current events Kony 2012 | Infographic | Youthink
Image credit:  OnlineSchools.com | See full infographic below article

The KONY 2012 Craze Continues

by Aliya Dossa - Burnaby North Secondary, Burnaby BC Apr 17, 2012

Will you be covering the night on Friday, April 20th to make Kony famous?

KONY 2012. Without any explanation, I'm almost certain that you know what I'm talking about (unless you were literally born yesterday or the day before, I suppose). The campaign has stirred up a lot of controversy over the past month or so, but for the sake of this blog post, let's forget about that stuff. Whether you agree with the campaign or not, it is impossible to reject the fact that it is the fastest video in history to have gained 100 million views.

This raises a fascinating question: What is it about the KONY 2012 campaign that caused it to become so viral? Online Schools, a digital resource for online education from kindergarten to graduate school, has spent some time thinking about the KONY 2012 phenomenon.

"As a site dedicated to staying on top of the latest trends in education technology and social sharing, OnlineSchools took a keen interest in the KONY 2012 video, not because of its subject matter, but because of its viral nature," explained spokesperson for OnlineSchools.com, Seth Restaino.

"We created this infographic [see below article] to highlight the power of viral video, something we think has the potential to inform and influence both inside and outside the classroom.

I hope this visual they created will help answer some of your questions, as it did for me.

With almost 22,000 guests planning on participating in Vancouver's “Cover the Night” Facebook-organized event to take place this Friday, April 20th, it will be interesting to see what comes of their efforts. While it may be possible to hide a bunch of street lamps and buildings behind bright pages, the campaign itself is far from concealable.

On a side note - what better a way to spend the Earth Day weekend than by covering the city with disposable posters of Joseph Kony, right? Keep those informed decisions rolling in.

The Kony Kraze
Courtesy of: Online Schools

Comments (2)
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The internet made me eat cinnamon

Submitted by angelicapoversky on Mon, 01/07/2013 - 11:34.

We are so mindlessly influenced by media, one video can instantly make an easy brainwashed 12 year old girl into a humanitarian within seconds. Then within a blink of an eye, that same pre-teen has completely forgotten about Kony 2012 and is embarking on the latest trend of eating a banana after drinking 7-Up while doing a ridiculous korean dance move. Then she'll proceed to eat cinnamon and post the clip on Youtube and share her frenzy with her Facebook friends while reblogging pictures on Tumblr of "forever alone" memes.

Social media influences who we are and what we do, it's so powerful, a simple click changes the way you act in seconds.

It Doesn't Come As A Surprise

Submitted by Darren Pooni on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 09:47.

It's not surprising that Kony 2012 has become so popular. The video itself is overwhelming and even if it wasn't about Kony 2012, people would still be talking about it. We have become so dependent on all forms of media that we can't even have a regular conversation. Instead, we have to talk about what video we saw last night or what song is sweeping the nation. Of course, Kony 2012 is never going to become something of the past. When you combine a powerful video with such a heinous and unforgivable act, it's bound to stick with people for eternity.

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