The viral power of Facebook

Facebook has done it again this time with pink chaddi campaign. The attack on girls in Mangalore pub led many bloggers to write against Ram Sene. First it was started as a blog by Nisha Susan, a journalist with tehelka. The idea was to send some ‘love’ to Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik, in the form of pink underwear. The campaign was then extended as a Facebook group. Later on many journalists and online campaigners joined the group and over 39,000 people responded. “The kind of mobilisation we got from our blog and Facebook group wouldn’t have come about if we had staged a dharna,” says Isha Manchanda, Susan’s colleague and campaign officer.

Facebook has created good buzz to mobilise public interests campaign at short notice. Marketers now have realized the power of various internet tools that can generate buzz about the product. The viral marketing is on the roll as it is easier and quicker to generate buzz. The Mumbai campaign and this recent pink chaddi campaign show that cyber activism can make noise on streets and kick up some real dirt as well.