There is a lot of talk of personal branding these days: is it good or bad? How can you build a network of people who respect your personal brand? How can you join a group of people with the same interests to help you make professional connections?

But while we are busy trying to carve an online space for ourselves and create a community of supporters who rally around our “brand”, we forget that the online space we inhabit is also continuously is defining us - and indeed, changing us in ways simultaneously subtle and not-so-subtle.

For instance, when I first got into social media - Twitter, blogging and the like - I was interested, yes, in human rights issues. But the interest was not as full blown of a passion as it is now. Why the change? I attribute much of it to the network I tapped into, which in turn started shaping me.

I began following more and more human rights activists, non-profit leaders, social entrepreneurs, and others in the social space. As I began following people incredibly passionate about bettering the world, it made me a better person. I tapped into these networks, engaged in conversations, and sat back and listened to some of the smartest people in the world debate issues in the human rights, social change, and development arena. And by becoming part of the conversation, I became more and more passionate about these issues myself.

Social media, the blogosphere, and Twitter helped me find my singular passion. Before Twitter, there were always many ideas and many interests swirling around in my head. But after I began actively engaging on Twitter, I learned more fundamentally, who I was. By choosing who to “follow” and dedicate my brain space to — and by choosing who to “unfollow” and ignore — I realized what I personally cared about most. What issues, careers, and industries resonated with me the most.

Social media made me a better person. By surrounding myself by people who genuinely cared, and not only that, cared in an intelligent manner (and yes, there is a distinction) — I began caring more. And more intelligently.

What’s true in real life is also true on the web. Surround yourself with good, smart people, and you will become more like them. Your friends can exert a positive influence on you and make you a better person, or you can fall into bad company and go downhill.

This may sound overdramatic to you, but I swear it’s not. Some people are born knowing what they want to do: be a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant even. They are lucky. I’ve never been that way. I have always had too many interests to narrow down to a single career that would define who I was for the rest of my life (a scary thought, right?). My passions didn’t always fit into the traditional career path. Social media helped me jump into the conversation and find what I really wanted. By finding many more outside my small real-life social circle doing exactly what I loved for a living, I felt my career interests to be validated. I found the courage to follow my heart, knowing that many others out there were also doing so, and sometimes breaking free of societal constraints in the process.

You don’t just create an online network that mirrors your own traits — your online network defines you, and even has the power to change you fundamentally.

Are you engaging with people who make you stronger, more brave, more caring, more intelligent, more informed?

Do you push yourself to join networks that challenge you to be better and to achieve your dreams?

Stop tweeting about what you had for breakfast, or your horrible job. Start conversations with those who intimidate you, with those who you breathlessly admire. Be bold. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll get there too.

How does your online community define and shape who you are?

A few days ago, amidst my crazy studying for final exams (which I have finally finished!), I ran across this simple, yet immensely poignant “Letter to a Law Student Interested in Social Justice,” by Professor Bill Quigley. Now, I’m not a law student, but I hope to be sometime in the next few years. And, the letter truly touched me. If I could, I’d rewrite every portion of the letter here - because it was just that inspiring and enlightening. But I can’t, and so I’ll focus on a few portions that really spoke to me. In the letter, Quigley says:

Advocates who do not create time for regular reflection can easily become angry and overwhelmed and bitter at the injustices around and ultimately at anyone who does not share their particular view about the best way to respond.

This is so true. When you start thinking about critical issues and social change, and when you get consumed in all the grand ideas of how messed up the world is and what you can do to help - everything else starts to seem a bit more trivial. You start to get really angry when you see people constantly striving to become millionaires, or just trying to climb the corporate ladder. It starts to become extremely frustrating to witness people obsessed with acquiring material possessions and fame.

This is happening to me. For the past week or so, this feeling has been intensifying, as I keep wondering: Why don’t people care more? There are so many ongoing atrocities around the world: conflict, torture, poverty. When there is so much to be done, how can people sit idle? It’s started to make me angry, because I just don’t think it’s right.

True, society is changing, and it’s changing for the better. Every day more people are dedicating time and effort to public service, and the nonprofit industry is becoming mainstream. Social enterprises are pulling talent in with fresh, innovative ideas and business models. But at the end of the day, it’s frustrating to still see so much greed everywhere.

