Measuring the effectiveness of online activism - 2 views

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  #1 joanne ye on 24 Sep 09

   

  Reference:
  Krishnan, S. (2009, June 21). Measuring the effectiveness of online activism. The Hindu. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Factiva.
  (Article can be found at bottom of the post)
  
  Summary:
  Iranians use social networking sites to challenge the validity of elections, since traditional media is restricted by the government. This online activism is effective because it serves to increase awareness of the issue of concern (content is freely accessible), provides frequent updates, unites people on a global scale and is transparent (which deters those in powers such as the states and corporations from intervening). However, online activism is ineffective when it becomes "feel-good online activism" that has no political or social impact, and when a message is spread wafer-thin and loses significance.
  
  Problem:
  The article seems to paint a too beautiful picture of online activism. Due to the greater freedom the new media platform entails (as compared to the numerous controls and constraints faced in the offline world), netizens are empowered to connect, cooperate and push for agendas of their concerns. However, what if online activism actually leads to harmful effects such as invasion of privacy and over-reactions (i.e. offline violence)?
  
  Ethical questions:
  Freedom seems to be an inherent attribute of online activism (i.e. overcoming authoritarian control, harnessing crowd wisdom), but is freedom necessarily the best approach to address an issue of concern?
  Does online activism render control (i.e. law enforcement, government, policies) redundant, since it constitutes a collective intelligence effort which is capable of self-organization?
  
  
  Article:
  Measuring the effectiveness of online activism
  
  CHENNAI: Sit-ins and police arrests. Placards hoisted high and slogans rippling through the crowds.
  Pamphlets distributed at the dead of night. It was called activism and is still called that - just that the
  cat and mouse game with the Big Brother has a binary code underlying it.
  
  Social activism in the world of Web 2.0 follows most of the rules of the real world. But the nature of the
  medium does have an impact on the message, and the jury is still out on how effective activism is
  online.
  
  After the Iran elections, social networking sites are being used extensively by supporters of Mir Hossein
  Mousavi, who has challenged the validity of the elections. As the Iranian government has placed
  restrictions on the traditional media, the supporters have sought refuge in the electronic world.
  If you search for #IranElection, which is the tag on Twitter, a messaging service, for any update related
  to the Iran elections, there are minute-by-minute posts by users around the globe. The effects of this
  decentralised campaign are manifold.
  
  "This raises the awareness of the issues among the people who may not have been exposed to these
  issues because of the space constraints of traditional media," says Sunil Abraham, director-policy,
  Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore. "It encourages activists on the ground in Iran because it
  clearly demonstrates global solidarity." The increased transparency also has a pre-emptive effect by
  making it more difficult for states and corporations to engage in repressive activities without attracting
  international condemnation.
  
  But there are forms of social activism online, which are not looked upon favourably.
  
  Campaigns urging you to 'Click on this link and eradicate world hunger' lead to an oxymoronic state of
  sedentary activism or 'slacktivism.' Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute at New
  York, has coined this term to describe "feel-good online activism" that has no political or social impact.
  On the one hand, it will be easy to dismiss the click-to-participate campaigns as being useless. But they
  could attract people who would have normally not bothered with the issue. Mr. Morozov concludes that
  the only way to resolve the debate is by surveying campaigns to analyse impact.
  
  "As far as I know, there are no such studies. But there is anecdotal evidence that clicks on a Web 2.0
  system can lead to deeper engagement with social campaigns," says Mr. Abraham. He cites the
  example of Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa, who was able to get some members of the Fair
  Copyright for Canada Facebook group (with over 90,000 members) to raise questions during open
  houses called by Canadian Members of Parliament. Thanks to this campaign, the government backed
  down from legislating anti-consumer intellectual property laws, he says.
  
  For the success of an online campaign, the power of the message also counts. Here, Mr. Abraham
  refers to the Pink Chaddi campaign. "It did not directly respond to the arguments of the Ram Sene. It
  used humour to mock the fundamentalists into irrelevance."
  
  Though there is no clear path to an effective online campaign, the successes have demonstrated the
  potential of the medium that promises to connect millions with a click. But just as a message can grow
  stronger as it reaches more people, it can also be spread wafer-thin and lose significance.
  
