Social Media: Changing Activism?

NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150286291/social-media-changing-the-nature-of-activism

A many of us have seen in the past years, social media is rapidly changing the face of information sharing everywhere from the individual to international spheres.  The NPR story discusses how social media is changing social activism. According to the story, social media has become the fastest and most affordable way for an issue to be shared to the masses without going through “mainstream” media. Recent examples of social media’s role in activism include the Trayvon Martin case, the rejection of SOPA/PIPA and the Occupy Movement. Rashad Robinson of Colorofchange.org attributes the national attention to the Martin case to social media stating that it would have stayed a local issue because news companies wouldn’t have seen it as a national issue. Colorofchange.org’s goal is to “empower the voices of ‘everyday’ people, to listen to them… and keep them actively engaged. I agree that social media is giving individuals a voice and the ability to share societal concerns, however, I think groups of individuals are left out.

Social media gives access to activism for people who otherwise might not have the time or resources to get involved (people who work full-time and have families, etc.). However, since social media requires technology, the most marginalized individuals still are not given a voice. For example, in regard to the Peruvian mining topic we discussed last week, how are the local people in the villages to get involved when the access to technology is rare and expensive? Additionally, a criticism of social media activism does not engage people like traditional methods of activism. A worry is that people will sign a petition based on the information presented and not really investigate the issue afterward. How might organization keep individuals engaged in the cause? One method I saw after signing a petition (which was to ask Clinton to confront Uzbekistan about the forced sterilization of women) was to create a “text from Hilary” ad and share with friends on Facebook and Tumblr. I thought this was a creative way for individuals to use comedy and individualism to attract more attention as well as be thoughtful about he issue at hand. Have you seen any other creative methods that activist groups use to keep individuals engaged?