According to Todd Wasserman on Mashable,"KONY 2012" becomes the most viral video in history. Since this topic has been discussed on our blog I thought you would be interested in this update posted on the visible measures blog. http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/news-and-events/blog/bid/79626/Update-Kony-Social-Video-Campaign-Tops-100-Million-Views
Thanks for sharing, Erica. That is an impressive badge of honor. And that reinforces the power of the campaign, regardless of one's opinion on the topic or whether or not the filmmakers did something "wrong."
ReplyDeleteThere were plenty of KONY12 haters, and I keep asking myself: Why?
This op-ed offers a POV. The final two paragraphs sum it all up.
http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/03/09/kony-2012/
Eric, what really struck me about this op-ed is this part... "I would say it’s more about the campaign’s performance than the cause itself. All the attention surrounding KONY 2012 seems to focus mostly on the magnitude of the campaign’s virality and the wonders of social media—a huge distraction from the campaign’s goals." There is no denying the impact of this social campaign and there will always be critics...the question is do they have a point?
ReplyDeleteThey definitely have a point.
DeleteIn a time when all-things social media makes headlines, the public can easily forget the news element. The social campaign becomes the news vs. the other way around.
Who is responsible for keeping the public focused on the cause? Is it up to the media? Or is up to those genuinely interested in the cause to get further involved?
A week ago, I had no idea who Kony was. Now I do, and I can decide if choose to involve myself further. Millions of people are in the same boat.
Invisible Children tapped into three of the most 'engaging' media components available: online video, entertainment and social media. Oh, yes ... and emotion. The masses flock to each one of these things individually. Combined, you've got some serious power.
Just as Gaga & Bieber used social media to promote their entertainment brands, Invisible Children used similar tools to generate awareness. But when a "cause" is involved, the pundits are quick to criticize in a very different way than they would with entertainment.
I'm OK with that. The organization broke social media records -- and they've generated awareness levels that they didn't have a month ago.
I wonder how this would have played out if someone like a Gaga was leading the charge on behalf of Invisible Children. Would the conversations sound the same?
Thank you for this update. I've been following the media on this during the last two days. NPR and NYT covered it and I found the coverage of WNYC very special and not balanced at all.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2012/mar/12/kony-2012s-ripple-effect/