Facebook Gives Betty White the Role of a Lifetime

The internet can be a source of great good and great evil, but usually it’s a source of great distraction. We Twitter about the annoying guy in front of us in line, “lol” at a friend’s Facebook status, and take pictures of the weird thing the guy on a video chat can do. It’s fun and entertaining, but it’s rare when anything we do in the cyber world makes a serious impact in the concrete world. So when we make a difference, when we change things a little bit through out sheer numbers and force of will, it feels amazing. It feels like there’s nothing we can’t do. A lot of us had that feeling when Betty White was chosen to host Saturday Night Live on May 8th.

If you don’t know who Betty White is, shame on you. She’s most famous for her roles on Mary Tyler Moore and Golden Girls. She’s everyone’s sweet, dirty talking, hilarious grandmother. Even though she’s 88 years old, she has proved with her Super Bowl commercial and appearances on late night talk shows that she is still the funniest person alive. If anyone has earned a hosting spot on SNL, it’s her. So why wouldn’t she get one? Because SNL is far more concerned about being cool and hip these days than actually being funny. They invite people like Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, and January Jones to host because they want to boost their ratings, not because they want to make quality television.

So what can you do about it? Most of us would shrug it off and not watch. Good idea. But someone decided to do something else. As almost a joke, they created the Facebook page: Betty White to Host SNL (Please?). The odds were nothing was going to come of it. I mean, the young people who spend the most time on Facebook don’t care about Betty White, right? Wrong. Maybe it’s because there are more Golden Girls fans out there than we realized, or maybe because just because people are young doesn’t mean they don’t have good taste, but the movement spread like wild fire. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up and gave their support. Blogs became overrun with postings encouraging readers to sign up and help Betty White. It wasn’t long before the media picked up on it, and the movement became national news.

SNL was quick to pick up on the movement, and offered her the job. Before Facebook, Betty White would’ve never had a chance to host. She’s funny and great, but because of Hollywood stereotypes, she wasn’t seen as right for the part. And what could her fans have done about it? Not much. Maybe coordinate a letter campaign, but those often crash and burn before they get off the ground. But because of facebook she made her first appearance on May, 8th.

So, what’s the lesson here? To watch her episode? Yes. But also that what’s important to you might be important to other people. Maybe a lot of other people. You don’t have to be a lone voice anymore. There’s no excuse to try not to make a change.