Brilliant post (and analysis). Makes me wonder if gofundme and similar platforms are taking the role of religion and charity, who historically fulfilled these roles. Although the larger point stands. This should all be the responsibility of the state and public policy. That it isn't is a glaring failure in both policy, but also the legitimacy of the state. B)
I love that point re: replacing religion ("god" fund me? JK) and charity! Thank you for it. If I were a politician, I'd use GoFundMe as part of my compass.
The fact that we would think of turning to the "real" social safety net as something *different* than turning to our neighbours is probably the most damning thing you could say about the modern politics of safety net programs.
Love this post! One thing I'm wondering about is the skill set needed in telling a good go fund me story. It's kind of like those who can do this well have some level of digital privilege - not only being conversant with the platform in technical terms, but also knowing how to tell a story that will get people to open their wallets. I wonder about the many people who don' know how to do this...does this mean they won't be helped? Will they just fall through a new set of digital gaps if our safety net shifts in this way?
That's such a great point and I hadn't thought about it. I suppose it is in GFM's interest to support ppl setting up their campaign (more $$ for them, too) but there is definitely a digital literacy component at play.
I found the like button today! Would be great to learn more about this over time. Use during covid seems to me to be expected. Seems like we need another way to get a company's data (other than through privacy legislation, which I don't think would give us what we need) or that this data should be publicly available by law.
Yes - expected, but still quite sad. There's a lot of fundraising around emergencies as well (like floods) which suggests government and insurance support is often insufficient or slow to flow. Again, much to learn.
Brilliant post (and analysis). Makes me wonder if gofundme and similar platforms are taking the role of religion and charity, who historically fulfilled these roles. Although the larger point stands. This should all be the responsibility of the state and public policy. That it isn't is a glaring failure in both policy, but also the legitimacy of the state. B)
I love that point re: replacing religion ("god" fund me? JK) and charity! Thank you for it. If I were a politician, I'd use GoFundMe as part of my compass.
The fact that we would think of turning to the "real" social safety net as something *different* than turning to our neighbours is probably the most damning thing you could say about the modern politics of safety net programs.
ZING
Love this post! One thing I'm wondering about is the skill set needed in telling a good go fund me story. It's kind of like those who can do this well have some level of digital privilege - not only being conversant with the platform in technical terms, but also knowing how to tell a story that will get people to open their wallets. I wonder about the many people who don' know how to do this...does this mean they won't be helped? Will they just fall through a new set of digital gaps if our safety net shifts in this way?
That's such a great point and I hadn't thought about it. I suppose it is in GFM's interest to support ppl setting up their campaign (more $$ for them, too) but there is definitely a digital literacy component at play.
I found the like button today! Would be great to learn more about this over time. Use during covid seems to me to be expected. Seems like we need another way to get a company's data (other than through privacy legislation, which I don't think would give us what we need) or that this data should be publicly available by law.
Yes - expected, but still quite sad. There's a lot of fundraising around emergencies as well (like floods) which suggests government and insurance support is often insufficient or slow to flow. Again, much to learn.