Week 10 Learning Journal Post

A good team is really valuable. I'm reminded of this as Team Rippl enters the home stretch of our Social Media project.

We took on an ambitious project. We are each excited about it. People are working together really well, sharing talents and playing off each others' skills. Everyone has put in a lot. And it looks like we are not going to be able to do all that we had hoped, at least not by the class deadline.

That isn't to say that we won't meet the class requirements. We think we have done that. We developed a proposal, researched how others have managed similar behavior change projects, similar tools, and similar content, incorporated what we've learned from Fogg and Cialdini, and created and shared a couple of iterations of the conceptual framework and overall look and feel. (In hindsight, we might have done more in the way of asking for outside feedback on our iterations earlier in the process).

In taking on a project that was more complex than most, we took a risk. In addition to identifying a behavior to change and developing a campaign around that, Rippl includes developing and promoting a computer-application as a tool others can use to facilitate change. The actual computer application probably wont be done. It turned out to be much harder than anticipated. And the promotion, which kind of depended on what the application could and could not actually accomplish at this stage of its development, will likely get a bit short-shrifted. And that is OK. At least its OK with the team, and we hope it is OK with the professor.

We've had the chance to learn a lot about taking a seemingly simple concept and focusing on it long enough to understand that achieving simplicity can involve a lot of complexity. We've learned about checking in frequently in order to maintain a shared vision, even as things progress and change. We've had the chance to develop a long-term vision along with short-term phases that could move us toward that vision. And we've learned just how valuable each others' talents are to our success.

Even though the project could be described as a failure, I see it as a huge success. And one of my hopes and dreams is that we find a way to keep working on it and making it into a reality. Hopefully with the benefit of strategy/technical consult from Christopher, Mirian and Elyn.

Week 9 Translating Learning Into Doing

In class, we've had the opportunity to explore a number of ways one can bring fun and theories of persuasion into the realm of social change and building, growing, and care-taking of communities. Having a theoretical framework is helping me better understand the arc of events among various communities and campaigns where I've played a role.

I've noticed a pattern. I've seen green and social campaigns that hope to create positive behavior change falter under the weight of their own ideology. And sadly, the cause becomes a turnoff or even a political flashpoint as it gets tied to preachy attitudes, ineffective messages, and the idea that we want to change what people think, instead of affecting what they do.

The frustration that many of us feel when we see others who seem uncaring or uninformed often spills into our communications. While it might be correct, and it is certainly well-intentioned, the fact is, it does not help the cause. And if it isn't helping, then it is hurting.

In the end, the real question is would you rather be right, or would you rather win?

P.S. No matter what they say, winning is way more fun than losing. Are we willing to discard our own pre-conceived notions about what "should" and "would" so that we can empower "can" and "will" and "can't wait to participate"?

Week 8 Learning Journal Post - Persuasion

The Shelton Group just released its 2011 EcoPulse survey. Based on the answers of 1,502 Americans, the survey found that the #1 driver of energy-efficiency investment continues to be to save money on utility bills (28%). It also found that in order to see a measurable improvement in their bills, on average, Americans need to take at least 4 energy saving steps, yet most people take only 2.3 steps - not enough to move the dial on their utility bill.

The survey also found that lower income Americans would rather spend more on their energy bill than invest in energy efficiency. Why? For the most part, it is because they can't afford to invest. Oddly enough, wealthier Americans are more sensitive to increases in their energy bills than those with less money.

When asked how much how much their monthly bill would have to go up to push them spend more money on energy efficient home improvements, those making higher incomes ($100,000 or more) gave an average answer of $113, compared to $120 for those earning lower incomes (less than $25,000). Those with graduate degrees had an even lower threshold -- $98, compared to $122 for those with only a high school degree or less.

Those are some pretty big increases. I live in an area where energy costs are low compared to other parts of the country. But using the figures above, the monthly cost for someone living in a home that performs comparably to my own would have to triple before financial motivation would kick in as a serious factor. This implies that the mechanisms that are currently in place to encourage energy efficiency, which largely consist of poorly advertised, fractured, and complex utility and tax rebate schemes along with an occasional bill insert-based outreach campaign, are poorly suited to create changes in behavior.

While money might be a key motivator, the study also looked at other forms of persuasion to learn more about which techniques are most effective. They found that social norming is a powerful tool to convince people to shift their energy consumption habits. In other words, energy use declines among those who are identified as using more energy than their neighbors, and messages that reinforce the idea that other people are saving energy encourage folks to do something so that they will fit in with the group.

This is consistent with findings from a number of projects and studies. It suggests that an important persuasive element is to incorporate social proof into broader energy efficiency outreach campaigns. Based on additional information, the benefits of social proof tend to wear out over time, so it is also important to include other persuasive elements as well. These might include revising existing rebate programs so they provide positive and time-relevant feedback loops, and rewards that are closely tied to monthly energy use.

With consideration of BJ Fogg's Motivation-Ability-Trigger model, I can see tons of opportunity for innovation in the energy efficiency space. I'd like to explore barriers and techniques to motivate change further in my Beat Blog.

PreIntensive 2 Post: The Art of Persuasion

This week's readings/viewings were especially enjoyable. They focused on theories of persuasion, ethics, and behavior change. I can barely remember a time when I did not hope to change the world in some way that would make it happier, kinder, cleaner, etc., so these tools really resonate.

Thus far, I've mostly suffered through learning via my own personal process, i.e. the hard way. If I were to chart a path of my own process, it would contain peaks of various lengths of time spent on:

• Anger at the insanity of the way things seem,
  
• Becoming a scientist to generate good information that would spur the powers that be to do the right thing,
• Delving into technical details and mastering factual arguments so I could prove my case,
• Wasting time thinking about how to talk with the portion of the audience who is least likely to change
• Getting annoyed with and immune to the constant barrage of apocalyptic messages about wilderness, wildlife, oceans, energy, climate, diseases, children, America, other places, evil dictators, evil corporations, etc., etc.
  

I am convinced that the tools above are NOT the path to creating positive change in the world. If they aren't working on me, then how could they possibly work on someone less likely to read or to nerd out on all the details? Less altruistic? Less interested in the world?

Over the past year, I've become fascinated with the use of emotionally-resonant stories as a more compelling tool to attract interest. As we know from the movies, stories about millions of people tortured and killed thru war, Nazis, Khmer Rouge, Rwanda, ad nauseum, are often told thru the eyes of one victim or a single outsider. The story of one horror affects us more powerfully than the story of hundreds of thousands. I've become interested in other storytelling techniques. What makes a story a story? What are the basic elements needed to capture our interest? How can I, someone whose natural creativity is still shy and undeveloped, learn enough about story to turn myself into a storyteller? How can stories help me become a more powerful change agent?

Here are some sites about storytelling as a persuasive art:

Story Revolution

Hanson Hosein re: Storyteller Uprising

My personal goal is to find ways to combine my newfound interest in the use of story with BJ Fogg's elegantly understandable construct about behavioral change - Motivation - Ability - Trigger. The Behavior Grid offers a useful to work with my teammates or my client to hone in on what we really want to accomplish and the best tools to use.