Can Socially Shared Video Really Change the World?

Absolutely! And you’ll learn plenty about socially shared video and other social media methods used to rally communities around meaningful causes at SMCLA’s panel this Wednesday, April 17.But, here’s a sneak preview of how two of our panelists use video and social media to create engagement and awareness around autism and homelessness.The video below was part of The Goody Awards’ Autism Awareness Campaign, and it helped Liz Kelly’s organization engage a global audience. The campaign included honoring Dani Bowman, an autistic teen animator, who’s illustrated two anti-bullying books and a PSA, with a Golden Goody Award – the organization’s Oscar for social good. An iPad was chosen as a prize for an autistic child, "because iPads help autistic children communicate," Kelly explains. "We asked Dani to select the iPad winner, and present it to Rosanna in this video."The campaign also involved social media outreach, PR, additional videos, another iPad giveaway, and a live event sponsored by Deutsch Advertising LA with teen celebrity supporters.“Our engagement was very high on Facebook and Twitter, and Dani was also very active on social media, promoting the campaign,” says Kelly.As SMCLA was preparing this post, we learned that Mark Horvath and Invisible People, which uses social video to create awareness of homelessness, have received the 2013 Rob Stuart Memorial Award.The purpose of the award is to honor communities using technology to “accelerate the pace of change, making it possible for movements to grow overnight and for change to be created in new and surprising ways.”As the award announcement notes, “Mark Horvath was moved by his own past experience as a homeless person to document real people, telling their own, very real stories. Invisible People’s vlog’s purpose is to make the invisible visible, have others connect with these stories, and keep a dialogue going to help those who are often forgotten.”Here’s an example of how Invisible People uses social video to create visibility for the cause.Don’t miss an evening of insight and advice on supporting important causes with social media at SMCLA’s “Using Social Media for Social Good” event, this Wednesday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m., at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying.Liz Kelly and Mark Horvath will be speaking, along with Alexis Henry from Surfrider, which uses social media to save oceans and coastlines, and Nathan Havey of Thrive Consulting Group, which focuses on creating effective online communications strategies for small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and political campaigns.Check out the Surfrider Foundation's YouTube channel to see how they’re using social video to connect people with their cause.RSVP here to join us: http://smclasocialgood-eorg.eventbrite.com/