Quite literally hundreds of thousands of blog posts, news articles, radio and television shows, not to mention dinner conversations, have centred around Kony 2012, Uganda and the LRA. In multiple cases discussions were heated and intense. Innocent people unknowingly walked into a minefield by simply muttering the statement, "So what do you think about Kony2012?"
So here I will state the obvious - The campaign worked.
This campaign whether ill-informed, simplistic, or idealistic and with an apparently questionable fund dispersion system, reached tens of millions of people within days. Out of every campaign ever created this has without doubt been the most successful in the short term, particularly through the platform of social media.
Whether you agree or disagree on the issue at hand you cannot dispute the extreme reach of this remarkable social media marketing strategy. It will be interesting to see the effects this campaign has on marketing and social media campaigning from here on out.
So what's my opinion on Kony 2012? Well.... you walked right into that one didn't you!
While I do not necessarily condone the 'fundraising' aspect of the campaign as I don't much care for financial aid for military (especially of groups like the Ugandan Army who are constant violators of human rights) I do see a positive side to the campaign in its success of raising awareness.
I can see all of you nay-sayers raring up at that one with comments like "What, you mean people blindly following the new big fad?" and "They will forget about it in a week, how is that awareness!"
While I agree that both of these are valid arguments and have proven to be partly true over the last week, with people backtracking on opinions and already moving onto the next big thing, I still believe the awareness the campaign created will be beneficial.
In an online (of course) debate I had with a friend of mine, my reasoning for this was that for every 10 million people who blindly followed the campaign, there were perhaps 1000 who did further and extended research on Kony and the LRA. Maybe of these thousand, 100 people then researched the best method for getting involved in a grassroots movement to either minimise or prevent further events like this from happening. And maybe 20 of these people will continue in an effort to learn, raise awareness or help implement more appropriate prevention strategies in their lifetime.
As I write this there has been over 70 million hits on the video - if I work with my numbers above that is 140 people (I hope, I'm terrible at maths) who could possibly work towards beneficial solutions to prevent violations of human rights.
Isn't that an achievement? I think it is. It is also why I maintain my position that the Kony2012 campaign is a positive thing.
But here is the thing, don't just take my word for it. Be one of the 1000 who research further. Here are two great articles I have found, one from each side of the fence.
Some articles disagreeing with the campaign can be seen at:
- 'Unmuted - You Don't Have My Vote'
- 'Visible Children - We Got Trouble'
Some articles agreeing that the campaign has positives can be seen at:
- 'At Water's Edge - Can the United Nations Harness Kony2012's Energy?'
- 'Congo Siasa - From Campaigning to Action on Joseph Kony and the LRA'
Also to watch continued debates from both sides Al Jazeera has a spotlight on Kony - 'Al Jazeera - Spotlight: Kony'
I willingly admit that my opinion, is just that. This issue is vastly more complex than watching a 30 minute video. It would take years to understand, to any extent, the gravity of Uganda's political and social history and why things are the way they are. Yet, as I referenced earlier, it could be a start for some people.
