of being included on Twitter's suggested user list (quick disclosure, @casefoundation is on the list as well). He comments on some of the criticisms and benefits of the list, but ultimately observes that being on the list "makes no appreciable difference in the amount of retweets, replies, or clicks that I get." He's also hosting a contest to solicit ideas for what information can be mined from his place on the suggested user list. In a short follow-up post stating that "bullhorns are overrated," Seth Godin notes:

The goal shouldn't be to have a lot of people to yell at, the goal probably should be to have a lot of people who choose to listen. Don't need a bullhorn for that.

Chris Brogan takes the conversation one step further and disagrees with the point that having a large following on Twitter is completely without value, stating that value really depends on how you interact with those followers, and lists the number of ways he personally derives value from interacting with his 100,000 followers. Beth Kanter also chimed in on the discussion in her own post. She writes, "a lot of followers don't mean influence," and points out that building relationships and focusing on the results of your social media strategy is more significant than counting the number of Twitter followers you have.  

H&M criticized for throwing away clothing instead of donating Retailer H&M this week learned firsthand the impact social media can have to quickly mobilize action and push for change and response. As reported by the New York Times, several trash bags of apparently unworn clothing were found at the back entrance of the retailer's 34th Street store in Manhattan. Most of the items were found to be shredded, so they could never be worn or sold. The article also reported a similar incident taking place a few weeks prior, where several bags of clothing marked for sale at Wal-Mart were found discarded. As this recap from the WalletPop blog notes, after the Times' article appeared, the social media world kicked into high gear, with angry protest from the Twitterverse and on H&M's Facebook page for throwing away clothing that could have been donated to any number of charitable organizations. Later, the Village Voice reported that H&M ultimately offered public comment, claiming that this was an "isolated incident." As this item from the UK's Guardian notes, H&M also announced that its policy is to donate "garments not meeting quality thresholds" to aid organizations.  

Social Innovation Fund seeks comments A lot of folks were blogging and tweeting this week about the Social Innovation Fund, in part due to the recent solicitation of comments from the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) on its latest draft of funding guidelines (accepted until January 15th). On his Tactical Philanthropy blog, Sean Stannard-Stockton provides a good overview of the draft and offers for folks to submit comments on his blog, since CNCS won't be publicly sharing the feedback they receive. In follow-up, he has featured guest posts from Eileen Ellsworth of the Northern Virginia Community Foundation and Michael Edwards, author of Just Another Emperor: The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism, who shares her thoughts on the draft and changes that should be made. On change.org's Social Entrepreneurship blog, Nathaniel Whittemore provides his thoughts on three key themes to watch with the Fund, including collaboration, leverage and innovation. Nonprofit consultant Adin Miller also provided his views on the draft, noting:

My general conclusion is that the Corporation did a tremendous job in clarifying and outlining its expectations. There are still some fundamental issues related to the SIF – notably the tension between focusing on proven approaches versus innovation – but it’s alignment with the Department of Education’s $650M Investing In Innovation Fund is a positive step forward.

Women get personal on Facebook to raise awareness for breast cancer As I covered in an earlier post today, the social media sphere is abuzz today after a chain-type email was circulated amongst women on Facebook encouraging them to post their bra color as a status update.  Several blogs and other outlets have commented on the phenomenon, including NPR, ABC News, the Detroit Free Press (who suggests their city may have originated the trend).