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Written by Michael Pick, Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs is an article published on Robin Good's MasterNewMedia website. The publisher, Robin Good, has had "... a career as a new media communication and publishing consultant for major international organizations that operate in the fields of research, development and education" (Good, n.d.). Robin Good is an independent new media publisher that "... converted his professional skills and interests into a self-publishing career (Good, n.d.). In 1999, Robin Good began MasterNewMedia, an online magazine dedicated to "... news, skills and resources to communicate more effectively with new media technologies" (Good, n.d.). Michael Pick's article first explores some of the ways of how people are stereotyped by mass-media propaganda. One example of this is, "The Nazis, pioneers of mass-media propaganda (Pick, n.d.), managed to convince a nation that it was being bled dry by the Jews, communists, gypsies, and anyone else that they could scapegoat. With relentless repetition and indoctrination they created the sense that these people were something less than human" (Pick, 2007). Which he then argues is that this mass-media propaganda is being continued today through television media. Pick then discusses Howard Rheingold's concept of Smart Mobs, and then he briefly discusses Avaaz.org (2011a), a website and platform, where everyone can have an

opinion and everyone can unite and help others, regardless of political stature and unaccountable organisations. It is a site where the values of people shape global decisions (Avaaz.org, 2011b). References: Avaaz.org. (2011a).The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en Avaaz.org. (2011b).The World in Action - About Us. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php Good, R. (n.d.). About Robin Good. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/about.htm Pick, M. (n.d.). The War On Terror And The Victory Of Spin: Believing Your Own Propaganda Is The True Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Robin Good - independent new media publisher. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/information-access/propaganda/the-war-on-terror-and-victory-of-spin-20070414.htm Pick, M. (2007). Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs. Robin Good - independent new media publisher. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/information_access/online-activism/media-stereotypes-war-online-activism-20070609.htm

Kravet's Wired online article details the role social-media services such as; Facebook, Twitter and YouTube played in the 2011 Egypt political revolution. The primary focus of his article suggests the uprising was the result of years of oppression and dictatorship, not simply a Twitter or mass media revolution as some have labelled it (Bergstrom, 2009). Kravet does acknowledge the link between technology and modern upheavals by using the example of the fax machine and the role it played informing the world of the Tiananmen Square massacre. At the same time, he still emphasises that social-media and communication systems are used as an effective way of coordinating protests and political gatherings. A quarter of Egyptian citizens have Internet access; therefore, it can be said that social media is a powerful channel activists could utilise - in conjunction with leaflets and spontaneous amalgamation - to effectively facilitate organisation of the masses. Activists also used social media as a way of gauging the scope of their proposed protests by encouraging Facebook users to confirm their attendance. Prior to the Internet being blocked, one particular organiser had 80,000 confirmations for a January 29, 2011 demonstration. After the Egyptian government's initial block of popular, social-networking services (prior to the entire Internet being shutdown in Egypt) protestors took leverage from a variety of technologies such as; web proxies, VPNs and smartphone applications to gain access to Facebook and Twitter. Again this demonstrates the importance these tools play in information sharing and mass collaboration. Bergstrom, G. (2009). Egypt: The First Twitter Revolution? Retrieved, April 4 2011, from http://marketing.about.com/od/crisis_communication/a/egypt-mubarak-power-in-social-media.htm Kravets, D. (January 27, 2011). What's Fueling Mideast Protests? It's More Than Twitter. Retrieved April 5, from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/

The article is interesting, but i just wanted to touch on the statements that were raised around communication after the Internet had actually been shut off. I was fascinated to read about how society can mobilize and use the resources that are available in times of need. Using third party proxies, organizers were able figure out ways to bypass the Egyptian Internet filters and to be able to once again access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other Internet sites (Osam, 2011). Despite the Internet blackout, landline communication was never blocked; Egyptians found another way to access the Internet through landlines dial-up Internet services and fax services. Egyptians living outside Egypt were receiving faxes through regular landline phones, by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies they could convert the fax image into text contents, and post the contents, news and updates into Facebook, Twitter and different blogs (Sutter, 2011). This convergence in technology just goes to show that these types of situations cannot be simply shut off by closing down all Internet connections within the country. As an indication on how fast online communication services are popping up into the spotlight, Google in the meantime launched a new service called "speak2tweet", which allowed Egyptians to call a regular landline number in Cairo and speak their tweet to an IVR/Voice recognition system. The speak2tweet system would then convert the caller voice message into a text tweet (Osam, 2011). References Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retrieved, April 13, 2011. From http://www.famousbloggers.net/the-erevolution.html

Sutter, J. (2011). The Faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved, April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html

