Equipped with the insights obtained through Dr. Waters lecture material on social networking sites, I wanted to examine a social movement group that I am studying in another class. Greenpeace USA is an environmental organization that was founded in 1971. Greenpeace aims to achieve big things; instead of moving one company to improve their environmental record, the organization works to change the entire industry. Greenpeace has grown from a small group of dedicated activists, to an international organization with offices in more than 30 countries. It is important to remember that Greenpeace does not solicit contributions from government or corporations, nor endorse political candidates. There are currently 250,000 members in the United States and 2.8 million worldwide that provide virtually all of the funding through individual contributions. So with this in mind, what do we know about Greenpeace's use of social media?
Greenpeace does an exceptional job of effectively utilizing social media to communicate with members in attempts to coordinate efforts, promote organizational accomplishments, gain support and attract new target publics (the youth). Greenpeace operates Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linked-in and Myspace accounts. Greenpeace also operates an organizational blog on their official website that details activities, responds to political policies/news, and shares personal insights from a variety of Greenpeace members. This use of social media has maximized efficiency and helped build Greenpeace's $9 million grassroots program and their cutting edge online to on-the-ground organizing, a robust student organizing and training program, and the national street and door-to-door canvass program.
Greenpeace social media:
Great organization! They must have employees or interns that really focus on their social media presence!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Eileen, Greenpeace does appear to do an excellent job. We can clearly see their presence in the anti-Nestle campaign!
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