For a lot of people, it is easy to say “yes” to our question. Yes, celebrities are, more often than not, enough reason for people to support social media for social good campaigns. After all, these celebrities add credibility and pomp to the whole thing. Take the case of Water.org – it’s a campaign backed by Oscar Award winner Matt Damon. Leonardo DiCaprio, on the other hand, likes to support projects that have something to do with environmental stability and ecosystem protection. These big wig celebrities can easily use their star power to lure in not only generous donors but willing volunteers as well. With just a flash of their million watt smile, they can likely also lure in financial donations to the tune of millions of dollars.
However, going back to our original question, is celebrity power the only draw in order for people to support a cause? We’re tempted to say no. And here are our arguments: First off, people still tend to support social media for social good campaigns if the campaign has a really good purpose and objective. Sure, a celebrity endorser might help, but really, this is just icing on the cake. At the end of the day, what still matters is the vision, mission and goal of the campaign. Everything will still boil down to what the campaign wants to do, create and perhaps change.
Secondly, by the name alone, social media for social good campaigns attract the web-savvy, gadget-crazy netizens of today. Ergo, there is a distinct target audience for these types of campaigns. So unless the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon are really adept with social media or social networking websites and can speak tags, links, “Plus 1,” “retweet” or “DM,” then social media for social good campaigns basically attract the netizens who pretty much would rather see Steve Jobs or a talking Angry Bird as spokesperson or endorser.
Do you think Sina Weibo, one of China’s popular social networking websites, nay, actually one of China’s popular websites – period -, is just another Twitter clone or Twitter wannabe? Think again! The truth of the matter is – Sina Weibo has a different “purpose” and “use” for most of its Chinese users. How different? Let us count the ways.
First off, according to a study led by HP Labs, Sina Weibo is more useful for its users in terms of entertainment – meaning its users like sharing jokes, videos and funny images. Twitter, on the other hand, is more for news – meaning factual, serious, formal stuff. Case in point: Remember that tweet sent via Sina Weibo whereby the user shared photos of him “wrapping” his shoes with the use of a condom in order to fight rain and road puddles? Nothing CNN-ish there but it was a hit in the Sina Weibo world.
Secondly, and this has something to do with the earlier example, Sina Weibo creates fame unlike Twitter which enhances “pre-existing” fame. Now if you’re Lady Gaga or Beyonce or Britney Spears, you can use Twitter to amp up your fame and interact with your fans. On the other hand, if you’re that guy who wrapped his shoes with a condom and just want your 15 minute spotlight and share something light and funny with others, then Sina Weibo is the better option.
Thirdly, according to the HP Labs study, retweets are “several orders of magnitude greater” on Sina Weibo. This means that people on Twitter have this penchant of sharing their own thoughts, news, images and videos more than sharing others’. In this regard, people on Sina Weibo can be considered “more socially friendly” since they do not really mind sharing another person’s thoughts and what-nots. We’re guessing that this could also mean that unless you’re really influential and really popular, it would take a whole lot more effort for people to retweet you on Twitter!
Given these 3 points, one can truly spot the differences between Sina Weibo and Twitter. So, no, Sina Weibo is not Twitter and is not certainly a Twitter wannabe. We think it will still have its own distinct charm and that will be the very reason why it will continue to flourish.
Beautiful model Angelababy creates a special Christmas present for someone special. Her Christmas Cube will go to one lucky winner. More from Hong Kong celebrities JJ, Kary Ng and Louis Cheung just shop with your family and friends and win! http://hk.youtube.com/user/HKHarbourCity
著名模特兒Angelababy 精心揀選聖誕禮物,準備送給一位幸運兒.其他的還有賈曉晨,吳雨霏及張繼聰.想得到他們親手揀選的聖誕禮物??快和親戚朋友到海港城購物.http://hk.youtube.com/user/HKHarbourCity
A Glow Glow Macro Interactive Media Arts Exhibition takes it to the streets. Movie superstar Andy Lau opened the exhibit. Hong Kong LED artist, Teddy Lo premiered PHAEODARIA and United Visual Artists from the U.K. launched their awarding winning VOLUME for the first time in Asia. Thousands turned out to watch this amazing multimedia art spectacle of sound, light and motion on the Avenue of Stars. More information can be found at http://www.microwavefest.net/aglowglow/ and be sure to check out www.SO-U.TV to see more.
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