Nelson, A. (2011). The limits of the 'Twitter revolution. The Gaurdian  Retrieved 11th April 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/24/digital-media-egypt   

Nelson makes a strong argument suggesting the 2011 Egypt uprising was not necessarily fuelled by social media; instead she links it to years of oppression and dictatorship as the main triggers. On the flipside, many of Nelson's statements need to be challenged. Firstly, she states that only 15,000 Egyptians were tweeting - out of a population of 80 million - throughout the protests. What she fails to mention is that less than 20% of Egyptians actually have Internet access (Internet World Stats, 2011). In addition, many of these users also reside outside of Cairo and may not have directly participated in the demonstrations. Lastly, the Internet and SMS services were shutdown in Egypt two days after the initial January 25th demonstration and this act would drastically reduce numbers as the only way to circumvent the block was through dialup or a voice-to-tweet service. An interesting concept raised in this article is 'slackivism', a term coined to describe the attraction of getting caught up in the euphoria of online activism. The benefits however have little or no impact on society because clicking a 'like' button within a Facebook group is far from participatory and adds very little value to the cause. Instead, Nelson argues that web users need to be better educated in the use and the expectations of crisis-mapping platforms to effectively participate. Sukey , an anti-police kettling web application is a recent example of internet enabled, active participation. Its use during a recent political demonstration in London resulted in successful, non-violent outcome (Kingsley, 2011). This was attributed to activists working together and feeding information from Twitter, Google Maps and news feeds into Sukey to counter the act the police kettling. This example highlights that technical aptitude and active participation are required to effectively coordinate a internet enabled, protest. Internet World Stats - Usage and Population Statistics. (2011

References: Morozov, E. (2009). Moldova's Twitter Revolution. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/07/moldovas_twitter_revolution Nelson, A. (2011). The Limits Of The "Twitter Revolution". Retrieved April, 16 2011. From http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/24/digital-media-egypt

This article, written by Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, discusses the role of social media in the events that led to the Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine fleeing the country on January 14th this year. Zuckerman compares the media coverage and online community support received by Iranians during the 2009 protests and the coverage in Tunisia, which didn't receive anywhere near the same amount of attention. As Zuckerman puts it, "the irony is that social media likely played a significant role in the events that have unfolded in the past month in Tunisia, and that the revolution appears far more likely to lead to lasting political change." (Zuckerman, 2011) The protests in Tunisia began after the suicide of an unemployed university graduate whose informal vegetable stall had been "shuttered by the police" (Zuckerman, 2011). Protests began spreading from city to city. Although Ben Ali's government tightly controlled all forms of media, Facebook remained uncensored throughout the protests. This meant that Tunisians were able to follow unfolding events on Facebook. They were then able to share what was happening with the rest of the world by posting videos to YouTube, and the end result was that "a popular revolt toppled an Arab dictator" (Zuckerman, 2011). One important point that Zuckerman makes is that it is wrong to attempt to credit "a massive political shift to a single factor -- technological, economic, or otherwise --... Tunisians took to the streets due to decades of frustration, not in reaction to a WikiLeaks cable, a denial-of-service attack, or a Facebook update." (Zuckerman, 2011)

protests but as recent events have shown, a platform that can organise and communicate with over 85,0000 people to take part in a political protest should never be underestimated (Hauslohner, 2011). References Ingram, M. (2011). Was What Happened In Tunisia A Twitter Revolution? Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://gigaom.com/2011/01/14/was-what-happened-in-tunisia-a-twitter-revolution/ Morozov, E. (2009). Moldova's Twitter Revolution. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/07/moldovas_twitter_revolution Hauslohner, A. (2011). Is Egypt About To Have A Facebook Revolution? Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2044142,00.html

Ethan Zuckerman's article brings us closer to a political situation in Tunis during the peak of the reported protests. Included image of the woman protester in the front of a flag makes a headline more interesting and debatable. Zuckerman writes about what sparked the actual protests, reactions of the Tunisian government, Tunisia's protests influencing neighborhood countries and how media off and on line functioned during the events. Zimmerman also writes about the reactions from outside the Middle East - from those countries celebrating a peace oriented time such as Christmas Day and New Year's holidays and at the same time hearing and seeing headlines about a shooting in Arizona. Zuckerman says that more attention would be given to the Tunisian protests through media during slow news month. He then analyzes Iran's promoting the Green Movement to on online audience that followed the tweets and Facebook posts and compares it with Tunisia's support from the online community. According to Zimmerman, social media played a significant role in Tunisia despite government's having a tight control over on and off line media. Zimmerman writes that the Government prevented reporters from traveling to the protest hot spots and what I understood from the Zimmerman's words - the media reports were prohibited with titles like vandalism or terrorism. As an alternative, Tunisians had access to uncensored pictures from the Facebook and communicated the political protests to the rest of the world by using YouTube and Dailymotion. The article highlighted existence of online audience and usage of social networking applications throughout the Tunisian events; however to me as a reader the content did not support sufficiently its title 'The First Twitter Revolution'.

