Want to look hip at the next cocktail party you attend?  First, re-purpose some vintage and blend it with a couple of ultra-modern accessories.  Second, get caught talking about the premiere diavlog from the Communications Network on the question: “Should Foundations Speak with Human Voices?”

“Well you see,…” you will say to the crowd that gathers round, “…blog + video + dialogue = diavlog.” 

You will probably be invited to continue…“It’s a format pioneered by Bloggingheads.tv, which has outfitted more than 200 big thinkers with a videoconferencing capability that enables them sip java at their desk while debating issues like 'Is Barack Black Enough?' The New York Times loves it so much that it features three Blogginghead.tv diavlogs a week on its video homepage.”

Once you’ve established your street cred, your listeners will probably be hungry for a few snippets from the episode.  In it, Michael Margolis and Susan Herr discuss Philanthropy 411’s research on which foundations are Twittering, Beth Kanter’s assessment of why they are Twittering, and Sean-Stannard Stockton’s belief that the findings point to a broader distinction between knowledge and wisdom (the latter of which, he notes, is inherently human.)  We also discuss authenticity demanded by the new media environment, and how foundations are grappling with recognition that staffers may be the only “brand” anyone sees for our foundations. 

Our next diavlog, currently in production for the Communications Network, will feature Pittsburgh Foundation’s Grant Oliphant speaking on "why foundations should talk about failure." Tell all your new friends you will alert them on Facebook when it comes out. 

Now go get yourself another cocktail.  You and your bad self deserve it.