who can resist a gladwell new yorker piece? i know i can’t. this latest, “small change: why the revolution will not be tweeted,” is about the vast difference between the twitterfied version of social change today and that of the last massive, watershed moment of real change, the civil rights movement:
““Social networks are particularly effective at increasing motivation,” Aaker and Smith write. But that’s not true. Social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires.
….
In other words, Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice. We are a long way from the lunch counters of Greensboro.”
and of course the social media advocates (read: people who make their living convincing others that the future will be fueled entirely by like buttons — and that theirs are the shiniest) are up in arms. i have to say though, i’m with gladwell on this one.
people are powerfully lazy. or at the very least, as jon stewart said himself about his upcoming “rally to restore sanity” (and i’m paraphrasing), “this is for the people who don’t normally go to the rallies full of crazy people, because we have shit to do.” what do people love even more than getting involved? feeling involved with the least possible expenditure of time and effort.
want lots of people to do something on behalf of your organization, cause, or brand? make it simple, fast, fun, and worth talking about. don’t ask me to give up my money, or even worse, my time; both are far too precious.