Computer-mediated Communication in Education: A review of recent research. This research paper available online addresses the recent research into Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in education (Keller, 2007). The author looks at each research methods and compares it to a counter research method like Quantitative verses Qualitative and Empirical verses Non-empirical research. This gives you a clear picture in many areas that are lacking in research and would help anyone who is looking to further research this area. It is important to note at this study of articles during the period 2000 to 2004 indicates some recent changes of interest but also shows interests that have remained steady in the research community(Keller, 2007). Also, it should be remembered that these results are based on 117 selected articles in Computers & Education, Educational Media International, Journal of Educational Computing Research and Journal of Educational Media between 2000 and 2004 out of many journals on educational technology. The article concludes a number of outcomes. That more work is needed that builds theories concluding that the research field has relied heavily on empirical studies (Keller, 2007). More research is needed in new and emerging communication media stating that current research is very much focused on text-based communication, not using graphics, audio and video(Keller, 2007). Research is needed on synchronous media because that most of the research has been on asynchronous studies. And finally Keller concludes that research is needed on the combination of different media in blended education. Keller, S. H. C. (2007). Computer-mediated Communication in Education: A review of recent research - Educational Media International. Educational Media International, 44(1), 61-77.

The author of this article, Jody McIntyre, is a journalist and political activist. The article was published in Jody's regular blog for The Independent. This article is not a scholarly article, rather an opinion piece. The source (The Independent) is reliable. McIntyre has also written for The Guardian, the New Statesman, Electronic Intifada and Disability Now. By focusing on recent events south of Yemen, and in particular the 'million person march' in early March 2011, the article highlights how broadcast media is focusing on events in Libya, while ignoring political unrest in other areas. McIntyre relates how Al Jazeera, the Qatari-based news channel, tends to "choose" one uprising at a time to focus on and "leading the gaze of the public" (McIntyre, 2011). McIntyre asks whether "a revolution on the Egyptian model" would have succeeded without the media attention it received. New media sources, and the Internet in particular, have allowed the public "to follow these uprisings in a way that would never have been possible in the past." (McIntyre, 2011) Traditional broadcast media organisations, such as the BBC, "can no longer monopolise our opinions". By viewing Twitter feeds we are "seeing events as they happen, not as they are reported". (McIntyre, 2011) McIntyre highlights an important point - although the public are not "seeing" these events in the traditional sense (via television broadcast), they are "seeing" them unfold through collaborative social media. The public are not just "seeing" events unfold, they are also disseminating the news. McIntyre, J (March 10, 2011) Only some revolutions will be televised The Independent - Independent Blogs. Retrieved April 9, 2011 from http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/03/10/only-some-revolutions-will-be-televised/

A very interesting comment and article Sheila and I agree that the author "...Jody McIntyre, is a journalist and political activist ... This article is not a scholarly article, rather an opinion piece" (McLean, 2011). Jody McIntyre has written a variety of articles on many different topics within the political activist discourse. However, has anything really changed? In 2005, I had hired out the movie Hotel Rwanda that was a new DVD release, without realising that it was "The true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda" (Hotel Rwanda, 2004). After watching the horrifying scenes, I then searched the Internet for further information. Whilst questioning myself "How did I miss this war in 1994?" A few years later, I was able to determine that it only briefly touched the traditional news broadcast reporting in a world wide scale. I mean who cared that "An estimated 1 million people were killed within a three month period in 1994" (GlobalSecurity, 2011)? I cared, and very strongly. Today, traditional news media is still missing many details of what is happening around the world. Events that do get reported seem, at times, to be glorified to entertain the consumers. Where traditional media fail to inform the public, the certainly is a broader world of informative available from many different sources and for many different reasons. This is where sites such as Avaaz and many others help spread the news about global issues where people-power now has the action over the traditional way of doing too little, too late, due to being uninformed. No one person controls the content published on the Internet. However, there are groups that control what is televised, when it is televised and where. References: GlobalSecurity. (2011). Rwanda Civil War. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/w

