Screencapture from charity:water
Note from Beth: This week I'm researching and thinking about the topic of creating movements with others and have invited guest blog posts on this topic.
The discussions on issue fatigue at both on my site and ArtTribes Network, and later at SocialEdge,
prompted me to start looking at the flip side of fatigue, which in the
case of social issues is engagement, participation and commitment. This
is also a thread I've been examining in the engagement frameworks I've
been co-creating, for Transmedia Activism,
which looks at how one uses cross-platform distribution of content,
co-creation networks and shared authorship to engage activists toward
change; and for Modeling Global Change,
which uses design thinking, user experience and structured narrative to
examine partnership, influence and stakeholder collaboration toward
parallel action and systemic change.
The same constructs which
were discussed around combating issue fatigue can be used in creating a
cultural movement around an issue. In particular, the building of
platforms that allow for (1) storytelling and communication, and (2)
effecting and demonstrating impact, allow for continuous commitment to
the movement. Media and narrative play significant roles in creating
and building these platforms.
It can be difficult to develop and
retain engagement using cause-related media or social media for a
variety of reasons, not the least of which is the dearth of financing
opportunities and access to distribution in the case of film, and the
consistent effort and facility with short, quick messaging and branding
required in social media. Creating a sustainable engagement platform
within your existing structure takes time, creativity and dedication.
But it's also easier to disseminate information than ever before, since
the internet, web and mobile technologies allow for more connectivity
and access.
There are a few foundational questions to be asked
before building a cultural movement through the use of media and
storytelling. Here are the three most basic:
1) Who's the audience?
Are you preaching to the "unconverted"-- that is, are you bringing in
the previously disengaged or the merely aware to a social movement to
strengthen its numbers and potential? Or are you preaching to a choir
of engaged and activist members?
The fact is that the more
people are exposed to stories around a cause and the ideas behind
theories of change, the more likely that change will be effected or
you'll influence the people who can help create impact. But there's a
difference in how you influence previously disengaged participants vs.
active participants. The messaging and stories for the unaware need to
be more basic and should be targeted toward entry and inclusion. Also,
the burden of influence and persuasion is higher, while you risk that
return on investment may be lower in terms of actually creating change.
The Story of Stuff
is an example of a viral media piece that successfully engages at the
lower end of the engagement spectrum, bringing "newbies" into the
discussion of consumption and climate change while also engaging more
knowledgeable or activist participants. Moving further along the
spectrum, the film Citizens at Risk
presents a more complicated story and presupposes deeper knowledge, yet
is still successful and effective in presenting the issues.
2) How will you create connection?
How do you pull people in, wherever along the line of the engagement
spectrum they sit? Creating the basis for empathy can be a challenge at
times. Nick Kristof has noted
that humans respond to the suffering of individuals rather than groups.
This is a difficult obstacle to overcome when you're dealing with
crises or conditions that adversely affect large numbers of people,
whether climate change or mass atrocities or access/rights issues.
People tend to tune out. On the other hand, people respond to
compelling stories and sharp narrative. So there is great worth in
storytelling to raise awareness and promote activism. There is also
risk in making a story a "hero's" story and focusing on a champion, to
the exclusion of the situation and the impact. In gaining and retaining
attention, the use of any media (film, art, social media) needs to be
sparse, consistent and targeted and, more importantly, to create a
personal connection.
CharityWater (which uses viral and social media with great effectiveness) , and 3 Generations (which doesn't use social media, but houses its content only on its website and in partnership with The Hub at Witness)
each present interesting examples of how you can use stories to create
empathy through stories that are intensely human and deeply empathic.
3) What are you trying to change? That is, what impact do you want to see and create?
It is through the loop of Issue-->Engagement-->Action-->Change
that effective cultural movements move. And media (social, journalistic
or arts-based) can be used at every step of that equation.
To a
certain extent, the question of what you want to change should really
be question number 1, every time you set out to create a movement or a
program or an intervention. In the two frameworks I've been
co-creating, Transmedia Activism Modeling Global Change, we've based
the frameworks on the core value of putting the social change issue
first. It's important to build your platforms to both create and
demonstrate impact. Institutional funders and individual donors alike
would rather contribute to and participate in initiatives that make a
difference and do it well.
If you can show your impact--
whether through a powerpoint presentation, a good Facebook Causes page
or Twitter campaign, or a good narrative-- you're more likely to
succeed in keeping attention and obtaining resources that will sustain
your efforts. Social media, in particular, offers a day-to-day
alternative to annual reports, press releases and grant reports in
showing direct impact in a consistent, immediate way. Hope Phones,
for example, has been using Twitter to good effect in the mHealth
movement, showing how mobile phones contribute to assisting community
health workers efforts. Using social media to present not only the
issue (and not the "ask") but for donor engagement (the "thanks") and
the impact can help maintain participation in the movement and may also
keep effort and messaging anchored in the "change" part of the
equation.
Lina Srivastava is a strategist who works with nonprofit organizations, artists, filmmakers, activists and for-profits to focus on strategy, communication, design and media engagement to create social change. This post originally appeared on Lina's blog Strategy for Social Change.
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