Stop KONY. Watch KONY 2012 - Is it all phony?

Don't stand and stare. Watch and share.

Joseph Kony must be stopped in 2012 - #StopKony #StopatNothing #Kony2012 #MakeKONYFamous

Watch & Share KONY 2012. By now, the video has hit millions of computers and mobiles across the globe. Not to mention homes and offices, hearts and minds. It has started a revolution!

The KONY video has become the fastest viral video ever (15 million YouTube hits in 2 days!). Without doubt, KONY2012 is the biggest social media initiative to hit the online world in a long, long time. But with the news spreading like wild-web-fire, some sceptics are asking: Is it real? Or is it phony? Is it just another money-making gimmick? Or publicity stunt?

I say "Silence, sceptics! Down with the doubters. Open your eyes. There's a much bigger thing happening here."

The children of Uganda must be saved first. For that, Joseph Kony must be stopped. His LRA army must be tracked down, disarmed and disbanded. They have been committing heinous crimes against humanity for 26 years. It's time to STOP KONY. No matter how!

On a positive note, I'd like to praise the work done by Invisible Children and its co-founder/ director/ narrator, Jason Russell on the 30 minute film (it must've taken quite a lot of effort & resources filming, cutting and putting it out there). Above all, for bringing the message of abject poverty and the state of complete anarchy in many countries in Africa.

My 5 take-outs/ key reactions to the KONY 2012 video:

1) No one polices the Internet. However, the Internet can police the world. Make it a better place, maybe!

2) Social Media for Social Good - (I hosted a Social Media Club Auckland session with that title.) Social Media has a much greater purpose. The best use of a connected world is when people come together to help one another. It shows the positive side of the web, human face of the Internet.

Whenever disaster strikes in the world, social media comes to the rescue. Here's a recent example: Dell assisting The Red Cross to set up a Social Media Disaster Response Centre.

3) The KONY video has sparked off a revolution. It has put in place a way for the world to unite against injustice. That's the really big thing happening here! After this, no more Kony's can get away with murder. It took years to smoke out Osama and Saddam. But with people power, authorities should be able to hunt down and stop perpetrators of evil - anywhere on this planet.

Oprah Winfrey and Ellen de Generes have over 19 million Twitter followers between them.
Justin Bieber has 18 million+ followers and Lady Gaga sits on top of Twitter with 20 million+

When social media influencers/ online celebrities embrace a cause, it stirs people into action = Revolution!

4) The other big thing is using the Internet to reach the influencers. Get the celebrities (Bono, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Damon, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ryan Seacrest) to embrace the cause. And act on it. Do something about it. Oprah Winfrey has donated to the cause. Ellen de Generes just tweeted that she supports the cause and will talk about Kony on The Ellen Show. That's the power of Social Media.

18 year old Natalie Warne of Invisible Children speaking at TEDxTeen in 2011. 

5) One man or woman with authentic emotion, drive and belief in the right cause can do anything. As the Kony video eloquently puts it: Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

Natalie Warne spearheaded Invisible Children's biggest project "The Rescue". Her efforts paid off when Oprah invited her and her team (April 2011) onto her show to add her voice to the numbers. (Watch the Oprah Show clip.) The event was highlighted on Larry King Live, CNN, and countless other news outlets.

Stop KONY 2012 - It's not about social media. It is about being social. And social is not something you do. It is something you are. We all are! Don't stand and stare. Watch the video. And share.

Simon Young of syENGAGE speaking about the impact of the #StopKONY viral with Mark Sainsbury of TVNZ Close Up

In New Zealand:

March 8, 2012: TVNZ's CloseUp covered the #KONY2012 campaign featuring Ben Keesey, CEO, Invisible Children and Simon Young, Social Media Consultant, syENGAGE. Watch the video clip here! Here's Simon's blog on KONY 2012: 6 Lessons for starting a movement online.

Update:

March 13, 2012: Excerpts from Invisible Children's newsletter:

Thanks for pledging support to the international effort to stop Joseph Kony.

The last week has been overwhelming. We always dreamed that the LRA would reach this level of global awareness, but we NEVER saw this coming. Thank you for making the seemingly impossible a reality.

But we all know that awareness is only one part of the equation. In order to achieve our goal of bringing a permanent end to LRA violence, we have to turn this new-found awareness into informed action. And we don't have any time to waste.


This has been a big week for all of us, but more importantly for the conversation about bringing a permanent end to LRA violence. And that's what it's about, not Invisible Children or KONY 2012. It's about peace--and people all around the world working together to achieve it. Let's make it happen. We are just getting started.

Sincerely,Invisible Children


For a current report on all the world's media attention focused on Invisible Children, and how people are helping them in various ways, check out their blog - with global updates, videos and links.

To sign-off: here's a gem of a quote I received from Dee:

People who change after change, will survive. 

People who change with the change, will succeed. 

People who cause the change, will lead.