Right and Wrong Ways to Communicate "Green"

We have a fascination with green these days - not the color, of course, but the environmental movement. It's been around for several years, since even before Nixon signed the EPA into law. And it's a simple idea: Don't use what you don't need, don't waste what's in low supply, don't spew environmentally unsafe material into the system.The problem is most "environmentally conscious" people try to get others into this by brow beating them, and you cannot get a large enough circle of people that way. The idea that you would drive less just because some dude with a beard and Birkenstock sandals yelled at you the way your mother would when you needed to pick up your room is ridiculous. Think of how long similarly smarmy, controlling people have been screeching at society to stop eating fatty foods or smoking. If this was really such an effective tactic, Marlboro and McDonald's would be smoking craters in an otherwise pastoral landscape. Recent spikes in gas prices are exactly what are required to go "green," frankly. People are adjusting their lifestyles and driving habbits NOW because of the spike in fuel prices - not because of the droning of obnoxious people who otherwise have no voice or power in society. Normal people want to be able to afford luxuries like rent and food. For this reason, they are changing their consumption habits. Telling you how much more of a good person they are than you are may be fun, of course - hey, in the 1930s it even got the trains in Italy to run on time. But it is hardly an engine for environmental change. Environmentalists need to change the way they speak their message. I would hate to see a wave of anti-environmentalists come into being, not because they actually hate the Earth, but because they are sick of having to listen to people who ride a bicycle everywhere anyway talk about the virtues of "green." Stop trying to shame people into being environmentally conscious - show them how it's good for their bank account instead. Postscript Our Twitter friend @aragonesque sent back this article from the Phoenix New Times - and  makes the same point.

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)

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