Let’s face it - society’s priorities are completely screwed up. Who said it was okay to have prestige defined by the number of zeroes in your salary, the brand names in your closet, or the cars in your driveway? Why is it considered “cool” to live extravagantly, to have all the latest gadgets? Why does society define people by what they own, and not who they are? We all have our priorities wrong when money and possessions and fame become more important than integrity, humility, passion, and dedication. Prestige needs to be defined by what’s in a person’s heart, by compassion and goodness, and by dedication to a mission larger than yourself - passion for what you do, and passion for changing the world.

This is one of the problems with law school. In his letter, Quigley describes how students enter law school with the desire to help others. Bright eyed and imbued with idealism, they hope to use their legal skills to defend those who need it most. But 2/3 of those who enter law school with interest in government or public sector jobs do not end up in that line of work. Quigley quotes a student who said: “The first thing I lost in law school was the reason that I came.” Why? Because law - and thus, law schools - ultimately isn’t about justice, or upholding some noble ideal. When it comes down to it, much of the legal profession is about making money. He writes:

Unfortunately, the experience of law school and the legal profession often dilute the commitment to social justice lawyering. The repeated emphasis in law school on the subtleties of substantive law and many layers of procedure, usually discussed in the context of examples from business and traditional litigation, can grind down the idealism with which students first arrived. It pains me to say it, but justice is a counter-cultural value in our legal profession. Because of that, you cannot be afraid to be different than others in law school or the profession – for unless you are, you cannot be a social justice lawyer.

There’s the key point - in order to care about others, and want to make a difference in others’ lives - you’re automatically different. This is true for law school, but it’s also true in business school, and for society as a whole. Why is it that if you actually care, you have to be different? An anomaly? Shouldn’t the desire to better the world be something normal? Something admirable, something to aspire to?

But it’s not. I don’t blame individuals for chasing success or money. When society values something, it’s natural for people to gravitate towards that. Not everyone knows what their true passion is, but it’s often because they haven’t been exposed to all the career paths out there, and so turn to society’s conceptions of what to do as a rough guideline. Well, that guideline is skewed, and it needs to be changed.

That’s why before we can help “change the world,” we have to change ourselves. As you, and I, and others one by one decide to go against the grain and work to improve the world we live in, society will undergo a shift. Someday, it’ll become more normal for law schools to emphasize human rights law or public defense. Someday, I’ll have to hope that working on criminal justice reform or microfinance will be as prestigious as being an investment banker or corporate lawyer. We’re not there yet, but I hope someday we will be.

Recently, I started following Susanne on Twitter. She often tweets interesting and relevant news related to human rights and international issues, and by following her I ensure I’m always up to date about the latest human rights news. Please read on for fascinating insights on human rights, and what you can do to get involved in the movement.

Name: Susanne Ure
Occupation: Web Editor
Employer: Amnesty International Canada
Employer Website: http://www.amnesty.ca
Employer Twitter: @amnesty (USA) @amnestynews (USA) @amnestyOZ (Australia) @amnestynl (Netherlands) @AmnestyUK (United Kingdom) @AmnestyOnline (International Secretariat – London)
Twitter: @SusanneUre
Facebook: http://profile.to/sure/
Education: In 1981 I graduated from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada with a B.A. in Drama. I was given the Theatre History Prize. The Principal sent me a letter expressing high hopes for my future. On my last visit to my thesis advisor’s office he asked me what I intended to do after graduation. I laughed out loud and said that, with a degree in theatre I didn’t have very good prospects, especially in the midst of a recession (my first recession!) and observed that he would probably find me at the car wash. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” I said. He responded with the best advice I never took: “If you’re choosy, you won’t be a beggar for long.” I went to graduate school and studied for my M.A in theatre, and then, for one year, pursued a PhD, both at the University of Toronto. I ended up working in the arts for years.

Interests: Human rights and social justice; the arts, fine and lively; the internet and other wizardly things; traveling, photography and design.

What or who first inspired you to get into human rights work?

I skipped my first week of graduate school at the University of Toronto in September of 1981 to attend a conference entitled “The Writer and Human Rights” put together by eminent Canadian novelists Margaret Atwood and Timothy Findley for PEN, the proceeds of which went to Amnesty International.

There I signed my first postcard on behalf of a Chinese Prisoner of Conscience, Yang Ch’ing-ch’u, a writer from the Republic of China (Taiwan), serving a prison sentence of four years and two months, imposed after he had taken part in a demonstration in December 1979 to mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the time he was on the editorial committee of the opposition magazine Formosa.

