Alexandra Mann- Outside Reading
1.30.17

I have been reading through a book titled, Any Media Necessary. This book describes how the youth (teens and twenties) in America are getting involved in politics through social media outlets.

Let's rewind a couple of years. Do you remember KONY 2012? Everyone was sharing a video on Facebook. This video was made by a small non-profit, Invisible Children. Invisible Children had no idea how much publicity this video would receive, but it sky rocketed. Hundreds of thousands of the youth in America were watching a video about a warlord named Joseph Kony. He was the leader of the LRA and thousands of children were under his control. Cue Invisible Children. They simplified this very intense story into a few minute video clip. It was brilliant. People all around the world were sharing this video. A problem occurred. They began to receive lots of criticism. These criticisms were based off of the fact that the video was just being shared and there was no way to get involved and stop Kony. So, they had to create a way for followers of the movement to donate and get involved. Then, they made a full length documentary and held donor parties. Many celebrities made appearances, but in the end, they realized there was no real way to stop Kony through this movement.

You might ask,"What is the point of this story?"
The point is that when trying to create a social media movement, you must have content that is sustainable. There must be a tangible end goal. Facebook fame alone cannot change anything.