This year I attended Net2 as an Advocate rather than as a Project. I attended the sessionslistening to each of the projects and internally evaluating them (just as others were evaluating the Grassroots.org Toolbox I presented as a Net2 Project last year).

Probably because my new role at Lumifi has me thinking a lot about marketing these days, I found myself considering how the projects presented themselves. As with nonprofits in general, I saw Net2 Projects with great ideas not always receiving the positive attention they expected. I am certain it was due to the clarity of their message and their message delivery. I imagine it must have been tremendously frustrating for them.

Activists who develop innovative projects are entrepreneurs. This means they are creative. They are risk takers. They are passionate. This does not ensure they have marketing skills. And in fact, social activists are known to shy away from organizational promotion as it can be misunderstood for self promotion, ie boasting. Nobody likes a boaster. And above the natural instinct to be liked is the need for a start up project to be liked in order to attract resources.