While he was in prison, Yang wrote a poem by Chinese poet Gu Cheng on the wall of his cell: “I want to paint windows all over the world, and let those who are accustomed to the darkness grow accustomed to the light.”

That focused everything for me. I spent the next 20+ years as an arts activist and as a labour activist. In 2005 a job came up at Amnesty Canada which seemed like my “inevitable place”, so I signed on.

What do you do at Amnesty International?

I’m responsible for running www.amnesty.ca in collaboration with the media officers, campaigners and fundraisers at Amnesty’s Canadian section. The ‘web department’ is a one-person operation, so I do publishing, development, design, content creation, strategy & planning, reporting and evaluation, project management, as well staff support and training. In my spare time I contribute to online campaigning initiatives and communications strategy.

What is the biggest challenge you personally face while working in the human rights field?

There is no limit or end to the number of issues, incidents and people who need attention, support, help, or intervention. There are, unfortunately, limits to the amount of time, energy and material resources available to address these needs. The biggest challenge is to maintain balance and resilience in a state of being constantly overwhelmed.

You tweet a lot about recent human rights news. Why do you tweet? Do you see the potential in social media in building a movement for human rights?

Why do I tweet? That’s an interesting question. I’ve just been doing it seriously for a couple of months, trying it out as a medium for human rights work. It feels like I just got swept up in it. I am, in essence, a storyteller. I seek out stories in order to be able experience and understand more of what it means to be human in the world than I would just living my everyday life, in order to feel and share my humanity with others, and to feel and share their humanity. Twitter is an extraordinary medium for that kind of exchange. It allows me to share the stories I come across and talk about them with others who value them as much as I do.

For me, the first and most crucial part of human rights work is in building awareness and knowledge about what’s really going on in the world, and not only the challenges and the bone-suffering, but the resilience, ingenuity, heroism, aspirations and yearning of people everywhere. I believe that when people are genuinely and directly connected to others, they will help. They will do what they can. When they understand what is wanted and needed they will step in. They just need to know what’s going on. The world changes one newly-engaged person at a time. Twitter, I’m finding, is a significant platform for this kind of work.

What do you think is the most critical human rights issue facing us today?

Governance. We as individuals, in groups and communities can challenge human rights violations and mitigate abuses only so far. We need societal leaders and governments to step up and adopt and work within international human rights law and standards. Governments can make a huge impact by embracing human rights for all as a fundamental principle of governance. Amnesty International is uniquely positioned to uncover the truth about discreet and systemic human rights abuses, and to call societal leaders and governments to account for their failure to provide for the universal dignity and wellbeing of those for whom they are responsible. That’s primarily why I find it so compelling to work within this particular movement.

What’s the best thing people can do to get involved in advocating for human rights on a regular basis?

Treat human rights advocacy not an area of specialization but as an everyday practice, for everyone. Commit the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to heart. Apply its principles to your daily life. Refer to it in your discussions and debates about rights and wrongs. Recall Eleanor Roosevelt’s words about where human rights really live:

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

Don’t let injustices, toward yourself or others go by unchallenged. This is often very hard to do, but it’s very necessary. It never gets easier, but when change comes it’s brilliant, it lights up the whole sky, for you and everybody else. That’s something you definitely want to experience in your life.

What advice would you give to a young person interested in human rights and social change?

Most young people I meet who are on the front lines of human rights work and social justice initiatives are supreme commanders of the universe. I’m generally dazzled by the passion, knowledge, and discipline they bring. They inspire and invigorate me and every campaign they participate in.

In terms of advice, I think many young people already know instinctively how to identify injustice and what needs to be done to address it. They can feel it in their hearts.

As time goes by, however, it gets harder to challenge injustice, particularly in “small places” where you are personally implicated. Life becomes evermore complicated and demanding, and the risks, both personal and for the community at large, become greater. “Advocacy” and ‘activism” are often is read as “insubordination”, an assault on the entitlements of the powerful, and are punished accordingly.

There is power in numbers. My advice would be to find like-minded people who share your ideals, discipline and vision. Find or create a community that you can draw strength from and give strength to. You will need this as a human rights/social justice activist in order to make a lifetime practice out of pursuing a better world.

