Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
During yesterday's Supreme Court hearing on gay marriage, maybe you noticed that many people changed their online Facebook profile pics to a red and pink equals sign.
It's an image going viral, created by the LGBT rights group the Human Rights Campaign as a twist on its traditional blue and yellow logo. On its own Facebook page , the picture has garnered more than 140,000 shares.
But it's not like the Supreme Court Justices are counting up these pics and using them to decide the cases on Prop 8 and DOMA.
Marcia Stepanek teaches social media strategy at New York University and is the author of the forthcoming book, "Swarm: The Rise of the Digital Anti-Establishment."
She says that there's a value to this kind of viral groundswell. "While you might says it's slacktivism to just change your profile pic, it's a sign to further political involvement down the road."
Stepanek also explains that efforts like this helps to connect people who never would have met otherwise offline. "It's like wearing a campaign button. It may not do much, but it shows quiet solidarity and to say it's OK and wave the flag."