Standing up to minorities with social media

I have just met the mother of Laurie Pycroft (and I quote from the case study in the Social Affairs Unit web site) - a sixteen-year-old from Swindon – who was so appalled by the antics of the animal rights extremists campaigning against the Oxford University animal lab that he decided to stand up to them. Here he tells the story of the founding of Pro-Test - an organisation which is campaigning in support of the Oxford University animal lab.

Here is a case of activism that really caught the public imagination and which put some backbone into both the government and legislature.

Yesterday, The Boston Globe reports how this young man has created a considerable backlash and the story continues.

What is noticeable about this campaign is that it was driven by social media and while not 'classic' in the Public Relations planning and management sense is a social media classic in its own right.

While we see Mega Corps in deep trouble over minority activities on a daily basis, a young man has shown them the way.

From this case study, it is not too difficult to identify the methodological approach.

In this case the landscaping was more social than scientific but testing opinion and building a community, moving from the virtual to the real world and building a community (including a media community) is out of the text book.

Picture: Pravda