A huge protest on Monday gives you a blueprint on how to jumpstart your call to action. It happened quickly. If hundreds of thousands of Colombians can organize a protest on Facebook, to take to the streets against the violence-prone Marxist rebel group, FARC then perhaps you and like-minded others can launch your cause, boycott, fundraiser or other action on Facebook too. Others are. Hint: Advocate a specific action. (Protest in public on Feb. 3th)

Their protest spread to almost 100 other cities around the world. (Should your campaign go global?) Their rallying cry: “No more kidnapping, no more lies, no more deaths, no more FARC.”

Tomorrow we are joining the growing number of online voices around the world by going blog silent. This is to press for the release of blogger and reform activist, Fouad, who has been “detained” in Saudi Arabia.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I take too long to get to the point. Instead of listening, my captive audience goes on a mental vacation. They feel talked “at” rather than “with. “ Especially if something is really important to me or I know too much on the topic I fall victim to what the Heaths dub the semantic stretch). I confuse or bore them with the “underbrush” of wordy qualifiers and background details. Once they tune me out it is very hard to get them back.

Harness the Power of Us in This Flattening World

Do people stop listening before you stop talking? Want to attract support or other involvement? Then first take a deep breath and ask yourself this powerful Four-Part Question. As you get clear and specific about all four parts you and your message will be credible and compelling for the people you want to reach:

Why are 1. You telling 2. Me 2. This Message 3. Now?

Here’s an inspiring real life example …
1. You (the person who wants people to listen)
Duke College junior Josh Sommer …

2. Me (the listener or listeners)
… is telling his peers around the world (people most likely to identify with and support him)

3. This Message (what’s written or said)
… that he seeks their donations for research for a form of cancer he has.

4. Now? (the timeliness of this message for these listeners)
This is a rare bone cancer with low survival rates so more research needs to be done … soon.

Build into your message Credibility Reinforcers.
For example, what are you already doing in support of your message? Per Ben Casnocha, “Instead of waiting around for scientists to make progress on a potential cure, Josh has jumped into the fray to try to save his own life.

• He and his mom launched the Chordoma Foundation to promote research of potential cures and galvanize the research community.

• He works 30 hours a week in Duke labs with professors who have agreed to study the problem.

• In the meantime, he lobbies congress to implement legislation that would better prevent the accumulation of toxic mold in buildings as toxic mold in his house partly caused his disease.”

If you are going to ask a question or ask for something else, prepare first by using this version of the Four-Part Question:
Why are You Asking Me This Question Now?

Suggestions:
1. Stand above the growing crowd of people seeking support for their causes at Facebook by first asking yourself The Four-Part Question.

2. Then share your well-articulated message with related support groups and on other social networks that are also free for you to use, including Ning, zaadz, and gather.

3. As you build momentum for your message, praise others for their support when the media comes to interview you. Then more varied media will pick up the story and spread it for you – whatever your cause.

Literally see how two nerdy brothers, Hank and John Green, became closer by restricting their communication, helped causes – and are celebrating this holiday with the world. Their tightly orchestrated, viral “Me+Me(brothers)toWe” campaign method is one you could adapt for your own purpose. It launched the brothers and their allies to the top five spots on YouTube. A first.

Tips we can glean from their success:
1. Conceive a “first-ever” campaign where all participants gain visible bragging rights.
2. Make your first partner someone you know very well.
3. Keep the concept simple and visual.
4. Create a new word and a slogan.
5. Make it easy and fun to participate.
6. Have a start date and an end date tied to familiar holidays.
7. Create and adhere to specific rules.
8. Find a way each participant can support a cause.

Here’s the Brotherhood 2.0 story as told by ReadWriteWeb’s Muhammad Saleem.

Like to repair a vandalized public garden in your neighborhood? Want to reduce trans fats from Doritos? Yes, you are a caring citizen, an ardent backer of certain causes. But you are tired of wasting your time and donations on campaigns that die for lack of sufficient backing. They don’t reach the tipping point to succeed.

That’s literally “The Point” of a website that officially launched yesterday.

On this social media site, you can pledge to take a specific action (donate, boycott, volunteer, etc) for a particular cause, project or campaign. The twist?

You take that action only when you are notified that enough people have offered to do the same thing. The founders hope that The Point becomes, “a community where people can come together to solve the problems that are too big or time-consuming to solve alone.”

As such, you can create a campaign for which you seek others’ support too. As you attract a crowd to your cause, you’ll draw more interest and momentum may build – and reach the critical mass for those who’ve pledge to take action. Now this could get heated (and educational) because you can launch a counter-campaign on the site too.

Also, this approach can help overcome the phenomena called “Prisoner’s Dilemma. That’s where, for example, football players would not wear safety helmets for fear of appearing cowardly until helmets were mandated. Then all players were safer as they were all required to wear helmets. Similarly, The Point enables individuals to act anonymously on behalf of the greater interest of the group by making their support anonymous until the tipping point (the pre-set “target”) of like-minded people is reached on the cause. Only then are the names of anonymous supporters announced.

A side benefit of The Point may be in finding the collective wisdom to turn to one another and becoming more connected

Here in California the recent rash of fires provided a fresh window in ways people connect quickly online to help out.