Tag: NSPCC

#oneaday, Day 322: Chinese Whispers

Goodness me. Thank you to everyone who read yesterday’s post, including the unprecedented 602 of you who showed up today. Whether or not you agreed with the sentiments therein (and whether or not you were polite about it), thanks for reading.

There have been some interesting developments in the whole thing over the last 24 hours or so. On the whole, the whole thing can actually be said to have had a positive outcome, though not quite through the means the originators of the meme intended.

In fact, the originators of the meme had nothing to do with the NSPCC, as predicted. Fellow blogger, Commodore 64 enthusiast and all-round fine, upstanding gentleman Glen McNamee did a bit of research on the issue and uncovered the fact that the whole thing had actually originated in two separate places in November as a bit of fun, with no charity links whatsoever. Read Glen’s blog post about it here.

Dave Gorman also wrote an excellent post on how this sort of thing can undermine genuine fundraising attempts with honourable intentions. Also worth a read.

The interesting thing about all this, though, is the whole “Chinese Whispers” nature of it. By looking at people who had changed their avatar/status throughout the course of the day, you could see the gradual evolution of the whole thing. To start with, it was a “campaign to end child abuse”. Then it was a “campaign by the NSPCC to end child abuse”. And by the time people like me had written posts on the topic pointing out the flaws in the whole plan, people were taking great pains to explain that as well as changing their avatar, they had, in fact, donated, too. There were also a few people who were up-front about the whole thing and said they changed their avatar purely because they thought the cartoon characters were cool. Fair play to both parties; at least you’re being honest. There was also a considerable proportion of people around Facebook who tried to convince everyone that the whole thing was a scam by a bunch of paedophiles aiming to lure children in with cartoon avatars. This last part is bollocks, by the way, in case you were worried.

So on the whole, the whole thing had a positive outcome. It provoked discussion (or rather, argument) and had the net result of shaming at least a few people into tossing a few quid the NSPCC’s way, which I’m sure they’re very grateful for, though they probably wouldn’t have chosen to go about promoting it by people yelling at one another.

The thing is, though, couldn’t the whole thing have been resolved without the need for drawn-out arguments in the middle of it? Probably. It’s ironic; Web 2.0 is full of narcissism and vanity, but is also a breeding ground for sheep mentality. Some people copy and paste things or blindly follow instructions without considering the implications. Think before you post!

Let’s leave it at that. The matter’s over and done with. Resolved. Until everyone forgets about it and it happens all over again. When that does happen, just remember that famous and rather offensive comment about arguments on the Internet and the Paralympics.

Also, don’t be a dick.

#oneaday, Day 321: Charities Have No Use For Your Avatar

Are you morally-conscious? Feel like you should be doing more to help your fellow man, but feeling a bit strapped for cash at the moment? Don’t feel like putting together some sort of fund-raising event because, after all, it is a bit cold outside and it might snow.

Never fear! Web 2.0 is here to allow you to assuage your guilt without any need for financial or time outlay! All you need to do is change your profile picture and/or status to something vaguely related to the charity that you would like to support and that counts as you having Done Your Bit when it comes to Judgement Day. Me? I like the Cats Protection League, so I shall be donning a LOLcats avatar for the day.

Grumble, moan etc. I know. And I have a sneaking suspicion I may have mentioned this before.

The above piece of sarcasm is proudly sponsored by today’s Facebook and Twitter campaign to get as many people as possible to change their avatars to their favourite cartoon characters of the 80s or 90s. This, apparently, counts as you “joining the fight against child abuse”, and has been attributed to the NSPCC by several people. Go look at the NSPCC front page right now. Do you see any mention of any campaign “not to see a human face on Facebook until Monday, December 6th”?

No. I certainly don’t. Probably because it actually has nothing to do with the NSPCC whatsoever, and probably because the NSPCC would rather you got off your arse and either did something to raise money for them or just reached into your pocket and sent them a tenner.

“Donating” your Facebook status or a tweet means nothing. And the “it’s just a bit of fun” defence is bollocks, too; there are plenty of people out there who feel like changing their avatar (a task which takes, ooh, a minute at most?) and/or copy-pasting a status is absolutely “doing their bit” and absolves them of any sense of responsibility, putting them on the same level as someone who has diligently, say, organised a sponsored run, bake sale, 48 hour Desert Bus marathon, three-week charity wankathon, whatever. It doesn’t.

This isn’t a rant saying that everyone should donate to charity. I don’t—at the moment I can’t afford to. It’s up to everyone whether they would like to support a charity that deals with an issue they feel strongly about. But “supporting” that charity means just that—supporting them and the work that they do. That means giving them some money, or some of your time, or just walking into one of their shops and buying a dodgy velvet jacket for a 70s night or something.

It doesn’t mean changing your fucking avatar. How many people out there copy-pasted that status and changed their avatar and then felt all smug and self-righteous before going on to do other things, forgetting all about the fact that they hadn’t actually donated any money to the charity in question, who probably had nothing to do with the campaign in the first place?

So don’t let me stop you changing your avatars to your favourite cartoon characters. If you do, though, at least be honest about why you’re doing so—perhaps you think Superted is awesome, in which case, say so and don’t hide behind some kind of false altruism—or actually follow up what you’re doing with a donation.

Rant over.

Actually, no it’s not.

Girls, next time you feel tempted to post something that the “men won’t get” in an attempt to “promote breast cancer awareness”, realise that we all know what you’re doing and would again much rather you just donate to a worthy cause like MacMillan, rather than supposedly “raising awareness” by being deliberately obtuse. How the fuck does that even work?

Rant over. For reals, yo. Take care of yourself. And each other.