Slacktivism – It’s all like and no action

Thought this would come up again, and it’s good to see it being talked about again; and in a new light, introducing social media to the ‘discussion’.

In the recent NZ Herald article “It’s all like and no action” the article said

           “Slacktivists, all of us, part of a new social movement that has everything to do with being seen to do the right thing, while doing nothing at all.”

And, from what I’ve seen it’s a true statement.

It’s goes on “Slacktivists are an issue for charities in New Zealand as Robert Dunne, brand ambassador for Movember, reveals.

“Slacktivism? Jesus, slacktivism. It’s the bane of my existence,” he says. “I would say for 15,000 people who sign up and grow a moustache for Movember there’s probably 30-40,000 moustaches, maybe more, around. It’s phenomenal how many people grow but don’t register or fundraise.”

Dunne says sponsors are often excited by the number of people seen to be supporting a charity, even though it may have little to do with the real number of fundraisers.

“They’ll say back to you, ‘Look, we have x amount of Facebook followers’ or ‘x amount of this, that and the other’. But the reality is anyone can hit a ‘like’ button.

“Their level of engagement is so hard to judge. It’s becoming a thing that people are using it as a guideline but it really is a rubbish guideline.”

But the non-givers are not all bad. “Movember is completely different in that we’re a non-typical charity,” says Dunne, who believes doing something – such as growing hair – is preferable for many than standing on a street corner holding a bucket.”

Again, nothing I or you probably haven’t seen.

How to get “likes” and “retweets” converted to tangible support – money, will be a challenge for many, some of my thoughts on this are:

Ask people who you can identify as having hit “like” or retweeted something about your cause, why not follow up on this with some dialogue?

Where you have the opportunity to get into some dialogue, this is your chance to ask for “tangible” support – participation and/or financial.

Don’t let the slacktivists get to you, don’t let their inaction get to you – use it to get to them.

On that note, here’s a wee self-promotion, I’ve been working on a book “Slacktivism – don’t be lazy bastards”  – it’s stalled, but having seen and heard so much recently about slacktivism, I’ve set a goal to at least have this as ready as an e-book over the Xmas/New Year period – hope you’ll look out for it and download it.