case in point, i found an article about how law enforcement has reinvented mcgruff the crime dog by using social networking websites. indeed, mcgruff the crime dog has a myspace profile and he blogs! if you actually check out the profile, you'll see that mcgruff is a 28 year old male living in dc. whoever put together the profile obviously had fun filling it out (gotta love mcgruff's interests).
like many optimistic efforts to reach youth, you'll also note in the profile the number of friends (a measly 21) and that most are adults. perhaps mcgruff just isn't cool with the kids anymore. maybe a 28 year old male shouldn't be managing mcgruff's profile. [CORRECTION - mcgruff really is 28, according to his bio on wikipedia]
i mentioned in class that some of my clients are trying to use facebook and myspace in their outreach efforts, particularly towards youth. with one client leading a campaign against gun violence in illinois, we suggested that they hire youth interns to ensure that their facebook group page (ICPGV youth advocacy corp - i'm pretty sure you'll need a facebook account to see it) was authentic and that they pay the youth interns a small stipend to ensure accountability (a word much loved in the nonprofit sector). yes, this was our chance to experiment and fortunately our client went along for the ride.
so the client dutifully did all of the above. they made sure their 3 youth interns had extensive networks (one gal has 724 friends!). and the number of members for this youth-led facebook group as of today? 43. this after 3 months of coaching and support (from the adults) and promises of action (from the youth).
why hasn't this been an instant success? are the youth just lazy? do they dislike being told what to do by adults? or does it simply take time to build momentum and grow the network? we're still trying to figure this one out...
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