MeaningMatters

This week, I'm working with the Alliance of California Traditional Arts to raise money online as a precursor to a more robust face to face and online campaign this fall. If you're interested in our project, go to http://acta.chipin.com/video-camera to see what we're doing. At the time of this writing, we've already raised ten per cent of our goal. If you'd like to donate a small amount, we'll keep you in the loop regarding our progress as well as lessons learned at the end.

The Alliance in recent years has been using the acronym ACTA. I've read several places recently (apologies that I can't cite the source) that acronyms communicate very little, particularly to those unfamiliar with the group. So IBM might be able to communicate who they are (vs. International Business Machines), but it's more difficult for small organizations, particularly non-profits. I recommended that ACTA use 'the alliance' or 'traditional arts alliance' in their written materials vs. ACTA.

Similarly, APAP (usually pronounced a-pap) might consider using Arts Presenters or Arts Presenters Association. Similarly, when I chose the name for my LLC, I chose MeaningMatters vs. Yoshitomi and associates. The brain mapping folks suggest that our brain reacts differently when we hear the term 'The Alliance' vs. ACTA. Reminds me that I should stop using CKO and always use Chief Knowledge Officer.

I'd be interested to hear other's comments.