I had a conversation with someone on Twitter recently about her decision to support Iran’s demonstrators by performing a 1–click green tint change of color to her Twitter avatar.
“Do you really believe adding a color tint to your avatar is doing anything?” I asked.
What about other alternatives? I suggested writing to President Obama, her representatives in Washington, or writing an article for the local paper or on her blog.
She responded that she’s been studying the history of the issue and wasn’t ready to write about it because she wasn’t schooled enough.
“Okay. But what makes you think that a green overlay to your avatar is accomplishing anything?” I asked.
Her response was that all communication is doing something and that U.S. businesses spend billions on colors and slogans and that they expect and get results.
What do you think?
For me, I think that I’m more in agreement with Tom Friedman in his NYTimes column about how to support Iran’s “Green Revolution.” His point is to hit Iran where it hurts: in the wallet.
If these dictators didn’t have the oil money that we keep funneling to them, they wouldn’t be able to keep their people pressed under their thumbs. Friedman uses the Soviet Union as an example.
It’s an interesting read and I urge you to click on the link.
Of course solving our energy needs takes a whole lot more than just one person reducing his or her oil dependency. But if just one person does it, that’s a first step.
And in my mind, it’s a much bigger step than a 1–click green overlay to your Twitter avatar.
That is a good idea. And the same reason the City of Portland should hire a sustainability coordinator - whose job it will be to find ways for the City to reduce its energy consumption. I know you think they City Council should do this themselves, but it is a more complicated task than that.
Posted by: Elliott Teel | June 24, 2009 at 10:53 PM