I was still naively sanguine that my peculiar plan had legs. But I got an updated lesson on how hard it is to effect change using social media, even with a seemingly novel blueprint. I know that I don’t need ten million people to view my video and circulate my strange idea to achieve my plan of singing for women on the mend—rather, I just need the one right person to learn of it. But a million sharing dendrites help, and reaching this number of transactions is damn hard.
I’m still thinking of ways to push my plan of coupling a journalist with one of the world’s biggest rockstars to record a holiday song for battered women. And if it works out I’ll be singing all the way to sub-Sahara. I’m reminded, though, that the vast networks that let us do so many things are also among the distractions that curb attention required to do them.
Well said. I also think there is a play on an emotional level when it comes to sharing on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc). It's okay to share comic relief, even political voices, but no one wants to "bother" their friends by passing on "charity" work - no matter how noble. We are running into that as we try to raise funds for SudaneseLife.com. While our best of friends may post the cause on our wall (myself included), we won't take the time to reach out on a personal level. So many causes, so much hurt in the world. As population increases, it can only get worse.
#1 Posted by Senica Gonzalez, CJR on Fri 6 Jan 2012 at 03:42 PM