If We Could Just Get People to Use the Revolving Door

January 4, 2008

 

The exit to my large, downtown office building is marked by two sets of doors.  On the left, is a traditional double glass door that pushes open to the street.  On the right is a revolving door.  In between, a sign at eye level reads, “Please help us conserve energy by using the revolving doors.”  Predictably, it seems nine out of every ten people who come and go throughout the day shirk the revolving door for the easy way out. 

 

As activists and advocates, philanthropists and public officials, social entrepreneurs and social venturers, our job really comes down to getting people to use the revolving doors.  Doesn’t sound very glamorous does it?  But whatever our issue of passion is, we dedicate our careers and – often – our lives to shouting above the din, pushing people to change course, rethink priorities, and diverge from the path of least resistance to one of change.  At a very basic level, we just want people to pay attention.

 

Sometimes the course correction we advocate for seems maddeningly easy – like getting people to walk three feet out of their way toward a revolving door; other times, real change requires mountains of movement.   And, as the tools to spread our messages become more plentiful and powerful, the context in which they are deployed becomes ever more crowded.  Email your constituents about a cause, and join scores of other well-meaning inbox inhabitants.  Send a funding solicitation, and compete with micro-entrepreneurs being Kiva’d and schools and educators who shine on DonorsChoose.

 

And it’s not just grassroots causes that struggle to find a voice.  Colossal, galvanizing events occur and fail to spark public discourse, private action, or unified direction.  September 11 came close to bringing us all together around a cause but, six years later, we still don’t know what that cause might be.   We’re all left with the feeling that perhaps we missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to think big about energy, international relations, public service, or simply about what it means to be an American.

 

Now, bridges collapse and the notion of a national conversation about infrastructure disappears from our collective consciousness as fast as the CNN ticker can scroll off our television screens.  Katrina brought waves of introspection about poverty and race and cities, yet that conversation is nowhere to be found now, save for JohnEdwards08.com.  And shootings on college campuses, at malls, and on city streets simply seem to confirm the NRA’s adroitness at squelching debate.

 

None of this should be a message of despair.  It’s just an acknowledgement of what we’re up against as we work to get people to pay attention.  One needs to look no further than the popular website Digg.com, representative of an increasingly common way for young people to get their news and express support for stories and ideas that resonate with them.  A quick glance at Digg’s “upcoming articles” tells you just how many different ideas hunger for our attention, and how easy it is for the casual user to “bury” a story or theme and keep it away from the masses.

 

Even in an age when your cause is just a delete button away from disappearing out of someone’s inbox, it seems likely that the best ways to get people to really Digg our missions and our notions of change are the tried and true ones: cultivating and offering real leadership; coordinating efforts with many others to build momentum behind a common agenda; crafting a simple, consistent, and enduring message; and being a trusted, persistent, and passionate voice on an issue so important that people just have to listen.  This seems like it might just be the way to finally get people to choose that revolving door.