Pew Internet & American Life report on internet use in higher-income households – click here.
Pew Internet & American Life Project posted an informative research report regarding the use of the Internet by those in higher income brackets in fall, 2010.
In terms of social media and fundraising, the report would suggest those with greater wealth, and hence philanthropic giving capacity, are indeed using the Internet to do such things as receive and send e-mail; access news; pay bills online; conduct research; and donate to charity.
It makes sense, then, for nonprofit organizations to use the Internet for communication, education and cultivation purposes. E-mail continues to be a core component of the communication strategies for most nonprofit organizations, and social media is not far behind.
From the standpoint of nonprofit organizations, then, we need to hone our skills and become proficient at communicating using these types of venues. In addition, a well-planned strategy for online communications makes sense, so that we develop the “tech” knowledge required to further our missions online, while simultaneously using our limited time wisely, and coordinating all communication activities for maximum effectiveness. Thank heaven we have NTEN to help us!
Why is this man smiling? Facebook!
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~ The Wall Street Journal has posted an interesting article, “Millionaires Pile Into Facebook, Drop Twitter” (August 17, 2011). “A new study shows that 46% of online users with investible assets of $1 million or more are members of Facebook, up from 26% a year ago. The survey, by Spectrem Group, showed that millionaire’s use of Twitter has declined, from 5% to 3%.” The trends noted are important for nonprofit fundraising professionals to be watching, and of course, they do change over time, as with the recent emergence of Pinterest as a major social media venue.
~ I found this article by Kristen Schweizer of Bloomberg Businessweek of interest, “Facebook Challenged by Swedish Count’s Jet-Set Website” (August 22, 2012). I believe the new, BestofAllWorlds social networking site for the world’s wealthiest is a fabulous idea, but would caution those who think it will take a bite out of Facebook, that the world’s wealthiest citizens are also interested in what the rest of us are doing. I expect most of them will continue to use multiple social media platforms, including this one.
~ Matt Rosoff has written a telling article on “tech” preferences, “People Who Use Macs at Work Are Richer and More Productive” (Business Insider, October 28, 2011).
“The use of MAC computers is anticipated to grow; despite the fact they are often more expensive, some employees (often those at higher levels of management) prefer Macs, and will bring them from home to work if they are not available in the workplace.” Well, I don’t use a Mac myself, but I know some who do, and believe this is a trend to be watching ….
~ I enjoyed reading about Martha Stewart’s use of new technologies and “gadgets” in Andrea Smith’s article on Mashable, “What’s in Martha Stewart’s Tech Bag” (August 13, 2012). I was interested to learn she is still hanging onto her two Blackberry phones (one used for phone calls, one for tweets and e-mail) ~ see my blog post, “Mobile Rising” for a brief discussion about Blackberry (and the hope the company will come back stronger than ever in time).
~ The Luxury Institute has produced a report of note, “Wealth and Luxury Trends for 2012 and Beyond,” that is downloadable with permission from its website,. The report, which focuses on commercial products (rather than nonprofit donation trends), is nonetheless interesting as a study of high net worth individuals. Interestingly, it does discuss social media and “luxury mobile applications.”
