My Two Cents on Kony2012

I love that everyone is talking about this campaign. What's more, I love that everyone is talking critically about this campaign. And I don't just mean being critical of it.

I think those of you who read visible children and blindly wrote the whole thing off are just as ignorant as those who only watched the film and now blindly support Invisible Children. 

But it appears to me that both of those groups are the minority. The majority of comments, blogs, articles, etc, that I've read have taken a genuine critical approach; looking at the merits of IC and Kony2012 and at their downfalls, discussing the power of social media, talking about the power of the international community and how giving aid or military support might actually affect central Africa. Maybe I'm blindly optimistic about society, but what I've been seeing is a lot of individuals looking in a lot of places and drawing their own conclusions on the whole phenomenon. To me, this is fantastic. 

I think this says a lot about who we are as a society today. We have a world of information at our fingertips and we are using it. We are using it to ask questions and find answers about the media that bombards our lives. We are using it to make political statements in a social world. We are all thriving in a world of technology and using it to address the issues that are important to us and the people around us. 

We're saying that politics doesn't only happen in fancy buildings in big cities. It happens here; on this blog and on your facebook page and in Twitter trends and YouTube comments. 

Of course, it remains to be seen if and how this translates into action in any way. 

Whatever you think about the Kony2012 campaign, you have to admit that the consequences of its' popularity has shown a lot about the way we think about politics, charities, the international community, Africa, social media, celebrity participation, accountability, and on and on. It has pushed the world into a global dialogue about an international issue. Tell me that's not cool?

Some things you might want to watch and read that are related:

The Kony2012 film. You can't talk about it if you haven't seen it.

Visible Children tumblr. The most popular criticism.

The twitter feed for #Kony2012.

BBC Africa correspondent view. 

A rap about Kony and IC. 

From the FT.

Critical piece from the Atlantic. 

There are countless more obviously. You all know how to use Google. 

Wednesday Friendsday

This weeks list of things I find on the Internet is friend-themed. (in the loosest sense of the word "themed").

1.) The Democratic Republic of Facebook
We all know friends aren't real unless they are on Facebook. This article is a little reminder that while we may love Facebook, we may spend ridiculous amounts of time allowing it to consume our lives, we may use it as a tool for everything from chatting up that hottie we saw on the train to sending wedding invites. But Facebook doesn't belong to us. It is not ours. We belong to it. Important lesson here!

2.) Magic Brownie Adventure Movie
Have there ever been two better friends in history than Cheech and Chong? I mean, they are the epitome of friendship. Now here is a "film trailer"-come-advert that highlights the significant role of Brownies in friendship (and digestive systems).

3.) New Condoms
I wouldn't want to alienate any part of my audience by appealing only to platonic friends. This one is for the "special friends". It is a tumblr that puts brand slogans on condoms. Now wouldn't you rather have one of these than a JLS face on your rubber?

4.) The Adventures of Tom & Atticus
Nothing compares to the friendship between a man and his dog. Here's a blog about a guy following his dog around a bunch of mountains. It is really sweet and sometimes funny. And when all else fails, cute pictures of a dog.

Happy Wednesday! Go make some friends.