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People’s Insights: Volume 1, Issue 45 It Gets Better crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship | social data
People’s Insights: Volume 1, Issue 45
It Gets Better
crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship | social data
Purpose-inspired movement
In response to a rise of gay youth bullying and suicides, Dan Savage
and Terry Miller created the It Gets Better Project, soliciting personal
stories from LGBT adults to let LGBT teens know that life gets better.
peopleslab.mslgroup.com
Overwhelming volume & diversity of stories
itgetsbetter.org
Since its launch in September 2010, more than 50,000 stories and
messages of support have been shared on YouTube from LGBT adults
and allies, from politicians to actors, marines to comedians.
Social media as a free platform
abcnews.go.com/
Social media gave the co-founders the opportunity to reach out to
supporters and LGBT teens across the globe with their message in real-
time and without the need of seeking approvals or spending money.
Connecting people with stories
urlesque.com
In addition to the platform, the movement also relied on personal stories
to connect people around the cause and to spark participation and
action both from adults and from the teens themselves.
Personal stories drive change
Change can be a slow process and a struggle for the change-drivers.
Thinkers make the case that personal stories are vital to bringing
attention to a cause and engaging people around it.
theatlantic.com
Role of transmedia
Each transmedia adaptation adds to the movement: the MTV specials
helps reach more people, the book of essays has been donated to
school libraries and the musical tour involves local audiences.
1) huffingtonpost.com, 2) store.itgetsbetter.org, 3) youtu.be
Transmedia activism
movements.org
Some thinkers list It Gets Better as an example of transmedia activism
for its use of content, stories and multiple platforms to inspire, connect
and educate people, and create dialogue around the cause.
Community-driven movement
itgetsbetterproject.tumblr.com, *Clay Shirky in Here Comes Everybody
In addition to stories, the movement was also fuelled by community
support and gives merit to the theory that some successes can only be
accomplished by a ‘loosely affiliated group*’ and not the institution.
Other grassroots movements
1) undroppable.com, 2) allout.org, 3) youtube.com – Alpenliebe Kindness Movement
Movements use either story (Undroppable) or community (All Out), or a
combination of story and community (Alpenliebe Kindness Movement),
to connect with people and gain supporters.
More People’s Insights Weekly reports
For more reports, visit: peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/
Every week, we dive into one topic for discussion on the MSLGROUP
Insight’s Network and discuss insights and foresights, in four key areas:
crowdsourcing, storytelling, citizenship and social data.
Crowdsourcing Mahindra Spark the Rise
Storytelling @MarsCuriosity
Citizenship #Kony2012
Social Data MTV Fantasy Election
Read People’s Lab insights and foresights
The People’s Lab team shares the insights and foresights from the
MSLGROUP Insights Network on the People’s Insights weekly blog and
the People’s Insights Quarterly magazine.
MSLGROUP Insights
Network
50+ MSLGROUP planners
share and discuss inspiring
projects on corporate
citizenship, crowdsourcing and
storytelling.
People’s Insights
weekly blog
We deep dive into
conversations around one
project -- on the MSLGROUP
Insights Network itself but also
on the broader social web -- to
distill insights and foresights.
People’s Insights
Quarterly magazine
Every quarter, we will compile
the best insights from the
network and the blog in the
iPad-friendly magazine, as a
showcase of our capabilities.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com
People’s Insights Annual Report
Subscribe to the report at: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/annual-report/
In early January 2013 we will publish the ten-part People’s Insights
Annual Report, in which we synthesize our insights from 2012 and
provide foresights for business leaders and change-makers for 2013.
Now & Next: Future of Engagement
(coming soon as an iPad app)
Part 1: Crowdfunding Part 2: Behavior Change Games
People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Insights &
Innovation
People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and
approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insight for
innovation, storytelling and change.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com
