2012 saw probably one of the biggest, and the most pervasive campaigns on Facebook. Released in March, produced by the invisible children inc, and directed by Jason Russel, the Kony 2012 video ended with about 95,800,000 views. The year passed without capturing Kony which goes to show the effectiveness of a platform, such as Facebook, and the reality of actually catching a warlord within nine months.
Social Media: Like many, I found out about Kony through constant (and I mean constant) reposting of the video link to my newsfeed from friends who probably don't necessarily follow current events. Perhaps, it came down to publicity, and not necessarily advocacy. People will be more familiar with something that is much more publicized; however, the comprehension of the situation in order to donate, or to act comes at a higher opportunity cost.
Possibility: Kony is not necessarily high on the list of evil men we want to take down. First comes Al-Assad with hundreds of people dying in Syria, and then probably Kim Jong-Un. The famine and concentration camps within North Korea have been a strong motivator for Human Rights Groups for decades. Moreover, the more technical difficulties of working within an anarchic system make the possibility of actually taking down a warlord much less realistic. A world government does not exist to enforce laws or initiatives, and world organizations are hardly powerful (i.e. failed collective action in Syria through the UN security council).
Kony 2012 was a successful campaign, but the success of its original initiative is questionable (goal: stop Kony by the end of 2012). The follow-up video to Kony 2012, Kony: Beyond Famous, garnered 2,500,000 views. Once the publicity faded, so did the attention. Moreover, the possibility of focusing solely on Kony while disregarding all of the other bad guys out there was just not going to happen.
Also, some other things to consider, such as the way the director Jason Russel used his 5 year old son in the video campaign. Being 5 is awesome. It's a time when you still think that you'll get a dollar under you're pillow for losing a tooth, or that when you grow up you can still be a power ranger. Therefore, it's not a good time to explain mass murder and genocide to your kid, even for views. Also, if you are the director of a famous work, then don't do this. Nonetheless, we'll see if The Invisible Children Inc. can follow up with any incoming news and progress considering the popularity of the video and Obama's deployment of military advisors.
