I am tole-ranting about: charity "campaigns" on Facebook

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Comment by Geri Spieler on September 9, 2011 at 3:21

Hi Amy:

 

I share your frustration with Facebook. I have an uncomfortable relationship with Facebook and Twitter. I have yet to determine if either of these Social Media sites really do much for anything but spreading certain  political agendas when appropriate. I'm talking about the events in Iran etc. 

 

Otherwise, and maybe it's just me, I really disregard most of what I see. I do share my interest in Global Tolerance, but is anyone out there paying attention to what I post about it? 

 

I care and will continue to do what I can. But will posting on Facebook or Twitter convert anyone? Not sure. 

Comment by Amy Claire Barnes on December 14, 2010 at 16:44

Hey Steph ^^

 

Well, I have a (partial) confession. I broke my Facebook abstinence yesterday in order to contact members of the English Literature Society committee (I needed responses on something sooner rather than later, and emails and texts weren't getting me anywhere!) I scanned my notifications, had a quick look at my photos and was off within 10 minutes of logging on. I haven't been on it today and have no intention to either.

 

Furthermore, when I reactivated my account after a very very brief period of deactivating (it's quite funny really, everyone remarked that I had 'disappeared') Facebook now deposits little notification nuggets in my Junk email box. This is rather brilliant, as it means I don't have to actually log on to Facebook to check things. My problem was that I would sit online on Facebook for hours (literally) starting pointless conversations on chat and refreshing the page for notifications whilst simultaneously comparing my life to that of my Facebook friends; all beaming smiles and witty statuses.

 

Sadly, I can see where you're coming from with your comment: However, on the other hand, I also believe that quitting Facebook and expecting to arrange your existence in the real world is like throwing away your telephone and expecting correspondence by pigeon. I tried to do a 'tweetox' in the follow up to my blog, but failed miserably.

 

Why do you think you didn't last? How has this website taken over how we interact with one another? Facebook is a simulation (or simulacra, can't remember which). It's this blue and white overlay that we pin over the top of our normal tangible lives. A 'Happy Birthday' wish is arguably less valid or meaningful if it's not featured on a Facebook wall. And don't even get me started on relationship statuses...

 

 

Comment by Steph Davies on December 14, 2010 at 15:18

Amy, you mentioned in one of your comments that 'with this apparent globalisation and "communal" feeling comes a crippling sense of alienation. The individual action becomes important for all the wrong reasons.' I can definitely see this, and said something similar in my last blog. I think a global communications shutdown would be so good for the world right now.

 

However, on the other hand, I also believe that quitting Facebook and expecting to arrange your existence in the real world is like throwing away your telephone and expecting correspondence by pigeon. I tried to do a 'tweetox' in the follow up to my blog, but failed miserably.

 

I would absolutely love you to write about your experience away from 'that blue and white microcosm we call Facebook'. Did you get withdrawal? Could you keep up with current events? How on earth did you resist a peek when you knew there are new photos tagged of you?

Comment by Anna Levy on December 10, 2010 at 15:45

I guess it's a question of managing expectations. Not everybody is going to be inspired by a FB campaign into taking action but if even a few people take a bit more interest, join the debate, donate some money, sign a petition etc. then it's worth it. Particularly given the complete lack of either time or financial commitment that has gone into this social media campaign! The fact that thousands more just have a bit of fun and share in some harmless nostalgia is just a bonus I guess!

Comment by Amy Claire Barnes on December 10, 2010 at 15:19

Thanks for your comment Anna!

 

At present, I don't regularly donate to charity by way of a monthly direct debit, but I do try to give at least something when I can. This is where, on the one hand, such Facebook campaigns are partially successful: it riled me enough to go and make a donation!

 

You're right about the difficulty of sustaining interest. The internet is brilliant in so many ways, but is also responsible for this increased sense of what I feel is a 'five minute phenomena'; jumping on the bandwagon to show solidarity but forgetting the point of the cause in the process. Of course, such social networking awareness campaigns differ. I didn't attend the recent NUS demo in London, but showed my awareness of the marches and my support for the peaceful protestors by 'Twibboning' my profile picture (embellishing it with a small orange logo). 

Of course, this is a little different as the NUS marches were a political demonstration and were not calling for charity donations, but when you add it to this discussion it raises interest questions about activism and apathy. This is further complicated when you introduce the whole comparison culture of Facebook. I'll admit that one of the reasons for my Facebook detox (5 days and counting!) is that I spent unjustifiable amounts of time staring at my laptop screen at pictures and profiles of my friends and acquaintances and losing myself in what they were doing. While awareness of the actions of others is definitely helpful in generating action (you saw how quickly the profile picture epidemic spread), the problem comes when people join in with no intention, or indeed, no real way of finding out what the cause behind the action was in the first place.

Comment by Anna Levy on December 10, 2010 at 13:43

I just wanted to say thanks to both of you, Amy and Deiren, for your fascinating analysis of this issue.

It's clear that there are huge opportunities for charities to promote their cause in the digital social arena, if they can, as you say, move beyond the typically superficial interaction of participants in these communities.

Just as organisations with a commercial interest have had to rethink their online marketing practices to ensure that chat/interaction eventually links to conversion into sales etc, those with a social purpose will have to give serious consideration to how they can turn conversations into donations, and semi-passive frivolities into serious action.

NSPCC responded quickly to the latest FB campaign, offering info on their page to all their new fans who had been brought to them via the profile pic activity, and reporting a huge surge in donations and visits to the website. Whether they can sustain this interest and turn these new relationships into meaningful ones is the real challenge though.

