Social media crash course, with a Jewish framework. Given at the 2010 conference of the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California.

1. Globalizing the Shtetl: A Jewish
Overview of Social Media
JCPSC Conference
Esther D. Kustanowitz
October 27, 2010

2. How Can Social Media Help
Jewish Professionals?
1) Social media can help support outreach by
Jewish projects, programs or organizations
2) Social media can help create
stronger, more valuable relationships
with the people we already serve
3) Social media can help court engagement
from “younger” people

3. Information & Relationship
Management
• You don’t have to become:
– An IT specialist
– “tech-savvy” / “a tech geek”
• Acquire tools that help:
– Manage, organize & access information
– Manage, increase & deepen relationships
– Provide multiple points of entry
– Reach people where they are
– Express authenticity

4. Name & Reputation
“You see us
as you want to
see us: in the
simplest terms,
in the easiest
possible
definitions.”
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/the-breakfast-
club/images/73765/title/breakfast-club-photo

5. What’s in a name?
Each Man Has a Name
Each man has a name, given him by God and given him by his father and mother
Each man has a name, given him by his stature and his way of smiling, and given him by
his clothes
Each man has a name, given him by the mountains and given him by his walls
Each man has a name, given him by the planets (stars) and given him by his neighbors
Each man has a name, given him by his sins and given him by his longing
Each man has a name, given him by his enemies, and given him by his love
Each man has a name, given him by his feast days and given him by his craft
Each man has a name, given him by the seasons of the year and given him by his
blindness
Each man has a name, given him by the sea, and given him by his death.
-Zelda (b. 1914)

6. The Microcommunity:
Our “Little Town”
– ‫לזה‬ ‫זה‬ ‫ערבים‬ ‫ישראל‬ ‫כל‬
– ‫הציבור‬ ‫מן‬ ‫תפרוש‬ ‫אל‬ )Jewish geography(
– Boundaries: reign in/unite:
but this shtetl has no walls – what unites us?
IMAGE: http://chicagotheaterblog.com/2009/06/12/review-topol-in-fiddler-on-the-roof/

7. My Global Shtetl: The Jewish Internet
– 10 years Jewish non-profit in NYC
– Self-taught tech
– Micro-communities – local and global -25 countries
– Social media – PR on autopilot
– Social media + Jewish community  L.A.
 That’s me,
speaking at a GA
plenary in 2007.

8. You’re Nobody Till Somebody
“Likes” You: The “Social Web”
• Jewish geography = “2.0”
– “Social web”
– personal recommendations
trusted (e.g. Amazon.com)
• Cocktail party: Small talk  follow-up
• Informational swap meet 
information community
IMAGE: http://blog.researchworks.com/the-socially-enabled-search-war-facebook-vs-g

9. Fear Not:
Surrendering to “Viral”
• Goal: Get the message out, far and wide
• Fear: Loss of control over the information
http://www.concepttshirts.com/viral-marketing.php

10. How to Fight the Fear of Viral
• If information about your organization
goes viral, fight the fear:
– Realize that control is an illusion – you start
the message, but it changes (“Telephone”)
– Embrace the risk, use it as a chance to build
trust and relationships
– Release “official information”
– Interact with fans/critics – establish authority
– You are their “inside source”/they are VIPs

11. Effective Social Media Interactions
Contain…
• CommunityOrganizer 2.0 blog
– “A report by Lightspeed Research about what US consumers
want from brands online - top demand is “to improve their
knowledge.” - Deb Askenase (@askdebra)
• Commitment to relationship-building
• Collaborative spirit
• Involvement in public infostream
• Initiating & participating in conversations
• Authentic voice
• Adding value to public discourse, online & off (self-
promotion is secondary)
• Intentionality - kavanah

12. A Little Help From Our Friends:
Social Media & Fundraising
http://boards.ign.com/teh_vestibule/b5296/185879570/r185879765/

13. Social Media Aid
Aid to Haiti
• Red Cross texting $10 at a time to Haiti raised
over $10M (as of 1/15/10)
• Wireless & Mobile News reported the total raised
by text-to-aid programs was $30 million
(1/22/10)
Digitales Por Chile
• A Jewish iPhone app developer in Chile
mobilized techies to create an information
network after a major quake

14. DIY Fundraising
• Independent funding platforms for crowdfunding (or
“friendraising”):
– Indiegogo
– Kickstarter
– Pledgie
• People reward the emotionally resonant, personally
meaningful or entertaining
• When people feel a relationship to the person who’s
asking, online fundraising is collaborative and effective

15. Crowdsourcing:
Esther’s Computer

16. Immerse Yourself
• Research (Recon)
• Understanding (Analysis)
• Actions (Moving Ahead)

17. Research
• Develop “ambient awareness”
• Learn the language
• Schedule “surveillance time”
• Follow links, explore tools that increase
social media’s accessibility (Mashable,
Inside Facebook, FB Connect, LinkedIn
(#in),Tweetdeck, mobile apps)
• Who’s doing it right? Visit social media of
other organizations: what can you
“borrow”?

