Trendy social media philanthropy can get really annoying. Some people just do it for attention. Some people wont actually financially contribute for whatever reason, but participate in the trend. Some people will financially contribute, and still not know why, but do it because it makes them feel good. Sometimes, the whole idea may seem like its not doing a damn thing. I keep seeing these curmudgeonly articles about the ALS #IceBucketChallenge saying things like, OMG so many people are dumping ice on their heads and nobody knows what its for and its not doing anything and youre all stupid. But, heres the thing: the very fact that these articles exist dilutes their own argument. Heres how advertising, public relations and social media works: its in the numbers, and its in the word of mouth. You find a channel that has a lot of people that your cause/product might appeal to, and you blast it out to everyone. The hope is that a even a small percentage of those people will pick up on it, the idea/news spreads like wildfire, sales increase, etc., etc. The more people you share it with, the more potential you have to succeed. Malcolm Gladwell writes about the notion of contagious ideas/news/movements in his book, The Tipping Point: “That is the paradox of the epidemic: that in order to create one contagious movement, you often have to create many small movements first.” We see that very thing happening with remarkable speed with the #IceBucketChallenge. So, just like in the world, in general, with every other movement or news story, a large percentage of folks participating in a trendy social media charity thing might be doing it for what you think may be the wrong reasons. Yeah, some idiot might just want to dump ice on their head. But theres some other kid who sees this stupid ice video and Googles what the hell it is. It links them back to articles about the challenge and ALS. Theyre curious, and they want to know more. And trust me, people will do this. I get stuck in Google-holes all the time trying to learn what something is - and sometimes, welcoming someone to find things out on their own is better, psychologically (and in marketing terms) than being sold to. The larger the number of people reached grows, the more likely the small percentage of the people who DO get it and who DO financially contribute grows, too. Thats just how it works. So, to the idiot dumping a bucket of ice on their head with no context, hey, thanks for spreading the word! A curmudgeonly article, seen by thousands (if not millions), will most likely be written about you soon.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 21:13:47 +0000
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