Meanwhile, I've said goodbye to my favourite character from Dogtanian and donated some cash to a charity I used to work for, Family Action, that does the same kind of work as the NSPCC but spends a miniscule fraction of the money spent by the big guys on marketing. They could really benefit from such big brand recognition, but unfortunately don't have FB users hijacking popular campaigns on their behalf...

Comment by Deiren Masterson on December 8, 2010 at 10:13

Hi Amy, great to hear your feedback too, you have raised some more fascinating and huge aspects. I'm a big fan of Marshall McLuhan - not sure if the name rings a bell but he's a Canadian media philospher (who studied at Cambridge) who in the 60s coined the terms: 'the medium is the message' and 'the global village' - the whole point of his work though was that in the midst of exponentially rapid cultural and technological change it was essential to reflect and try to understand the change so we might have some chance of controlling it and influencing how it was shaping/ reshaping us.

Hearing about your Facebook Detox had huge resonance for me - I heard a similar remark from my niece last week. She's working with a equitable housing organisation in Chile and she was just telling me how she's been disappointed with the superficiality of relationship she's found on Facebook and now uses it mostly to promo and share news about her work ( she's definitely not of the ilk to think that a LIKE is equal to actually doing something about it). Like you my fascination with human nature and how we trip around the meaning of life is endless - this remark of yours touching on the paradox we're playing with really floored me:

But with this apparent globalisation and "communal" feeling comes a crippling sense of alienation. The individual action becomes important for all the wrong reasons.

I find this so compelling to understand what is at play. I really want to know more about how people are actually experiencing social networks - we know it's penetrated our lives, but what's at play? It's interesting - this paradoxical 'crippling sense of alienation' - I'd like to here more about that - how it was experienced. I remember my experience of TV was like that - it was all pervasive in my childhood, regular sitcoms/ dramas were like parts of my life but at a certain point (when I hit my uni years) I had to also physically detox myself and awaken myself and say, 'what else could I be doing with this time?' The entertainment (and information) had it's place but this idea of "community' - the 'communal' that this electric/ electronic world presented was in many ways false. So for 7 years, in my 20s post degree, I lived and worked in a community caring for people with disabilities - and that's where I had this enormous experience of what relationship and 'caring, self giving' communities can be like - and just like families, filled with broken people (we all are in some way or other) but striving to relate, to hear the other persons needs, respond and feel valued for who we really are. Somewhere there is a question of 'presence' - the idea of being really present to someone - it's not just physical either, you can be right beside each other but if there is no true openness or sharing going on, nothing happens, no 'foot prints' are left (maybe destructive ones but not positive).

I don't want to 'digress' here but like you it all fascinates me with a quest to understand better...

Comment by Amy Claire Barnes on December 7, 2010 at 20:45

Hi Deiren!

Firstly, thank you for your comment. It's great to receive feedback!

Secondly, you have tapped into something interesting that hadn't occurred to me at the time of writing this article. I'm going to quote you: "I can't imagine what the stats are since then but it answered this incredibly powerful need for people and their online behaviours to leave a trace of themselves, their identities, in the most immediate and 'tangible' way - one click approval foot prints. It's innately superficial and yet it also has obviously incredible sharing power."

YES. This is something that I am incredibly interested in; incidentally, I'm currently exploring the concept of self-perpetuation and the human need to make a mark on the world during one's lifetime.

I'm having a detox from Facebook, as for me it was becoming a self destructive and self indulgent way of spending my time, but you have summarised the paradoxes perfectly. Facebook is fantastic in the sense that news, links and ideas can spread like wildfire; closing the gaps caused by temporal and spatial difference. But with this apparent globalisation and "communal" feeling comes a crippling sense of alienation. The individual action becomes important for all the wrong reasons. I wonder how long it took people to decide which cartoon character to choose to replace their profile picture? Did the act itself become more about choosing an avatar that best epitomised their childhood or personality, or were people genuinely and whole-heartedly behind the cause? There's a fantastic quote in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. Irwin, a teacher who uses deliberately provocative points of view to generate discussion, says that "the best way to forget something is to commemorate it" (or words to that effect). I can't help thinking that campaigns such as this are sadly inhibited by this.

Comment by Deiren Masterson on December 7, 2010 at 11:27

Interesting article Amy. There is an innate selflessness to charity and a deep personal, human reward to 'giving of yourself' which comes through all work of a compassionate nature where we put the needs of others before ours. I totally resonate with your revolt against things that cheapen and devalue the action behind the 'act of giving' and we're really walking an interesting plank in the digital, digital social interaction age. But I'm fascinated by the interactions that have gained traction on our social sites - somehow there is an innate 'superficiality' to their actions and yet the ability to share information in ways we couldn't before is incredibly revolutionary. Take the LIKE button for instance - this thing is only about a year old in Facebook land and Zuckerberg predicted at the time there'd be 1 billion likes in 24hours. I can't imagine what the stats are since then but it answered this incredibly powerful need for people and their online behaviours to leave a trace of themselves, their identities, in the most immediate and 'tangible' way - one click approval foot prints. It's innately superficial and yet it also has obviously incredible sharing power. Some organizations have of course done monetary campaign evaluations where 1 Like = $1 (see Free the Children) but then the question is where does the money originate from (not from the pockets of the Liker). How can we engage the superficial behaviour patterns of the web and translate them into real world, meaningful action? Maybe this is the new social media tension upon us in the same way we had to teach people to be media literate and actually think and find new sources of information, in the one way communications age of television and centralized mass media. I agree with your thirst for authentic meaningful action. It's an interesting road...