How do you turn a viral idea into a global movement?
The right tech infrastructure and strategic planning can direct a big cultural moment toward creating lasting change.
Our digital platform helped the It Gets Better Project extend its reach and drive concrete outcomes, from fundraising to advocacy.
Troubled by a trend of suicides among gay teens, author Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller created the “It Gets Better Project” channel on YouTube and posted their first video. They shared their stories of adolescent survival and the happiness they’ve found as adults. Before long, response videos began to pour in — hundreds at a time. Realizing he’d touched on something bigger, Dan set out to turn the viral idea into a lasting movement.
Blue State partnered with It Gets Better to create the infrastructure to direct this cultural moment toward creating lasting change. We built a digital platform to help the organization extend its reach, make the movement last longer, and build capacity to drive concrete fundraising and advocacy outcomes.
What started as a single message has turned into millions of actions, illuminating the issue of bullying and encouraging gay teens to keep hope. Since Dan and Terry’s initial video, the campaign has helped countless teens, inspired communities, and raised money to support charities involved in the anti-bullying movement.
More than a home for video content, the site was designed to get people involved: to take a pledge to speak out against anti-LGBT bullying, and to upload their own inspiring stories.
Video contributors include President Obama and Hillary Clinton; employees at Google, Apple, Disney, and EA; and celebrities like Lady Gaga, Kathy Griffin, Kesha, and the San Francisco Giants.
In the years since the site went live: