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The Kony 2012 Cover the Night campaign woke up to awkward questions on Saturday after activists failed to blanket cities with posters of the wanted Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony.

The movement’s phenomenal success in mobilising young people online, following last month’s launch of a 29-minute documentary which went viral, flopped in trying to turn that into real world actions.

The campaign aimed to plaster “every city, on every block” around the world with posters, stickers and murals of Kony to pressure governments into hunting down the guerrilla leader, who has waged a brutal, decades-long insurgency in central Africa.

But paltry turnouts on Friday at locations across north America, Europe and Australia left cities largely unplastered and the movement’s credibility damaged. “What happened to all the fuss about Kony?” said one typical tweet. “Kony is so last month,” said another.

Elissa O’Dell, 24, an activist in Los Angeles, put a brave face on the fact just her and two other volunteers attended the painting of a mural on an auto dealership off Santa Monica Boulevard.

“It’s just been us the entire day,” she said on Friday. Another campaigner took photographs while an artist painted the mural, which said “Our liberty is bound together”.

“The point of Cover the Night is for our community of supporters to give something back, pick up trash, paint schools, some direct, local action,” said O’Dell. So, where was everybody? “We didn’t expect people here,” said O’Dell. Supporters were to place posters in coffeeshops, fire and police stations and other locations. “The response has been terrific. Tomorrow people will wake up and see our posters everywhere.”

But on Saturday the boulevard, and according to reports the rest of LA and other cities, were largely free of Kony.

The campaign also tanked on twitter. “Find the silence around #Kony’12 interesting. It’s muted embarrassment from prior supporters, mixed with quiet smugness from detractors,” said one tweet.

Unfortunately, Luddies and naysayers will use this as a reason to poo-poo all internet activism. To which I say, SOPA protests.

24 is a strange, strange birthday. Generally speaking, you’re out of college, yet you still feel young. You’re at the start of your career, yet everything around you is changing. Friends are getting married and settling down. Friends are going to grad school. Friends are moving away. You’re no longer on your parents insurance. Yet, at the same time, you still like to go out and have a good time. Alas, our old buddy Pat Stansik just dropped this funny rap video about all the peculiarities of turning 24. Check it out.

Previous Hits from Pat:

• “Sons vs. Daughters”
• ‘Were You Listening to Call Me Maybe?’
• “Bros vs. Hipsters“
• “Pre-gaming with Pat“

And I’m not even going to be 24 in a few months…