Social Media 4 Good

I just discovered that, the day after I posted “We are not funny – why nonprofits suck at being viral”, Mashable’s Josh Catone published “Top 10 YouTube Videos for Social Good”. This is a great list and I really recommend that you watch all of them for inspiration.

While I don’t want to duplicate what he has already done, here are my top three – and my two cents for each of them:

Because we are all connected

I think this video is excellent!

• It’s only 40 seconds long which means that most people watch it until the end
• It’s cute without being tacky – though admittedly an organization that has the panda as it’s emblem has an unfair advantage.
• It uses a very clever soundtrack that is very similar to jump and run games, which probably works very well with a young, computer literate crowd.

The only thing I would change: Make it clearer why the humans should care whether the panda is happy.

The Bay vs. the Bag

I love this video because:

• It really surprises me at the start
• It is totally over the top
• It is exciting – I’m watching it until the end because I want to know what’s going to happen next.

World Water Day Video from charity: water

If you’ve read my last post, then maybe this choice surprises you. After all it is fairly serious (though with some comic relief at 1:25) and I was talking about the need to be more fun in videos. But the important thing is that while this video is very serious, it doesn’t make me feel bad – and that’s my main point. While a lot of videos – like the one about eating disorders basically want to make me despair, this video makes me want to get out of my chair and do something. Here is why:

• The motion graphics are simply great
• The soundtrack has a marching quality to it which makes me want to … march
• The combination of these two elements together with the way it has been cut to the music conveys engagement and activity

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

1. We are not funny – why nonprofits suck at being “viral”
2. What do you want from me, Sarah Silverman?
3. A busy week