Where’s the future of activism?
—from the Mother Jones 2008 Student Activism Survey
- 69 percent of students cited “donating money to a cause or charity”
- An equal proportion cited “using eco-friendly or ‘green’ business practices.”
- 68 percent cited “fair labor practices” (down slightly from top ranking last year)
- Also of note, almost half (49 percent) give brands a hint on what might sway them: social messages incorporated into advertising have an effect.
—from Alloy Media + Marketing’s recently release 8th annual College Explorer study
The Rock the Vote site within the Xbox Live network has downloadable Gamerpics, which can be added to an individual’s Xbox Live profile, in support of Barrack [sic] Obama or John McCain, the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees, respectively. There’s also voter registration information and Rock the Vote videos.
Banner ads on the Dashboard — the central hub of Xbox Live — will point people toward the Rock the Vote content. After downloading the “I registered” pic, members will get voter registration information via e-mail.
—Seattle Times story on Microsoft’s partnership with RocktheVote aimed at outreach to online gamers
“Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City” is a comprehensive social networking website featuring an educational “game” experience where participants are encouraged to act in support of New Orleans residents. The site provides links to a variety of relief groups as well as information about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina including multiple timelines, analysis of media coverage, and supporting articles for all information presented.
—Press release for Global Kids’ latest civic gaming project
In their first joint appearance since the party conventions, presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama will discuss service and civic engagement in the post-9/11, post-Katrina world during the primetime televised “ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum” on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 11, hosted by Columbia University in the City of New York, as part of the ServiceNation Summit.
—Columbia University press release on ServiceNation Summit
Entry Filed under: digital learning skills, participatory media, social networking
September 4th, 2008 at 05:04pm
Deen Freelon
Permalink
This year is different.
The media are calling 2008 “The Year of the Young Voter.” Whatever you want to call it, something is definitely happening. There’s a level of excitement this country hasn’t seen in a long time. We have an opportunity to show the world that students can self-organize, and actually start working toward a common goal. We don’t claim to have the answer, but if you’re interested in giving it a shot, read on.
Your Revolution is here. Imagine the power of a social utility like Facebook, combined with the ability to register to vote instantly online, and a set of dynamic tools designed for activists and organizers. Your Revolution has created a Facebook application which takes advantage of Washington and Arizona’s new online voter registration legislation. The Facebook application allows the user to register to vote in a matter of minutes directly from their profile.
The application includes a peer pressure aspect as well, as it scans your friends list and cross references the respective secretary of state website to see who is and who has not registered to vote, and puts this in a visual percentage. The application then gives you the opportunity to invite your friends to register to vote. Even if they are not from WA or AZ they can use the Rock the Vote interface which automatically generates the correct form to complete and mail in for every other U.S. state. Check it at: www.yourrevolution.org Needless to say the viral potency of this application the amount of people who will be given the opportunity to register to vote from such an easy platform will be tremendous. We’re taking advantage of the viral potential and huge user base of Facebook to really make a difference in this election, and in politics in the future. The project has already become quite popular, and it’s going to be a serious political force in the months to come, especially among student voters. We’re working successfully with lawmakers in other states to open online voter registration systems (right now, we’re co-authoring legislation in Oregon as part of a wider package of voter access proposals).
We realized, however, that we could accomplish our ultimate goals much better if we built Your Revolution into a more robust application. So, that’s what we did. It now has a full set of features designed specifically for student groups and non-profits. Many activist groups are already using Facebook to manage their projects; we looked at their needs, and developed custom features that allow them to better coordinate with volunteers, organize groups, projects and events, and—most exciting of all—the ability to assign tasks, retain communication with interested individuals, and coordinate with other groups and organizations with similar interests.
A website does not mean that you have a web presence. To be an effective marketer you need to bring the product to the crowd, not let them come you. Facebook has become the most efficient and effective space for increasing and creating visibility.
*68 million users with 250,000 new registrants all day.
*50% of Facebook users are now over the age of 25
* Average Facebook user spends 20 minutes on the site every day, more than Google, MSN, and YAHOO combined.
* Facebook has 85% market penetration in college students
Washington Caucus Example:
Washington State democratic caucuses 2008: On Facebook, one person in our group who spent 90 minutes collecting information and invited 30 people join an event to participate and motivate friends to as well.
*In 4 days over 14,000 people were invited with approximately 2,000 people listed as accepted to attend. Washington State went on to have record numbers at the caucuses all across the state.
* No external evangelism, phone calls, emails or faxes were deployed.
* Over 200 comments, pictures, videos, and testimonials posted.
Entry Filed under: participatory media, social networking, youth recruitment
April 25th, 2008 at 09:12pm
Dylan
Permalink
by Allison Fine
I find it very interesting how often people believe that social networking sites simply take off on their own, unaided and without any nurturing. I met with an advocacy group that is creating their own social networking site (of course, we all need our own sites since no other social networking sites exist!) They were so very concerned about the functionality of the site - do the buttons work right, is the navigation good, etc. Great, I said, so why exactly do busy people need more friends and if they do, why do they need to be on your site to have them?
I had just read Britt Bravo’s excellent piece on questions groups should ask themselves about building online communities. I think the questions apply whether one is working within an organization or just with a bunch of friends. The questions are easy and clear, although it’s always astonishing to me how seldom groups actually ask themselves things like, “why would our users/members/participants/donors want or need this new tool?” and “how will we engage people?”
If we want people to come together and build relationships around issues, it’s critically important that we designate people to be what Valdes Krebs calls, “network weavers.” The weavers have to give the network purpose, they have to connect people, stoke conversations, share information and organize on land meetings when necessary (and as
much as I hate them, they are actually necessary!) Too often, we think that these functions are simply going to happen, organizers have to make sure they happen. Communities rarely form themselves, they have to be nurtured. As Seth Godin points out here, online organizing is a crucial, poorly understood, but critical position. If I were counseling a young person interested in a career in social change, I would strongly suggest they train and practice being an online organizer since it includes all of the organizing, listening, facilitating, communicating and connecting skills that will make them successful in whatever else they do.
Allison Fine is a Senior Fellow at Demos: A Network of Ideas and Action.
Entry Filed under: practitioners and scholars, social networking
April 11th, 2008 at 03:38pm
guestblogger
Permalink
