I LOVE the Story of Stuff. I wish I were as brilliant as Annie and her crew (or maybe could just work for them, nudge nudge). Merging advocacy with multimedia platform makes so much sense it’s just silly. When you look at advocacy, you’re really looking at a multi-dimensional idea: spreading information, getting people talking, getting those talkers to act, spreading this action to those in power who can do something about it, and on and on. For each of these dimensions that make up the realm of advocacy, it makes perfect sense to approach with a multimedia (and interactive!) strategy.
Spreading information can be done in a number of ways. SoS has a blog where they talk about the issues and share the latest news. Their videos are a creative way to inform viewers, and help spread the word, since viewers can tweet, facebook, or blog about the videos, and embed the videos in any of these mediums using SoS’s handy download feature. But they don’t stop there; the site has teaching materials for the classroom, links to their book, and DVDs of the videos posted online! They present the information in any and every way a user could want it. This is really smart because in advocacy you don’t really want to alienate a potential audience. It’s better to cast a wide net and involve everyone who might be interested in the issue, so the multimedia approach is a perfect way of doing just that.
Then there’s getting people talking. I mentioned this earlier, but getting people to tweet, facebook, or blog about these cool videos they saw as SoS shares the message AND starts people discussing and debating the issue. Immediately after finishing a couple videos, I started following SoS and tweeted about how much I liked their videos and message. Proof is in the pudding right there. A lively debate is crucial to the survival of advocacy issues because if no one is talking about the issue, it’s likely that no one cares. And if you’re trying to advocate for change, you really need people to care.
Once people are talking, it’s imperative to turn that talk into action before the fire burns out, so to speak. As the videos on SoS play, logos pop up in the FAQ bar at the bottom of the video player for viewers to click on for more information. There are always a few about how to act or get involved with an issue. SoS also links to supporting organizations, who often have a volunteer or action-based message, so visitors to the website can find multiple information outlets for the issue they’re most concerned with.
I really can’t even say enough about how effective this website is to me. The approach is simple, yet not patronizing, and effective without being preachy. The multimedia aspects add, rather than detract to the message, which is what these technologies are meant to do. Now I’ve got to go get on Twitter and follow a whole mess of new organizations, thanks to my bleeding heart and SoS!