What Is In A Word?

By D. Black

I have been around creative people and involved with marketing campaigns most of my career. I enjoy the process of coming up with an idea and then creating a platform for that new concept to bloom and grow into a product, promotion or platform.

Marketing people have a private vocabulary to describe the world. Ratings, shares, trends, retention, demographic, segmentation, and psychographic are just a few of the words that define and measure their efforts.

I jumped into this community more than 24 years ago and have flung these words around with the best. But as a spiritual man, I now realize that we are one word short.

The term demographic is defined as the characteristics of a human population or part of it, especially its size, growth, density, distribution, and statistics regarding birth, marriage, disease, and death

The term psychographic profiles the lifestyle habits and traits of an individual.

These terms deal with understanding the statistics and actions of people but we don’t have a word that brings those characteristics into light in perspective to their spirituality. So I purpose an addition to our communicators vocabulary handbook.

Pneumographic – the understanding of how personal spirituality impacts the attitude, behavior, and lifestyle choices of individuals, families, and communities.

Isn’t it prudent to spend time and energy to better understand how the most important aspect in life impact life? Not to manipulate for gain, but to facilitate for change.

For the purist, I realize that the word isn’t in Webster’s…yet.

After all what is in the Word?

The Number One Question At NRB?

By D. Black

At some point during the week, every convention begins to look and feel the same. Another breakfast meeting, breakout sessions, long walks between meetings and booth after booth of smiling faces, each with a one gallon fish bowl filled with various types of candy. Somewhere in the history of conventioneering someone figured out that candy was necessary to keep weary attendees blood sugar up.

This year’s NRB in Nashville, Tennessee had many the same elements but woven through the familiar, I found an unusual twist. My schedule was filled from early morning to late evening with meetings, presentations, reviews and events. That’s the plan – to take full advantage of the opportunity. You can rest when you get back home. Both on the floor and in private sessions the same basic question arose; As faith based communicators how are we going to change our methods to match the shift that is occurring in our culture?

Indeed, this is our ground zero. It is good that we are asking the question. To be completely transparent, no one has really figured it out.

Our age demands instant, relevant information that is pertinent to daily life. Gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all approach. We must get to know our constituents needs, help them in a real way and then enlist them as partners in a common cause.

If we authentically commit to this process, we will bring light into an ever darkening world.

On The Road To The NRB

By D. Black

Last week I packed my bags and traveled up I-75 from Atlanta to Nashville. I almost always choose to drive the 225 miles, because believe it or not, it is faster than flying. It is really quite a nice drive, winding through the North Georgia mountains, the Tennessee River and the city of Chattanooga, past Lookout Mountain the site of a famous Civil War battle and on up into South Nashville. My work has a presence in the “Music City” so I make the sojourn on a pretty regular basis.

This time I was driving up to attend the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) convention held at Opryland, USA. This is an annual gathering of mostly ministry broadcasters and the stations that they air along with a potpourri of vendors who sell them hardware and software. And who knows, maybe even one or two strategic consultants may show up. This convention is a good opportunity to find tactical solutions, meet new people and network with old friends and colleagues.

I’ve been attending the show since the winter of 1984. It used to be always held in Washington, DC at the Sheraton Hotel, near Capitol Hill. Those were the days of Jim and Tammy, Jimmy Swaggart and other high profile television personalities walking the floor with their entourages. There was an air of celebrity and personal power as the “superstars” traveled from book signing to media interview. It was quite interesting to watch the parade. I was a young man attending graduate school at Regent University and working as a production manager for Victor King Marketing, CBN’s inside advertising group.

Now 24 conventions later, the atmosphere has changed dramatically. Gone is most of the glitz and glamour, replaced by a more businesslike, professional atmosphere. During my walk on the convention floor, I only saw three television broadcasters -James Robison, Charles Stanley, and Jeff Shreve, none of them are pretentious.

On my way home back down I-75 to Atlanta, I thought of the difference between my first and last NRB. It is a big change, but come to think of it, our world has also changed dramatically. But the fundamental reason that thousands of faith-based communicators come together once a year remains the same – to learn to more effectively proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The need for this truth hasn’t diminished, but the methods of communicating it certainly have.

Next time: The number one question asked this year at NRB!

Retain Your Online Audience

Outside of the corporate and university eLearning models user retention often runs amuck. It is common to experience as much as 20-50% attrition writes David P. Diaz. In some cases I have witnessed as much as 30-70% for those organizations that do not attempt to stem the flow of abandonment.

Considered the most significant barriers to online learning are:

1. Technical problems
2. Cost of and access to the Internet
3. Time and support for studies
4. Personal motivation
5. Technical skills
6. Academic skills
7. Social interactions
8. Administrative/instructor issues

From Keith Tyler-Smith’s Abstract – Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that
Contribute to Drop-out, Withdrawal and Non-completion Rates of Adult
Learners undertaking eLearning Programmes

Some favorable strategies I have given to companies in need have been the following…

Read more…

What Non-Profits Need To Know About Online Learning and Relationship Building

By: E. Brown

As more and more non-profits head into the world of computer based learning, training, and relationship management, they often venture into territory that is very new and very unfamiliar. Listed here are some (not all) of the potential issues non-profit organizations need to consider before forging out to build their new online initiatives.

We hope you find this article helpful.

Read more…

Is Your Content Going Global?

By E. Brown

“Going Global” can be the Midas touch or death touch of any organization. Understanding the unique aspects of language and culture is time consuming to say the least. In an effort to “get to market” quickly, many companies and non-profits overlook (and sometimes hop over) the requirements for a successful launch into other countries.

For those leveraging the Web, content is a primary source for positioning in the global market. Translating the content is a must and good translation is tantamount to establishing a successful worldwide brand.

Read more…

Online Training: Why Do Non-Profits Sit On The Fence?

By E. Brown

I have talked with numerous Not-For-Profit (NFP) organizations about online learning and knowledge management. Almost all are interested in the subjects and would like to distribute their content online for learning and training. Yet, they are all sitting on the fence when it comes to execution.I was reminded of this again while at breakfast the other day. I ran into an acquaintance who knew of a VC that wanted to invest in online learning to reach an international audience. His issues were the same. All the NFP’s he had met with were waffling when it came to “doing the deal” and taking the eLearning plunge.

Why?

Getting In The Game
I witnessed this same attitude when the Web bubble started to grow in the early 90’s. Many NFP’s watched from the sidelines. I made three observations as to why this attitude prevailed:

1. They didn’t understand the technology and were intimidated by change
2. Many were simply waiting for “critical mass” before jumping onboard
3. Most had not planned on the cost of the technology infrastructure or outsourcing

read more…

3 Top Non-Profit No No’s

By E. Brown

In our interacting with many Non-profit organizations, we have noticed certain tendencies and assumptions regarding their online brand and outreach. Here are listed the three most common issues we have observed.

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Be Careful What You Say

As a leader, any little thing you say and how you say it comes under scrutiny. Your words can impact like a gentle whisper or like a roaring lion. If you are in any kind of leadership role take heed to what former professor Gene Jennings had to say.

Read more…

Hello world!

Donald O. Black founded Black+White in 2007 after 23 years of senior nonprofit leadership experience. He has assembled a seasoned and talented team to serve either with in-house expertise or through a managed network of best of class experts that provide targeted services and products to our client base. As a collective force, they have worked with many causes that serve both the nation and the world.