In a in a panel at SIME08 in Stockholm, Sweden that I participated in, I was asked about how Facebook contributes to “change”. Since time was very limited but the interest great and the questions many, I thought I’d share some examples of how Facebook contributes to change in peoples life, in the world at large and in what way Facebook is a “change maker”.
Columbia University history professor David Eisenbach when relating to what impact Facebook had on the US elections, captured the spirit on what is going on very well:
“Far from being an apathetic generation, this generation is just as politically savvy and involved as the 1960s generation,” Eisenbach said. “The difference is they’re not doing it on the street; they’re doing it on the Web.”
This is not only true for politics but for all kinds of other issues that people care about at large. All over the world, from Sweden to Columbia, from the South Africa to Israel, people are actively creating events, uploading photos, joining groups, and raising awareness around important issues on Facebook. While many of these social actions previously used to take place on the streets, today these social actions are taking place on the Web and in a much more powerful and distributed way.
Perhaps the most powerful example of this on Facebook is the News Feed. By providing the most relevant content in a social context, e.g. News Feed, Facebook is changing how people share and discover information, and when people discover what people they care about are doing, interested in and engaged in, they too want to get engaged and involved.
The book of Proverbs says: “Like Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”.
We are heavily influenced by our friends, collegues and peers. Facebook provides a unique, never seen before platform for change by helping people discovering information and share important issues with each other in a new and very powerful way.
I feel very proud and privileged to be a part of this great company, a movement that is truly making a difference in people’s life.
Now to the examples:
- The US elections: “Facebook is going to be a generational transformation of American politics and forever it’s going to change the way campaigns are run,” Columbia University history professor David Eisenbach said. Facebook was used at a very early stage by the Obama campaign in order to organize the young and rally the grass roots. My colleague Randi Zuckerberg captured the spirit of the elections very well in a blog post with great examples on how Facebook made a difference in the US elections.
- Then there is the case of the Dennis Schulman, a blind rabbi and a Democrat who ran for Congress and managed to rasie $250.000 from students and grass root suppporters on Facebook.
- Protests on Facebook against the Columbian revolutionary armed forces (FARC)
- Missing kids found via Facebook:Facebook group for South African Missing Children organization
- Adopted Swedish teenager found her biological mother on Facebook.
- Facebook campaign inspires anti-knife march in London:A march was organised on Facebook in memory of Ben Kinsella, a teenage knife victim.
- Protest against HSBC overdraft charges: Students in the UK protesting HSBC overdraft charges on Facebook. As a result, HSBC changed their policy.
- Cadbury brings back the Wispa: There was an online consumer campaign centered around Facebook to bring back Cadbury’s Wispa (candy bar). Over 93 user-created groups with more than 14,000 members were created to “bring back the Wispa”. Cadbury has decided to bring back the Wispa.
These are just some of many examples..
So go ahead, get engaged, share yourself, create a group, contribute to a cause or raise awareness about an important issue. The platform is already here – it’s called Facebook, all you have to to is to add yourself (and invite your friends 
.
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