m-cause

We are living in an unprecedented time. The internet has given us the tools and resources necessary to rapidly assemble (and disassemble) any group imaginable. Group action has always been powerful, but with tools like wikis, blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Meetup, Twitter, cell phones, etc. barriers to rapid group formation & coordinated action have significantly been lowered. As Clay Shirkey notes in his book Here Comes Everybody, amplification of group effort will change more than business models, it will change society.

CAUSE LEADERS ON FACEBOOK?

So what causes are getting people’s attention at the moment? What causes are mobilizing groups to push for positive change in institutions, governments, companies, etc.? What causes are getting people excited, arousing passion, & prompting engagement? What causes are leveraging new technology to amplify group effort?

These are some of the questions that are popping around in my head right now, so, I have decided to use Facebook as my proxy for gauging cause participation & group activity (Facebook is one of the world’s biggest social networks).  Facebook provides an easy way for people to set up groups and organize discussions. Additionally, membership #s are easy to find.

M-CAUSE FACEBOOK 15

This ranking is based purely on volume of members in the group. So, causes that started leveraging Facebook earlier will probably have an advantage until I come up with a more sophisticated algorithm.  Side Note, If you are have a great idea for such an algorithm, please let me know and perhaps we can partner together to come up with something better.

CRITERIA

1.  English:  I wanted to ensure that this list is in English for now.  Interestingly, if I had included other languages, 5 groups from around the world would have made the cut:  1 Spanish, 1 French, 2 Turkish, 1 Arabic

2.  Language/Overtly offensive/Rant Groups/My discretion, etc.:  There are a couple of pretty large groups that could be offensive to folks reading m-cause, so I left them out of the list.

While some of the groups you might expect are indeed on the list (e.g Free Tibet) there are surprises…like the Pro smoking/anti-smoking battle going on (the Anti team is ahead at #3).  Also, there seems to be a lively male/female battle happening (Men seem to be ahead).  I did not include the “gender cause battle” on the list this time, however.

The list has a sort of extreme power law distribution feel to it, as 1 group is WAY out in front & then there are several middle competitors around the 100,000 - 500,000 range…as you look down the list, the proverbial long tail seems to kick in.

I will provide more analysis/thoughts on the list later (it is getting late).  So here is the list…

1. Feed a Child with just a Click!: 3,029,298 members

2. No, I Don’t Care if I die at 12AM, I refuse to pass on your chain letter: 698,719 members

3. Can we find 1 MILLION people that DON’T want smoking back in pubs? 518,055 members

4. American Cancer Benefit Society: 493,687 members

5. How to get GAS back down to $1.30 per gallon: 436,435 members

6. Can we find 1 MILLION people that DO want smoking back in pubs? 345,472 members

7. 10,000,000 Strong for our Troops! 188,949 members

8. The Facebook Forest sponsored by Ecotopia.co.uk 159,712 members

9. Petition to Stop Dolphin Massacre 154,439 members

10. Join The Fight To Stop Global Warming! 140,631 members

11. 2 Million people against Female Circumcision{FGM: Female Genital Mutilation 137,875 members

12. Stop Knife Crime…….NOW 121,861 members

13. FREE TIBET! 115,668 members

14. Remembering Lawrence King (Murdered Because He was Gay 111,904 members

15. Free The Jena Six 109,180 members