PETA's use of Web 2.0 elements

There are many Web 2.0 characteristics and technologies on the PETA website. These are:

Search –

to find information via a keyword search

RSS Feeds –

subscribe to PETA e-News

PETA’s Forum

PETA Living Blog

PETA Action Alerts

PETA.org Front Page

News Releases

peta2Headlines

peta2Blog

The PETA Files

VegCookingBlog

What’s New

Links – guiding users to important pieces of information or to read more including banners/buttons/images

Tags – navigation/headings

Social Bookmarking:

MySpace

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Flickr

Authoring/Data Creation:

Blogs –

VegCooking

The PETA Files

PETA Living

peta2

Forums –

PETA’s Forum

Debates –

Opposing Views

Helium

Dynamic content as opposed to Static content

Symbols, Metaphors & Drama

PETA utilises symbols, metaphors and drama on their site to bring their message across to it's users.

Pictures of celebrities are used to suggest to site users that if celebrities are supporting PETA, then they should too.

Images of animals that are abused are shown on the site to build awareness of real-world animal cruelty. By tugging at the user’s sense of humanity, PETA hopes that the user will be prompted to become involved in fighting for animal rights.

Images of ‘cute’ animals are used to appeal to animal lovers, and encourage them to get involved in the prevention of animal cruelty.

The recycled symbol, shown in the following image, is used to appeal to people’s environmental conscience, and to suggest that meat consumption is not an environmentally friendly process. It promotes vegetarianism as being a ‘Green’ choice.

Here, PETA has taken the opportunity of using the Canadian winter Olympics to globally shame the Canadian government’s permitted annual seal slaughters. The Olympic symbols have been altered – blood drips from the blood coloured (red) heading in an endeavour to make a visually impacting connection between the slaughter and the Canadian permission for it to occur.

PETA have altered the branding of two international fast food chains (McDonald & KFC) that actively abuse the rights of chickens used to make some of their food products. This is a great way to bring awareness to users of the animal cruelty inflicted by these fast food giants in the hope that people will no longer purchase their products.

The heart icon (bunny ears) is used in the following campaign link/button which globally symbolises 'love' which is another way that PETA uses symbols to tug at people’s heart strings to motivate them to support their organisation and animal rights.