We're excited to see fascinating commentary and photos rolling in on the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)'s new blog. These real-world, real-time testimonials connect global audiences to very on-the-ground experiences in rural Africa.















We worked with AWF to plan this effort, so it is particularly useful to learn lessons along the way. After launching this WordPress blog in April, AWF dispatched staffer Paul Thomson, with laptop and Blackberry in hand, to tackle the technology, staffing, and storytelling challenges of reporting live from the field rather than from the home office.

Eight weeks later, Paul has sent us the following insights:

“I had no idea people would be so interested in my stories! It is been really encouraging. ExOfficio clothing company has even taken notice, and we're exploring ways to possibly work together.”

“Technology challenges inhibit the ability to post stories while they're still fresh in mind. For example, right now I'm in a really cool Lion research camp in Samburu District, Kenya. Would love to post but, in fact, I'm going to hike up a rocky hill just to see if I can get Blackberry connection to send this email.”

“We didn't think AWF field staff would like it, but many of them now want to start blogging more!”

“Uploading photos to WordPress is difficult when the remote internet connection is slow and cuts off frequently.”

And, this work also highlights an important challenge many of us face, how to make sure authentic staff blogging (genuine voices from the front lines!) stay in balance with the more formal communications and reporting responsibilities our organizations face. AWF seems to be doing a great job so far.

Good luck Paul and AWF team! We'll be watching.