Videos of the Year

Welcome to my third annual Videos of the Year post!  This year I want to concentrate on the videos that are clearly self-made, not videos that are the equivalent of the old, professional public service announcements. Not that there is anything wrong with professional videos, it’s just a different animal from self-made content that individuals (which free agents or part of organizations) create to share a story or advocate for a cause.

Please share any videos you thought were terrific this year.

Here are my top videos of the year, in no particular order:

I had the chance to talk to Dan Savage about this video for a Social Good podcast. Two things really stuck with me during our conversation. The first was the spontaneous nature of the making of this video. Dan and Terry just decided one night to make this video, without a script, with a friend holding the video camera. The second was the fact that not only did this video go viral, but the entire It Gets Better YouTube channel went viral, with thousands of people uploading their own videos and stories. I can’t think of another channel going viral like this, it’s a really remarkable event; a combination of lucky timing and real, heartfelt stories.

One of those personal, homemade stories posted on the It Gets Better YouTube channel was this one by Buddie. If you’re not moved by this, well, I’m not sure what would move you.

This video was a contestant in the Acumen Fund’s Sanitation is Sexy contest. As the daughter of a civil sanitary engineer, I find this topic and video particularly effective.

Mark Horvath, also known as Hardly Normal on Twitter, is a remarkable free agent (now an award-winning free agent according to Mashable) and advocate for homeless people. His efforts teaching homeless people how to use social media, particularly through the vehicle of Invisible People TV, to tell their own stories and advocate for their needs are both inspiring and effective.

But, if I were to select the best public service announcement videos of the year, there are plenty of great ones to choose from. OK, twist my arm, here are my top three:

and, finally, my favorite video of the year (who doesn’t love school kids advocating for a new roof?) which is one of the winner of the Bing Competition:

The Dragonfly Effect

A new Social Good podcast has been posted. I interviewed Jennifer Aaker, the co-author with her husband, Andy Smith, of The Dragonfly Effect.

It’s a wonderful book for corporations and nonprofits. Rather than me tell you about it, I’ll let Jennifer and Andy do it:

I was really struck during my conversation with Jennifer on the focus she put on organizations tell one, great, simple, sticky story about what they do. An example she gave was Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Here is all you have to know about Alex’s Lemonade Stand:

Full Name- Alexandra Flynn Scott

Birthday- January 18, 1996

I’m Alex, I’m 8 years old. I have Neuroblastoma and I raise money for pediatric cancer research with the help of other kids and grown ups through my lemonade stand. I give the money I raise to research to find cures for pediatric cancers.

Who do I live with?
My parents, my brother Patrick, my brother Eddie, my brother Joey, my dog Shammy, and my cute kitten Herbert.

Where do I live?
I live in Pennsylvania, right down the street from Philadelphia.

Favorite Colors – Blue and Purple

Favorite Animal – Penguin

School – 2nd Grade

Favorite part of school – Everything

Favorite Food - French Fries

Favorite Book - Junie B. Jones Series and The Little House on The Prairie Books

Favorite Movie - Scooby Doo

Favorite TV Show - Pokemon and American Idol

What I want to be when I grow up – Fashion Designer

Favorite Activity - Making stuff and designing clothes

Place I most want to visit – France

Favorite Sport - Soccer

Social media channels are amazing and powerful vehicles for personal story telling. One of the best examples that you probably have heard about recently is the Youtube channel, It Gets Better, started by Dan Savage. The channel encourages anyone, particularly gay adults, to share their personal stories and struggles from teens to gay adulthood to support gay teens that are being bullied. Here is Dan and his partner, Terry Miller’s story:

Another new project that enables people to tell their own, unfiltered stories is Mark Horvath’s, HardlyNormal on Twitter, has a new site called We Are Visible. It is a toolset to enable homeless people to connect, share resources, and make their voices heard.

Jennifer Aaker made a great point in saying that social media is important not just for the storytelling, but to enable others to retell and share the stories. For people and organizations that are afraid to let others tell their stories, who fear the loss of control over their message, she said that a truly strong story will keep its essence through the retelling, and actually be strengthened by it.  Good stuff!