Sharing the Message, Amplifying the Results

I'm feeling rather geeky today. This is a follow-up entry to my posts on pro bono blogging and social networking. The photo to the right is the face of new media: social sharing icons.

Back then, the pretty icons were not that popular. Conventional media - yes tri-media comprising radio, newspaper and TV - was doing the bulk of the work of sharing a message and amplifying the results.

A look back at traditional journalism shows mass media is so formidable that it continues to be regarded as "the fourth estate" and "the government watch dog."

According to Dr. Crispin Maslog, mass media can empower a population or dumb down the audience. It can shape and change opinions. It can move people to inaction or complacency. 

Today, new media has grown just as powerful, if not more formidable than traditional media... The power to communicate messages is no longer monopolized by media professionals but is now also exercised by average netizens.

Pro Bono Blogging and Bringing Out the Best in You

Sharing is sexy, Puss.

Last month, I posted an entry on how social networking gone bad can harm your blog site. Today, I will talk about how freelancers can use social media to promote the common good: through pro bono blogging. 

"Pro bono" is Latin for "for the common good." This entails at least two things: promoting a cause to help the public and doing it for free. The term usually refers to legal professionals who lend their skills to help out individuals who do not have the means of paying for professional services.

Pro Bono Blogging Examined

Of late, many bloggers have caught up with the trend. Is this pure foolishness? Apparently not. The practice is good in at least 3 ways:

• It brings out the human being in you. Oftentimes, the search for profit could make you a robotic money maker. A pro bono blog post every now and then leads you back to the truth: that you are human... that you have feelings... that you can do your share to touch one life.
  
  
• It challenges your creativity to customize your blog post to fit your niche. The recent turn of events in Japan and how the gaming industry responded is a perfect example of how two unlikely subject matters can be melded meaningfully in a custom-made press release. You can do the same for your blog post.
  
  
• It fosters the spirit of volunteerism. Both the recipient and the volunteer benefit from the activity. According to the World Volunteer Web, volunteerism allows you to learn new skills, experience a sense of achievement and belonging, boost your career option and interact with a diverse set of people. 

Helping Kassandra

In light of the above information on pro bono blogging and on writing to promote the common good, I'd like to take the opportunity to plug in the cause of Kassandra. I first knew about the child from Connie's blog post on helping children.  I know I could have blogged about cats and other causes, but Kassandra's story moved me. The child and her mom hail from a place close to my heart: Cebu.