Simon Mainwaring

We First provides consulting and training to help companies tell the story of their good work in ways that build their business

August 19, 2011

GOOD Magazine and Jumo: A powerful partnership for change

Written By Simon Mainwaring

by

A new partnership emerged this week that is exciting on several levels. On Tuesday, Mashable announced that GOOD magazine had acquired the social networking platform for non-profits called Jumo that was started by Chris Hughes who helped to create Facebook and was instrumental in President Barack Obama’s 2008 social media campaign. There are three key reasons that I am excited about this partnership.

1. GOOD Magazine has done a great job of building a community of socially- conscious and purpose-driven individuals and businesses who are engaged in the latest technology to help drive their social impact in the world. As such, their brand has developed a very powerful story that continues to inspire an active and committed community.

2. The sale of Jumo to GOOD marries Jumo’s network of activists and nearly 15,000 socially driven organizations with GOOD’s own community of 3 million monthly users. This means the partnership scales both the community of GOOD and the impact that they can have by working together.

3. This partnership represents a powerful marriage of brand storytelling and social technology that I believe is key to creating an effective social change today.

If the private sector is to leverage social technology and play a meaningful role in social change, it requires effective storytelling to make the necessary emotional connection to a individual, and social media platforms that allow them to then take action. Both GOOD and Jumo demonstrate great sensitivity to the importance of the user interface, recognizing that the role of a brand is to empower the user rather than celebrate themselves. In doing so, they inspire the community to take ownership of the brand’s purpose or a specific cause, and ultimately it is these brand ambassadors that will build the community and drive the tangible difference on the ground. No doubt GOOD will also expand its design aesthetic to the platform further enhancing the user experience and inspiring engagement.

When you combine powerful storytelling, emotional connection, social media and an attractive and seamless engagement platform there’s almost nothing you can’t achieve. Congrats to GOOD and Jumo for getting so much right and I’m truly excited for the users and the people whose lives they will transform.

What do you think of the partnership? What do you hope it will achieve?