CBC today on the rise of Facebook activism. Quoting Ryerson communications professor Greg Elmer:
“What really impressed me about that group was how quickly it split off into local chapters and into further activism,” said Elmer. “People didn’t want to just press a button, they wanted to get together and strategize.”
“There’s a real move away from the symbolic act, the ‘click here’ or ‘post comment here’ style of activism. What we’re seeing now is a call for a greater commitment.”
It’s that commitment to further activism that gives these online petitions their real teeth, said Elmer.
“There’s still a huge divide between the real world and the virtual world,” he said. “But when you look at the copyright protest, it wasn’t just names on a list, it was people showing up in Prentice’s office. I think that really cemented that these were real people and this was a real issue.”
This article barely touches on much of the activism that’s happening online — on and off of Facebook. Looking back at the last twelve months makes me excited about the twelve weeks.
Still, we’ve a lot of work to do.
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