Hello world! I’m Wendy from the American Red Cross and I’ll be your host at Red Cross Chat.
I’m a relative new kid on the block here at national headquarters. You may be asking yourself,
“Why in the heck do I care what Wendy Harman has to say about the inner workings of the Red Cross? She’s probably a hired hack sitting in the marketing department. Someone probably told them they needed to ‘do stuff’ in new media. Here’s another corporate marketing ploy destroying the very qualities that make online social networking valuable.”
Well, you’re partially correct. I am employed by the Communications & Marketing department. I’m happy to report, however, that I know nothing whatsoever about PR or sales. I’m also inept at technology, graphic design and web development; but my friends and family have always said I’m a good listener and a bad liar.
I figure this makes me just about perfect for blogging.
And yes, a lot of people have passed along the word that the Red Cross better get active online or get left behind. These Web 2.0 tools sure are shiny, aren’t they?
I started here last December. I have tried to resist the urge to use newfangled toys just because they’ve got buzz. I wanted to begin to understand how the people inside this organization operate and to spend some time listening to what you all have to say about the Red Cross.
I’ve still got a lot to learn but I now think it might be helpful to share this process with you while I do it. On behalf of the American Red Cross, I want to join your already active conversation in the blogosphere.
You mention us hundreds of times in your blogs every day. You’re often recounting your blood donation experience or the meal you had at a shelter during the flood. Even more often you’re encouraging one another to donate your time, money and blood. Sometimes you’re venting about a bad experience or calling us out on some inconsistency in service. In short, you’re amazing.
Here’s the deal: You keep writing and I’ll keep reading. I will act as a sort of roving reporter from inside the organization, interviewing all sorts of people about the current issues the Red Cross faces. Hopefully we’ll answer some of your questions and shed some light on how we work.
I look forward to chatting with you.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Ike // Sep 5, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Well, look who slipped in quietly…
Welcome to the conversation. Let me know how I can help.
2 Wendy Harman // Sep 5, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Thanks, Ike. I will!
3 Meghan // Sep 7, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Just annother vote of confidence. I like what you’re doing with this and the way you’re going about it.
4 Wendy Harman // Sep 7, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Thanks a bunch, Meghan!
5 suzy // Sep 14, 2007 at 7:11 pm
This is a good start Wendy, and I am hoping we can get a real conversation going with folks out there who have experienced the Red Cross at work and can give us their feedback.
6 Wendy // Sep 20, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Thanks, Suzy. That’s great to hear from you!
7 Chris // Oct 5, 2007 at 1:18 am
I think the Red Cross could find better use of the their administrative costs (money that I donate), than to pay the salary of someone to sit at a desk and hang out on Wordpress and Facebook all day.
It’s things like this that make me question whether or not I should continue to donate to them.
They just don’t seem to get it with how they allocate their contributions.
Chris Miller, Inc.
8 Chris Miller // Oct 5, 2007 at 11:59 am
Wendy,
Isn’t this blog about interactive conversation? I see you deleted my entry.
I am a donor to Red Cross. Isn’t it fair for the donors to voice their opinion on a topic?
Chris
9 Wendy Harman // Oct 5, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Chris,
It is absolutely fair for donors to voice their opinion on a topic. We encourage it here. I didn’t delete your entry, we just have all comments set on moderate. I’ll post a comment policy that explains this soon.
As for your other concerns, it’s not so much that I “hang out on Wordpress and Facebook all day” as it is the whole organization (along with all other organizations and companies) is experiencing a culture shift where we’re trying to be more transparent, to connect with the public in a multi-way conversation, and to meet stakeholders where they are online.
A couple of experts have weighed in on this very issue and I encourage you to check them out:
http://www.wheremostneeded.org/2007/02/bloggers_blunde.html
http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2007/01/is-it-absurd-or-unethical-for.html
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