Social media. There’s no denying it has become a powerful tool for activism. Every political campaign now involves social media in one way or another. Every public issue will be mentioned on Twitter or Facebook at some point. But it’s interesting to see the different effects it can have. It can cause outrage, and it can bring people together. Sometimes both. It can raise awareness, and it can distort the truth. This is because everyone has a voice on social media, but is this always a good thing? Social media can definitely work positively, but it can also work against you.
Kony 2012 shows how social media doesn’t always work. When the video first came out, I watched it, and I was moved, like many others were. I shared it and got involved in many an argument over it. Many people thought it was going to be this huge movement and we were going to catch Kony. That’s the thing about social media: it has the power to draw you in and makes you feel like you’re a part of something. As we know, the Kony campaign failed miserably. I think it relied too much on social media. The message was distorted, rumours spread like wildfire, and lies were told. The plan was to “make him famous” – and we found ourselves asking, “then what?” There was no clear direction, no clear management on what was supposed to happen.
On the other hand, the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns relied heavily on social media and arguable helped him secure the Presidency. He was one of the first politicians to use social media on such a large scale and it certainly worked for him. I think the reason he was so successful is that he used it from the start and allowed a gradual build up, while at the same time also using more traditional campaign tactics. He was really organised about it. And I think that’s where the Kony campaign failed. It all happened so quickly and didn’t have the organisational skills to keep the campaign going.
I think the lesson here is that we need to be careful with social media and activism. Although it is a great tool, you need to know how to use it properly. If not used properly it can get out of control and the message can be lost. Social media rarely works on it’s own. It’s a way of getting people involved, and once you have the people, you can start organising other forms of activism. Social media gets the news out there, but activism needs more than just retweets and Facebook shares.
Expensive Wednesdays 