Cover Story: Giving Voice

At the end of August, Avaaz sent a relatively text-heavy e-mail stating the urgent issue: "On climate, it's now or never. We have just over 100 days left to reach a new global treaty to avert climate disaster (and unleash a new green economy) — but we're nowhere near getting it done."

Solomon says the organization was going for consultative language that also mobilized recipients, explaining what it would mean if the organization was to go forward with the campaign. The e-mail factually laid out the details of the implications of the campaign and then let recipients decide.

For example, a paragraph from the e-mail reads: "Avaaz is considering a massive, networkwide push for a 'global wake-up call' to world leaders on Sept. 21. This would be the biggest organizing effort we've ever done, aiming to bring our whole network out (peacefully!) to the streets, ringing alarms, holding massive rallies in major cities, and gathering to send wake-up messages from schools, homes and public squares. From all these places, we would flood world leaders with phone calls, and the actual sound of these millions of voices would be recorded, condensed and presented to heads of state at the UN climate summit in New York the next day."

Recipients were asked to help Avaaz decide if it should go ahead with the campaign by clicking either a button that said, "Yes, Let's go all out on climate," or "No, Let's keep working on many issues." Individuals who clicked "Yes" were taken to a Web page that thanked them for voting for climate, informed them that results of the vote would be announced in a week, asked them to sign a petition and also included a tell-a-friend form. Those who clicked "No" were taken to a page that assured them their "No" votes were counted and offered fields for them to fill in their names, e-mail addresses, etc., and send the organization a message.