Better Social Network Activism?

In order for movements to make better use of "social network activism," movements need to post to as many social networks as possible. The more posts that the movement has, the more recognition and exposure it will acquire. The word of the movement will spread faster than Muhammad Ali's mouth, not to mention his punches. In order to improve the effectiveness of the movement, they could try to appeal to the younger generation since they are the ones who most actively access social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.

Many feel that the movement dies as soon as it is exposed. This is because they feel that there is no follow through among their original followers. In order to increase their follow through amount, the movements could create incentives. For example, their could be prizes involved if a group is raising money for global poverty. This would increase participation among the online users.

Social Networkism

In our technology driven world of today, social networks are taking over the world wide web: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, the list goes on and on. These social networking websites are becoming increasing popular with not just teenagers but adults as well. Communication through the internet has never been easier. Catching up with supposedly long lost friends is now possible.

Through this easy access to millions among millions of people, representatives of so called movements send out a mass message asking for our support. For example there are groups that ask for our help with stopping the kidnapping or genocide in Uganda. How is a Facebook group going to help kids in Uganda? The group will send out messages that ask for either donations or more information to all of the people in the group, but 99% of the people, a vast majority of the time, the people include me.

At times, the multitude of messages that these groups send out can seem like an irritation or annoying. Maybe the person feels good about themselves because they joined the group, but doesn't follow through at all. This may happen because these social networking sites are not nearly the same as what we experience in real life.

The Most Interesting Man in the World's EFFECTIVENESS

Jonathan Goldsmith's portrayal of the world's most interesting man is mostly effective as a campaign to sell Dos Equis beer. He comes off as clever, witty, humerous, and athletic, an icon among all idols. Knowing this, who would not want to drink the beer that this man does? However, this campaign has very little to do with the beer itself, which may give some customers doubt.

Goldsmith's character in this campaign as a prominent hispanic figure is convincing but ironic. Goldsmith was born in New York to two Jewish parents. For the common American his character seems to be a very positive and influential character. On the other hand, it is possible for the hispanic population to take this commercial offensively. Why not get a real hispanic icon to play the role? Why do we need some fictional and mystical character to play this part?

This campaign can be compared to the old Frito Bandito commercials. Frito Bandito was the sterotypical Meican with the large mustache and sombrero. His character had a negative connotation as he would steal the Fritos, which can easily be taken the wrong way. Was racism prevalent in these commercials? What about in the Dos Equis commercial? Goldsmith is a character on the opposite end of the scale of Frito Bandito. He is always surrounded by women and portrayed as the perfect man. He is a non-hispanic man playing that role.

In my opinion, in no way were the Dos Equis people trying to offend a specific population yet there are subtle hints of negativity. Perhaps they could have used a true hispanic icon and that would have solved this problem. Even with this situation, the advertisements are still effective because of the humor involved in them.