Thanks to Sundeep for forwarding this post to me; it's about taking action after watching Slumdog Millionaire:
Slumdog Millionaire’s 8 Oscars should translate into action for children in India — As Slumdog Millionaire, a movie depicting the challenges of ‘street children’ in India wins 8 Oscars today causing widespread jubilation around the country, World Vision India is calling for action that ensures children like Jamal, Salim and Latika are protected, educated and cared for. Source.
Yea, this is exactly the sentiment that's motivating a lot of our work... and ties into a post from the other day about watching a TED talk and wanting to ACT ... and quickly.
How fast does our focus and enthusiasm level off? I'm sure we're all a little bit different, but I'd hazard that there's around a 20 minute window after watching a compelling film or reading a moving article where we're maximum primed to do something (Sundeep and I were discussing the nature of these narrow windows the other day).
So, how do you take advantage of these heightened emotional moments? Via an in-person activist ready to sign you up (best way, but clearly impractical at scale... although this is exactly what Genocide Intervention Network did so successfully! while combining it with a great social media campaign to boot) OR use a mobile phone.
In 2006, we worked with the filmmaker of American Blackout - a film about black voter disenfranchisement - to insert a text-message call to action at the end of each screening of the film. A simple slide at the end said something like "Get involved. Text Blackout to 75444." And we'd then record respondents' phone numbers for getting in touch later... It worked pretty well... the response was good. Unfortunately, our combined followup wasn't great, so we don't have good data about action taken after the initial response (as it was one of too too many things we were doing that election cycle). But the point being that this kind of thing works well. Making the ask during high emotion works.
Some stats I've seen from text messaging calls to action by famous musicians at concerts are up near 50% on a good day. Parlaying this enthusiasm into direct action that's do-able via the mobile phone could be a world changer.
The call to action on the Slumdog blog cited above isn't enough. Here it is:
"The public can donate or learn more by visiting www.worldvision.in or calling 1 800 425 4550."
That's too wishy washy and later-focused. It's weak. It's lame. And who is "the public"?? That's someone in a disgusting restroom that you'd rather not be in. Howabout asking ME? Howabout giving ME the tools to take action NOW?
I know that there's a lot of long-term meaningful work that can't be done in a widget or via mobile phone... but there are *some* tasks that can be done. And doing one task is the hook. It's like Obama asking for only $1. Because below a few bucks, the engagement of the voter is worth way more than the money. And $1 buys engagement.
