Twitter’s Proactive Path to Tweep Empowerment

The quotTweepsquot Twitter team members on the panel were Godis Rivera global director of culture and community Karl Robillard corporate philanthropy and community outreach manager Gladys Perez senior manager for inclusion and diversity and Thomas Ngo Aquino global wellness program partnerquotWe have to show up for our folks on the platform and quickly ramp up to understand the complexities of the issues at handquot said Rivera quotWe can39t sit on the sidelines If we39re silent we39re complicitquotThe idea said Robillard is to quotbring the company and the community together as a force for good We want to feel the community feel the inclusion We need to do it all togetherquot He pointed out that the last year and a half was exceptional quotWith something awful and really really traumatizing coming at us nearly every day We probably need a year to recover from last yearquotPerez said it39s the Twitter team39s responsibility to quickly process major news events for internal consumption and also to bring in outside experts with diversity experience to provide context on the platform quotWe create an emoji and say 39Here39s where you can donate39 We want people to feel proud of their company and feel supported they39ll know these conversations are not tabooquotquotOnce it39s happening and trending like the murder of George Floyd you feel it in the pit of your stomachquot Robillard added quotIt39s something that was universally felt and it had an impact on our focus and priorities To the fullest extent possible we democratize the process to help us identify the best way to focusquot He said that by quickly reacting and connecting employees to resources donations increased by 5X from 2019 to 2021quotWe build a little tool connect the dots between a news event and making a donation step back and the Tweeps do the restquot Robillard said quotWe empower employees transparently and vocally to make change It39s a team effortquotquotWhen major events happen it39s our job to serve and feature the tweets from the most marginalizedquot Perez added quotWe also find the professionals who identify with the community to provide racially informed therapy and put them on the calendar And we link to resources for people who want to do more We start with those marginalized folks and build out from therequotAquino positioned what his teammates do quotWe don39t touch the productquot he said quotWe support people who touch the platform and scale for other users adding depth and diversity to become more inclusive It39s not just from a white male cisgender perspective Traditionally wellness has been defined by that group but it doesn39t reflect everyone in the world That39s why we bring in Indigenous AfricanAmerican and Asian speakers as part of culturebuilding at TwitterquotTwitter39s philanthropic focus areas include online safety sustainability pay equity and equality quotBut we have to show that we are listening to what is happening in the world and that takes us into freedom of speech and civil libertiesquot said Robillard quotIt becomes incumbent on us to connect the dots and bring in key partners which may be tiny organizations based in Brooklyn It39s an age of reckoning for philanthropyquotTwitter39s work shows that the old corporate approach with employee donations pooled to support only the most mainstream charities are no longer working quotWe have to make sure we can give back to the many communities touched by Twitterquot Rivera said quotAnd that may not mean giving to the big organizations that are traditionally supportedquotSamira AbdulKarim is a cofounder of Hyphens and Spaces and a diversity and inclusion expert who worked at several companies and universities quotAt larger companies like Twitter it39s not completely unusual now to use these methodsquot she said quotSome companies take their own money and donate and others will make donations to racial justice organizations linked to their employees completing an action such as an online survey We39ve seen a big shift since George Floyd39s killingquotOne welcome development AbdulKarim said is corporations in the wake of George Floyd and the murder of six Asian women in Atlanta that have moved to support African American and Asianowned businesses with internships scholarships and training quotThis approach recognizes the systematic nature of what we39re dealing withquot she saidAbdulKarim also recognizes the growing shift from large pooled employee and corporate donations to mainstream groups quotFolks are realizing that with middleoftheroad organizations there39s not a lot of boundary pushingquot she said quotYou can39t expect these organizations to make real change that will come locally from the grassrootsquotClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Twitter’s Proactive Path to Tweep Empowerment

Author

Publish date

Channel

Jim Motavalli

Breaking Barriers: Nada Bradbury’s AD-ID Strategy for Advertising Effectiveness and Women in Tech - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Twitter’s Proactive Path to Tweep Empowerment

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jim Motavalli

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

TAGS:

Breaking Barriers: Nada Bradbury’s AD-ID Strategy for Advertising Effectiveness and Women in Tech - By E.B. Moss

Cookies