Kony 2012 and VIA Rail plays "throw Jann from the train"

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or you’ve given up social media for lent, you will have heard about KONY 2012 by now.  To summarize, KONY 2012 is a campaign that has been developed by an organization called “Invisible Children” to bring attention to Joseph Kony who has spent the better part of the past 20 years killing and terrorizing civilians in countries such as Uganda, Sudan and the Central African Republic.  At the centre of this campaign is a 29 minute video that speaks to the atrocities perpetuated by Kony and promotes the “Stop Kony” movement as presented by Invisible Children.  As you might imagine over 100 million people viewed the video on Youtube and “Stop Kony” trended on Twitter for two days.

Of course, as seems to happen with most matters that gain attention on social media these days, it did not take long for critics of KONY 2012 to appear and I’m sure both sides will continue to wage a public relations battle via traditional and social media over the coming weeks.  That being said, following are some of the things I learned and observed as I watched the KONY 2012 story play out:

·       I was reminded yet again how sad it is that we still live in a world when war lords can operate in such a vicious and sadistic manner in isolated and/or under-developed parts of the world.

·       I was reminded yet again about the power of social media.  There is no way that, as recently as 15 years ago, a movement such as KONY 2012 would have garnered this much attention from large media outlets.  However, when the video went viral so quickly, and considering the subject matter, it became very difficult for the major media outlets to ignore…score one for social media on this one.

·       I learned how quickly certain people will move to call into question any group, organization or movement, no matter what the end objectives of the movement are.  I can appreciate that some people had concerns about the finances of “Invisible Children” but when I watched the video, I saw it as a call to action in efforts to raise awareness about this issue and about what Kony was doing, not as a fundraising effort.

·       I was saddened to watch when one of the many women who have been disfigured by Kony’s “soldiers” appeared on international television to speak out against the campaign by “Invisible Children” and emphasized that she did not understand why “Invisible Children” was trying to “make Kony famous” after what he had done to her and so many other people.  It became obvious that she did not understand the real meaning behind the “making Kony famous” concept and I felt that she was misguided by the people who arranged to have her interviewed.

·       To that point, I was reminded yet again how important messaging is when it comes to any cause or movement.  In retrospect the “Make Kony Famous” slogan may have been ill-advised.

·       For a few brief hours last week, we got a glimpse into what I hope is the future of social media.  A medium that is used for good and to share important messages on a myriad of subjects that often get ignored in many countries because organizations such as “Invisible Children” do not have the financial resources to get their message out to the world true traditional channels.

·       Finally, I was reminded of how important it is to make sure you get as much information as you can on any cause or organization before providing them with any financial support.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

·       Yesterday I was mumbling to myself about how the week had gotten off to a bit of a rough start when I saw a report on CNN that 45 women and children had been slaughtered in Syria…immediate perspective…there are no words.

·       So Jann Arden get kicked off of a VIA train “in the middle of nowhere” (most of us know that place as Oshawa) because she had hidden her dog in a carry-on bag and pets are apparently not allowed on VIA trains.  That’s when Ms. Arden went all “modern diva” on VIA and complained about the treatment her and her dog received on her Twitter feed.  You get no sympathy from me on this one Jann.  I saw the real you at one point and it is much different than the persona you project during interviews or with your fans.  You are a diva and I’m next to certain you thought you could bring your dog on that train because you were Jann Arden.  Good on VIA for calling you out.

·       The other day I was at a local store when I saw boxes of the “Popeye candy cigarettes” that were so popular when we were kids.  Of course, I had to buy a box and try one when I got home…WTF were we thinking when we were kids.  Those things are awful!

 

·       It was interesting to watch the U.S. media deal with the story of the Staff Sergeant who killed all those people in Afghanistan.  They are trying so hard to find a reason, not to justify the act, but to explain why it happened.  Bottom line is one of your guys killed 16 civilians; if an Afghan soldier did that to American civilians there would have been hell to pay.

·       Dick Cheney just cancelled a speaking engagement because he does not feel safe when travelling to Canada.  Well Mr. Cheney, I’m guessing you will spend the bulk of your time in the U.S. from now on because if you do not feel safe in Canada you probably should not feel safe in most other countries either.

·       I recently came to the conclusion that I would have made a lousy “spokesperson” for an American presidential candidate.  Listening to these people trying to “spin” every question they are asked in such a way that they can stick to the “speaking points” they were given by the campaign team makes very smart people sound very dumb on national TV…just sayin’.