Social Media for Social Change Using technology to change the world

How to Change the World in 2012

Craig Newmark (Founder of Craigslist) recently asked people to write a blog post for his new Social Good Blog Series over at CraigConnects answering the question, How will YOU Change the World in 2012?, I felt it’s a question we should all ask ourselves today, January 1, as we start the new year.

photo courtesy of Veejay Villafranca

How I Will Change the World in 2012:

I will write a book on using Social Media tools for social change. The Yellow Boat Project has truly allowed me to walk my talk. In 2010 to early 2011, as the New Media Head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (the renamed Office of the Press Secretary), I kept on insisting that the 27 million Facebook users in the Philippines and almost 30 million Internet users in the country should use their time and efforts online to bring about social change. I've met so many amazing people and the stories they shared convinced me that there are so many change makers out there. Their stories are enough to fill an entire book and help inspire another generation of change makers.

I, along with the team behind the Yellow Boat Project, will officially establish and launch the Philippine Funds for Little Kids as a non-profit organization devoted at helping improve children’s access to education in the Philippines. You can find the updates here: http://yellowboat.tumblr.com and http://www.facebook.com/philippine.funds.

I will continue to share the Yellow Boat Project to individuals, organizations, companies and other groups in the hope that it becomes a how-to-guide for them on how to galvanize online support for their causes and advocacy and turn it into a grassroots movement to change the world.

Lastly, I will continue to share during my lectures that leadership (for me) is primarily two things: first, it is about inspiration and influence; and second, it is about reproduction. Leadership in this day and age should be more like a platform, leaders must become enablers for both personal and professional growth. The ultimate goals of leadership are two-pronged: influence and reproduction. Success without succession is a failure. Success without inspiring others to do the same is also a failure. In that light, for 2012, I will endeavor to inspire more change makers out there to start their own “little funds” or “little projects” that make a positive impact to individuals, communities and organizations.

So the big question is: What will you do to change the world in 2012?