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October 04, 2007
"Support the Monks' Protests" - Persuasive Technology for Peace on Facebook
I just stumbled across the 337,000-person strong "Support the Monks' Protests in Burma" Facebook group. From the Persuasive Technology Lab perspective, this Facebook group is a timely confluence of our lab's academic interests:
(1) We are teaching a class on building engaging and persuasive Facebook applications
(2) We are studying the psychology of Facebook
(3) We are beginning to dive deep into a project related to "Peace Technology," and we aim to provide insight into how to build persuasive and effective technologies that can help bring about peace on a local level and on a global scale.
The Support the Monks Facebook Group currently has 337,000 members and 6,000 wall posts from members and appears to be extremely successful in raising awareness on Facebook using Groups and Events. According to the group, this Saturday is the "International Day of Action for a Free Burma." From the Facebook group: "We are marching in solidarity with the monks and ordinary people of Burma who are risking their lives for freedom and democracy."
According to an article in Wired, Group leaders anticipate tens of thousands of people taking to the streets around the world Saturday in Facebook-fueled marches, mass protests against Myanmar's recent crackdown on monks' pro-democracy demonstrations. The marches, organized by volunteers using Facebook, show the increasing power and reach of Facebook, and a user's unique ability to leverage his/her individual social graph to spread a message.
Events are scheduled in major cities worldwide, including at Stanford University, this Friday at noon. Scheduled to speak are Mark Gonnerman, a Stanford professor of Religious Studies and founding director of the Aurora Forum, and Nick Harmony, a Board Member of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance.
A question to our readers: What other interesting examples have you found of community organizations using Facebook to promote peace, and what methods have been most effective?
Posted by Dan at October 4, 2007 10:31 PM