By Casey Lartigue Jr.
During 2018, a 70-year-old grandmother who was spending 14 hours a day sending thousands of tweets and retweets in support of a U.S. presidential candidate was repeatedly flagged as a bot by Twitter.
That grandma-bot got her account frozen, but I am delighted my organization has its own grandma bot. Her name is Eben Appleton, and she lives in Gallatin, Tennessee. She stumbled upon our organization five years ago and hasn't stopped hugging us ever since.
Eben is 80 years old, and moves at 80 miles per hour when she finds a way she can help. Rarely does a day go by that I don't receive a flurry of messages in my email and social media from Eben with her endlessly cheerful messages. Those messages also have many questions about how to work this or that. I recently appointed her as our first Fundraising Fellow even though she is incompetent about many things.
Online documents? Excel spreadsheets? Eben learned about them earlier this year when I informed her that snapshots of handwritten documents were not acceptable. Maneuvering across social media? She is constantly worried she will hit the wrong button and delete the internet.
I note those failings with love to point out: Despite her limited internet skills and complete lack of strategy when it comes to fundraising, she has raised and donated more than $15,000 for our organization over the past few years. I have worked with various non-profits over the past two decades. She is the only person I have ever told not to donate more ― and I must remind her often not to donate.
She has a limited network of about 300 Facebook friends, and all of them have heard about our organization, and more than once. She is relentless. Her doctor, pharmacist, grocer, members of her high school graduation class from six decades ago, the mailman, neighbors, other Lions' Club members, etc., have had their arms gently twisted by her. The only one I feel sorry for: Her husband, Charlie Appleton, who probably has both dreams and nightmares about us.
I am tempted at times to block FSI's grandma-bot, because she is clogging up my newsfeed with her endless compliments and praise for me and anyone else who friends her on Facebook. She praises me so often that I wonder if I am reading about this Casey Lartigue Jr.
Eben wants my autograph on everything. Photos. Articles. Books. She replies to everything I post, watches every video, reminds me (something incorrectly) of the many witty and profound things she thinks I have said or written.
Even before she knew anything about the book I am writing with North Korean refugee Songmi Han, Eben was asking other people to pre-order the book. We have more than 600 pre-orders of the book ― Eben has personally been responsible for 101 people ordering the book in advance. She sees it as a personal failure that everyone around hasn't already bought the book.
She even joined our online sessions when it was midnight and 3 a.m. in Tennessee. At our three conferences this year that lasted more than 15 hours total, she was watching from start to finish. She kicks herself when she gets confused about the time difference.
She is our number one fan, and quite proud of it. After an event organizer made a pair of six-foot posters featuring me, I guessed there was only one person in the world who would want one of them: Eben Appleton. She proudly poses next to it as part of her FSI Wall.
After many failures, she finally learned how to set up fundraisers online. She has set up 19 fundraisers at Facebook, seven at our crowdfunding site and just learned how to set them up at Instagram. She sets them up, then struggles with editing or ending them.
She gets things done despite her limited skills, running circles around internet-savvy youngsters with better skills than Eben who have more excuses than effort. Having knowledge and ability can be great, but determination and effort can be even better.
Nine years ago, when I first got involved in North Korean refugee issues, I encountered some researchers, analysts and talkers who seemed to be experts about North Korea. Nine years later, they are still talking with little to show other than sniping Facebook comments.
I am reminded of the quote: "The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." When it comes to making a difference in the lives of others, does having knowledge or skills mean much if you don't use them?
People with great internet skills and deep knowledge have nothing over a grandma-bot in Tennessee who is relentlessly supporting her favorite organization in the world.
Casey Lartigue Jr. is co-author along with Songmi Han of the forthcoming book, "Greenlight to Freedom," and co-founder along with Eunkoo Lee of Freedom Speakers International (FSI).
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That grandma-bot got her account frozen, but I am delighted my organization has its own grandma bot. Her name is Eben Appleton, and she lives in Gallatin, Tennessee. She stumbled upon our organization five years ago and hasn't stopped hugging us ever since.
Eben is 80 years old, and moves at 80 miles per hour when she finds a way she can help. Rarely does a day go by that I don't receive a flurry of messages in my email and social media from Eben with her endlessly cheerful messages. Those messages also have many questions about how to work this or that. I recently appointed her as our first Fundraising Fellow even though she is incompetent about many things.
Online documents? Excel spreadsheets? Eben learned about them earlier this year when I informed her that snapshots of handwritten documents were not acceptable. Maneuvering across social media? She is constantly worried she will hit the wrong button and delete the internet.
I note those failings with love to point out: Despite her limited internet skills and complete lack of strategy when it comes to fundraising, she has raised and donated more than $15,000 for our organization over the past few years. I have worked with various non-profits over the past two decades. She is the only person I have ever told not to donate more ― and I must remind her often not to donate.
She has a limited network of about 300 Facebook friends, and all of them have heard about our organization, and more than once. She is relentless. Her doctor, pharmacist, grocer, members of her high school graduation class from six decades ago, the mailman, neighbors, other Lions' Club members, etc., have had their arms gently twisted by her. The only one I feel sorry for: Her husband, Charlie Appleton, who probably has both dreams and nightmares about us.
I am tempted at times to block FSI's grandma-bot, because she is clogging up my newsfeed with her endless compliments and praise for me and anyone else who friends her on Facebook. She praises me so often that I wonder if I am reading about this Casey Lartigue Jr.
Eben wants my autograph on everything. Photos. Articles. Books. She replies to everything I post, watches every video, reminds me (something incorrectly) of the many witty and profound things she thinks I have said or written.
Even before she knew anything about the book I am writing with North Korean refugee Songmi Han, Eben was asking other people to pre-order the book. We have more than 600 pre-orders of the book ― Eben has personally been responsible for 101 people ordering the book in advance. She sees it as a personal failure that everyone around hasn't already bought the book.
She even joined our online sessions when it was midnight and 3 a.m. in Tennessee. At our three conferences this year that lasted more than 15 hours total, she was watching from start to finish. She kicks herself when she gets confused about the time difference.
She is our number one fan, and quite proud of it. After an event organizer made a pair of six-foot posters featuring me, I guessed there was only one person in the world who would want one of them: Eben Appleton. She proudly poses next to it as part of her FSI Wall.
After many failures, she finally learned how to set up fundraisers online. She has set up 19 fundraisers at Facebook, seven at our crowdfunding site and just learned how to set them up at Instagram. She sets them up, then struggles with editing or ending them.
She gets things done despite her limited skills, running circles around internet-savvy youngsters with better skills than Eben who have more excuses than effort. Having knowledge and ability can be great, but determination and effort can be even better.
Nine years ago, when I first got involved in North Korean refugee issues, I encountered some researchers, analysts and talkers who seemed to be experts about North Korea. Nine years later, they are still talking with little to show other than sniping Facebook comments.
I am reminded of the quote: "The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." When it comes to making a difference in the lives of others, does having knowledge or skills mean much if you don't use them?
People with great internet skills and deep knowledge have nothing over a grandma-bot in Tennessee who is relentlessly supporting her favorite organization in the world.
Casey Lartigue Jr. is co-author along with Songmi Han of the forthcoming book, "Greenlight to Freedom," and co-founder along with Eunkoo Lee of Freedom Speakers International (FSI).
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