18. Check Out Your Friends
• @SixthandI
• @daroff
• @Leahjones
• @Kvetchingeditor
• @BJPArchive *
• @ROICommunity *
• @IKAR-LA *
• @AWP_Jcommunity*
• @BI_NEXT
• JTA’s Top Twitterers
* indicates past or current client
http://nickbaines.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/with-friends-like-
these/friends/

19. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

20. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Washington, DC
Dynamic, multi-tiered presence:
• FB fan pages for the synagogue, and for
“Sixth in the City” (young professionals)
• Events, graphics, pictures, social media
widgets
• Using social media, contributing to
conversations (& promoting events)

21. Social Media Strategy
Crash Course

22. Facing Facebook: Strategy
• Group or Fan Page?
– Groups foster group discussion around a topic
– Pages allow information to be sent, but not via FB
• Read FB FAQs – official responses/user responses
• Ask a friend
• Questions for your organization:
– Who will post content? How often?
– What will the tone be?
– Will you link FB with other social media (blog or
Twitter)?
– Will you link to people/organizations/events on FB?

23. Facebook: Being Professional
• Don’t clutter official FB pages (strange photos,
Farmville, zombies etc)
• Tone consistent with the organization’s (or have
a reason why it’s not)
• Do follow your instincts and personal experience
– Use what you like (discussing stuff on your friends’
walls, Scramble)
– Don’t use what annoys you or others (Farmville)
– Use what resonates or inspires you to action
(reaching out to friends in need, Causes)

24. Twittertalk: Strategy
• Creates transparency
• Allows immediate customer service response
• Solving problems publicly shows customers you’re
handling things
• “Listening” to conversations already in progress provides
valuable insight into
Organizational chatter (you’re the CIA)
“the market” / instant focus group (you’re the
marketing wiz)
World and community news and trends (you’re
CNN)

25. Twittertech: Setup
Goal: Listening, sharing, asking & responding
• Listening & touring the site, becoming familiar with terms
– Replies/@/Mentions; DM; RT, HT, #hashtags
• Choosing your handle
– Your name (@estherk)
– Your org’s name (@JCPSC)
– A project’s name (@g_dcast)
• Finding followers (address book, other people’s
accounts, twitterator.org, lists)
• Continuing to listen more than you respond

26. Social Media Immersion

27. Twittertech: Posting
Conquering 140
• Brevity, poetry, strength, mission, value
• Sharing = Link to and RT others
• Abbreviate URLs with tinyurl, bit.ly, j.mp
• Use # to categorize (~ tab in a file cabinet)
• Use a viewer for a cleaner look
(Tweetdeck, Ubertwitter, Tweetie)

28. Blogging 101
• Blog = weblog = CMS for easy, online publishing
• You may have or read blogs without even
knowing it (Gawker, TMZ, HuffPo, Salon, Slate,
even MSM have blogs on their websites)
• Writing, reading & commenting on blogs
– promote your organization
– start new conversations
– adding value to existing conversations

29. Organizational Blogging: Strategy
Does your org need/could it benefit from/is it ready
for a blog:
• Reading blogs, seeing what’s out there
• Blog will need regular content (staff time)
• Comments should be open, but can be
moderated (staff time)
• Blog should reflect org’s goals, but also add
value to larger conversations

30. Research  Understanding
• Social media regimen/cultural immersion
– Find the time (coffee breaks, lunchtime, etc)
– Check Twitter/Facebook page at least once a day
• Read the Tweetstream or Status Feed of people and orgs
you’re following – begin to participate in conversations
• Upload address books to identify your contacts who are
using FB and Twitter
• Share a FB group or event with friends who are “hubs”
– Visit Jewishblogging.com or JRants.com
• click on a few headlines
• monitor/join a conversation
• Ask questions (professionals/civilians)

31. Actions for Your Organization
• Determine your institutional voice/s
• Identify person/people to update Twitter and
Facebook (daily)
• Identify newsy angles for programs, use as hook
to promote org in online conversations
• Consider starting a blog, so you can host
conversations
• Find “mavens”/hubs in your community, invite
their feedback & partnership
• Consider inviting personal assessment by a
social media trainer

32. Resources Available
• “In Plain English” series
• Mashable.com and Inside Facebook e-mail
• Google Alerts - articles of interest (~ Burrelle’s)
• Online articles:
– http://fundraisingcoach.com/articles/twitter-for-nonprofits-and-
fundraising/
– NYTimes technology columnist David Pogue on Twitter:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/twitter/
– Manifesto: Social Media for Jewish Organizations:
http://estherkustanowitz.typepad.com/myurbankvetch2005/2009/
11/manifesto.html
• Request Social Media planning worksheet, YouTube
social media video playlist from me via email

33. How to Find Me
• NextGen Engagement Initiative at Jewish
Federation of Greater Los Angeles:
ekustanowitz@jewishla.org
• Not exactly everything else:
– esther.kustanowitz@gmail.com
– http://twitter.com/estherk
– http://facebook.com/estherkustanowitz
– http://youtube.com/EstherK
– http://estherk.com