The Homogenized Imagery of Non-Profit Organizations on the Internet

Abstract

This research evaluates websites from 200 'non-deviant' and 200 'deviant' non-profit organizations to better understand the relationship between the type of advocacy group and the visual imagery used for self-representation. Seventeen of 21 variables measured for this study found no difference between non-deviant and deviant non-profit organizations' visual representations on the Internet. These findings potentially complicate the notion of a diverse communicative sphere. As non-profits face the responsibility of representing themselves to potentially millions of viewers online, it is suggested that self-imposed 'normalizing' restrictions on visual constructions of organizational identity may be inevitable. The societal implications of homogenized imagery from non-profit organizations online are discussed.