I remember when I graduated from Queen’s University the commencement speaker gave a speech called “Brave for Life”. I didn’t fully appreciate how important that advice would be – how important courage would be as staple of a life well-lived - but I do now. So I pass that on too.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about success. Where does it come from? How can we define it? And how do the most “successful” people get there? Recent posts written by Grace and Jamie got me thinking even more and inspired me to add my thoughts to the conversation.

The way I see it, there are two ways to perceive success. First, there’s what “society” considers successful. “Society” varies from person to person: society is basically made up of those whose opinions you respect and who you may be influenced or pressured by. This might be the abstract “society” as a whole, experts in a specific field, your colleagues, your family, your friends, or your loved ones. Depending on who you respect and want to impress in life, you might be subject to different pressures and different definitions of success. Each person you’re influenced by might consider success to be correlated with wealth, happiness, educational achievement, bettering the world, or fame. Your mother might want you to be a doctor, your friends may want you to do entrepreneurship, or your significant other might be wishing you’d take a stable job to pay the bills. In any scenario, each person you know has different expectations for you.

And then there is what you yourself consider successful. What’s your own opinion of success? How do you define your own success and what would make you happiest? What are the goals you have set out for yourself, completely separate from what others might think of you? What excites you, and what are you genuinely passionate about?

If you are constantly attempting to achieve success through the first definition - by attempting to conform to the idea of success that your own personal “society” has set out for you - you will never be happy. Because everyone you know - your friends, loved ones, colleagues, professors, and society as a whole - all have differing ideas of what success means. You can’t make them all happy at the same time. Do you really want to live life chasing other peoples’ visions of success?

So here’s my opinion: if you want to be truly successful, you can’t chase the idea of success in the eyes of others. You have to consider first and foremost your own passions and your own desires, dreams, and hopes. And, you can’t chase success, period. If you follow your true passions and forget the “success” you’re trying to achieve, you will actually achieve that success.

Many of the people we consider incredibly successful today didn’t get there with the goal of being rich and famous, or of pleasing their friends and family. They never chased success for the sake of success itself. They have taken unconventional paths, and taken risks simply to do what they love. And they are so good at doing what they love that they are being recognized for it, and rightfully. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter because she loved writing, and believed in her visions and passions - not with the end goal of being famous. Bill Gates left Harvard to work on Microsoft, not just to get rich fast but because he was genuinely passionate about software and his ideas. Muhammad Yunus’ idea of microfinance has become world renowned as an innovative development strategy and he has won the Nobel Prize - but he never pursued it because of a desire to be successful, but only out of his belief in and passion for the potential of microfinance to alleviate poverty.

So - forget, for a second, what others might think of you. Forget about how society views success, or what your parents or your spouse wants you to achieve. And instead, remember what it is you are most passionate about, what you truly love to do and want to do for the rest of your life. And dedicate yourself to that. Success cannot be a goal, but is often an outcome for those who simply do what they love and do it well.

Recently, I began following @notorture on twitter - a great organization called Survivors of Torture, International. I soon discovered that the Public Affairs Director of the organization, Maren Dougherty, was a graduate of my own university - Northwestern University. Naturally, I was excited to find an alumni through twitter, and I was even more excited to learn about her career path and her work in the human rights field - something I am personally very interested in. I decided to profile her in my blog to raise awareness of the great work she is doing, as well as provide some tips for students interested in human rights. Read on for an interview with Maren, and I hope you can learn something from her!

Maren and Haaz Sleiman, an actor in the movie “The Visitor.” Over the past year, Survivors of Torture, International has been using the film to raise awareness about immigration detention.

Name: Maren Dougherty
Age: 24
Occupation: Public Affairs Director
Place of Residence/Location: San Diego, CA
Employer: Survivors of Torture, International
Employer Website: http://www.notorture.org
Employer Twitter: @notorture
Undergraduate College: Northwestern University
Undergraduate Majors: Journalism
Interests:
Committee Member, Young Professionals for International Cooperation, San Diego
Young Alumni Chair, Northwestern University Club of San Diego

What or who first inspired you to get into human rights work?

My parents always encouraged me to learn about the world and participate in volunteer efforts, but my interest in human rights didn’t fully develop until I studied abroad in Durban, South Africa during my junior year of college. In South Africa, I developed a much better sense of the problems and inequalities that plague the world. I also had some amazing peers and professors – one of whom survived torture during Apartheid.

