Fresh off his centimillion dollar deal to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera, Al Gore once again turning his attention to the Internet. And once again, it's to help educate people about climate
change. The effort, dubbed "Reality Drop," incorporate online social media, a "news-driven digital platform" and a "sophisticated algorithm" intended to reinvigorate the global debate surrounding
climate change.
The platform, which was developed by Havas' Arnold Worldwide unit, feeds real-time coverage of climate stories throughout the day, attaches them to
"climate myths," which are then organized by a “heat” algorithm.
“'Reality Drop'”gives players the tools to push back against misinformation by
engaging climate change deniers in debates in the comment threads of the articles themselves, or spread the word and activate their social networks," the agency said in a statement announcing the
game-like platform.
“When we sat down with Al Gore to talk about ways to move the climate change conversation forward, media coverage had declined sharply over the
past three years,” stated Pete Favat, managing partner and Chief Creative Officer at Arnold. "We had to custom-design a strategy that wouldn’t just find the right people passionate about
this topic, but also make it easy for them to speak up and take part in real-time discussions that work in our digital culture. Traditional advertising just can’t do that.”
"Reality Drop" players begin as “rookies” and earn points when they participate in and respond to online conversations about climate change. Re-tweets, shares,
likes and comments earn users points that unlock new levels, improve rank and win badges, such as “Carbon Crusher,” “Shining Beacon” and “Order of the Green
Circle.” By sharing with their social networks, participants move up the ranks, and if they are good at “dropping reality”, could ultimately become a “Chief.” But
definitely not a commander-in-chief.