Andy Smith, author of The Dragonfly Effect

The Dragonfly Effect by Andy Smith combines: 1) good marketing techniques 2) an understanding of social media 3) an understanding of storytelling and emotional appeals and 4) a good mission while doing all this with little or no resources.

A dragonfly has four wings. Each wing represents one of four methodologies of The Dragonfly Effect: i.  Focus ii.  Grab Attention (made you look)  iii.  Engage–story telling that makes people care iv.  Take Action.

One of the most moving stories in The Dragonfly Effect shows how Social Media can Save Lives. It’s the story of Robert Chatwani and Sameer Bhatia a 32-year old leukemia patient. Sameer was diagnosed with leukemia and had a 1:20,000 chance of finding a bone marrow donor. Robert mobilized social media to get over 23,000 people to join the bone marrow registry in a three week period of time. A “social change in a box” product to help others drive change was a by-product of the campaign.

Listen to the entire interview below: