As I’ve already written, I’m far from being the animal protection movement’s most effective or most skilled activist.  But I do think my position within the movement perhaps offers me a deeper perspective on our prospects than most activists have.  Our prospects are incredible —- and we’re about to see the animal protection movement go on an unbelievable tear.  Let me tell you what I’m seeing that makes me so sure of this.

Because of my book writing and blogging, I’ve got a lot of people who follow my work.  And because of the nature of Facebook and Twitter, I have the chance to get a reliable sense of who these people are.  With almost no effort on my part, I’ve been able to get a fairly detailed understanding of the kind of people who are serious about animal protection.  Let me tell you what I’ve learned about these people, and why it’s such a big deal.

Every day, people begin following me through Facebook and Twitter.  And anytime I get a notification that I’ve gained another follower, I click through to check that person out.  On Facebook, I can usually see at a glance where these people went to school —- plus I can learn about their careers, their accomplishments, and their interests.  Sure, once in a while a new follower turns out to be a total freak.  But more often than not the person has an incredible background and at least one highly-developed talent.

With each follow notification I receive from Facebook or Twitter, my understanding of the people who make up the animal protection movement deepens.  I don’t think most people within the movement are yet attuned to the incredible pool of talent and ability we possess.  But let me tell you, the animal protection movement is in really, really good shape.

We’re a movement that consists predominantly of people with much-better-than-average educations, demanding careers, and often impressive financial resources.  In short, we’re collectively made up of people who are in an unusually strong position to push through social change.

The only thing that’s holding us back is that many of our best potential activists haven’t yet figured out how to become involved in a serious way.  But I think mass involvement is inevitable.

The thing to understand is that animal protection isn’t a football game: we’re not lining up our eleven best activists against the eleven people who can best defend factory farming.  Nope, what our movement is in the process of setting up is a good old-fashioned trouncing —- which is what will happen once we get tens of thousands of caring and highly skilled people off the sidelines to start advancing the interests of farmed animals.

Right now our numbers are quietly growing, day by day.  My intention is to help inspire and prepare people who’ve decided to become active, but haven’t yet figured out what to do.

If you’re someone who wants to become more involved, know that you’ve got some incredible company.  I hope the blogging I do here, as well as the resources I’ll be recommending, provide the information you need to step up your commitment and your ability to make a difference.