KONY 2012

Despite the fact that I generally abhor succumbing to pressing play on most videos that trend on my Facebook news feed, this one got to the point that it could no longer be ignored. After incessant posts stating "Kony 2012," "Make Kony Famous," and links to the 30 minute video that has 11 million views, I finally joined the masses and pressed play.

The information presented in the video was nothing new. What was new was the message, and the approach. A short movie with video editing and graphics designed to appeal to our generation,  spread through the medium of social media with the idea that if the 750 million of us vegetating on our overpriced laptops utilized the technology at our fingertips wanted to do something beneficial for the world, we could do it.
Shortly after the video went viral, critics sprang up accusing Invisible Children's use of funds and the Action Kit cost. Invisible Children posted a response here. I read on one blog many commenters comparing Kony 2012 to Tom's, as another way for Americans to feel as though they are doing something, while not having to get up off their couches.
But isn't that, in some bizarre way, the beauty of it? Technology has advanced to such a point that a concept can spread through a global community in a matter of days, hours, moments. We should be proud that this message is a positive one, and we should be thankful that we have the capabilities to spread it. That's all it takes. And that's the point the video makes, get our voices heard. Make the issue impossible to ignore. To the cynics who state that Kony 2012 supporters aren't actually "doing" anything," what are you doing?
Kony aside, the incredible reaction to this movement has me hopeful. Hopeful that we as a people will now realize the powers of communication and technology, love and connectedness. We don't have to stop when Kony falls. So what's next?