Social Media Activism
A very interesting thing has been happening on the Internet this week. Avatars on social networking sites and blogs have been going black. The reason for this is an online protest led by the Creative Freedom Foundation in New Zealand against the upcoming implementation of a controversial legislation amendment for copyright protection.
What has made this protest interesting is the way and the speed that the message spread. Within hours of the campaign kicking off, the message had spread around the world and even people in other countries were taking part to show their support for their New Zealand peers. This was helped greatly by the endorsement and participation of Stephen Fry who, with over 200,000 followers on Twitter, likely has the largest reach in social networking. Promptly after Mr Fry publicly showed his support, a good percentage of his followers followed suit – several of these with thousands of supporters themselves.
Some people outside of New Zealand likely joined the campaign as some perceived Internet meme; however, many did their own reading into the reasons behind the campaign and joined it – either in support of New Zealand, or recognising that the same thing could happen to their own country. As more joined the cause, their social networking contacts also questioned what the story is, and the “spider’s web” grew.
I’m not sure if this is a first in social media, but this appears to have been the most effective. The end-results have yet to be determined as the campaign has not finished; however, this online success has lead to mainstream media from around the world covering the campaign and back-story, and the New Zealand politicians taking more serious notice of the issue. It has also led to “real world” actions such as protests and a petition being presented to the New Zealand government.
The way this campaign has proceeded would be like a “holy grail” for marketing and advertising firms. If they could leverage off this, they’d stand to get their message across to a very large market segment. For example, if Stephen Fry agreed to endorse Coke Zero, that endorsement would reach an international audience of over 200,000 potential customers and at a fraction of the cost that it would take to reach the same market through conventional methods. The same could also be done for political elections or activist causes like Greenpeace, but I doubt it would have the same effectiveness as a grassroots cause like this. In addition, I doubt that another campaign like this would have quite as much uptake for the same reasons that Internet memes die out.
I’m interested to see how this campaign closes out and how quickly the social networking sites return to normal. One thing is for sure, even if this is attempted again in the future for other causes, this campaign has been a trailblazer and New Zealanders appear to have led in innovation again.
What has made this protest interesting is the way and the speed that the message spread. Within hours of the campaign kicking off, the message had spread around the world and even people in other countries were taking part to show their support for their New Zealand peers. This was helped greatly by the endorsement and participation of Stephen Fry who, with over 200,000 followers on Twitter, likely has the largest reach in social networking. Promptly after Mr Fry publicly showed his support, a good percentage of his followers followed suit – several of these with thousands of supporters themselves.
Some people outside of New Zealand likely joined the campaign as some perceived Internet meme; however, many did their own reading into the reasons behind the campaign and joined it – either in support of New Zealand, or recognising that the same thing could happen to their own country. As more joined the cause, their social networking contacts also questioned what the story is, and the “spider’s web” grew.
I’m not sure if this is a first in social media, but this appears to have been the most effective. The end-results have yet to be determined as the campaign has not finished; however, this online success has lead to mainstream media from around the world covering the campaign and back-story, and the New Zealand politicians taking more serious notice of the issue. It has also led to “real world” actions such as protests and a petition being presented to the New Zealand government.
The way this campaign has proceeded would be like a “holy grail” for marketing and advertising firms. If they could leverage off this, they’d stand to get their message across to a very large market segment. For example, if Stephen Fry agreed to endorse Coke Zero, that endorsement would reach an international audience of over 200,000 potential customers and at a fraction of the cost that it would take to reach the same market through conventional methods. The same could also be done for political elections or activist causes like Greenpeace, but I doubt it would have the same effectiveness as a grassroots cause like this. In addition, I doubt that another campaign like this would have quite as much uptake for the same reasons that Internet memes die out.
I’m interested to see how this campaign closes out and how quickly the social networking sites return to normal. One thing is for sure, even if this is attempted again in the future for other causes, this campaign has been a trailblazer and New Zealanders appear to have led in innovation again.
Join the Internet Blackout - Protest Against Guilt Upon Accusation Laws in NZ
Join The New Zealand Internet BlackOut to protest against a law called Section92A due on February 28th that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny.
Join thousands of New Zealanders already against this law by blacking out your Facebook photo, your websites, your Myspace pages, your Twitter account, in protest against this insane new law that may come into effect on February 28.
See more information on the Creative Freedom Foundation website.
Join thousands of New Zealanders already against this law by blacking out your Facebook photo, your websites, your Myspace pages, your Twitter account, in protest against this insane new law that may come into effect on February 28.
See more information on the Creative Freedom Foundation website.
