May 16, 2007

Is MySpace Your Space? Not If You’re In The Military

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Just two weeks after the Army restricted troops from blogging, on Friday the Department of Defense announced that social networking, from MySpace to YouTube, is now off limits.

The memo says that the use of social networking and recreational websites “strains network capabilities and present operational risks.” Never mind that they provide a connection for troops to family, friends, home.

The sites to be blocked worldwide include MySpace and YouTube as well as MTV, Pandora, 1.fm, Live365 Internet Radio, Photobucket, hi5, Metacafe, ifilm, BlackPlanet, StupidVideos, and FileCabi. Some curious choices. BlackPlanet, the “largest online community for African Americans,” is now offline, undergoing maintenance. Photo-sharing sites, funny videos, a few music sharing outfits, all banned. Why not iTunes? You can get music there too. Some say the list is longer than the 13 announced last week and this is only the beginning.

YouTube, for one, plans to meet with the DoD to discuss the ban. For now troops overseas, and those on base here at home, can’t access their own social networks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who need them the most.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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