Power to the People!

             Welcome ladies and gents, I hope you enjoy where I’m going with this one. I feel that the internet has changed the world, for the better! More than any other time in history, we the people are able to right the wrongs and change people’s lives via the global online community. A great example and probably something you've heard about was the woman in the United States, a bus monitor. Karen Klein was accosted by several youths on a bus, this was all recorded on video by 8th grade kids.

           As sad as that scene was, there came something out of it, a random act of global kindness. This video made its rounds all over the world via social media, eventually ending up on the front page of the internet, also known as Reddit.com . From here a Toronto man, Max Sidorov, caught wind of this and decided he was going to send Karen on a vacation. What came to follow was one of the most positive and selfless acts by humanity. Not only was there a fund started for her, but it ended up exceeding $700’000 so that Karen could not only take some time off, but retire out right! Random people, not knowing this woman, came to set what was wrong - right.

            The power of the people is even more present in the example of how the internet created the Tesla Museum (now soon to be). There was an article that popped up on Reddit, posted by the creator of the wildly popular blog The Oatmeal. Matthew Inman, created a list of all Nikola Tesla's inventions and contributions to humanity. Most are oblivious to what he created, as there is no museum to honour his accomplishments. So, here's where it gets good, the land where Tesla's lab was, known as Wardenclyffe, had been put up for sale and set to be demo'd. Seeing this travesty, Mr.Inman then put together 1 blog post called 'Let's Build A Goddamn Tesla Museum', honestly check it out. The goal was to raise $850'000 to split the cost with the state of New York.

 Put it this way, there were enough anonymous donations to not only buy the land outright, but pay for the costs of the building, see here. The power of online community not only brings people together, but helps to sift out those truly in need. Never have we, as a society, been able to harvest this much social momentum as individuals. The medium of information has shifted, transparency and whuffie (subtle, I know) rule all. The more open we are with helping others, the stronger we become as a society. Peace, love and boom goes the dynamite!


-DP


Tweet #HumberPR

Is Real Change Possible?

How It All Started

The leaderless Occupy Wall Street movement actually has its roots right here in Canada, where its seeds where originally planted by Vancouver based nonprofit group the Adbusters Media Foundation.

They were inspired by the protests that overturned notable governments in the Middle East, which grew from large social media followings.

The ongoing demonstrations began more than a month ago on September 17 in New York’s Wall Street financial district, and has grown into a worldwide movement since then including Occupy Canada.

The Reasoning

The eclectic group of protesters who continue to voice their anger and displeasure, are protesting social and economic inequality, mainly targeting corporate greed which continues to perpetuate an ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.

The Power of Social Media

The use of social media has been prolific in this movement, incorporating all elements at their disposal to successfully build a strong online presence. They currently have more than 260,000 people “liking” their Occupy Wall Street Facebook page and more than 125,000 people “talking about” the topic.

The movement also has a Twitter page, but their most prominent use of social media is in their blog, entitled “We Are the 99 Percent” on Tumblr. Their blog site features hundreds of handwritten stories about the economy’s effect on ordinary citizens, and it definitely tries to connect the reader on a more emotional and personal level to the cause.

They have also utilized mass media, with three issues released of the newspaper called The Occupied Wall Street Journal.

Pros and Cons

There has been similar uprisings before, but never has there been significant change. Nonetheless there is a unique sentiment in the Occupy tents across the globe, that there needs to an equilibrium between the social classes, instead of the drastic gap that we currently have.

However a huge deterrent to their success is the lack of a unified demand, and a goal orientated agenda which has caused much criticism. Violence also serves as another deterring factor, since the whole point of protesting is to do it peacefully. Although their hasn’t been much violence, except for the riots in Rome.

How Will It End?

To sum up the eventual outcome at this point is difficult to do but one thing is apparent, the people need to come together and possibly even elect a leader to fill the absence of a clear direction to create any change. The cold is looming and one does wonder how long can they sustain out there, and even if they believe that real change is possible, is it likely... 

Do you agree with this movement? If so, what do you think the outcome will be?