As young adults that are constantly exposed to Commercial Websites, we are all familiar with what these sites have to offer. Whether it is the latest social networking page or search engine website, most likely everyone knows the main goal the site is trying to portray. What about Social Justice Websites though? Have you ever taken the time to check out the latest news on PETA or the HRC? Have you ever personally contributed to a Social Justice website? Before this assignment, I never have but I am happy that I finally did. After taking the time to check a few out, I discovered the ways that these websites keep in contact with their contributors; add new volunteers and how they do it without seeming like a cheesy advertisement. First off, they are very clear about their organization and how to get involved. These sites all offer information about the social issues the group is fighting against or for, the community they have built throughout the years, how you personally can get involved and updates on the latest news to keep you informed. The site that I took most interest in is the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) website. Not only does the page have informative articles, tools and videos that make you want to get involved but it also gives you ways to stay involved. By adding hyperlinks like their Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube and even a Blog page, this Social Justice Site knows how to keep people’s attention through the media which is important when targeting people via the internet. After looking through a Social Justice Site of your own, how do you feel its importance is shown through a world full of commercialized sites? How do these sites try to differentiate themselves from a Commercialized Web page? Do you think that these sites should be publicized more than a commercialized site or do you think that they already are?
-Caroline
After looking at Ad Busters which is a Social Justice website created to "topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we live in the 21st Century". As we can see this site allows people to look at advertisements from a different perspective. This site enables viewers to see ways advertisers target specific groups of people. I don't think that this site (while being compared to any frequently visited site) has a significant amount of viewers. Although, this sites levels of trafficking aren't nearly as high as say Facebooks, it doesn't mean that this site doesn't hold valuable information that is of importance to the society. I think that this site should be used more throughout the classrooms to create a greater understanding of the advertising industry. The main initiative of the "Adbusters Media Foundation is that for over 20 years Adbusters has been fighting for the fundamental human right to communicate. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that every human being has the right to seek, receive and impart information without hindrance. Recently Adbusters scored a stunning legal victory for the right to communicate: a Canadian court found that the TV airwaves might indeed constitute “a public space” that all citizens (not just corporations) have the right to access. But Canada’s most powerful media mogul, Leonard Asper, is appealing our victory to the Supreme Court of Canada. We need an immediate injection of funds to keep fighting. This is a freedom of speech battle of tremendous importance for maintaining a healthy democracy in these dangerous times we’re living through ... help us fight it, first in Canada and then in the US, the UK and Australia. We need to fill up our legal war chest right away." Here we get an understanding of their foundation and what they strive to do and that is allow freedom of speech to all individuals.
ReplyDeleteThe site I found when researching social justice and social media is calledSocial Justice Challenge. It is a blog whose goal for the public is, according to the main page, "to become literate learners of unjust causes and will give us the tools to empower us to literally make changes in our world for the better." The blog poses many issues in our society for discussion. I noticed it also includes a "topic of the month", which this month is water. It lists some questions about water shortages and what we can do about water as social justice issue. People post their answers in their blogs, and then can have their blog linked on the site. I think this is a really great way to garner awareness about many different issues because of the way it allows interaction. People can post their responses to their blog for others to see, and then have their blog posted on this blog. That's basically how this site gets their word out. I don't really think it has any competetion with major commerical sites, because it's not something you would find unless you were really seeking out a site dedicated to social justice. However, I really do think these types of sites should be publicized more so than a commercial site. It's all for a good cause, and I think the internet could use more sites like these. These sites don't seem to specifically try to make themselves stand out. They're there for a purpose, and I feel that maybe they should be made to stand out over commercialized sites. It definitely couldn't hurt to increase awareness about these types of sites. I really had no idea about them before this assignment.
ReplyDeleteI chose UNICEF for my social justice website. They raise money and awareness to help provide clean drinking water, health care, education, food, clothing,and emergency relief to children in need. UNICEF makes itself important through all of the commercial site by making there causes known. They have a campaign around Halloween time where children instead of collecting go around with a box and say Trick or Treat for UNICEF and people donate their loose change to the cause. Every little bit helps. But this also gets little children involved in helping other children plus puts the name UNICEF in their heads when they are young.
ReplyDeleteThis Website separates itself from a commercialized website because there are no ads or gimmicks on the side of the page. If you sign up for something , its signing up to help their cause, which is clearly discussed. This website will send you newsletters and let you blog on their site. Their are many tabs which provide loads of information about there cause and how to bring justice to the cause.It tells you how you can volunteer and donate time or money to them and saving children. This website attracts followers through things like trick or treat for UNICEF, word of mouth, and you can use social media sites to spread the word. I think these sites should be publicized more. They are trying to provide a justice. In this case they want children to be taken care of. Shouldn't all children be taken care of? I think these sites are not spread around enough. They hold valuable facts that many people probably do not know and should know.