Jody McIntyre highlights the fact about the important role the Internet and Twitter have been playing in the mass information exchange during recent political protesting in Yemen and countries across Northern Africa. An information share and exchange through individual use of the Twitter and the Internet has been providing access to people's information instead to mass information filtered through major media like BBC, Al Jazeera and other. As Jody McIntyre states, the Twitter feeds are representing the events as they happen, not as they are reported. I fully agree with Jody McIntyre, there seems to be a domino effect surrounding the political movements in the Northern Africa. What started in Tunisia has been carried over to its neighborhood. The main difference is the protests are of different ratio and longevity reflecting a deep cultural and political constitution experienced by each particular country. 'Whilst the media continue to focus exclusively on events in Libya, the huge march in the south of Yemen was ignored', writes Jody McIntyre. It is known, the media works in an organized way, placing their correspondents in areas where information or reports are of 'hot topic'. When analyzing the Twitter media where the Twitter usage is based on its availability amongst people and not on strategic positioning of media outlets, it is obvious the Twitter is being a portable and convenient communication tool accessible by those who can afford it, and its affordance was possible in the Northern Africa where third world description is still in existence.

This ABC online article highlights some important aspects about the use of social-media and the role it played organising, coordinating and documenting Egypt's 2011 uprising. Firstly, the initial ban of web services such as Facebook and Twitter was an indication of the Egyptian government recognising the power, connectedness and participatory nature of social-media . In an attempt to silence the demonstrators and to avoid a repeat of the 2009 Iran revolution, Egyptian authorities took it one step further and not only blocked certain web site but completely shut down access to the entire world-wide-web (Stone, 2009). This act alone illustrates the fragility of the Internet, despite its decentralised design. Literally, with the flick of a switch, Internet Service Providers acting on government instructions blocked web access within the country. It can be argued the political protesting in Egypt would occur with our without a social-media influence; however, it is still important to examine the length Egyptian demonstrators went to in order to circumvent the Internet block and continue to take leverage from popular social media services. An example is the use of 'voice-to-tweet' - a cooperative development by Google, Twitter and an online voice provider called SayNow. This innovation allowed Egyptians to call a telephone number and leave a message which would automatically be converted to text, published on Twitter and tagged with #Egypt. This example highlights Twitter and new media being used for collaboration and participation; specifically between citizen activists and journalists around the world. Much like the Internet, news media was also blocked within Egypt and reporters faced the same communication challenges as everybody else, this workaround however was an effective way for Egyptians to stay connected and ensure their stories were continuing to be voiced to the eagerly listening global audience. Stone, B. (June 15, 2009). Social Net

The events that unfolded during the uprising in Egypt are a good example of how flexible and mobile social networks can be in relation to effective communication between members of society. Through the Egyptian government shutting off all Internet connections collaborative efforts were made by both Twitter and Google to still allow information to be distributed throughout the country. As stated above, the speak-to-tweet services were available in which voicemail messages were left and then converted into text messages, which were then posted via twitter (ABC News, 2011). This is a great example of how devices can be implemented and used to adjust to the situation at hand. In one of my previous posts I talked about the United States becoming concerned around social media's effectiveness in relation to social protest, in which they have made plans to impose legislation to create a 'kill switch' to re-create what the Egyptian government previous did, cut all lines of Internet communication in times of political disturbance (Grubb & Moses, 2011). The elements that unfolded in Egypt after the lines of Internet communication were cut is a good example of how other devices can be implemented for information to be distributed amongst society. It is not as simple as cutting off an Internet connection and assume that collaborative communication will cease. Just as the US government has seen the warning signs of the power of social networks, society has also seen the weakness in relying on a national Internet service. 'Mesh' Networks as I previously stated in another post are currently underdevelopment for mobile phones in which there is no central device, instead each node is equipped with radio communications which acts as a relay point to other nodes, placing the pressure off obtaining a connection from a main server (Gedda ,2010).

References: ABC News (2011). Voice tweets sidestep Egypt web ban. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/01/3126626.htm Grubb, B; Moses, A. (2011). As Egypt goes offline US gets Internet 'kill switch' bill ready. Retrieved April 17, 2011. From http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/as-egypt-goes-offline-us-gets-internet-kill-switch-bill-ready-20110131-1aah3.html Gedda, R. (2010). Mobile Phone Coverage Expanded Via 'Mesh' Networks. Retrieved April, 17, 2011. from http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/352948/mobile_phone_coverage_expanded_via_mesh_networks/.

(2001) This is a critical view about the internet and education. Peter Macinnis Speaks with Robyn Williams (ABC Science National Radio) about the evolution of Technology and how technology takes 20 plus years to become an accepted technology. Macinnis shows the analogy of the printing press, steam trains, telephone,radio and TV development and then compares the internet.  He claims you need to take the rear view mirror approach to see what the trends are.   One interesting point that Macinnis makes is that the examination process of education is still ran by the old school where the generation today have a whole new literacy in Internet communications. He also criticise how the Internet is organised and there is some work needed to add metadata to the already exciting data on the web.  I find this a good argument as search engines rank results based on several factors other than truth and reliability.     Williams, R. (Writer). (2001). The Internet and Education [Radio ], ABC Science. Australia: ABC Radio National.

