meg biallas

I stopped putzing around and finally did it. Last weekend, I biked the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Northeast DC.

It doesn’t sound like much, especially since it’s only eight miles, running from Silver Spring, MD to Union Station in DC. But I love exploring DC. And I had absolutely no excuse not to do this since:

(a) it runs right through my neighborhood,

(b) I had a completely free (and sunny!) Saturday morning, and

(c) I’m a proud member of Capital Bikeshare, yessir!

The trail is ideal for commuters who work on the Hill, but it’s also great for leisure and exercise, and is accessible by several of the neighborhoods along the route (Brookland, Edgewood, Eckington, NoMa) via entrances like the S Street Pocket Park (4th and S Street NE). 

Last August, there was a MBT Day of Service, which I heard about through the affiliated Facebook group. As part of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy project, the MBT offers an urban feel with a dead-on view of the Capitol when headed south. There’s even a mural and several pieces of artwork along the trail. Here are a few photos of my route south to the Capitol. 

It is easy to forget that I live in the nation’s capital: the proximity of everything, the frequency with which I pass famous places makes everything seem so normal. The Capitol rotunda becomes just another part of the skyline on my bus route; Ford’s Theater is on my way to grab frozen yogurt. It’s strange living my life, while surrounded by such history.

I say this not to be boastful or showy, but because I believe it is important to be in awe, to remind myself why I live in this city, and why I love it so much.

This week was particularly stressful, but I stole away during my lunch hour for a much-needed walk, and spied this pretty bed of tulips in Lafayette Park, just north of the White House (I’m sure I also ended up in a few tourists’ photos).

I felt sort of silly bending down to take this photo, with all the eighth graders running past me and taking photos of their own.

But every now and then I need to be a tourist, too.

When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:6).

Sometimes it takes 48 hours of silence to realize how loud things are. Going into 2012, I knew I wanted to take a personal retreat weekend. I’d grown up going on Catholic youth group retreat, Christian retreats, and weekend getaways with my college campus ministry. Even now, I attend NCC’s annual leadership retreat.

But there is also a time and a place to be alone with God. After all, my word for the year is listen. I did my research, and knew I had a few parameters. I was looking for a retreat house with these qualities:

• Accessible by metro in the DC metro area
• Allowed individuals for personal retreats
• Could accommodate me for at least 2 days

I picked The Washington Retreat House, run by the Sisters of Atonement, which is connected to the Franciscan Order.

Why a retreat?

• As a way of fasting my time, my social life, and the distraction of daily life for short period of time.
• As a way to provide dedicated time for prayer, and quiet.
• As a way to reflect on the past and focus on the future.

The biggest takeaway for me can be told with one example: Every meal was eaten in silence. No books, no music, no conversations. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate a meal in total silence, with only my thoughts to keep me company. Everyone sat alone. It was odd at first, but throughout the weekend I began to look forward to each meal. I focused on doing one thing at a time.

Bite, chew, swallow. Again: bite, chew, swallow. There is  rhythm to it, a rhythm that is so often muffled by a cacophony of other sounds. Sometimes, I bite off more than I can chew.

I realized then just how rare that is in all areas of my life. Put another way, so many parts of my life involves multi-tasking. While this is praised in some settings, it is also a hindrance to focus, attention span and deep thinking. This, I reminded myself, this is why I needed a retreat.

But during Sunday lunch – the final meal – everyone broke the silence. The dining hall was filled with loud chatter, and everyone sat next to one another. It was a renewed spirit of community, refreshed by the weekend of solitude.

The Washington Retreat House is located at 4000 Harewood Road NE, Washington, D.C. Call 202-529-1111, and ask for Sister Mary Harper to book a personal retreat. To see a list of retreat centers in the DC – VA – MD area, check out my Google Doc. 

I’ve been messing around with Pinterest for a few months now just trying to make sense of it. Some of my friends have asked me: why use it? What value does it provide? Pinterest is 100 percent visual. In some ways, its rapid growth points to the growing importance of visuals on the web in general. More than ever before, photos and videos are vital for nonprofits. On the surface, Pinterest feels dominated by magazine-slick fashion and scrumptious food photography. But I wanted Pinterest to be more than that. Thankfully, it is.

My first collaborative board

Last week, after the Ash Wednesday service at the Basilica in my neighborhood, I posted a photo to Twitter. Some of my neighbors noticed, and suggested creating a Pinterest board. I went home and created my first “collaborative” pinboard, which celebrates images from my northeast DC neighborhood. Within 24 hours we had 20 pins, and 5 collaborators. I hold firm the belief of “the more, the merrier”, so collaborative boards make Pinterest so much more fun. And, as @brooklandavenue pointed out, a neighborhood pinboard could become a “community kiosk” of sorts.

