Tuesday, May 15, 2012

T
Freelance writer and editor

here was an elephant in the room at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, last March, and Dorothy Engelman just had to address it. The occasion was a panel discussion entitled Social Change, Social Media & Social

Filmmaking. Ms. Engelman was one of the expert panelists helping shape a conversation about the impact non-profits can make using documentary-style online video and social media tools. And the elephant? A half-hour advocacy video that had gone viral just a few days before, amassing over 56 million views on YouTube alone (90 million at the time of this writing) -Kony 2012. This film is everything we need to talk about, she explained to the audience, recounting the comment she made to a fellow panelist upon first seeing the film. While fully cognizant of the controversy that was already beginning to swirl around the film, its subject (the notorious Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony) and the NGO behind it, Invisible Children, Ms. Engelman took a step back from the fray to ask those in the non-profit sector to consider what makes a film like Kony 2012 so compelling in the first place. I think of ROE return on engagement, -- its got to be emotional, entertaining, enlightening and have an experiential quality to it. This film has all four of those things. After returning to her Toronto base, Ms. Engelman reflected further on Kony 2012, the story it told and the strategy behind it. The film made Kony famous. That was (the filmmakers) intent, she says, adding that nonprofits looking to the film as a social engagement template should first ask themselves some very basic questions. What are you trying to do? What do you want the outcome to be? She sees Kony as a video with a simple message and a clear call to action as its engagement strategy: Go to Facebook, get the kit, become an activist. Think strategically, she advises. If youre using video as part of your engagement strategy, make it a vehicle to spark dialogue and engage a wider audience. And perhaps keeping in mind the debate around Kony 2012s merits and motives, Ms. Engelman brings up one of her musts when it comes to social campaigns: transparency. Paraphrasing author and organizational transformation specialist Don Tapscott, she is adamant that If you're going to put yourself out there, people will pay attention. And if youre going to be naked, you better be buff. Ms. Engelmans own passion for story-telling and awareness-raising was kindled during her early career as a POV (point of view) documentary filmmaker with Ontario public educational broadcaster TVO. It was this experience which led to the creation of Getinvolved.ca, her first foray into combining her media skills and love of volunteering with a then-burgeoning social media revolution. Getinvolved.ca can perhaps best be described as a powerful matching tool, an online community that connects volunteers and organizations who want to make a difference in their communities, and in our world. The narrative thread of social-change-through-activism that runs throughout the site is greatly enhanced by a compelling series of documentary-style volunteer profiles produced by Ms. Engelmans own company, q media solutions, that inspire the viewer to get involved as an engaged citizen. In addition to its impressive roster of corporate clients, q media (which brands itself simply by stating We tell stories) has become known as a leading producer of video content for the non-profit sector, working with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada and cancer-support network Wellspring, among many others. Not too surprisingly, she is often tapped for advice by NGOs struggling to develop a clear message for their online engagement strategy. It can turn into a psychology session sometimes. On those occasions I usually ask, What do you do? How do you do it? What value do you create? What would happen if you didnt do what you do? A poignant series of videos produced by Ms. Engelman and q media for emergency residence and referral agency Youth Without Shelter serve as a good example of how these questions can be answered in a concise and emotionally-powerful manner. The takeaway is very clear: Youth Without Shelter transform lives, she says of the videos. If thats what you do, then tell that story. People don't care about your laundry list of services and programs. The question you should answer is: How have you made a difference to the people that you serve? Most important for Ms. Engelman, perhaps, is the space you carve out and the active role you define for your non-profit. Show leadership thought leadership. Seed your community, do the outreach, adapt, change and refine. That's what it's about.