Social Media and the Fight Against Homelessness

September 4, 2012 7:14 AM

A wonderful update on my post from July: SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE FIGHT AGAINST HOMELESSNESS

In July 2012, when the project had reached nearly 200 images, I noticed a sudden spike in views on my “Everyone Has a Name” set on Flickr. I soon learned that someone had suggested my name to MetaFilter, which had linked to my Flickr set, sending thousands of new viewers my way. Soon, other interest began to flow in. Business Insider profiled the project, as did Flavorwire. Each of these articles brought thousands of page views to the set, while increasing internet dialog about the project.

Then in August, I was contacted by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS)...

A post on typeaparent.com

posted by jillithd to MetaFilter-Related at 7:14 AM (11 comments total)

That was such a gut-wrenching thing the first time around. I'm glad/grateful that his work has paid off in some substantial way for some of his subjects. If MetaFilter was in some small way part of that, then yay!
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:42 AM on September 4, 2012

Wow, that is fantastic and such a great idea from the city. Bravo to everyone involved.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:44 AM on September 4, 2012

Wow, that is an awesome update! I'm really glad that the city reached out to have him photograph the folks who are no longer homeless: for one thing, it's great publicity for their projects and for another, it shows that people who work for the city are listening and active in social media. I remember that thread wasn't the smoothest, so it's great to hear that things are going well.
posted by librarylis at 11:43 AM on September 4, 2012

Actually, the thread was surprisingly quiet. Only 4 comments (one of which was my own). But I suppose it is much better for quiet than burning rage pits of fire. :)
posted by jillithd at 12:12 PM on September 4, 2012

Was there another similar thread about photographing the homeless NYC recently? Maybe the photographer was a Wall street broker or some sort of banker? It seemed rather more populated with comments about voyeurism & privilege, in my memory. Must have been a different thread I was thinking of.

Doesn't change my "yay" status.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:08 PM on September 4, 2012

There definitely was, DR, and yeah it was in NY.
posted by Lemurrhea at 1:20 PM on September 4, 2012

This one?

If I had all the money in the world I would own all the crack in the world
posted by skrozidile at 1:40 PM on September 4, 2012

Ooo, yes. I did try to make it as non-exploitatively framed as possible (with some assistance from the mods). It helps a lot in that I think Charlie O'Hay is not exploiting his subjects. He seems sincerely interested in helping them. So "yay" that his project is garnering good attention. :)
posted by jillithd at 1:54 PM on September 4, 2012

Oh yeah, it was the NY thread I was conflating with the Philly one (I read them both and they stuck in my brain sideways, clearly). The Philly thread, you're absolutely right, was quiet and well represented the project.
posted by librarylis at 3:15 PM on September 4, 2012

Huh, is the ratio of clickthroughs to comments really hundreds to one?
posted by endless_forms at 5:37 PM on September 4, 2012

Absolutely. There are plenty of people who read Metafilter regularly who don't have an account.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:17 PM on September 4, 2012