U.S. Postal service new commercial

I was working late and heard something about a “virus not attacking a cork board” on TV. I looked up and saw a new commercial for the USPS promoting sending mail the old fashion way.

Whats interesting to me is that most places I have a “bill” with ask me to consider the environment and opt-in for electronic statements. I prefer the electronic method rather than having my mailbox full of random papers not to mention the effect all this waste has on the environment.

I feel like the USPS is stretching really far with this ad. I don’t think their arguments are very ingenious.

What do you think? Does the ad make you want to go mail a letter?

You be the judge:

Love By Action

A couple of weeks ago we launched the new Love By Action site (www.lovebyaction.org). Love By Action is a new organization whose purpose is to serve those in poverty, specifically in a slum area of Nairobi called ‘Mathare’.

Organizations like Love By Action are the reason why Joshua One:Six exists.

Earlier this year we were able to travel to Nairobi, Kenya to see the work they are doing first hand. Seeing and being a part of the work happening on the ground allowed us to see the heart and catch the vision for their work, this has helped us to tell their story more effectively.

We’ve partnered with them to create their branding, website, social media, video and photography.

Because of our involvement with this organization we have learned a little bit more about ourselves and will be revising some of what we do here at j16. We will be launching some new ideas and solutions for organizations in the future that we are really excited about.

If you would like to talk with us about your organization and telling your story send us a message.

FMMC – Website Design, Development, Social Media Design

Its been a while since i posted. Its been a crazy few months and it shows no signs of slowing down for the next little while.

Back in February I had the opportunity to launch a brand new website for Fort Myers Master’s Commission. It was a pleasure to work with them on this project since i’ve seen their work first hand as I lived in Fort Myers, FL and have worked with them in the past and actually considered joining their program following High School.

Explicit Truth Assemblies – Website Design, Brand Design, Social Media

Mike Atkins, from Explicit Truth Assemblies, contacted us a few months ago and asked to help them launch their website and social media outlets. We were able to provide branding, website design and development, social media (facebook, twitter, youtube) customization and integration.

www.explicitruthonline.com

www.facebook.com/ExplicitTruthAssemblies

www.twitter.com/Explicit_Truth

New Website and Branding for The Youth Alliance

I’ve had the privilege of working with the South Jersey Youth Alliance on their website, and print materials for the last 4+ years. Recently they began expanding into other states and decided they needed to rebrand and launch a new online presence. We designed a new logo, a new website, and helped them get started with a facebook page.

TheYouthAlliance.com

Storytelling isn’t only for children’s books!

I was catching up with a good friend the other day who is a youth pastor and leads a youth leader network in south Florida. Somehow we got on the subject of water, specifically the lack of it in developing countries.

One thing he said hit me right between the eyes. He said he was looking for an organization that his youth could invest time over the next year raising funds for. He had decided he wanted to find an organization involved in water projects around the world. After narrowing that part of it down he went on a search online looking for the one to choose. He found a few organizations but had a hard time finding the one to invest into.The biggest problem he had was that he kept seeing facts and figures but didn’t really see progress made by the organizations or stories being told. This is not to say those organizations aren’t making progress, they just aren’t telling the story of their impact.

In his words he “needed to find an organization that I could present to my youth group that would motivate them to go out and raise lots of money for. Simply presenting them with facts and figures wouldn’t make a difference.” He said he needed to be able to show them the difference clean water was making in peoples lives. He needed to show them stories of life change.

This is the “why” of Joshua One:Six. Whenever i talk to anyone from Friends to Clients I always advise them that they need to be sharing their stories. Everything on the internet from Youtube, Twitter, Facebook etc has made it so much easier tell your story! Don’t wait for a better time, to borrow from Nike, JUST DO IT!

Is your organization missing out on support because of the lack of storytelling?

Does your organization make a better door than a window?

That’s a term most of us have probably heard.

When talking with organizations about their media and online strategies, the biggest thing I stress is transparency. I am a huge fan of charity: water, not just because of their work but how they share the stories of the people groups they are working with and how they work hard to be open about their  success and their failures with their water projects. This past September I watched their “Live Drill” videos as they attempted to drill a well and weren’t successful. I was so impressed by Scott Harrison, Charity: Water founder, and his openness about the situation and their drive to continue forward. I think sometimes we try to hide our failures because we fear the fallout of support and peoples opinion. But i believe the more open you are the more likely people will be to support you.

It’s no wonder Charity: Water has had the success it has! They have had failures and hard times, they have at times struggled to see their work through, but continue to push forward!

Check out their 2010 recap: http://www.charitywater.org/blog/2010-recap/

You also have to love how much attention they give their media!

Social media is here, are you?

This year I really want to focus on embracing social media even more. Not just to read peoples tweets or Facebook updates but to offer resources, help others understand it and be more available to offer help when possible.

As many others i’m sure, i started to really paying attention to twitter in January 2010, right after the earthquake in Haiti. Somehow I came across Shaun King (@shaunking) and he was making huge moves to help people in Haiti from his location in Atlanta. A few months later, through twitter, I met a man who without really knowing me provided me with a flight, a place to stay and paid for my entrance to The Ideation Conference in Long Beach, California. Since then i’ve made some incredible contacts and friends using social media.

For a lot of companies and organizations 2010 was a time to experiment, test the waters of social media, and see what the buzz was about. From what i’ve seen in the last few days it seems 2011 a lot more will be taking the plunge and investing more resources into it.

I first saw the following slideshow by Jeremiah Owyang on ChurchCrunch.com. It’s got some really interesting information about where companies will be going with social media in 2011.

How invested are you or will you be in social media in 2011?

Here we go, JoshuaOneSix.com Official Launch!

I’ve put this off for a number of reasons for the last 4 years. But this year is it! It’s 1/1/11 and its time to get started. I hope that through Joshua One:Six I can continue to partner with many organizations to help them tell their story!

Keeping this initial post short because theres lots to do, But be sure to keep connected to us:

Facebook:
www.Facebook.com/JoshuaOneSix

Twitter:
www.Twitter.com/JoshuaOneSix

Vimeo:
www.vimeo.com/channels/JoshuaOneSix

Youtube:
www.youtube.com/joshua1six