NXNEi activism slideshare #1
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This document discusses criticisms of "slacktivism" and argues that online activism can strengthen offline activism. It notes that the internet allows for loose, globally connected groups to take action outside of traditional organizers. While online sharing may start individually, people can come together around shared interests or dissatisfaction. The social web allows for relationship and network building beyond just anger or selling products. Online participation does not necessarily substitute for real-world action but may positively impact offline mobilization.
NXNEi activism slideshare #1
- 1. Forget What You’ve Heard About Slacktivismhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/anonymous9000/4281777022/NXNEiJune 17, 2011Toronto
- 2. People Sometimes Have the Right to be Angry
- 3. And They Have Always Tried to Do Something About It
- 4. Hugh Macleod . . . http://www.gapingvoid.com/
- 5. Slacktivism is not the problem Morozov/Gladwell think
- 6. Weak ties can become strong ties
- 7. ONE ACTIVIST’S PATHReading a blog entryWrite a commentJoin a forumBecome a local volunteerCollect signatures on streetInternship with advocacy groupJob with advocacy group
- 8. “Although it is not possible to determine a consistent impact of Internet campaigns on real–life decisions, there is no evidence of the substitution thesis. If anything, the Internet has a positive impact on off–line mobilization. Accordingly, there is little evidence to support the accusation of Internet campaigns being slacktivism.”
- 9. Slacktivism is a consequence of weak organizers
- 10. The obstacles that prevented sharing on a global scale are now gone. Social tools provide action by loosely structured groups, operating without managerial direction and outside the profit motive.--Clay Shirky
- 11. Groups Assemble DifferentlyBEFORE . . . People ‘gather’ (meeting, demonstration, party) Then they ‘share’ (exchange ideas)NOW . . . People ‘share’ (Facebook, Flickr, blog, IM) Then ‘gather’ (coalesce around dissatisfaction, complaint . . . party idea)
- 12. Social Web . . . More Than AngryShareRelationshipNetworkPersonalReward
- 13. . . . And Not Just About Selling Stuff
Editor's Notes
- #2: Why I suggested this topic:Felt an obligation to say something about the web activism deniers who suggest that social web activism is somehow of a lesser order – less effective in bringing about change -- than other forms of democratic action or protest. Some people maybe think that getting drunk at a political convention, for example, is a better approximation of democratic action than re-tweeting a picture of security forces brutality.With all humility, I also have a background which gives me a unique perspective on the the social web capacity as an organizer of democratic action and as a means of expressing a point of view . . . In effect acting as what I think is fair to call a new demos. I’ll explain that background in a few seconds. . . . But let’s remember something about protests and organized action . . . Next slide
- #3: People do sometimes have the right to be angry . . . Whether that is about global warming, human rights abuses, poverty, sexual assault, financial malfeasance in our banking sector, or the lies that pepper the commitments of our politicians . . . And we should not be silent about them . . . Next slide)
- #4: And democracy sometimes requires that we do something about them . . . Which gets to the part about my not a all special experience Left-wing activist, member of a group called Red Morning which modeled itself on WeathermenOrganized a demonstration . . . And ended up spending a month in the Don JailI then went on to be a trade unionist . . . None of which his meant to be self-aggrandizing, only to make the point that I have been an organizer and have been on the streets
- #5: What I can say from that experience is that I would rather be an activist today, than 30 years ago because the means for activism and the potential for its impact are of a magnitude of order or difference today . . . If done right . . . And there are many doing it right
- #6: In fact, it is because of my history and m understanding of the dynamics of the social web, that I can say . . . Slacktivism is not the problem
- #7: Even the weak ties that a Gladwell or others talk about can become strong ties . . . Strong enough to create a revultion.Following Greenpeace on Twitter, or liking it on Facebook might be a “weak tie” as Malcom Gladwell puts it, but it’s a tie nonetheless, and every little bit helps.Weak ties can become stronger.
- #8: I first got involved with Greenpeace reading a blog entry in passing. Then I wrote a comment. Then I joined an online forum, and became a volunteer in a local group, collecting signatures in the street, and convincing people in the street to give us the five eurocents that were left in their wallets. I became an online volunteer for Greenpeace International, then got an internship, and then got a job.http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/an-answer-to-critics-of-online-activism/blog/26559
- #9: In fact, there are a number of studies that all show that using the Internet for campaigns does not have a negative effect on real-life participation. Other studies go further and show how effective the Internet is at mobilizing the young into “off-line forms of political participation.”
- #11: SELF-ORGANIZATION