Who to look for

There are several Pinners I’m excited about because of the way they’re leveraging this highly-visual social network.

Global Giving: The online giving site has been playing around with Pinterest, and looking for feedback, too. As Kelli points out, it’s easy to get sucked in by all the fun and frilly fashions, but she also wondered if Pinterest could inspire others to be more generous, and argues that it can “help connect you, your voice, and your organization with hundreds, if not thousands, of content-hungry users.”

What’s clever: Global Giving is okay with experimenting on a newer social network. But it wasn’t a blind decision. They noted that 60 percent of their Facebook users fell into Pinterest’s key demographics (females, ages 25 – 44). Props to Global Giving for using metrics to informs decisions on social media.

AARP: I think AARP was one of the first nonprofits I discovered on Pinterest, and it has laid the groundwork for others to follow.

What’s clever: AARP is using Pinterest to share its brand with boards like “Words To Live By”.

Ann Romney: Mitt’s wife has started a Pinterest board to share images of family, patriotism, and photos chronicling the campaign.

What’s clever: Romney’s campaign recongized the niche (for now) market of Pinterest. Did you know that Pinterest is now the number one driver to women’s magazines? It’s possible that the Romney campaign is to Pinterest what Obama’s campaign was to Twitter. (Thanks to my friend Ethan Klapper at the National Journal for his early coverage of Ann Romney’s Pinterest account. See how Pinterest is being used in other political contexts).

Proceed with caution: copyright and etiquette issues

Someone asked me about Pinterest etiquette, and this was the best writeup about proper attribution on Social Media Today . John Haydon also offers up a great “how-to” on Pinterest. Some websites are concerned about copyright issues, including the folks at Flickr. It will be interesting to see how some of those issues play out.

How are you using Pinterest? What ways do you think it can be used to enhance a person, brand or organization?

[Editor's Note: You can also read this post on Beth's Blog and on Social Media Today]

This week I moderated a panel of nonprofit professionals as part of Social Media Week DC. But it wasn’t just another “Facebook 101” or a chance to pontificate about Pinterest. These professionals came to talk about standardizing the reporting process – about integrating social media results into the traditional reporting procedure.

Here are the key takeaways from a discussion with Danielle Brigida (National Wildlife Federation), Carie Lewis (The Humane Society of the United States), Alison Carlman (Global Giving) and Alison McQuade (EMILY’s List).

Influence the decision makers.

Help leadership understand the impact of social media by turning them into users. This allows them to see, first-hand, the impact of social media communication.

Carie Lewis explained that the Humane Society worked often and early to build buy-in: “We wanted the upper management to speak the social language, we wanted to get them online. Sometimes our president tweets more than the organization!”

How does the leadership views social media? Does it have a history of trying new things? Carlman explained that Global Giving’s leadership was already web-savvy, so implementing social media was a no-brainer However, Carlman needed to do more convincing with organizations in previous roles.

Find someone who will go to bat for you. Lewis explained that one of the Humane Society’s board members used to work at AOL. “His digital background is great, and he’s really become like a mentor to me.”

Metrics should match the mission and goals.

Your metrics depend on your ultimate goal. For example, the Humane Society uses social media primarily for customer service, while Global Giving uses it to drive fundraising. Quantify what you’re looking for. Do you want 2,000 signatures? Do you need to raise $50,000 for a pledge drive? If that’s your goal, then demonstrate in your reporting how Facebook helped you achieve it.

Both Lewis and McQuade pointed out that they don’t measure direct number of likes, though sometimes stakeholders like to hear about impressive milestones (“We just reached 10,000 fans!”). McQuade encouraged other

nonprofits to take some time to understand EdgeRank to find out who’s actually seeing your content.  That can help inform the content you post going forward. (This process is also called “After Action Reviews”).

Report regularly and you will be rewarded.

Brigida said there are two benefits of reporting metrics. First, by showing growth, you can advocate for more resources. The Humane Society actually used Facebook to raise money for an additional staffperson – and they got one!

But secondly, reporting helps you learn how to do your job better. “There’s a lot to learn from your online community,” said Carlman. “We capture important conversations, and figure out how we can better communicate with our donors.”

Learning was key for Brigida at NWF. “We started examining where our mobile traffic was coming from, and found that a good amount was going to the kids section of our site. That gave us the idea to create youth-specific iPad apps.”

Final thoughts from the panelists: Social CRM, gatekeepers, and learning in public.

Brigida: “Social CRM is the future. I would be happy if we could connect publicly available data with our internal membership databases.”

Lewis: “Social media is everyone’s job, but you need one person to be the gatekeeper.  We do quarterly privacy trainings for our more than 100 administrators who manage our affiliated social media accounts.”

