Earlier this month, I posted an interview with John Carnell of BullyingUK. John mentioned in that interview the current Click, Create and Print area of the BullyingUK website, letting teachers and students, parents and children create their own anti-bullying posters.
What was the order or progression of social media adoption at BullyingUK?
As I said before, social media has been a part of our work since before “social media” was a buzzword. As the founder and CEO it’s my job to identify technologies and services years in advance of becoming mainstream. I then look at how that technology can be used to further our Anti-bullying work: Click, Create and Print is a perfect example using technology that so far no other charity or business has thought of combing the way we have.Click, Create and Print is an online poster creater that allows schools to build and print their own posters (saving schools £34,000 so far). Each poster then has a special barcode that allows a child to snap the code with their mobile phone to download a copy of the poster which they can then share with friends via bluetooth or mms or upload back to the web—creating a perfect circle!
I think this is the first time anyone has created a project that fills in the digital divide in such a unique way—it really is a whole new spin on a very old issue.
John wasn’t the only one to think that BullyingUK was onto something innovative and unique. The Click, Create and Print project won BullyingUK a TalkTalk Innovation Award!
The website www.bullying.co.uk/poster allows any young person to make their own anti-bullying poster. On each poster are two special codes. When snapped with a mobile phone camera they allow the user to access a digital copy of the poster that can then be shared with other young people via MMS or Bluetooth. A second code allows access to the charity’s mobile advice site www.bullying.co.uk .
The project was funded with donations from the family and friends of Ben Vodden, the 11-year-old Sussex schoolboy who killed himself after bullying on the school bus in 2006. So far, more than 10,000 unique posters with a tribute to Ben have been created by schools all over the UK.
John Carnell, founder and CEO of Harrogate-based Bullying UK said: “We are proud to be recognised by TalkTalk as one of the UK’s most innovative charities. Eighteen months ago we identified QR codes as being key to the uptake of the mobile web and the filling in of another bit of the digital divide. Even if people are in a rush they can snap the code from the poster with their phone and get immediate help from our mobile website.”
Congrats to John and the rest of the team at BullingUK! Keep up the meaningful and successful work!
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