REFERENCES ABS. (2007). 8146.0.55.001 - Patterns of Internet access in Australia, 2006, Australian Bureau of Statistics. First Issued November 29, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0.55.001Main+Features12006?OpenDocument Downes, S. (2007). The Future of Online Learning and Personal learning Environments. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/the-future-of-online-learning-and-personal-learning-environments NSWDET (2009). Social Learning 2.0 Concepts and Visuals. Uploaded by the NSW Department of Education and Training March 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert/sociallearning20-concepts-and-visuals-mar09# Williams, R., and Peter Macinnis (2001). The Internet and Education. Ockham's Razor, Radio National. Broadcast Sunday May 6, 2001. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s289416.htm

It is good to go back and examine Peter Macinnis's point of view. Reminds me of the exercise of examining Clifford Stoll's (1995) view on what the internet was to become, which of course was mostly wrong. Macinnis seemed to have predicted the unorganised nature of the information on the internet (ABC Radio, 2001) which to an extent does exist now. This is one reason I believe is important to address in terms of internet collaboration especially in education. Collaborating is about organising information into a presentation form for all students collaborating within a system. But that must be with a gatekeeper, namely the teacher or lecturer or tutor who can intervene when needed. Michael Green (ABC Radio, 1999) in an earlier view on that show quoted Fred Bennett who urged computers to teach students without an intermediary, namely a tutor or teacher. Whilst tertiary education is underpinned by self-reliance, I wonder if such views back then apply now. In collaboration, does the lecturer decide to be strictly a hands off non-interventionist given that their students are mature and can think for themselves? Or does the lecturer, given the high demands of departmental, research and publishing commitments, become part of the student group collaboration? In my resources, Google Docs seems to raise more issues about information use which suggest students place a high value on organised information which makes sense to them. I feel that Macinnis should revise today if inaccurate information is the real problem. We had virtual communities were information could be corrected, but with Web 2.0, Wikipedia being the most obvious example, we can correct what is wrong. I do agree with Tessa that social media overall seems to be quite behind in the way it is being diffused across educational sectors. Collaboration tools such as Facebook etc will be used by students anyway so it seems odd that the resistance still exists. This interview is a good resource to reflect on how f

Virág Molnár is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York. Her interest is in the impact of mobile communications on urban culture. This article first puts flash mobs into an historical perspective by suggesting that its roots lie with the Italian Futurists of 1910 and further cultivated during the 20th century by avant-garde art groups such as Dadaists . More recently there have been the Youth International Party (Yippies) in the US. (Molnár, 2009) As Molnár points out the things that all these groups have in common with modern flash mobs is that there is no formal membership or hierarchy and they are able to utilise the media effectively. The difference lies in the use of new media such as blog, social networks and mobile phones (2009). Rheingold points out that these tools lower the threshold of participation as it no longer required participants to actually know each other (2003, p. xii). Molnár then identifies and describes 5 types of flash mob based either on their form of sociality or their function. They are: 'atomised' flash mobs, interactive flash mobs, performance flash mobs, political flash mobs and advertising flash mobs (2009). Flash mobs, although organised online are only able to be carried out by people in close proximity to one another or as Molnár describes it "able to make the leap from cyberspace to urban space" (2009). These events are generally recorded and posted to sites like YouTube in order to both popularise the event and to get feedback. "Online reporting has indeed largely been responsible for the rapid global diffusion of flash mobs," and "has been crucial in institutionalizing and legitimizing this new form of sociability"(Molnár, 2009).

Continuation of original comment. As a blog post on Turtle Sociology wrote "The globalization of flash mobs underscores two vital notes: the viral-like nature of technology, and the universal desire to break free from social norms… all flash mobs seem to elicit joy in their bold, unprompted natures"(2010). References: Molnár, V. (2009). Reframing Public Space Through Digital Mobilization: Flash Mobs and the Futility(?) of Contemporary Urban Youth Culture. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic497840.files/Molnar_Reframing-Public-Space.pdf Rheingold, H. (2003). Smart Mobs : The next socal revolution. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lX9QKNbO0nkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=smart+mobs+the+next+social+revolution&ots=wvkWcKOAIx&sig=00EWrYtEyAwqRmnYNth77Sclr8o#v=onepage&q=smart%20mobs&f=false Turtle Sociology. (2010, October 6). The Universal Phenomenon of Flash Mobs [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://turtlesoc.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/the-universal-phenomenon-of-flash-mobs/

