One of the best examples of this I think is 12for12k.org

We can all donate money to some charity dedicated to getting fair elections in Iran. What will that do?

Having said that – the social aspect – or peer pressure if you will – no doubt does compel some in to action, especially the physically easier actions like greening your Twitter avatar or putting the Livestrong band on your avatar.

Ben: Pretty spot on. I would not have donated to an animal shelter if you guys hadn't done D4D, and I'm sure a bunch of other people wouldn't have either.

Twitter expands our ability to connect with people, and therefore lets us exploit (I mean that in the nicest sense) those relationships. Rad.

First we made the process to donate beyond easy. Have a credit card and three clicks of the mouse? Then you can donate.

Second, we capitalized on our personal relationships. YOU might not think about rescued animals on a daily basis, but you know that it's something that's important to me. Suddenly it becomes more real and personal to you because of our friendship.

(No jokes. We're friends. YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT BACK!)

Third, we asked people to spread the word through many means but including Twitter. All of a sudden they start connecting with their friends to donate rather than the much harder task of us – as strangers – trying to convince them to pony up.

Would you have donated money to an animal shelter this year if I hadn't suggested that you did? Well…who knows. But there are a lot of people who wouldn't have.

Is it Twitter the tool that makes activism easier? No. It's the relationships and personal connections through Twitter that help activism come to life online.

A cause – whether Darfur or Iran election – needs a goal and a way to measure it.

Once you set out to achieve the goal then you engage in activism.

The example that comes to mind is
Ben and Alias Grace's Dachshund drive. Their goal was to raise X dollars for a cause. They used an on-line donation application and then Twitter and FB to promo the cause. I believe they were successful AND they had a way to measure the effectiveness of social media.

Can it really be said that reading a bunch of tweets actually compels someone to take action they were unlikely to in the first place? (obligatory Devil's Advocate)

Every conversation I enter on the value/benefit of social media (or its parts, like Twitter, FB etc.) – all lead to the same point. We humans need relationships. We need to be social, and social media is a tool that expands and enhances our social relationships.

Like Ben mentions, when a friend (or a celebrity in some cases…'cause that's why they use 'em) says to get involved in a certain movement, is much more compelling. WoMM still leads us to make all kinds of decisions – from activism to retail purchases, because of the power of relationships.

Heather: Very good point!