Social media for social good?

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Using & Teaching Educational Technology
Social media for social good?
By Terry Freedman
Thu, 12 Feb 2009, 11:35

Whilst you're discussing social networking and suchlike with your colleagues and students, you might like to consider this. Twestival is an event taking place today in 175 countries with the aim of raising awareness of, and money for, a water charity. What are the advantages of using social media like Twitter for this instead of an ordinary website?

Scott Harrison introduces Twestival:

charity: water for Twestival from charity: water on Vimeo.

It seems to me that the potential advantages are as follows:

You can see what's going on live in different parts of the world...
... Which can generate a sense of excitement.
There is a facility for recording a video yourself via webcam.
The fact that it's so easy to get involved will probably mean that more money will be raised in a shorter period of time than might otherwise be the case.

I think a potential disadvantage is its short lifespan: will anyone be interested in watching these videos once today is over? So the question is one of sustainability: how do you sustain interest in this issue once the 12th February has come and gone? That leads me to ask: in the long term, would an ordinary website generate more interest, commitment and money overall?

This particular event is taking place on a grand scale. Is it possible for a school, or a group of schools, to do something similar but on a more localised scale? For example, could this kind of idea be used to raise awareness of the need for a school crossing? If so, what are the e-safety issues involved, and how might they be dealt with?