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Dear Internet,

I am writing this post from a Starbucks in Pattaya, Thailand. Unlike most people I did not chose this Starbucks for the Mango Frappe in my hand or the comfortable chairs. I also did not chose it, like most coffee addicted college students, for it's free wifi. In fact quite surprisingly Starbucks in Thailand charges you to use wifi. If someone at their head office is reading this post would you please do something about this before my next trip? Though on this evening the lack of wifi is exactly why I am here.

Have you ever had thousands of teenage girls turn around and look at you with absolute jealousy? This was me last year as my wife and I were being handed vip wristbands by one of Taylor Swift's dancers. As I stood leaning against the stage all I could think about was "Why couldn't I have had these seats when I saw Coldplay in the same arena a year earlier!". Though as the show went on I was impressed at this young ladies ability to entertain and connect with the crowd in front of her. This was not just your ordinary pop star.

You should check in with technology instead of allowing technology to check in with you. @danielrnorris #socialmedia.

Most of you have already read the articles...

God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. -Oswald Chambers

Every time tragedy strikes somewhere in the world this quote...

Some of you may know that my day job is spent as a missionary with Youth With A Mission in Australia. I am part of our creative & communications team and spend a good chunk of my time looking after our social media profiles. One of the challenges myself and many social media managers find in any field is showing tangible results. We all know social media is important and has a part to play in our organisations, though showing that importance is quite different. Facebook's entire advertising platform has been scrutinised for that exact reason. I have had mixed results on social media though recently I had the privilege of seeing what we do with social media turn into something that produced a real result. This result was a shipping container.


Firstly, you are probably wondering why a shipping container? As some of you may already know, our new ministry centre has been fitted out with reused shipping containers. Each of our 8 containers plays a part in the building; from offices to a mezzanine floor. So yeah in short we are in the business of shipping containers.


During a recent search for an additional container we came across a nationwide Facebook Contest. In it a company was giving away a shipping container each month to the non-profit with the most votes. Unfortunately it was already half way through the month so we had some catching up to do. Within 24 hours we had shot into first place and doubled their votes. A great start right? While most were convinced we had it in the bag I saw what was coming next. Overnight 2nd place jumped us and nearly doubled the lead we had once held! While discouraged, a group of us jumped on Facebook and continued to rally others to vote. Before we knew it we had taken back the lead. This lead did not last and we went back and forth all the way to the final day. While the last few hours were quiet we sat patiently, always ready. We had seen such a wave of support and wanted to see this thing through to the end!


While the result is in the blog title I wanted to share some of the things I learned through the process. Keys that not only helped me win a shipping container for my organization but also apply to any of our efforts on social media.

47%, according to a Mashable.com poll that’s the percentage of people who have unfriended someone on Facebook because of the recent election. via Mashable.com (...

How many Facebook friends do you have? How about followers on Twitter? Since the earliest social networks, like MySpace, the number of friends you have on your profile...