Upon reading chapter seven of Causewired, I realized that I had been uninformed about the topic of flash causes, and they turned out to be rather interesting. One thing on which I wish Tom Watson would have elaborated: what exactly are the "selling factors" of the causes that really catch on? I.e., what is it about any certain cause that makes it popular, and why do some causes just fade out?
The causes that Watson mentioned are obviously very noteworthy, important causes. Perhaps he could have mentioned some specific ones that didn't make it, and speculated on why that might be.
The story about CIGNA denying Nataline Sarkisyan a liver transplant was particularly compelling. How incredible that just a few people can become so many, and can cause such a sensation. I never imagined that blogging could be such an effective messenger of causes, but apparently, it works all the time.
Anyone have any opinions on the aforementioned question about flash causes? That is, why do some work and some fizzle out?
2024 in Books
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2024 in Books
As in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, I logged the books I read.
Here's the 2024 list, followed by some brief comments.
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11 months ago
I'm definitely not going to say that I know why some causes fail, while others succeed; however, I'd think that the ones that fail..fail as a result of being on a smaller, more personalized scale. I know the chapter uses the example of someone using the death of his/her grandmother as a way to generate awareness on the disease, and how it fizzled out rather quickly. I'd think that was probably due to the initimate group of mourning members. Perhaps the creator focused too much on the personal sentimental connection rather than the large-scale issue she really wanted to get across?
ReplyDeleteI agree! While reading, I wanted Watson to provide more information about what causes some flash causes to become popular and what causes others to fizzle out. Personally, I think flash causes work when they can be related to larger scale issues.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the case of Nataline Sarkisyan was very compelling, and I think people reacted the way they did because her case could easily be related to the current debates about health-care and insurance. When a cause is more personal and cannot be related to a large-scale issue, I think that makes it harder for the cause to become popular.