Brad Marley

Last week, the world witnessed how social media can further a worthy cause when a simple Facebook page was used to bring together tens of thousands of Egyptians in protest, which led to the overthrow of the country’s sitting dictator.

It was a remarkable undertaking that showed how our social networks can be the fuel for incredible change.

On the heels of Revolution 2.0, a group of concerned citizens from Detroit are trying to corral the power of the crowd to erect a statue of Robocop, and have built a Facebook page to further their “cause.” What started with a question on Mayor Bing’s Twitter page has ballooned into a full fledged effort to build something that will, as the people behind the effort suggest, spur tourism and build positive attention for the city.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of what Detroit needs, a statue of a fictional cyborg police officer is at the top of my list.

[Editor's note: Sigh.]

I think Tom Shea put it best when he tweeted:

I wish people donated to Detroit schools and arts like they donated to a big joke. #RoboCop #cmonpeople

February 10, 2011 4:49 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@tomshea

Tom Shea

We always want to use our new tools to fund the outrageous, because it’s the outlandish ideas that get our attention. But the blight and bruises on this city have always been there – why is our drive to build something new so misguided?

A Robocop statue will not draw people from miles around back to the city. But fixing broken down buildings and funding arts and education in the public schools might.

You tell me what sounds more worthy.

I’m beginning to wonder if anybody looks forward to these posts, or if I should reduce the frequency to once-per-month.

While I ponder that, check out this week’s links

• Something, Something, Something, Detroit (Vice World) – One local writer is fed up with the way Detroit has been portrayed by the national media, and here’s why.  It’s actually a pretty compelling read.  Did you know that some of the Detroit’s structural casualties were actually abandoned long before Detroit became the symbol of the nation’s recession? It’s true. Read about it. 

• Networking for Dummies (The Writer’s Coin) – The guy at the Writer’s Coin shares his view on networking and why it’s more like socializing.  It’s good food for thought the next time you attend a networking event.

• If It’s Important, Do It Every Day (World’s Strongest Librarian) – The premise of this post (which I won’t spoil) is so simple that it sounds too easy.  But I’m assured that it works.

• Does Social Media Make PR Agencies Obsolete? (David Fleet) – In a word – no.  But David goes on to explain why we’re not going to become obsolete any time soon (which is good, because I have a baby on the way.)  However, the fact that anybody can reach out to a journalist via social media sites means we’ve got to raise our game because we’re the pros, not them.

You can find all of my links on my Delicious page.