Video Gone Viral

Catherine Paneral

Jour 4460

March 8, 2012

Blog Eight

Video gone Viral

If you haven’t watched the “Kony 2012” video yet, you must not be on social media.

A call-to-action video, posted Monday, resulted in over 40 million views by Thursday morning. The man who posted the video is Jason Russell, a co-founder of Invisible Children, a non-profit based out of San Diego.  This video is an example of the power of social media and reminds us if we use it correctly it can be a useful tool in getting your name out there.

What is interesting about this topic? Traditional media didn’t cover it until after it went viral via social media. Every individual has the power to share and spread news thanks to social media instead of just waiting for it to be covered in a traditional news story.

In an article in the Los Angeles Times it states "There are activist documentary filmmakers all over the world, and all of a sudden they've got new tools," Taplin said. "It used to take you months, if not years, to get a documentary distributed. When he made documentaries in the 1990s, he said, there were two outlets: PBS and the Discovery Channel. And "it was really hard to get a documentary into a theater, almost impossible." These days, YouTube allows an instant audience. "You finish it, you put it up."

As it was mentioned above, we now have the tools to spread whatever message we want, it is just a matter of how well we utilize those tools. YouTube makes it easy to post videos; it is just up to you how well the content of the video is put together.

The video going viral is an example of how social media has transformed political activism. People are responding and donating to this cause because of what they saw in a 27 minute video. It is a reminder of the power Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have with today’s generation by allowing us to “share” content.

According to USA Today, “An additional 445,000 people have "liked" it on Facebook. And on Twitter, celebrities such as Justin Beiber, Will Smith and J.K. Rowling have pushed the trend by sending out tweets. One tweet by P. Diddy was retweeted more than 57,000 times.”

The “Kony 2012” team seems to know what they are doing seeing as how much attention they have received over the last few days. They are coordinating, through social media of course, “Cover the Night”: another “call-to-action” event April 20. But can they continue to keep up the response between now and then? What about after April 20? New donors and supporters are going to crave and demand updates from the organization. We will have to watch and see how this story develops. It definitely makes you realize social media can be your best friend when you utilize it correctly.

Source:

Dorell, Oren. "'Kony 2012' Viral Video by Invisible Children Stirs Debate." USA Today. Gannett, 08 Mar. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-08/invisible-children-kony-2012/53422862/1>.

Goffard, Christopher. "Video on Ugandan Militia Leader Joseph Kony Sparks an Uproar."Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 08 Mar. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. <http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uganda-kony-video-20120309,0,2324909.story>.