Thanks for continuing your comment Hans. That last quote really sums it up well. I quite like how you have highlighted the fact that flash mobs underscore the 'viral-like nature of technology' in addition to the joy flash mobs elicit as a result of their impromptu nature. All that is needed is a quick search through YouTube for 'flash mobs' to see the views of popular flash mob videos reach the millions, as well as to read how well they have been received globally. Thanks again, Tessa

Flash mobs have been around since 2003, the full power of their reach has not really been felt until a mix of social media like Facebook and Twitter came into effect to help to coordinate events and spread the word. A mix of this and viral video tools like Youtube help to spread the story worldwide in a very short time frame. The organisation of early flash mob performances used to rely on text messages to spread the message. However, these days the internet and social media have made the coordination and the spreading of the message much quicker and it allows for many more networking opportunities. Costs of performances and production are kept to a minimum, with no need to buy air time. An interesting side-effect of viral videos these days is that the video will most often be displayed on television for free anyway, doing away with the need to pay for advertising air time, and has given rise to television programs dedicated to flash mob tv in places like Germany (Flashmob.tv, 2011). Flashmob.tv, (2011). The Show. Retrieved from http://www.flashmob.tv/en/the_show.php

This resource, found in the Char Valiant School Newspaper, discusses flash mobs. Flash mobs, a more recent occurrence, are a group of people who meet at a predetermined public location to do a spontaneous performance (often something of a theatrical nature like a song or dance), and then disperse into the crowd at the end. Flash mobs are usually instigated online, using various forms of online media to organise and coordinate the event. This can include mobile phones, email, and social networking sites. Although these "events started out as a way for these groups to mock the conformity of the general population", they have "instead become a symbol of spontaneity and fun around the world"(CharValiant, 2011). Flash Mobs have also become a form of advertising. T-Mobile has used this form of theatrics to their advantage, using them in several of their advertisements. Carolyn Thomas (2010) talks in her article about how T-Mobile is becoming synonymous with flash mobs, showing that the marketing campaign is working as people are instantly remembering the company name and linking it with the campaign. Australia is also getting on the flash mob advertising bandwagon, with the latest "Australian Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea" launch at Brisbane's Queen Street Mall on the 18th April, 2011 (Cancerqld, 2011) and the viral Sydney Mardi Gras campaign filmed on Bondi Beach (RockYourBox, 2009). Although the link between public resource computing and flash mobs is tenuous at best, as another current form of online collaboration it is still well worth a mention. As public resource computing relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising to increase its member numbers by using things like social-networking sites, so too does flash mob advertising rely on "going viral" through similar word-of-mouth usage.

Written by Caci Murphy, a Senior at Chartiers Valley High School(CharValiant, 2011), this resource is not necessarily as reliable a source as perhaps other more researched papers. Although well written, and factually accurate, a high school senior would be lacking both the technological knowledge and life experience to give an accurate view point to make this an authoritative resource. Cancerqld. (2011). Australia's Biggest Morning Tea Flash Mob. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w07Nq2h55Xo CharValiant. (2011). The CharValiant Staff. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/staff/ CharValiant. (2011). Flash Mobs: The Feel Good Phenomenon of the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/news/2011/03/14/flash-mobs-the-feel-good-phenomenon-of-the-21st-century/ RockYourBox. (2009). Say Cheese! Flash Mob On Bondi Beach [OFFICIAL]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4DkbGbxl0 Thomas, C. (2010). T-Mobile and the flash mob marketing phenomenon. Retrieved from http://ethicalnag.org/2010/11/04/flash-mob/

[Part 1] Lemos' paper depicts map-making as a socio-political act, an expression of power. Maps themselves are a visual way of presenting geographic information, and have been traditionally controlled by technicians, governments and private companies, but since the advent of interactive online tools, some of the power inherent in map-making has shifted to ordinary people. Interactive tools such as Google Maps, allow the everyday person to experience a new practice of place, as Lemos writes "mapping our moves on the streets allows us to control the space; it is territorialization. […] The use of GPS and other devices for location and location-based services puts the emphasis on control and domination over a territory" (Lemos 2008, p.15). From the perspective of student protesters in London at the end of 2010, the use of an interactive Google map (see and example at: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london), allowed protest organisers to control the flow of digital information between cyberspace and the urban environment. Protesters themselves, those armed with locative media such as smart phones, had access to near real time data superimposed upon street maps relevant to their own position. This allowed protesters to collaborate by providing feedback to organisers or by reacting geographically to reported police location and action.

