It's not often that I feel out of the loop on LGBT events and issues, as I'm addicted to my RSS feed and LGBT TweetDeck column that includes most of the leading bloggers and news sites. However, it was this past Friday afternoon I heard from a friend — in person — about this past weekend's national gay rights rally in Philadelphia.
The National Equality Rally brought together hundreds of LGBT individuals who marched the streets of historic Philly with signs and speeches addressing current issues, such as marriage equality, adoption rights, AIDS research funding, discrimination in the workplace, health care, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. The event, which was considered the first national demonstration since 2000, garnered an AP wire story that ran on the sites and pages of many papers across the country and LGBT media coverage.
Reviewing the coverage and online buzz about the event, I wonder if marches and public demonstrations such as Sunday's rally work well in today's tech-driven, hyper-networked world. Have we moved to a point of one-to-one online networking and personal interaction that large advocacy events are little more than replications of historic communication methods with decreasing effectiveness? Personally, I think these demonstrations can still be effective, if used correctly within an integrated communications effort, and are woven into the eternal DNA of Americans.
Using the National Equality Rally as a case study, I think there are two communications lessons to be learned:
- Fully-leverage social and LGBT media to build strong awareness and support well in advance of event. In this day of Twitter and accompanying Tweet-ups, it's apparent that people are not willing to forego human interaction, but rather seek it out after creating initial online connections around a common issue or topic. National demonstrations are no different. Given a brief review of the blog and social media landscape, the National Equality Rally could have leveraged these online tools and word-of-mouth to garner more widespread awareness and participation in the event.
- Have a pointed agenda with actionable next steps. In the coverage of the rally, many current LGBT inequalities were noted. However, without a major spokesperson or celebrity and primary issue of most importance, the rally appeared to be a gathering of LGBT individuals and allies listing off our many issues without a clear demand from our country and its leaders, and a vehicle to sustain the momentum of those who came out to express their support.
What are your thoughts about the recent rally and public demonstrations in general? Are they still effective or simply a tradition of advocacy? We'd love to hear your comments, especially from those of you who attended.
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I think there is still a place for grassroots movements and rallies. This is evident in the recent presidential election, where the college demographic gave an outstanding show at the polls. I think Twitter is a great tool for such movements and, while the world is crazed with technology, there is still a place for face-to-face communication and localization.