McQuade: “It’s possible there may be no way to standardize these processes. Sometimes it feels like there is no standardization in nonprofits at all. But the important thing is to be responsive, to be available. That’s just part of having good donor relations.”

Carlman: “Report on learning. Be okay with telling stories of failure. When testing out new social platforms, take some time to experiment and do it well before giving up on it.“

What’s your first step to standardizing social media? What’s one thing you can do help your management and stakeholders begin to embrace social? 

The invitation called it a “HeartBreak” party. I was confused at first: Is this going to be a Lonely Hearts Celebration, complete with  chocolate and chick flicks? I read closer. Nope, not at all.

In fact, the event turned out to be a fundraiser to fight sex trafficking. The hostess used a play on words, and used Valentine’s Day as the hook:

…to motivate people to move on behalf of the heartbreaking stories of many sex slave survivors that Love146 helps.

Love 146 is an organization that fights to prevent child sex slavery and provide aftercare for its victims. (Listen to founder Rob Morris in an interview on WNYC this week with Alec Baldwin.) 

You see, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be confined to box definition (flowers, a box of chocolates, and a date with your S.O.). In fact, sometimes it’s the small things that are more sincere – like doing the dishes for your roommate, or calling your parents – that are most meaningful. Valentine’s Day means more than romantic love; it can mean showing love to a stranger, or to an enemy. Ebenezer Scrooge learns that the Christmas spirit is about love and compassion to all mankind. Why not adopt the same attitude with Valentine’s Day?

The Generosity Day Project (a re-branding of Valentine’s Day) started last year when one man decided to say ‘yes’ to every request for help for a month. He says: “I’d found the experience transformative and had always dreamed of getting others involved.”

Here’s what I’m wondering: How might we be transformed — what story might we tell with our lives — if we did the same?

Generosity Day on Causes.com

Love 146 & The Broken Hearts Club

Valentine’s Day Into Generosity Day (CharityNavigator)

How Generosity Day Is Building A Movement (Beth’s Blog)

{Editor’s note: Beth Kanter also published this on her own blog. You can read it here.}

I first heard about the “stages” of social media implementation from Beth Kanter:  First, you crawl. Once you’re steady, you walk. Once the road is paved, you run for it! Last year, my organization took its first steps. We’re not “flying” yet, or even running, but it’s amazing what can happen in just a year with just a little help from your peers. 

January: It Started With a Book
At FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS, I wanted to know what worked in social media – and also what didn’t. At the annual staff retreat last January, we selected The Networked Nonprofit for our bookclub discussion. It was a fascinating look into how several nonprofits are using social media in ways that are both clever and effective. Over dinner and a bottle of California red (thanks to our San Fran staff!), we discussed how the organization might utilize social media in similar ways. The wheels were churning with staff at all levels and in all departments.

August: Stealth Measurement Takes Shape
In August, FIGHT CRIME joined a peer learning experience led by Beth, a Visiting Scholar with The Lucile Packard Foundation. Through monthly phone calls and a closed Facebook discussion group, I tested (“try to vary the type content each day of the week”). I asked questions (“Does posting on the weekend create more user engagement?”). I was put on the spot (Beth: “So what did you learn from that? What are you going to differently?”). I soon discovered that building a social media infrastructure wouldn’t be easy, but paving the road now would allow to drive more easily in the future.

Peer Learning Takeaways

• Reporting begins with benchmarking. I’ve created my own deadlines for social media reports. Those are now included with our traditional media reports.
• Everything is an experiment, and flexibility is key. In October, Facebook introduced new features on the analytics pages. Beth adapted her lesson that month so we could focus on how the changes would affect our reporting process.
• Share successes and failures. Beth calls this the “try it and fix it” approach. Each month we went over our “homework” and I got to hear about effective strategies from other nonprofits. One size does not fit all. If something isn’t working, abandon it.

December: Breaking Through to Stakeholders
As 2011 came to a close, our board members wanted to know what we were “doing” about social media. At the annual Board meeting, we presented our year-in-review of social media efforts. This presentation was key to get upper management to think “digital first” for our campaigns and future media efforts.

What’s Next: 2012 Social Media Week DC
While the Packard learning group has formally ended, in many ways I’m just getting started. Next week, I’m moderating a panel for the first-ever Social Media Week in DC. The panelists include two other Packard grantees, Danielle Brigida (National Wildlife Federation), and Alison Carlman (Global Giving). I’m also thrilled to include Carie Lewis (Humane Society of the United States) and Alison McQuade (Emily’s List). We’ll be talking about how to report social media results to stakeholders. I’m excited for these panelists to share their success stories with the DC nonprofit community.