During my time abroad, I also began to understand the importance of really examining a situation. When some people think of Africa, they just think of disease, violence, and poverty. It’s necessary to know about the problems, but it’s also important to recognize the beauty, the distinct countries and cultures, and the strength of the families and communities there. It’s the same with our clients – some people think of torture survivors and they just think of someone who has been hurt and victimized. In all of our communications, we try to emphasize the resilience and strength of our clients as well.

Tell me a little bit about what your organization does.

Our organization provides services for survivors of politically motivated torture from around the world who now live in San Diego County. We have helped people from more than 60 different countries– many from East Africa and the Middle East — who have fled torture in search of safety in the United States. The program includes health, mental health and social services to help survivors to become healthy, productive members of their families and our community. Some of our clients have been through the worst experiences imaginable. It’s really amazing when you see them adjust to life in America, go back to school or work, and see their family members again. All of our services are free.

What experience has prepared you for your current job?

I think my undergraduate classes prepared me well for this position. The tight journalistic writing style works well for marketing and fundraising materials, and my classes in history and sociology have also been helpful. I also completed internships at New York magazine, Chicago magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and Teen People, where I learned from many different editors and managers. I’ve also tried to pick up new skills whenever possible by taking free community classes in web design and grant writing.

What are your regular responsibilities and duties at your job? Describe a typical workday.

My job includes a mix of communications, advocacy, and fundraising. For example:

8/8:30am – Read and respond to emails and voicemails, update web site and web 2.0 sites, check a few news sites, make coffee.
9am – Compile statistics about our clients for our 2008 annual report. Go on creativecommons.org to find photos that represent our work, and email photographers to get their permission to use the photos in our report.
11am – Review a report about medical and dental services that was written by one of my coworkers. Make changes and send to our executive director for final review.
12pm – Leave the office to attend a lunch meeting with the San Diego Association of Nonprofits. Guest speaker is a member of San Diego County’s board of supervisors. Most of the discussion is about the economy, possible budget cuts, and opportunities for nonprofit collaboration.
2pm – Return to the office. Participate in a conference call about a new web site we’re putting together with other torture treatment centers to help providers (health, mental health, legal, etc.) find the training resources they need.
3pm - Begin working on our next e-newsletter and advocacy alert. Run downstairs to the vending machine for a diet coke.
4pm – Meeting with 3 fellow staff members to develop a plan for completing the next grant application that’s due.

What do you think is the most important human rights issue facing us today?

The one that’s the hardest for me to stomach is the rape of women in Congo. The web sites enoughproject.org and theirc.org have some great information, but it’s just so horrifying how much suffering it’s causing.

In the United States, I’m concerned about the conditions of immigration detention facilities. We mention this in a lot of our newsletters and other publications because it is such an important issue. Increasingly as people seek asylum in our country they are being detained while their cases are evaluated. Sometimes they’re held for years - in cells, far from their families, unable to work or learn. At SURVIVORS, the majority of our new clients are asylum seekers who were or continue to be detained. The isolation and uncertainty of detention deepens their trauma, and makes recovery much more difficult. The New York Times has done some excellent reporting on this topic.

What can people do to get involved in human rights work on a regular basis?

There are many different ways to help, but it’s important to take on projects that are compatible with your time and resources. If you have spare time and live near a torture treatment program (see a list here) or an organization like Human Rights First, see if there are any volunteer opportunities. I’d also encourage people to get involved with their local Amnesty International groups. We partner with Amnesty groups fairly often for events and advocacy projects.

Also, pay attention to advocacy alerts that encourage you to write your legislators or contact other leaders. I’ve met with leaders in Washington D.C. and Sacramento, and I know from those meetings that constituents’ communications with legislative offices do make a difference. I’ve found that most of our local and national leaders do want to support human rights efforts, but they also want to know that their constituents care. Signing a letter takes 30 seconds, so it’s something that everyone can do.

Lastly, donate. I know that’s not the best option for everyone but you could also put together a fundraising event for a nonprofit, such as a concert or a trivia night. If you can’t give $1,000, use your time and energy to plan something fun that will encourage 100 people to give $10 each! We really do value every donation.

What advice would you give a student interested in human rights?

Read, learn, volunteer, intern, travel, meet people, go to special lectures, get involved! Most of all, don’t lose your passion. You might have one bad experience - maybe stumbling upon a nonprofit that doesn’t use its money wisely or a supervisor who isn’t the nicest person in the world- but there are a lot of people out there doing so much good.