Duncan O'Leary
Duncan works on projects looking at public services, skills and work.
at 2:14pm on Monday, 5th June 2006
Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman says that 'We have never been so free and so unable to change things' - and David Hasselhoff fans have been listening. They want to get their hero to number 1, but realize that they've got a problem: they need some way of persuading people to take action (i.e. buy Looking For Freedom on i-tunes) when each person's individual contribution makes such a small difference. Without overcoming this, Hoff fans are likely to feel powerless, and the chances are no-one will buy the song.
American writer Robert Sampson knows how they feel. If you asked him, he'd say that what they need is collective efficacy - shared belief in their capability to achieve the intended effect. So, to answer these deep sociological dilemmas, the creators of gethasselhofftonumber1.com have found a way of gathering pledges, providing continual feedback those involved, and co-ordinating action at the end of the process. You sign up to the campaign, see how many others are enlisted, and then you all receive an email indicating when to buy the song, meaning that you all buy it in the same week. Genius.
Now, if only we knew how to solve those thorny issues like the environment'
Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman says that 'We have never been so free and so unable to change things' - and David Hasselhoff fans have been listening. They want to get their hero to number 1, but realize that they've got a problem: they need some way of persuading people to take action (i.e. buy Looking For Freedom on i-tunes) when each person's individual contribution makes such a small difference. Without overcoming this, Hoff fans are likely to feel powerless, and the chances are no-one will buy the song.
American writer Robert Sampson knows how they feel. If you asked him, he'd say that what they need is collective efficacy - shared belief in their capability to achieve the intended effect. So, to answer these deep sociological dilemmas, the creators of gethasselhofftonumber1.com have found a way of gathering pledges, providing continual feedback those involved, and co-ordinating action at the end of the process. You sign up to the campaign, see how many others are enlisted, and then you all receive an email indicating when to buy the song, meaning that you all buy it in the same week. Genius.
Now, if only we knew how to solve those thorny issues like the environment'
LOGIN to add comments
Comments