The importance of being social

Dublin, Ireland. Two signs. To campaigns. One common denominator: sweaty palms.

Let me explain (and I’ll skip the critique re. the imagery typology of  humans holding hands).

The Rise Foundation is ‘dedicated to assisting families to understand the nature of addiction and the profound effects it has on relationships’. They had this ‘’Rise Week’’ thing in April, and the sign I photographed on the streets of Dublin relates to their week of awareness, fundraising and help. I know little about them but I am sure they do good work, much needed work. So have a look at their website and contribute if you can and want.

Anyway, back to their sign. I went out on Easter Monday (as I have mentioned in a previous post) to find signs of social media within street advertising. I was walking on the Luas line, from Heuston Station into City Centre, passing dozens of posters that advertised events: concerts, theatre plays, new releases and whatever else. I can say that about 15% of them had social media anythings on them.

So Rise caught my eye, with their Facebook and YouTube icons that signalled their presence on those two online mediums. So I went to their website, to see what they are doing... and they are smart enough about it. They can do better, but then again, can’t we all? So, good for you, Rise.

Why ‘’good for you, Rise’’? Is it really that important to be on Facebook and Twitter and all these networking sites where all these eejits are posting their entire lives onto? I am afraid so. More so in a case like this one, where you have a charity that works with people, for people. You have to be where people are. You have to be on their familiar ground. It's simple. So good for you, Rise!

On the other hand, tut tut tut Dublin.Ie. Have a look at their content rich website that has tones of relevant info... but lack any ties to social media. I poked around the website for about 2 minutes, thats all the patience I had, but thats a lot more than the 8 seconds one usually needs online to decide if they are staying or leaving a webpage. I cant see any social media, anywhere. What is that all about? They have a blog al right...  and forums.

I’ll tell you something else they have: a million things to share, useful things... but they are not making use of the free tools that are out there.

So their sign about Social Inclusion Week does not include any social media. Wake up and smell the crowds, Dublin.Ie. Being social no longer necessarily means holding onto someone’s sweaty palm. It can also mean hitting the Like, Share, Follow or Send button.

Seriously.