February 2025

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 feb 2025

Online giving and fundraising are an important component of nonprofit functioning in the tech-enhanced environment. Social media is an important tool in online fundraising strategies of nonprofits. The Blackbaud Institute's '2023 Trends in Giving Spotlight' report finds that online giving amounted to an estimated 12% of all nonprofit fundraising in 2023. According to the research study, 'Message Content and Diversity as an Effective Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy on Social Media', by Prof. Abhishek Bhati of Bowling Green State University and Prof. Diarmuid McDonnell of University of West Scotland, published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (December, 2024), 'When nonprofits use multiple strategies during their online fundraising campaigns, such as thanking donors for their support, telling the public about their missions and conveying how they are helping people, they receive more donations than if they stick to only one kind of post.' Prof. Bhati says, 'Previous research ['The Role of Social Media in Nonprofit Organizations' Fundraising' by academics from University of Burgos (Spain) - Teresa Elvira-Lorilla, Inigo Garcia-Rodriguez, M. Elena Romero-Merino, Marcos Santamaria-Mariscal], including our own, has found that when nonprofits frequently post on social media platforms, they can encourage donations by engaging followers as well as their extended networks. Taking the strategy our study supports - making different kinds of posts - could help nonprofits beyond simply getting more donations. We suspect that it may also reduce donor fatigue.' Read on...

The Conversation: Nonprofits get more donations when they vary their Facebook fundraising messages - New research
Author: Abhishek Bhati

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 20 feb 2025

The research study, 'Leveraging Big Data Analytics for Understanding Consumer Behavior in Digital Marketing: A Systematic Review', by Prof. Leonidas Theodorakopoulos and Prof. Alexandra Theodoropoulou from Department of Management Science and Technology at University of Patras (Greece), explores the potential of big data to offer deep insights into consumer preferences and behaviors. Extracting insights from huge datasets allow businesses to personalize marketing strategies that result in better customer satisfaction and engagement. Researchers utilized the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology to synthesize existing literature to evaluate the benefits of big data in digital marketing. Researchers say, 'The integration of big data analytics in digital marketing fundamentally enhances organizations' ability to understand and influence consumer behavior. This analysis focuses on metrics such as page visits, time spent on pages, clicks, navigation patterns, and search queries, which allow marketers to tailor strategies effectively to meet consumer needs. This comprehensive data collection facilitates the creation of highly personalized marketing strategies that resonate with individual consumer preferences and behaviors. Moreover, user engagement, defined as the degree of interaction and involvement a user has with a website or digital platform, is a crucial variable. High levels of user engagement indicate that the content and design of a website effectively capture and retain user interest. By measuring metrics such as average time spent on a page, the number of pages visited per session, and click-through rates, marketers can gain valuable insights into user preferences and optimize their digital content accordingly. This detailed understanding of user interaction helps improve user experience and boosts engagement rates.' The practical applications for businesses and marketers from the insights gained by this systematic review are - Enhanced personalization; Optimized user experience; Predictive analytics; Customer journey mapping. Read on...

Wiley Online Library: Leveraging Big Data Analytics for Understanding Consumer Behavior in Digital Marketing: A Systematic Review
Authors: Leonidas Theodorakopoulos, Alexandra Theodoropoulou, Alhamzah Alnoor

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 19 feb 2025

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Architecture Biennale will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 in Venice, Italy. This year's theme, 'Titled Intelligens Natural Artificial Collective', will focus on how architecture takes a flexible and active role in adapting to changing times by taking advantage of all kinds of intelligence, natural, artificial and collective. Carlo Ratti, an architect and engineer, and presently the director of the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and also faculty at Politecnico di Milano, is the curator of the Venice Biennale. He says, 'Architecture has always been a response to a hostile climate. From the earliest 'primitive hut', human design has been led by the need for shelter and survival, driven by optimism: our creations have always strived to bridge the gap between a harsh environment and the safe, livable spaces we require. Today, that dynamic approach is being taken to a new level - as climate becomes less forgiving...The year 2024 marked a grim milestone as Earth registered its hottest temperatures on record...For decades, architecture’s response to the climate crisis has been centered on mitigation - designing to reduce our impact on the climate. But that approach is no longer enough. The time has come for architecture to embrace adaptation: rethinking how we design for an altered world...This year's exhibition invites different types of intelligence to work together to rethink the built environment...In the time of adaptation, architecture is at the center and must lead with optimism. In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to draw on all forms of intelligence - natural, artificial, collective. In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to reach out across generations and across disciplines - from the hard sciences to the arts. In the time of adaptation, architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive, learning from science. Architecture must become as flexible and dynamic as the world we are now designing for.' According to Ratti, addaptation demands inclusivity and collaboration and Intelligens will serve as a 'dynamic laboratory' that unites experts across various forms of intelligence. Moreover, curating on this scale required a fundamental shift in methodology and an interdisciplinary curatorial team has led the open, bottom-up selection process. The participant pool spans generation and is very inclusive with wide variety of viewpoints, ranging from new graduates to Nobel laureates, Pritzker winners, and senior acedemics and researchers. A more inclusive authorship model is also applied that achnowledges all the diverse voices that influence design. In this age of adaptability Venice Biennale also needs to work with other international organizations to widen horizon and understanding. Read on...

World Architecture Community: Carlo Ratti: 'Architecture Must Rethink Authorship And Become More Inclusive, Learning From Science'
Author: NA