To many, the phenomenon known as Web 2.0 is as abstract as a Miro painting. His paintings make perfect sense if you understand each of the elements, language, social implications and context. Surprisingly those exact elements identify the key to understanding how Web 2.0 and the nature of social causes have grown in unison.
The common goal behind all social causes is to raise awareness or consciousness surrounding a particular issue, motivating thought and taking action. In order to be effective, it requires committed people with incredible focus and an interested audience. In the past, these movements burned an incredible amount of time simply reaching out, trying to spark interest, educate and usually exhausting resources preventing asking for the support required to further the cause.
In the past many grassroots efforts were reduced to door-to-door strategies, calling people at home or soliciting outside sympathetic storefronts. Results do vary, but more often than not, an eye roll or an apology was the response rather than a smile or handing over cold-hard cash. For the larger, better-funded social causes, the vehicle became traditional media, fighting for the...