| Chloe: |
How did you come out with the idea of the Pixel Project?
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| Regina: |
The Pixel Project actually began life as our flagship
fundraiser, the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign that I created
in response to a cry for help from Malaysia's Women's Aid Organisation (WAO).
Their need emerged when the global financial crisis started in late 2008 and
donors and funders rescinded, froze or reduced financial pledges. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
who came on board a couple of months later were in the same position as WAO.
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| Chloe: |
How do you think technology such as social media has allowed you to execute such civil society campaigns more effectively and innovatively? |
| Regina: |
Firstly, The Pixel Project came into being when the time was right and ripe for the first wave of next-gen 21st century nonprofits to take off. With social media technology and applications, we are what Forbes calls "the cheap revolution" where you can start an organisation without overhead costs!
Secondly, the power of social media lies in the fact that it helps campaigns reach into people's homes through the Internet and better yet, smartphones. No longer do we need to pound the pavement and knock on doors and everyone who supports the cause the easily spread the word and get organised with several clicks of the mouse. This sort of reach also helps take messages viral – helping spread the word about causes and campaigns faster than at any other time in history.
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| Chloe: |
What are the social media sites you use for this campaign? |
| Regina: |
We run a whole range of campaigns, some of them based on just one type of social media (e.g. our Twitter Tag Team campaign), while others use a mix of social media in their awareness-raising strategy. We currently use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr and blogs. |
| Chloe: |
What kind of results have you achieved from using social media? |
| Regina: |
The Pixel Project is still a very young non-profit and we are still gathering momentum for the very long journey towards ending violence against women. So in a sense, it is a little early to provide accurate, tangible measurements of the impact that we are working to achieve.
Hope is an intangible, abstract notion. You can’t measure it. Yet it is a positive galvanising force that helps people keep going for this very tough cause, which has a long way to go. That we have achieved this impact so early in our existence as a change organisation is amazing and we couldn’t have done it on such a wide scale without social media.
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| Chloe: |
What is it about the technology behind social media that you think have led to so many people getting on board these tools? |
| Regina: |
They are free to use. Anyone can sign up at no cost and start connecting with others! They are fun to use… and can be used for fun – social media thrives on sharing and we’ve seen an explosion of creativity, showcasing of new talent that would not have seen the light of day before social media such as YouTube and Flickr. They are easy to use – Nearly everything has been simplified and made into one-click wonders. Take Twitter for example: Just type in your 140-character tweet and click the tweet button! |
| Chloe: |
Besides social media, how has technology allowed you to run this project better? |
| Regina: |
There are file-sharing services, such as Dropbox and YouSendIt and free communication apps on smartphones such as Whatsapp. But I should say that VOIP technology is the main new technology that has made it possible for us virtually. In fact, we don’t use the phone at all for any of our calls and meetings – just Skype and occasionally, GTalk. It has kept our communications costs pretty close to zero over the three years that we have been running and the video chat function also means that we can have face-to-face time with volunteers, partners and sponsors no matter where they are in the world. |
| Chloe: |
Anything interesting or favourite stories to share that happened since The Pixel Project was born? |
| Regina: |
A couple of our staunch supporters, one of whom is a long time volunteer on our team, got our ribbon tattooed on their ankles to remind them that they will never again let a man hurt them. There’s also a domestic violence and rape survivors who emailed The Pixel Project team to tell us that our work has empowered them to begin sharing their stories and speaking up so other battered women can break free of their abusers and to rebuild their lives after the pain. |
| Chloe: |
We heard you have celebrities on board this campaign as well. Can you drop us some names and how you manage to get them involve? |
| Regina: |
Yes we do – we have a globally renowned Nobel Laureate, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a renowned Environmentalist who are part of our exclusive collage of mystery male role models for our Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign.
And no, we can't tell you who they are because the way the campaign works is that the global audience has to donate a dollar per pixel to help gradually reveal the celebrities behind the cover picture. Think of it as a virtual jigsaw puzzle that anyone from San Francisco to Singapore can pay to play!
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| Chloe: |
Thanks Regina for the insights. We are excited to see who are the celebs you mentioned as the pixels unveiled in time to come! |