New Media: Why a College Student Made the Facebook Page for NPR

To everyone who has seen the NPR Facebook Page video and wants to know more:

So I've already made a couple posts about the video I put up the other day from a seminar by the folks at NPR. Since then I've shared it with friends and I've been asked why I put it up and what my intention was....and so I thought I'd share that answer here.

I made the group around March 2008. I had gotten my acceptance from the best undergraduate school in Canada, Mount Allison University and I had decided to go. While I was drudging through what was left of my senior year of high school (like so many are doing right now) I thought about what I would miss from the US while I was abroad...and one of the first things that came to mind was NPR. Growing up my Dad always listened to Car Talk and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and as I grew up I found their website and looked at more of the political stuff.

(As a little aside at the time I decided to go to Mount Allison for my undergraduate I saw Canada as...well... what the US would be if everybody were reasonable and listened to NPR instead of Fox News. It, to me, in an idealized version, was basically a democrat's paradise...more or less this video:)



And so I went (actually listening to Obama accepting the Democratic nomination for President on NPR on the drive from Boston to Sackville)...and then quickly became disillusioned with Canadian politics/culture and have related even more to my American upbringing.

Anyway, back to the story: With the explosion of Facebook I added those things I 'liked' to my online profile...but when it came to March '08 I was looking for a few American things I really liked, I couldn't find NPR...and so...

The story in the video is the most important respects true, but they left out the 12 days I waited for a form-letter reply to my specific question...and they never sent me a mug...

But anyway...as far as what my intention was: It was to show some support for an organization that I really admired. I was really surprised how slow to keep up with technology NPR was at the time so I offered to help. After telling them they should make an Facebook page, asking them if they would mind if I did it, and not ever really getting any response, I did it myself. The rest of the NPR Facebook story is pretty well documented and advertised.

I hope that answers any left-over questions anybody else who has seen the video has about why I decided to support an organization I like. From all the comments and other feedback (articles and other mentions) I think other groups have learned from this and are taking the lead in connecting with their fan base on their terms.

Sincerely,

'Enthusiastic' Geoff Campbell