After just one year, social media is playing a front-and-center role within the organization. Social media doesn’t replace the traditional outreach methods, it only enhances those efforts.

What “stage” of social media is your organization or company at? What tools or experiments will you use to advance? How do you want to utilize social media in six months, or over the next year?

Bucket lists are not really my thing, and I can’t tell you how many “resolution” blog posts I’ve seen over the last week. But it is a new year. And with that, I have a new word.

Last year, I rallied around a word to shape my goals. My word was DEPTH. I wanted to delve into my communities, to commit to projects, and draw closer to God.

This year, my word is LISTEN. I was inspired after finding this article that affirms so much of what I believe in — “The Joy Of Quiet” (New York Times, Dec. 29). Since my professional work is so active — I’m constantly writing, watching, posting, sharing — I also firmly believe in time to process, to reflect, to listen. There is such relief that comes with “white space” — a blank canvas, a quiet moment, the open road.  Listening offers the chance to observe, take in new ideas, learn from people with a variety of viewpoints.

Listen in the silence. How many times throughout the day am I interrupted, either by choice or not? Silence can be productive. Sometimes, in order to hear God more clearly, you need to turn down the volume in other areas. This couldn’t be more true for me than with digital noise. Jim Wallis writes that we all should practice more “people time” and less “screen time.” If I can maximize my computer time, I’ll have more time to invest in people and projects of value (and probably get more sleep, too!).

Listen for God and to God. Daily. To this extent, I want to further explore spiritual disciplines. Pastor Mark’s latest book is Circle Maker, which explores the power of prayer. God reveals more of himself in the quiet; he even says:

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

If praying – listening – is a spiritual discipline, then I definitely need to get into shape.

Listen to others.  I’m usually pretty excited about life, and I’m not afraid to show it — arms waving passionately, and my face contorted 7 million ways to express each and every thought. But I think that listening is an art, and it can be a very humbling experience. Listening reminds us that we are not the center of the universe.

Listen to stories — sad, happy and in-between. One of my favorite projects is The People’s District, run by Danny Harris. His niche has been recording and sharing the stories of average people all around him. In this same journalistic fashion, I also find it valuable to know a person’s story.With all my interactions this year, I want to ask myself: “what does that person have to teach me?”

I really, really liked Maggie Fox’s recent tweet:

“OH: My New Year’s Resolution is to shut up more.” << Really, this is a good one for pretty much all of us.

Now for good measure: a scene from Disney’s The Princess Diaries.

If you could focus 2012 around one word, what would it be? In what ways can being a better listener make you a better person? 

Christmas is a strange holiday for Washington, D.C. Since so many residents aren’t actually natives, the city practically clears out. And while it’s certainly not as sparkling as the Big Apple at Christmastime, DC has its own offerings for those who plan to stick around the D-M-V area during the holidays.

The Kennedy Center offers the Christmas classic, Handel’s Messiah. You don’t need to pay top dollar either; the 28-dollar tickets my roommate and I snagged did the trick.  We sat on a side balcony very close to the front of the stage, and got a great view of the performers, including the stellar University of Maryland choir. If you’ve never seen Handel’s great piece, it’s breathtaking – a masterpiece in its own right.

The Smithsonian National Zoo holds its annual “Zoolights” festival, which is not so much about seeing animals, but more about twinkling lights, drinking cocoa and cozying up to your S.O. This year, I got to enjoy Zoolights with a little one in tow (my friend Rheta’s aDORable daughter Lydia), and that definitely makes the event more festive. If you want a cuppa Starbucks though, stop in before 8. The Cleveland Park location has unusually short hours.

But the fun doesn’t stop after December 25^th. Here are some things to check out through the winter months:

Go ice skating. Run the rinks at the Sculpture Garden in DC (which you’d recognize as “Jazz in Gardens” in July), Silver Spring (MD), or Fort Dupont Park in Southeast DC.

Take in a show. The obvious, of course, is Kennedy Center (currently showing Billy Elliot and Messiah), but there are plenty of smaller venues that offer off-beat, but quality performing. Check out the DC Theatre Scene website for a full digest.

Tour a historic home. Some are decorated for the holidays. Abraham Lincoln (Soldier’s Home in Petworth), Woodrow Wilson’s Home (Dupont Circle), George Washington (Mount Vernon) and (Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown). On a related note: my neighbor Dan runs DCwriters.org, which features historic homes inhabited by writers from Washington, D.C. You can see him featured in a recent Washington Post article here. 

January is right around the corner, which means Restaurant Week (January 9 through 15), and a slew of events to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. If you haven’t yet seen the latest memorial, January couldn’t be a more appropriate time to do so!