After doing some research, I realized how big of an organization Amnesty International really is. There are different branches all over the world, with multiple sites and media platforms. Amnesty International defines itself as a global movement of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights.
There are multiple versions of this organization, amnesty.org is the most broad, general site; with amnestyusa.org and protectthehuman.com for the US and UK. There are multiple sites for other countries as well.
Based on only Amnesty International USA:
-Facebook: they have over 350,000 'likes'; the page prompts you to immediately sign up to take action- either to donate now, invite friends or to share this 'action' and enter your contact information for further updates. The page seems to be updating frequently with various posts throughout the day.
-Twitter: has over 350,000 followers; thousands of tweets about international issues, no only US problems. Thought it was interesting that there is an official USA Amnesty International page, and each other country has their own account.
-Another interesting fact, you can shop for humanity with amnesty 'gear.' I wonder how much money they raise using this store and who their main clientele is.
-I found it very interesting that this organization has Youtube, Flickr and Pinterest accounts also. Flickr and Youtube would be a good way to convey information, especially with the visual media, however they would be viewed by a specific audience. The pinterest account surprised me the most. I made me wonder what is important to 'pin' and how this can raise awareness and what their reasons are for using this account.
At this point in my research, I am beginning to agree with Gladwell more than Mirani. I feel like the numbers of followers and 'friends' on twitter and facebook are small relative to how many people are in the world. It seems like the people who want to know about what is going on in the world will find out, and everyone else does not care. This use of social media may get more awareness out there, but there is relatively little they can do, especially since 'following' and 'liking' a page is done on the viewer's end. It just seems like Amnesty International isn't doing much to try and change things, they are just trying to raise awareness.
