The society continues to face struggles affecting its citizenry. It is but a reality that is always hard to face, and aside from that, hard to solve. Of course, we have the traditional protests and demonstrations on the streets to further the call for change. These are undeniably effective and had been the common practice since time immemorial. Through such, those who demand for change are physically gathered in one place as they shout out their sentiments.
Advocating change through the Internet
Today, the call for change resounds not just on the streets but also the worldwide web. Facebook pages and Twitter accounts are used to further fight for a cause or to further call for more people to participate. Advocacies for women empowerment, government reforms, child protection, fund-raising, community building, mass organization and the like are now within the reach of one’s finger tips through the use of the new media. Yes, you are able to call for change or participation through tweets and Facebook posts. The span of reach of these pieces of information is undeniably wide; they are actually as effective as demonstrations and protests on the street.
Information dissemination is then greatly enhanced through the use of the said communication providers in the internet. However, with the right methods, traditional ways of disseminating advocacies can still be as effective as what we have today.
Effective ways of making advocacies known
- During protests or advocacy events, podcasts can actually be utilized through the use of online tools like Skype and Yahoo Mail. Through this, more people can know what the advocacy is or the protests are all about. It is important to give them a glimpse of what the cause really is like, and the things that the group does to make it a reality.
- A text message can actually make a difference as well. Text messages make it easy to call for people to gather on streets for protests. An organization can send in text messages informing others about the things they advocate for, or about the events related to them. Through simple text brigade, the message can spread like fire to different people and tongues. As a result, there will be more participants and supporters of the advocacy.
- Pamphlets and flyers distributed personally will always be as effective as their online counterparts, which are Facebook posts of pictures or logos. By this way, an advocacy is not just distributed through paper, but the distributor can also make use of some personal talks to further their call for change.
- Phoning friends, relatives, or other organizations is also an effective way to disseminate information on an advocacy or protest. VoIP services from providers like RingCentral, among many others, enables you to make calls and send text, voice, and fax messages through the Internet for free or at a lower cost. Landline and mobile phones remain to be one of the most common and easiest devices that can be used to inform others. For instance, if one is able to contact the media for coverage, then with its power, it can cover and report on the event and broadcast it on national TV.
However, internet activism and advocacy pose not just advantages but disadvantages as well. Despite the growing reach of the internet, it still caters to a specific social class and sometimes uncovers those who cannot utilize the worldwide web. Perhaps, that is why it is still important to not forget about the traditional ways to disseminate advocacy-related information to people.
The society is massive and the problems within it are sometimes even more massive than the society itself. Hence, it is very important for the people to advocate for change, and make use of the many technological providers of communication available so as to inform other people as well.