  After the Iran elections, social networking sites are used by supporters of Opposition candidate

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Reference: <br /> Krishnan, S. (2009, June 21). Measuring the effectiveness of online activism. The Hindu. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Factiva. <br /> (Article can be found at bottom of the post) <br /> <br /> Summary: <br /> Iranians use social networking sites to challenge the validity of elections, since traditional media is restricted by the government. This online activism is effective because it serves to increase awareness of the issue of concern (content is freely accessible), provides frequent updates, unites people on a global scale and is transparent (which deters those in powers such as the states and corporations from intervening). However, online activism is ineffective when it becomes "feel-good online activism" that has no political or social impact, and when a message is spread wafer-thin and loses significance. <br /> <br /> Problem: <br /> The article seems to paint a too beautiful picture of online activism. Due to the greater freedom the new media platform entails (as compared to the numerous controls and constraints faced in the offline world), netizens are empowered to connect, cooperate and push for agendas of their concerns. However, what if online activism actually leads to harmful effects such as invasion of privacy and over-reactions (i.e. offline violence)? <br /> <br /> Ethical questions: <br /> Freedom seems to be an inherent attribute of online activism (i.e. overcoming authoritarian control, harnessing crowd wisdom), but is freedom necessarily the best approach to address an issue of concern? <br /> Does online activism render control (i.e. law enforcement, government, policies) redundant, since it constitutes a collective intelligence effort which is capable of self-organization? <br /> <br /> <br /> Article: <br /> Measuring the effectiveness of online activism <br /> <br /> CHENNAI: Sit-ins and police arrests. Placards hoisted high and slogans rippling through the crowds. <br /> Pamphlets distributed at the dead of night. It was called activism and is still called that - just that the <br /> cat and mouse game with the Big Brother has a binary code underlying it. <br /> <br /> Social activism in the world of Web 2.0 follows most of the rules of the real world. But the nature of the <br /> medium does have an impact on the message, and the jury is still out on how effective activism is <br /> online. <br /> <br /> After the Iran elections, social networking sites are being used extensively by supporters of Mir Hossein <br /> Mousavi, who has challenged the validity of the elections. As the Iranian government has placed <br /> restrictions on the traditional media, the supporters have sought refuge in the electronic world. <br /> If you search for #IranElection, which is the tag on Twitter, a messaging service, for any update related <br /> to the Iran elections, there are minute-by-minute posts by users around the globe. The effects of this <br /> decentralised campaign are manifold. <br /> <br /> "This raises the awareness of the issues among the people who may not have been exposed to these <br /> issues because of the space constraints of traditional media," says Sunil Abraham, director-policy, <br /> Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore. "It encourages activists on the ground in Iran because it <br /> clearly demonstrates global solidarity." The increased transparency also has a pre-emptive effect by <br /> making it more difficult for states and corporations to engage in repressive activities without attracting <br /> international condemnation. <br /> <br /> But there are forms of social activism online, which are not looked upon favourably. <br /> <br /> Campaigns urging you to 'Click on this link and eradicate world hunger' lead to an oxymoronic state of <br /> sedentary activism or 'slacktivism.' Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute at New <br /> York, has coined this term to describe "feel-good online activism" that has no political or social impact. <br /> On the one hand, it will be easy to dismiss the click-to-participate campaigns as being useless. But they <br /> could attract people who would have normally not bothered with the issue. Mr. Morozov concludes that <br /> the only way to resolve the debate is by surveying campaigns to analyse impact. <br /> <br /> "As far as I know, there are no such studies. But there is anecdotal evidence that clicks on a Web 2.0 <br /> system can lead to deeper engagement with social campaigns," says Mr. Abraham. He cites the <br /> example of Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa, who was able to get some members of the Fair <br /> Copyright for Canada Facebook group (with over 90,000 members) to raise questions during open <br /> houses called by Canadian Members of Parliament. Thanks to this campaign, the government backed <br /> down from legislating anti-consumer intellectual property laws, he says. <br /> <br /> For the success of an online campaign, the power of the message also counts. Here, Mr. Abraham <br /> refers to the Pink Chaddi campaign. "It did not directly respond to the arguments of the Ram Sene. It <br /> used humour to mock the fundamentalists into irrelevance." <br /> <br /> Though there is no clear path to an effective online campaign, the successes have demonstrated the <br /> potential of the medium that promises to connect millions with a click. But just as a message can grow <br /> stronger as it reaches more people, it can also be spread wafer-thin and lose significance. <br /> <br /> After the Iran elections, social networking sites are used by supporters of Opposition candidate</div>

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