Flickr Photo: mfilejI've spent most of the last three months on airplanes, so I'm a little behind the times here, but I still want to talk a bit about a report released this Fall, "When Did We Start Trusting Strangers?" (Search for that title on the Universal McCann site.)

It's a bit of a misnomer.  As you might suspect, user ratings and reviews on websites matter more than they ever have in terms of influencing consumer behavior.  But the real influencers are the same as always: friends and family.  The difference now is HOW that influence is transmitted.  More frequently, it's happening online.  

When Did We Start Trusting Strangers p. 34

The nonprofit sector is catching on to this.  Every time I glance at my inbox, I see another message about trainings like "Raising Money with Twitter" or "Fundraising in Facebook."  (We're guilty of it at NTEN, too: see the NTC agenda as evidence!)

I think we're missing the mark, though.  It's not really about Twitter.  It's not about Facebook.  It's not about whatever the next buzzword is.

It's about friends. 

It's about building real relationships that inspire people to act on your behalf.  That's the skill we should focus on building. Whether it's Twitter or Digg or Facebook or LinkedIn, it's about those relationships.

We have to teach ourselves to operate that way again.