It was my pleasure to address the Council of Michigan Foundations this morning. As promised, here is the presentation available for download as a PDF File.

Web 2.0: Joining the Online Marketplace of Ideas

One of the attendees asked an astute question about identifying and reaching specific subsets of the users of MySpace.com, YouTube, etc… Here is a collection of resources for you to explore.

Thanks for your time and attention!

It was my great pleasure to deliver back-to-back presentations to the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts today. Here are the powerpoints and supporting documents. Thanks for your time and attention.

• Water Words That Work powerpoint presentation.
• Water Words That Work bibliography of citations.
• Putting the Web to Work powerpoint presentation.

“[h]umans automatically behave in more socially conscious ways when the brain detects a visual pattern resembling a gaze”

That’s how the Washington Post characterizes a forthcoming article in the scientific journal Human Nature, summarizing experiments on social influences on how people act.

This is not news to regular readers of this blog. I write frequently that images of faces and eyes increase the effectiveness of your web pages and publications.

So what does this really mean? It’s fresh confirmation that you may be able to persuade everyday citizens to agree with you by presenting scientific and policy information — but it you want them to do something, you need to send them some social signals, as well.

Before they put down the remote control, get off the couch, and do something, most people need to hear that they will be working together rather than toiling or sacrificing alone. People need this information for both selfish reasons (”I want others to know I’m doing the right thing”) and because they lack confidence in themselves acting alone (”I can’t make a difference about this giant problem all by myself”).

Here are three questions to ponder as you go about your day:

• Have you ever thought one thing but done another because everybody else was doing it?
• How many people who listen to you talk, read your publications, and visit your website are doing the same thing?
• Beyond the simple act of putting pictures of faces in your publications, websites, and powerpoints, how can you send people social signals as well as factual ones?

I’m back at my computer after spending a week in the Caribbean goofing off, and I’m going through the thousand + email messages that stacked up in my absence.

Here are a few tidbits worth relaying:

National Forest Foundation “Collaboration Support Program” Grant Oppotunity
The National Forest Foundation, in partership with the Surdna Foundation, is distributing grants of up to $5,000 to nonprofit organizations under the auspices of its “Collaboration Support Program.” The notice specifically references both watershed management and community outreach and communications, so this has potential for you.

Grants are available only to formally established nonprofit organizations that can demonstrate their involvement in some kind of collaborative community project related to a national forest or grassland and the waters found there. The good news is that if you meet those very specific criteria, the program is otherwise very flexible — no matching funds are required and the grantee can use the funds for both projects and planning, and to hire consultants.

Applications are due 10/26. Click here to learn more about the Collaboration Support Program.

NOAA’s Chesapeake B-WET Grant Program
Better act fast if you want in on this action, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is soliciting proposals for environmental education projects in the Chesapeake Bay region. Applications are due on October 19 and can be for as much as $75,000, it seems. Click here to learn more.

Environmental Communication for Behavior Change.
Duke University’s Environmental Leadership Program will be running an online course on environmental “social marketing” from 1/15 to 2/24 — persuading everyday citizens to change their polluting and wasteful ways using commercial marketing techniques. The course will be lead by Brian Day, executive director of the North American Association for Environmental Education. I spoke on a panel once with him and he’s very good. I might sign up for this one myself.

Click here to learn more, or write del@nicholas.duke.edu

Clean Water for the Future-Will Georgia’s New Water Plan Provide Enough Clean Water for the Future?
That’s the title of a symposium that some Georgia conservation groups held last week to focus attention on the state’s forthcoming water plan. It’s chock full of water words that work! Good job, guys! This is a powerful way to set up the discussion.

Click here to see the agenda.