I've chosen the American Friends Service Committee as my social justice website. This website is dedicated to all different types of injustices throughout the world including problems in Africa, Iraq, Military, economically, and LGBT rights. AFSC has locations throughout the world in order to help those who need it. Their website informs people of problems and how to get involved. They have an events calendar to keep followers up to date about what event is coming up. They provide followers with history and financial information. They provide followers with a lot of information about how to help and donate. The AFSC website seperates itself from a commercial website because it doesn't have ads running on the sides of the page. Instead it has links to donate or to bring you to another page of information. AFSC gets their name out there by all of the issues they are involved in. They aren't just involved in one issue but many. They also have locations all over the world which gets their name out there as well. I think websites such as these deserve to be more publicized because they are about more important things in life.
ReplyDeleteI chose Teachers for Social Justice for my website. This website is a website dedicated to teachers, administrators and other educators working in public, independent, alternative charter schools and universities in the Chicago area. I have never heard of this website before now, so I believe they need to do a better job with advertising. This website is also soley about those in Chicago, so if they want to broaden their horizons, they may want to expand outside of Chigago. They clearly explain what they do, and why they do it. This site is different compared to a commercial site based on the way that it is set up. They do have links to facebook, twitter, and myspace to link their website to these social networks to expand peoples views. I honestly think these types of websites deserve more attention than they receieve.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading some of your post I think it is clear that social justice websites need to do a better job advertising. Although, some of these sites might want to keep a low profile and not get mixed up in the clutter of commercialized websites. In fact that is probably why they have such a low profile in the first place but for others that are trying to get their word across, they should definitely step up their game. Facebook, MySpace, Google, Bing and Yahoo are all very commercialized and they all have one thing in common. They made there way by networking through the usage of other sites and advertising. It is key, especially when on the web, to get your name out there as much as possible. If these social justice websites did the same then they could become just as popular as the commercialized sites we use everyday.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked for a social justice website I found the Social Justice Journal . It was formed in 1974 and is a quarterly nonprofit educational journal that tries to promote human dignity, equality, peace, and genuine security.It is much more informative than a commercialized website. It has different issues about different topics of social justice such as policing protest and youth, migrant labor and contested public space, and war, crisis and transistion. You are able to suscribe to this journal and the proceeds go to continuing education and research for this journal. There are also donations you can make instead of suscribing. This and other sites like it should be more widely publicized because they contain information about real things going on in the world. They're not just websites that get out the lasest gossip, trends, and popular items; they actually have meaning. It is important for these websites to be thriving rather than websites that concentrate on superficial things. If people can spend hours of facebook, twitter, or myspace daily then they should be able to take part in daily and social news around them. And possibly donate not only some of their time but maybe a few dollars to help someone or something out. Instead of having silly or useless advertisements in the side columns of facebook, they should have more useful and pertinent imformation about our society and world today.
ReplyDeleteI chose a social justice facebook page titled "Prevent Child Abuse New York". This facebook page is specifically designed for new yorkers and its aims are to prevent child abuse. This site helps parents, policy makers, and members of the community put kids first. It offers parenting tips, conferences, workshops, and involves those that are fans of the page to help raise money. It also wants members to vote against financial cuts to families and children. There is a walk for children. Events and facts are posted, as well as links to articles. It is located in Albany and has been around since 1980. There are 367 fans, so far. I think they create a brand identity with their logo. When someone sees the blue color and the symbol, they can associate it with that organization.
ReplyDeleteFor this assignment I looked at the National Organization for Women (NOW) facebook group. This non profit is devoted to the advancement of women's rights. It is an already established organization; so their website and facebook group and fan page shows their commitment to staying current and important. Since NOW has been in existence for such a long time, people are already familiar with them and more likely (if they share NOW's opinions and positions) to follow them online. NOW is a really good resource for women that is easily accesible on the web.
ReplyDeleteSocial Justice websites are mainly for keeping people informed about their organization. Their job is to keep the readers hooked on their organization and page. I looked at the AVON breast cancer walk site. This is to inform the public when their walk is, mainly for donations towards breast cancer. There are many links on the top of the page to explain what they are doing and why. They also have a ling that says follow us on twitter. They want to keep people as informed as they can to get people involved.
ReplyDeleteI think social justice sites aren't publicized enough, but there are reasons for that. The funding for these sites often isn't exactly the best. Commercialized sites have a steady, fairly reliable income that they can allot a portion from to advertising. Social justice sites often do not have the luxury of public representatives and good funding for advertising campaigns.
ReplyDeleteI do think that these sites can be a refreshing change from the more commonly visited commercial websites. They are open and honest, displaying their intent from the home page. I like this compared to commercial sites that sometimes use sneaky and hidden approaches to lure in customers, Social Justice sites are, in contrast, more concerned about the cause than anything else. I don't feel like anyone is trying to trick me and swilndle me, it seems a lot more like I'm being educated and informed, allowing me to come to my own decision about participation or donations.
I feel that social justice websites are just as important as commercial websites. I often check on PETA's website, and had previously wrote about it on the blog about non-profit websites. I personally contribute to PETA, and receive weekly newsletters through email. I feel that this generation doesn't take the time to worry about important issues that affect others, and even themselves. Social Justice pieces should definitley be publicized more to get more people interested in them. If more people cared and paid attention to more social justice articles and websites, then maybe the world would be a better place. Social justice websites tend to have less advertisements, and have a very clear mission statement. They try to attract and keep people by focusing on their compassion.
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