[Part 2] The act of real time digital mapping and urban annotation by protest movements potentially creates a new dynamic where the distribution of power relative to a location is altered. The ways in which citizens perceive the city and interact with its structure is changed when citizens have access to information about proximity and distance, when they are kept informed of lines of escape from controlled spaces. The act of protesting creates a temporary urban space, changing a location's social meaning. With the use of digital mapping tools a mobile social network is created, one that has the potential to communicate more effectively than the police forces arrayed against them. References: Cullum, B. (2010). Maptivism in London. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london Lemos, A.(2008). Mobile communication and new sense of places: a critique of spatialization in cyberculture.  Retrieved from:  http://www.andrelemos.info/artigos/spatialization.pdf Live Protest Map (2010). Retrieved from: UCL Live Protest Map

Lemos' journal examines the notion that recent mobile innovations have facilitated new and socially focussed communication systems. Locative media is the primary focus of the article and Lemos argues that technology and its relationship with mobility, community and place are creating new forms of 'territorization' - a socio-political act that involves control, surveillance and tracking. The distinction is made that locative media creates new uses for non-virtual space and bridges the gap between the physical and the virtual. This is achieved through augmented reality, mobile information consumption, events and geo-mapping; all which reinforce collaboration and participation among real world communities. Examples of locative media and territorization include CitizenMap, a community focussed web service which utilises Google Maps, Twitter and news sources to identify and detail environmental incidents throughout Hong Kong and the South China region. Sukey, an anti-police kettling application is another example of locative media, this service aims to improve communications throughout demonstrations by feeding police tactics and information from an assortment of data sources such as Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr and directly aggregating it to mobile / SMS enabled devices (Sukey, 2011). What Lemos fails to expand on in the journal is the technical and participatory expectations required for the services to be successful. Without regular and active participation these services add little or no value to the community or the cause.

This article is presented on famousboggers.com a blogging site dedicated to academics publishing writing on current events. In this article Mohamed Osam (network and computer engineer) talks about the technological factors leading up to the revolution in Egypt. The "eRevolution" was sparked by a group of young activists on Facebook, they were pushing for reform on freedom and social injustice (Osam, 2011). These Facebook groups attracted more than 85,000 protestors via group posts, and comments, while communicating heavily on twitter and sometimes cell phone SMS services (Osam, 2011). Other Facebook groups were initiated before and during the protests to support the logistics and the massive demonstrations that erupted all over Egypt. The "Rasd News Network (R.N.N)" Facebook group was one of the main contributors to the revolution, sending protest updates, news updates and politician and media reaction (Osam, 2011). With such a public outcry the Egyptian government shut down all Internet communication in Egypt, but by this time things had already escalated beyond the governments repair (Franco, 2011). After a few more days of the increasing number of protestors, high national and international pressures, and a total of 18 days of protesting, Omar Suleiman (the recently appointed Egyptian vice president) resigned his position (Franco, 2011). This article brings up interesting points around the effects of online collaboration and communication. What is the future for these types of online political movements? The factor that seems to be most interesting is the fact that there was social action and results gained by taking the fight online just as offline. The power of online collaboration has obviously proven its point with these recent events in Egypt, so where too next? Could this type of political movement be a stepping-stone for further political activism or just like many other tools be used for both positive and negative behavior? Some see this as

References: Avaaz.org. (2011). Stand With The People Of Egypt. Avaaz - The World in Action. Retrieved from https://secure.avaaz.org/en/democracy_for_egypt/?fpla Avaaz.org. (2011). Freeze Mubarak's stolen fortune. Avaaz - The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en/mubaraks_fortune/ Findlay, T. (2011). eRevolution on Diigo - oua_net308_2011 group. Retrieved from http://groups.diigo.com/group/oua_net308_2011 Osam, M. (n.d.). Articles by Mohamed Osam. The eRevolution. Retrieved from http://www.famousbloggers.net/author/mohamedosam Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retrieved from http://www.famousbloggers.net/the-erevolution.html

This is a great article that describes the technological and social influences that allowed millions of people to network and collaborate online during the protests in Egypt earlier this year. It shows how many citizens of Egypt successfully used various online services and tools in maintaining communications and mobilizing massive group actions throughout this time. The author explains how this was "the first revolution sparked, managed and orchestrated by social networking, by Facebook, twitter, blogs and YouTube"(Osam, M. 2011); and questions any potential harm that may arise from such seemingly powerful tools of social and political change. This supports the article 'Anonymous Uses Collaborative Document Sharing Tool for Social Survival' that I have posted to Diigo. These works investigate the widespread use of both public and anonymous web services in the coordination of information, communications and group movements during social and political protests in the Middle East. They show how these platforms were used as flexible networking and collaborating tools which effectively reached large numbers of people. While the Anonymous article focuses on the creation and distribution of their 'Revolution Survival Guide' for Tunisians - using tools that allowed "simple, free, and publicly "anonymous" way(s) to share and collaborate on information" (Clay, K. 2011); the Egyptian protests were initially "sparked by a group of young activists on Facebook"(Osam, M. 2011). These different networking and collaboration platforms were successfully used as social and political tools against oppressive regimes. References Clay, K. (2011). Anonymous Uses Collaborative Document Sharing Tool for Social Survival. Social Media and Technology. 25th of February 2011. Available from: http://www.lockergnome.com/social/2011/02/25/anonymous-uses-collaborative-document-sharing-tool-for-social-survival Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retreived, April 13, 2011. From

