When we think social media for advocacy - we usually think Facebook, Myspace, Twitter… sometimes YouTube… but how often do we think of Flickr?
A picture can tell a thousand words - so why don’t we use them when we’ve got something to say that we want other people to listen to?
With mobile phones these days - we all have a camera handy, so it’s a perfect tool to capture the moments that help make our point.
Not to pass up on the behind the scenes stuff as well. People love seeing what goes on backstage (I guess its that big brother, voyeurism in all of us). Barrack Obama has been doing it since before he was elected. He now allows everyone to come inside the White House and travel on the road with him.
It gives people that insight to the person (or indeed to a cause) that they wouldn’t under normal circumstances get the opportunity to see. The setting up of an interview, a work in progress… it could really be anything. It allows people to connect on a different level than they would if they were simply being spoken to.
It really opens up a new avenue into online advocacy.
You can also ask people to upload photos that relate to the issue you are campaigning on. You can set up a Flickr group, adjust the privacy settings to whatever you are comfortable with and allow people to become part of the campaign by contributing.
The more people that contribute - the more it will naturally spread.
It’s a great tool that I’m sure will be tapped more and more. The possibilities, especially for politicians and specific advocacy groups is enormous and I’m sure we will see it being used more and more into the future.
What do you think? - Also - Check out the Bluegrass Flickr page!
