One For, One Against

Over the past week I have discovered two new social media trends – one that I applaud, and one that I shake my head at. Last weekend, over 50,000 music fans descended upon the Polo Grounds in Indio, California for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. A repeat performance of the three-day concert will be held again this weekend due to the overwhelming demand for tickets this year, one of which I was lucky enough to snag (oh yeah!). As my excitement and anticipation have been building for over a month now, I was unable to completely ignore all the hype about the best acts and guest artists from weekend one. So, I caved and tuned into the Coachella YouTube stream, where I was able to watch most of the performances I’m looking forward to. To my delight, I found much more than great music here.

Unbeknownst to me, Coachella and YouTube had formed a special partnership to air the entire festival live over the Internet, free of charge. This was not just a stream however – it was an experience. The site also displayed live-updates of all social media content containing the #CoachellaLive tag, across all platforms. Three separate channels provided viewers with nearly complete access to every act. This. Was. AWESOME! Facebook posts and Tweets were flowing in by the second, as the big artists were about to go on stage. Every message was positive. The ecstasy was palpable, even from behind the computer screen. #CoachellaLive was successful because it provided a meaningful and experiential link between the virtual and the real. After I turned off the lights and put the stream on full-screen, it was almost like I was standing out with the crowd in the desert.

Now to the bad stuff. Huffington Post reports that New York creative agency DDB has developed and launched the first version of an “I Care” Facebook button. "The 'I Care' button seeks to serve as an appropriate complement to the 'Like' button and can be easily leveraged by individuals and organizations alike to exhibit and inspire social activism," says Matt Eastwood, chief creative officer at DDB. What a load of bullshit! The button might as well say, “Don’t do anything at all to support this cause other than clicking here.” This button will be the complete antithesis of effective cause activism via social media. It will put “slacktivism” in the dictionary.

The problem with the “I Care” button is that it promotes non-action. “Caring” about a cause on Facebook does not help raise money, save lives or overturn legislation. Instead, it continues to blind users from the truth about cause involvement – you actually have to get off your ass to accomplish something. What also irks me is the fact that DDB expects their new button to have a significant impact on cause awareness, when all they really did was change a single word. Saying “I Care” instead of “I Like” is not a revolution in digital activism. It’s just stupid.