Derek Baird posted an insightful article on his Barking Robot blog titled:
Nancy Lublin: Social Media That Saves Lives
In her TED talk, Nancy Lublin, CEO of Do Something describes in harrowing detail how kids responded to her advocacy texts with serious and heartbreaking calls for help.
“I think it [texting]might be a lifeline.”
Reminds me of McLuhan’s oft-repeated “Medium is the Message” Something about the intimacy, the silence and the immediacy of this medium makes it possible for kids to be so open that they would send desperate texts in response to a social advocacy campaign. Lublin responded to their cries for help, describing cutting, incest and other serious problems, by creating a text crisis hotline, which collects data about teen experiences, as well as responding with resources to teens’ individual issues. Lublin compares this to a census or a crime map that tracks issues such as date rape, or self-injury.
You can see Lublin’s talk here.
