Social Media
Thought I’d show one of the first pieces of art Leanne ever did in what is now known as the BMS style. Although the style is now heavily associated with Star Wars, it began with Doctor Who and Blake’s 7. It doesn’t matter if it’s not Star Wars, because today’s blog applies to any fandom and the way we use the internet in general.
Although I haven’t talked about my health for a while here on the site, those that are close to me know I’m dealing with my own, highly frustrating spine and nerve related problems. One of the few things that can lift me and stop me looking inward, is to think how I can use Blue Milk Special to reach out to others to help people who are facing far more serious health problems than myself. I’m going to take a moment to talk about sharing on social media like Facebook and Twitter.
Think about this…
It only takes two clicks on Facebook (“share”, and then “share link”) and one click on Twitter (“retweet) to help spread an important message.
Some people go out of their way to help others by organizing charity endeavors to raise funds for someone’s battle against a deadly disease like cancer, or raising money for research into an illness or medical education. Amazingly, very few people seem to want to click to share something selfless like this.
Does it really clutter your newsfeed to add one status post to help spread awareness of a good cause?
Viral messages on the internet allow people to discover global and local events in their area that they may otherwise not hear about. I wasn’t aware of the sci-fi convention, Project Motor Mouth, set up to help raise money for cancer research, inspired by Janet Fielding’s fight with cancer, until I came across a tweet about it online. The first event was a success and held earlier this year. The next show is being held in Slough, England on August 3rd.
Doctor Who inspired me in my childhood and Leanne’s art style for BMS actually started out with X-mas illustrations and character sketches. I colored the one on the right which is of the companion, Tegan, played by Janet Fielding. The character, Tegan referred to herself as a “mouth on legs”, hence the name of the charity convention. In the last 3 years, 4 leading cast members from Doctor Who have lost battles with cancer! Whether or not you are familiar with Doctor Who, if you have a heart and have experienced cancer yourself or through friends and loved ones, you’ll be able to understand. Cancer does not discriminate. At times it can seem like an unstoppable monster claiming us all.
With all the Docs at Project Motor Mouth @PeterDavison5 @SawbonesHex @RealPaulMcGann @SylvesterMcCoy
It really hit home for me one night last week when I first read about Project Motor Mouth. I was having a particularly rough evening and I was able to turn that frustration into positive energy. The very LEAST that I could do would be to share the message about the charity convention and increase awareness of the event that some may be able to attend.
Only a small handful of people shared the message on Facebook. It’s not the first time. I’ve been trying to share a Star Wars related charity marathon and I’m finding the same general apathy from people. I’m proud of each person that clicked those two buttons on Facebook to share the message. But equally, I’m frustrated by the hundreds who simply ignore such messages. If it’s not a retarded meme with a caption, some people almost seem like they could care less.
Want one of these Jedi Challenge Light Saber Medals? So, either my words here will hit home for some of our readers, or they won’t, but I’m asking everyone to really think hard about why they aren’t sharing or retweeting information about charitable events. The viral power of the internet can be used for more than the sharing of silly jokes. Take the following cause as an example…
The Jedi Challenge Virtual Run is a charity run to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am supporting this event and I want others to know about the run so they have the opportunity to donate and/or participate. At the very least, you can share the message and help spread the word on Twitter and Facebook. We have even more reason, as Star Wars fans, to support these Star Wars themed charity events.
Luke Skywalker believed in the power of the Force that surrounds us and binds the universe together. The beauty of the Force was that people could interpret it however they liked and I like to think of it as the power we have together, to use our compassion for our fellow fans and fellow human beings, to do something above and beyond ourselves. Clicking a share button is the most basic part of that online, plus it will earn you my respect… if that means anything to you! 🙂
This virtual run is available in 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, and Full Marathon distance. Entry includes a 2″ Die-Cast Medal. Proceeds got to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. They also have the event listed on Facebook. For those that participate, you get one of these unique medals limited to only 500 (not that we should even need a reward).
One story that illustrates who you are supporting by becoming involved in this event is little Gideon, pictured here with Yoda ears. He is in the middle of his battle with Leukemia and is having a spinal tap and started another round of chemo last week.
So, what is a virtual run? You can run anywhere at anytime you choose before August 1st. More details at The Jedi Challenge Virtual Run If you can’t run, you can still register and donate!
So, come on Blue Milk Special fans, at the very least, let’s use the power of the internet to SHARE the messages of those organizing fun events to try and help save people’s lives. Is it really that much to ask?
If the only thing Leanne and I can achieve with Blue Milk Special is to help facilitate and promote meaningful causes like these, then we have our purpose.
How exactly did Lando get a reputation as a smooth talker?
You’ve got to remember this guy is carrying “Han guilt”.
He must have had some really good PR people working for him…
Nah. It’s just this post-Cloud City guilt that’s affecting his judgement.
seeing as how the comment section is unusually short this time, let’s keep going with a new subject! 😀
So, al lthe Disney stuff is becoming generel knowledge fairly quickly, but did you know disney just went and completely cancelled the cw tv-show without any ending, in order to make a new series called “rebels” to help the bridging between prequels and originals, in order to draw more of the attention of older fans in order to obviously get more money from both them and their kids who watched the cw. What are your thoguhts on this? do you think it will have anything to do with ep7, or vice verca? Do you think it will have any connection to the cw? The guy that told me said it might be in CGI too. Do you think it will, or would disney actually hire real actors, seeing as how they are now making a live-action marvel tv show about S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or that they might even do something so terrible and make it completely cartoon-animated?
I had heard for some time that Clone Wars was designed to be a 5 year deal. So, if the writers didn’t satisfactorily wrap things up, perhaps they should have. I welcome a new show since there’s more chance I’m going to like something new, than more of the same. But given how serious I am about the subject of today’s blog, I’d prefer people to really think about what I’m saying than change the topic so drastically. There will be another day and time to discuss trivial stuff like this.
I saw your post about Eileen and her battle with cancer and how she put her mind to the task of making her costume for joining the 501st and how they honored her. Cancer is a terrifying thing and the more awareness there is the more people can help, I love to hear about groups that are out there willing to help in what ever ways they can. I try to share anything i see about good causes when i see them even if its well after its been posted.
I think I just have too many people I follow on facebook — and I usually don’t read my twitter page. Was the post from the BMS page, or from a personal one? I’ll see if I can’t adjust my settings to make sure I don’t miss this sort of thing in the future.
No worries, Alana. I’m just talking about the fact we now have 5,000 LIKES on Facebook, and that generally on FB the only things that people bother to share are the silly jokes, and not often enough the important messages for good causes. Facebook introduced some changes a while back that stop people seeing pages they have not interacted with in a long time. Go to our Blue Milk Special Facebook Page and hover over the “LIKE” button for a drop down menu to adjust your settings. Click the option to Show us in your Newsfeed.