A few months ago I blogged about Bill Nye the Science Guy and his argument that media outlets are giving climate change believers and deniers equal weight and air time.  The problem? The two sides are not equal.

There is a new social media website called “Reality Drop” that is tackling this very issue: spreading the truth on climate change and combating the lies and confusion spread by climate deniers.  Reality drop uses game dynamics to fight, and win, the conversation on climate change.  This website aggregates climate change related news and data and turns the dialogue of climate change into a game.  You can spread the truth on climate change on your social media and fight the myths and confusion of climate deniers on comment threads.  The more active you are in changing the dialogue on climate change, the more points you earn.

Our society is dominated by online content and social media, so this type of project only makes sense.  People gravitate to liking a post or spreading an alert online; it’s easy, it’s simple, and it’s something you can do in the comfort of your house, behind your computer, with little to no effort.

On paper this idea seems great.  It’s fresh, it’s new, and it’s not a report sitting on a shelf collecting dust.  That being said, I have so many questions about the impact of this project.  Is it enough to win the dialogue on climate change?  Will this make a difference and reach the audiences that matter?  Will this mobilize people into more active roles on climate related issues?

In thinking of all these questions, I immediately think back to the explosion I observed on my own social media sites around KONY 2012.  Will this reach the level of attention that KONY 2012 received?  Only time will tell.

http://towncreekfdn.org//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz3Z0zuCczs