Mixed fortunes for Africa’s rhinos

New surveys depict extremely grim future for two of Africa's six rhino sub-species: the West African black and the northern white, while overall continental black rhino and southern white rhino are recovering...

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From original source @ http://www.iucn.org/

Species Survival 2.0 - Part II

The latest on the "Save the Animals" Facebook application I have adopted with hopeful scrutiny.

So far I have "saved" 3 sq. ft. of habitat and have enlisted 20 friends in the cause. I hope to involve more as I have unlocked all 21 endangered species which include the Polar Bear, Amur Leopard and the Blue-Footed Booby. So far only one complaint - what gives with not including a species of Rhino?!? I know, this isn't supposed to be about species favoritism but I have contacted the developer of the application and you can bet I'm going to ask how the 21 species were selected. Should prove interesting even if the truth is that selecting the species was completely random.

So for a refresher to all just tuning in: "Save the Animals" was developed by the World Wildlife Fund to use on Facebook so their sponsors will contribute money to save and preserve animal habitats.

I hope to secure a list of the sponsors they refer to as well as species info. Overall, my hope is this blog can be a home to the life story of the application as a reference for the rest of us. Stay tuned...

Hey - check out the new graphic!

Species Survival 2.0

The World Wildlife Fund recently launched the new Facebook application - "Save The Animals" along with several other social marketing platforms. I've become a real fan of Facebook and these types of notifications even though we all have those Facebook friends who just spam you with plants and stuff. But I digress. I really want to see this work for obvious reason but because I also noticed this little sentence in the description of the application: "After expenses in running this application, we will donate revenue to funding various wildlife and conservation projects around the world."

My initial questions are - how much does the cost of running the application affect the overall goal? Does this prevent people from giving toward the project because they feel they might be paying for overhead? Does this affect other organizations who have the idea to run a similar application but might not have the brand strength to support it and see results?

Right now the application itself has more than 900 fans. In addition, the WWF has two "cause" sections you can join with more than 356,000 fans who have raised more than $12,000 through Facebook. Both of those sections seem to point to the same WWF cause page which makes me wonder why there are two of them with different numbers of fans and funds raised. I imagine WWF did it for a reason and might have tried or is currently trying to combine those if even possible.

Ultimately this is a great service and I want to see it work so I became a "fan" of the application and have started sending the different animals/habitats to my friends. I've unlocked 76% or 16 of the 21 featured species from the application so far.

I'll also be contacting the admin of the service to see what insight they might be able to offer and how they feel this type of application helps, why they chose to include it in their marketing plan and what they see as a goal.

Stay tuned as I find out more and let me know what you think.

Twenty-four North American Zoos and Aquariums Earn AZA Accreditation

Silver Spring, Maryland (September 26, 2008) - The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) today announced the results of its September accreditation hearings. Twenty-four zoos and aquariums across North America were granted AZA accreditation by its independent Accreditation Commission.

• Blank Park Zoo - Des Moines, IA
• Bronx Zoo - The Bronx, NY
• Brookgreen Gardens - Pawleys Island, SC
• The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House - St.Louis, MO
• Buttonwood Park Zoo - New Bedord, MA
• Calgary Zoo - Calgary, Canada
• Chattanooga Zoo - Chattanooga, TN
• Chehaw Wild Animal Park - Albany, GA
• Clyde Peeling's Reptiland - Allenwood, PA
• Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo - Bridgeport, CT
• Fort Wayne Children's Zoo - Fort Wayne, IN
• Henry Vilas Zoo - Madison, WI
• International Crane Foundation - Barraboo, WI
• Maryland Zoo in Baltimore - Baltimore, MD
• Milwaukee County Zoo - Milwaukee, WI
• Oglebay's Good Zoo - Wheeling, WV
• Oklahoma City Zoo - Oklahoma City, OK
• Peoria Zoo - Peoria, IL
• Queens Zoo - Flushing, NY
• Riverside Zoo - Scottsbluff, NE
• Rosamond Gifford Zoo - Syracuse, NY
• Seneca Park Zoo - Rochester, NY
• Smithsonian National Zoo - Washington, DC
• Virginia Zoo - Norfolk, VA

© Copyright 2008 Association of Zoos and Aquariums. All Rights Reserved.

A word on beginnings

In his book, The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki suggests that every new endeavor should "make meaning." Basically, if you think you can change the world then get going about doing it.

SocialAnimal.org was created out of a late night flash of creativity and continued realizations about a unique market set. As a website or marketing endeavor it might not change the world per se, but the hope is to at least exist as the following, for now:

• An online resource/forum for that special species of marketer - the Zoo & Aquarium marketer.

SocialAnimal.org - Respect begins with knowledge.

Rhino Stress = Educational Opportunity?

“Rhinos tend to be shy and elusive, how does ecotourism affect them?” - Rachel Santymire, Lincoln Park Zoo

A great question and really, a question that leads to the bigger understanding of why Zoos and Aquariums do what they do and how that affects their existence as attractions. For example, families come and enjoy the sight of these animals, hopefully learn something about diet or habitat, and then go home. Kudos to the PR/Marketing team at the Lincoln Park Zoo because the fact that they got this release in the paper means that education is continuing outside the Zoo walls. Think about what releases you have in the wings besides event openings or attendance numbers because stories like this will ultimately feed those essentials but also elevate a Zoo above its brand.

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