Mai Be - Music from my May 2012.

wolffolinsblog made it pretty clear:

The KONY 2012 Brand

By Danielle Horanieh

We are reminded daily that fame doesn’t always come with praise, adoration or appreciation. It can highlight the disgust and contempt society has for a person, an idea, a company or cause.

As I’m writing this, you’ve no doubt already encountered the name Joseph Kony. The video above, campaigning to have him arrested, was posted on YouTube last Monday, went viral all over the world, was endorsed by George Clooney and has now been viewed close to 60 million times on YouTube alone.

Jason Russell, the young filmmaker who made the video and founder of Invisible Children, the organization behind Kony 2012, has been pretty explicit about his goal. The video’s description says it “aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.”

No one I know had heard of him a week ago, but thanks to Russell’s film and the power of share-happy internet society, Kony is on his way to becoming a household name. What made Russell’s message so sticky is the way in which he’s communicated it. 

Though his production has been criticized by some as too slick and “Hollywood,” his video has certainly captured our attention and appealed to our emotions. For me, it was the introduction of Jacob Acaye, the young man Russell met on a visit to Uganda ten years ago, who inspired him to start Invisible Children. Acaye had been forced to watch his brother brutally murdered during one of Kony’s abductions. In the video, he tells Russell something truly unforgettable about the war. “It is better when you kill us…for us, we don’t want now to stay.” Heartbreaking.

In the age of digital activism, it’s easy to spread an idea and create awareness. If you can make it as simple and light touch as clicking share on Facebook or YouTube, which to many people on social media has become like an involuntary spasm, you are satiating their desire to feel good by spreading good.  Though of course there’s debate on the real-life impact of internet-life action. 

Twitter’s top trends more commonly include celebrities than fugitive militants. But by Wednesday, Uganda, Invisible Children and #stopkony were among the top 10 trending terms on Twitter (in the U.S. and in the world), ranking higher than New iPad or Peyton Manning.

The anger and outrage by millions of people has caused a groundswell. But as with anything that creates this much attention, criticism is sure to follow. In this case, people are concerned with Invisible Children’s tactics and oversimplification of the problem. Ce­rtainly, it’s important to approach genocide and child abductions with as much context as possible. But in defense of Invisible Children, they are upfront in their video that their mission is simply to make Joseph Kony famous and raise support for his arrest. In essence, Russell has created a brand—a purpose, a message, and a rich user experience—to achieve his goal.

At the moment, it’s hard to know if 60 million views will get Kony arrested or protect more children from experiences like Acaye’s. Still, having reached an online population the size of the UK in less than a week, it’s fair to say something major has been accomplished.

 

 

1 year ago - 5

inspirationehrensache:

“Trust me, I work in advertising.”

(Source: madmendaily, via inspirationehrensache)

1 year ago - 163

Happy February 2012!

Sad February 2012