Star Power in Social Media

Celebrities have closed the gap between them and their audience by participating in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. And it’s not news that many celebrities have joined forces with different not-for-profit charities, but how has social media helped get the message across? And why is it so effective and important?

Social media allows celebrities to better reach their audience to send out information about a charity or asking their audience to support a cause. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have become great resources for celebs to do just that. YouTube and Facebook video have become intimate channels for celebs to speak with their audience, making their message more personalized, almost tailored, to you, the viewer. They’re able to be themselves and not have it scripted or robotic as many television ads/campaigns are. There’s more creative freedom for the celebrity to reach out to their audience in the way that their audience knows. For example, Ben Stiller reached out to his fans and audience through a YouTube video to describe his StillerStrong campaign, which raises money to build a school in Haiti (before the ‘quake happened). The video was effective because it played up Stiller’s strength and fame: humour, yet it was informative, captivating and most importantly it was short. It was long enough to give out all the details of why he’s raising money, but short enough that it kept the attention of the viewer. Having Stiller just sit in front of the camera and do a monologue is effective because there are no gimmicks; it’s just him, the camera, the message and you.

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TTC - Take The Car indeed...

The new decade has not been good to Toronto transit at all. We’re only in month 3 and the TTC has been people’s choice for scandal and harsh criticism. From the TTC booth operator caught sleeping to Giambrone’s sex scandal/1 week run for Mayor of Toronto, to YouTube videos of terrible customer service. And while the TTC has done little to salvage their poor image, 2 more stories regarding the transit commission has surfaced.

A couple of days ago, a TTC driver was caught operating a TTC bus while under the influence. Riders called in the police when they were concerned with the erratic driver, and while she wasn’t over the legal limit, she had enough in her to warrant a 3-day licence suspension. The TTC is still deciding her fate on whether to slap a harsher punishment on her, fire her or just let her be. And they said that their decision will not be made public. Now hold on a tick. No decision will be made public? I think that is the most preposterous thing I’ve heard.

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Slacktivism: getting informed

Social media has become an integral part of communications in the past decade. Corporations, groups, schools and even not-for-profits have embraced the virtual revolution as a means to reach out to a larger audience. Social l media has its advantages of making the world smaller and connecting us to people around the world who share the same likes and dislikes.

Facebook has been a popular site for connecting people through groups and fan pages. Political activism has spread to the social media realm and there has been a recent trend in groups created around specific issues/topics. But how effective is social media when it comes to strengthening or nurturing political activism? Does it allow us to become more involved or more knowledgeable in the political realm or has it just made us more lazy?

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