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Publishing on the Internet - Sun. 3:30pm
Websites, e-newsletters, blogging, streaming, RSS feeds, MySpace, YouTube

Presenters: Judah, Noard, Shoss

Brenda Shoss
Founder/President, Kinship Circle, www.KinshipCircle.org

Click here for Brenda's printable detailed handout (pdf).

Brenda Shoss: Founder/President, Kinship Circle, a nonprofit organization that gives animal activists tools to communicate influentially. We provide: Weekly Action Campaigns  •  Downloadable Educational Literature
Design Gallery For Animal Rights Advertising  •  Tools To Speak/Write/Present On Behalf Of Animals

The Internet is an amazing activist tool. It gives us: The means to circulate news and take action daily. The ability to see measurable results for animals. But a strange thing happened on our way to becoming better activists…

THE INTERNET: ACTIVISM VERSUS SLACKTIVISM

Do Online Petitions Make A Difference For Animals? Online petitions mean well, but don’t work. Here’s why:

  1. There is no guarantee e-petitions reach key decision-makers.
  2. For any e-petition — someone must collect and collate signatures to deliver to the right parties.
           Just because you see a petition on your screen doesn’t mean someone will actually do that.
  3. Complex problems aren’t resolved with online petitions. Lawmakers are not inspired to pass sweeping reforms because keyboard activists are mad at them. Ongoing cruelty requires the nuance and diligence of letter campaigns to decision-makers as circumstances evolve. Commitment, creativity & persistence elicit real change.
  4. Electronic signatures are unverifiable. With cyber signatures, one person can sign fake names. Any adept programmer can code petitions to create thousands of false names. Lawmakers, business leaders, and others positioned to sway outcomes know this. So, they may toss e-petitions in the nearest trashcan…

What About Web-Automated Letters? You go to a website and a letter is prepared in a box. You enter your name, hit “submit,” and the letter is sent for you. Bundled emails sent from one website may be as overlooked as e-petitions. Washington Post report (2007) shows… (EXAMPLE) / 2005 Survey Of Congressional Staffers… (EXAMPLE)

ANATOMY OF GOOD AND BAD ACTION ALERTS

Anatomy Of A Good Action Alert:  

EMAIL SUBJECT LINE - Write headline that defines the animal situation and action to take in as few words as possible…
DEFINITION & IDENTITY - Define the alert’s intent and identify whom it is from, at very top of alert…
CONTACT INFORMATION - Research WHO key decision-makers are. Clearly list all contact Info in one place…
SAMPLE LETTER / TALKING POINTS - Crux of the alert, serves two purposes:

1.)    To inform activists about the issue; and also
2.)    To build a well reasoned, convincing argument to the target of the action alert.
•    Give your sample letter a central focus and specific call-to-action.
                   •    Know key points of your argument.  Propose alternatives to cruel practices.
• Research articles, investigations, police/public records, industry journals...to find studies, stats, polls, quotes that support your argument.

SOURCE OF INFORMATION - Provide links/references to published materials used for an alert’s background info.

Anatomy of a Bad Action Alert:

MULTIPLE FORWARDED MESSAGES - Whittle to: The issue + what to do + contact info + sample letter/talking points.
PATTERNED BACKS, FANCY FONTS, RAINBOW COLORS - Don’t decorate alerts. Convey message cleanly.     
Use correct spelling, grammatical structure…
MELODRAMA, PERSONAL FEELINGS, THERAPEUTIC VENTING -

DON’T LEAVE ‘EM HANGING - Graphic alerts with no means to take action are just depressing…                                    
DON’T POST UNVERIFIED INFORMATION - Impulse alerts travel the Internet quickly and can have negative repercussions.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s the words, and how they’re used, that make a successful action alert. Even with the evolution of information technology — you can still have great gadgets and a really bad alert.