I’m posting this excerpt because of the significant amount of money Frank Warren/PostSecret raised. Granted, the amount of traffic the site receives is greater then most (Compete.com pegs it at 84K unique visitors a month), but that’s not the point.
Imagine if you could build that sort of community and engage them to take some sort of action?
Frank Warren of PostSecret writes about Using Social Media to Generate Positive Change on Mashable.com:
Emerging communication technologies like Blogs, virtual “places,” online chats and other social media are allowing us to have new kinds of conversations. Conversations that can bring people together in the real world and generate positive change.
Last month PostSecret raised over $500,000 for 1(800) SUICIDE, a suicide prevention hotline. This would not have been possible if people were not continuing to share their most personal, inspiring, shocking, sexual, funny secrets with me, themselves and the world…
What do you think?
1 response so far ↓
1 Rob MacKay // Aug 19, 2008 at 10:53 am
This is so true. The Internet enables this kind of communication to occur efficiently, and that efficiency creates new opportunities.
Kiva and DonorsChoose.org are a couple examples. Creating a 1:1 connection between a donor (or a lender in Kiva’s case) and someone in need used to be extremely difficult. Think about how organizations like Compassion International let you sponsor a specific child. The amount of labor involved to make that connection is intense. With he Web doing all the work, new charitable outreaches can do it much more easily.
There is a tremendous opportunity for mega charities like United Way to revolutionize their giving models here.
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