Is “Ambient Data” from Social Media Channels Useful for Funders?

This blog post from Beth Kanter discusses the pros and cons of using data from social media to inform funding decisions.  The blog provides some clear examples of how not-for-profit groups are using social media and asks some key questions that must be answered before looking at a social media solution. 

The blog also provides links to a number of articles and blogs that will help contextualise the idea.  

Excerpt

"Social media monitoring and data might be particularly useful for a foundation that is funding an advocacy area and to provide this data and analysis or fund it for a cluster of grantees working on a particular issue to support the communications strategy.

We discussed some of the social media monitoring tools.   The professional tools will cost money, but can process higher volumes of information.   There are  key questions to consider before investing in a social media monitoring solution. Your answers will help you determine the functionality you need and make the choice about what you are willing to pay for." (Kanter 2013)