Take one epic fail, one work in progress and a downright heartwarming win, mix in two dozen enthusiastic and eager social media enthusiasts and what do you get? Why you get Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #2, of course.
The second installment of the jam built on the success of the first and a good, inspiring time was had by all. We assume.
If you weren’t there (for shame!) the wrap-up below will give you a taste of what you missed. And if you’re more aurally inclined, Robin Browne was kind enough to capture the audio of the preliminary presentations. You can find that audio here (many thanks Robin!).
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Case Study: @DailyBlogPost
Jammer: Ian Capstick
Twitsized Summary of the Project: A twitter feed that was supposed to provide one idea per day to inspire writer’s-blocked bloggers. It didn’t go so well.
Key Points:
- Started with three rules: One tweet per day only; follow back everyone who followed; accept tips from others via DM or @ reply.
- Project died after 33 tweets, largely because it wasn’t social. No conversations. “It wasn’t a twitter account.”
- Good ideas + good people can = bad things.
In His Words:
I flocked to an idea that @julien gave away free like a star-struck fanboy … [but] I didn’t do any of the things that made Twitter work for me.
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Case Study: Ottawa Social Media Book Club
Jammer: Kelly Rusk
Twitsized Summary of the Project: A fledgling book club for social media enthusiasts that has mostly survived one big snafu and several logistical headaches.
Key Points:
- Started hosting on meetup.com, which charges organizers.
- First events went well and people were using the online discussion board to continue discussions.
- Misunderstanding of meetup.com terms of service led to higher charges than expected, so Kelly asked about closing the account.
- Account was closed immediately and all 60 members received message saying the organizer had abandoned the group; Kelly only had names, not email addresses.
- Slowly rebuilding membership on new self-hosted site, trying to get it back on track.
In Her Words:
If you’re going to plan an event, do your research .. Now I’m worried people think I started the club and just walked away.
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Case Study: Social community charity drive for Cornerstone women’s shelter
Jammer: Bob LeDrew
Twitsized Summary of the Project: When a local women’s shelter was destroyed by fire, Bob turned online shock into on-the-ground action, first with a clothing/money/supply drive, then with a delicious New Year’s feast.
Key Points:
- Started with a post by Ian Capstick outlining the things the shelter needed urgently.
- “I had no money but lots of time,” so Bob wrote a post offering to spend a few hours picking up donations.
- Post was tweeted a few times then went viral (at least among Ottawa tweeps).
- Local CBC radio picked up the story, which gave it more legs.
- As more people heard, they organized supplementary drives (Laura Payton at the Hill Times; Preston Street BIA).
- Bob made the rounds and filled his car.
- Later, around Christmas, Bob got a turkey as a gift and decided to donate it as part of a holiday dinner.
- Reached out to same online community for side dishes.
- Ended up with three turkeys and two car trunks full of side dishes.
In His Words:
A bunch of small actions became a huge amount of good … this wasn’t a win for me, it was a win for the community.
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Lastly, after the outpouring of support from the Jammers at CSJam #1 (part of the efforts in support of Cornerstone), we decided to pass the hat for charity again. Bob, who has become our charity liaison by default, offers this recap:
The kind folks who attended CSJam 2 raised $85 in our pass the hat. The more-or-less arbitrary “charity” chosen to receive the money is Maria Hawkins, Ottawa’s Blues Lady.
Maria is a veteran singer and presenter who was a pioneer with Bluesfest’s W.C. Handy-award-winning Blues In The Schools program. She’s also created lots of school programs combining music and education around issues such as bullying.
Starting last summer, a series of events have left her without a place to live, fighting back from health problems and in pretty dire straits financially. The money from our hat (a very bluesy hat, by the way) will help her get her back on her feet, and she is pretty darn grateful.
