These next 10 minutes will change your life....

http://www.upworthy.com/watch-what-this-make-believe-girl-means-to-1000-sexual-predators?c=reccon1

The above link is to an upworthy video. I wasn't sure what I should post, and was supposed to look for inspiration. So of course, upworthy.

First of all, I have to say- I don't subscribe. I'm not a subscriber, and any site that promotes to continually change your life, or change your week, or flip your perspective upside down- leaves me leery. It just seems like propoganda, but propoganda that feeds on some part of us that needs to feel good for a short while.

The video above is about a group in the Netherlands who created a CGI 10 year old Filipino girl to chat with men online, and uncover sexual predators. I find this video inspirational on a lot of levels. Here's why:

1) Activist are using art in the pursuit of justice, and vigilantism.
2) This video is going viral.
3) This video is calling for names and supporters- and despite people becoming more wary of what they petition or sign their name to online, and the apparently value of how little information someone needs of you to find you, people will give up their information for free.

I want to go back to my earlier point about feeding parts of us that need to feel good for a short while. I wonder how much upworthy videos actually change the way we behave. I wonder how much videos like it, instead simply feed our apathy. If we look for something inspirational, and while on yet another mindless hour of facebooking, are fed just enough words like "you won't believe what she did..." "these next 10 minutes will..." to get us to watch something for a few minutes, potentially sign some online petition or share the video... and then we return to our mundane unchanged behaviour- feeling good that we promoted a good cause. yay us. As opposed to going out and doing something.

Just how many videos do we need of how "women are changed with photoshop" and "ideals of beautify are flawed" for us to realize that... those things are true and we have a choice to change them?

With #itscomplicated- I want people to change. I want the videos of the amazing spoken word, and music and sounds that come up to be spread like wild fire on youtube. That's not my intention, but it'd be amazing if it did. So i wonder if I need to employ these online marketing tactics to bait viewers? But knowing I employed these devices (if I did/do) would that dilute what I'm trying to say?

Also- I am inspired by the sudden relationship we form with these people in these videos who pour out their hearts for 2-4-10 minutes and suddenly we feel like we know them, empathize with them. We do this all the time with tv and film, but the difference with youtube and online videos is that these people suddenly seem more "real" and less like "actors" or "characters" though we'll never be able to tell for sure- until they tell us.

What I do love about upworthy is its ability to mass market- empathy. Whoever is behind it, pulls on heart strings and understands how we work online. This is something I do want to be able to do better, not so I can manipulate viewers or users, but to... honestly... better communicate our content.