When I began searching for examples of mediated mobilization I had a lot of trouble finding examples. After searching and thinking I remembered the “Free Weezy” campaign that took over the social networks. Although it is not a major world event, I thought this was a great example of mediated mobilization because it was something it was something that spread all over the country due how fast the news of Lil Wayne’s arrest spread over the social networks.
Lil Wayne also known as Weezy, is one of the most popular rappers today. However, in July of 2007 after his concert in New York City, Lil Wayne was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana. Due to uncontrollable occurrences, Lil Wayne’s sentencing was not given until March of 2010 where he was sentenced to one year in prison.
After Lil Wayne was sentenced to his one year in prison, the “Free Weezy” campaign took over the social networks as well as society in general. On twitter, kids were hash-tagging Free Weezy so much it was the number one trend on twitter for months! On facebook, fan pages were created, profile pictures were changed, and numerous status about Free Weezy were being posted. As for society in general, the Free Weezy campaign became so big, people began to make Free Weezy tshirts and sweatshirts.
The Free Weezy campaign may not have been an event that was popular among adult and young children but it became an important topic among the tween and teenage kids. The Free Weezy campaign became so popular and so important, it lasted until Lil Wayne was released from prison in November of 2010.
The Free Weezy campaign shows that although our generation may not pay attention to world events, we find things that are important to us and use the power of the media and social networks to do what we can to spread the word of what we feel is important.
Convergent Media | Divergent Voices 