Web Secret #212: KONY 2012 and Other Stories

Social media can change attitudes. In a big, big way. Here are 3 stories from the Internet trenches that speak to that very point.

Story 1 - KONY 2012:

Before March 5, 2012, had you heard of Kony? Neither had I, but thanks to a brilliant YouTube video

almost 90 million people have now heard. After the video went viral, things got kind of controversial, and the pundits lost track of the most amazing aspect of the story. 90 million people, mostly teenagers, watched a 27 minute video about an obscure African war lord. Up to that point, the rule of thumb was that no one, certainly not teens, would watch a video longer than 2, maybe 5 minutes.


Story 2 - Facebook includes donor status on its pages:

It was announced quite simply, on May 1, 2012:

Starting today, you can add that you're an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor. If you're not already registered with your state or national registry and want to be, you'll find a link to the official donor registry there as well.

By the end of the day, more than 900 million people had already chosen the organ donor status on Facebook.

Story 3 - westophate.org:

Proving that you don't need to be an Internet behemoth to make a difference, a young teen decided to do something about the bullying she had suffered, creating the We Stop Hate website and a compelling video that already has 80,000 hits.

What is the moral of the story?

To quote the KONY 2012 video: "This connection is changing the way the world works."