Anyone can become a member of Avaaz. However, their website offers no portal of communication between members and/or non-members. Fortunately, this issue is solved by its integration of social media networks such as Facebook (Avaaz.org, 2011b), Twitter (Avaaz, 2011) and YouTube (AvaazOrg, 2011). Using Facebook as an example, Avaaz posts information about current campaigns. By doing this, Avaaz is opening further communication about its campaigns; it allows the organisation to continually grow stronger; and it is an opportunity for them to reach more people. On this Facebook group: * Avaaz posts new information, and contributes to conversations * Anybody following the Avaaz group can make comments about the campaign; concurrently they can also promote particular campaigns of interest to their own social networks. Avaaz also makes use of Twitter as another complementary platform for communication. Akin to Avaaz's use of Facebook, Twitter is used to keep their followers informed of updates, new campaigns and more. An example of this can be seen in Tweets made by Avaaz: Hi @SAALTweets, have you seen the @Avaaz petition for Jan #Lokpal? http://bit.ly/eZcDis Follow @Avaaz back so we can send more info (9 Apr) In 1 day over 250,000 have signed to stand with #annahazare against Indian #corruption. Join them at http://j.mp/gfg7KJ - pls RT (8 Apr) Avaazers in India: Stand with #annahazare to tackle #corruption. Sign the @Avaaz petition for the Jan #Lokpal Bill! http://j.mp/fCnD8Z (8 Apr) By doing this, Twitter users are able to receive updates about campaigns and other information; participate in conversations; and, promote the information that interests them to their networks (Jenkins et al., 2009). By doing this, the consumers of the networks are helping

[Continued from previous comment] In terms of my chosen topic of Flash Mobs, AVAAZ has stronger ideals and uses social media to highlight their issues of global concern. Flash Mobs tend to have their base within a community and despite sometimes being organized to highlight a social injustice, are mainly used as advertising to publicize an upcoming event or personality. YouTube videos shared through social media networks appear to be the main form of spreading a Flash Mob once the activity or event has occurred. AVAAZ on the other hand, has an ongoing commitment to highlight issues before, after, during and after an event. Thanks again for your insightful article and comment Jocelyn

Prior to reading these comments, I had never heard of AVAAZ. Out of interest, and because I have been researching civil unrest in Europe and the Middle East, I did a Google search on "AVAAZ and Egypt" and was surprised to see 418,000 results. There were multiple links to different groups who were promoting the "Stand with the people of Egypt petition" in conjunction with AVAAZ, groups such as the Care 2 News Network, and Manalife. We seem to constantly hear about the power of Twitter and Facebook, but in turn there are all of these other organisations collaborating, promoting and sharing content on the internet not just using Twitter and Facebook, but their own websites and forums. REFERENCES: Avaaz - Stand with the People of Egypt Care2.com http://www.care2.com/news/member/754940801/2709806 Hylands, J (January 30, 2011) Avaaz - Stand with the people of Egypt. Manalife http://manalife.org/articles/stand-with-the-people-of-egypt/

The origin of flash mobs is credited to Bill Wasik who emailed friends in June 2003 to gather in the home furnishing department of Macy's in Manhattan. More than a 100 people began discussing whether to purchase a 'love rug' for their fictitious commune and then dispersed as quickly as it had formed (Hewitt, 2003). Flash mobs are defined in the Oxford dictionary as "a public gathering of complete strangers, organized via the Internet or mobile phone, who perform a pointless act and then disperse again" (Oxford University Press, 2011). Advertising agencies now utilise flash mobs to promote commercial products. This article discusses the Saatchi and Saatchi award winning T-Mobile advertisement "Life is for sharing" (posted to Youtube by jonjonbaker, 2009). Rather than focusing on how mobile phones and social media are used to organise a flash mob, the discussion here is about how this same media is used to create "viral traction - the ability to be widely forwarded to millions of viewers almost instantly" (Thomas, 2010). The advertisement itself shows bystanders utilising their mobile devices to share photos with their friends as well as ringing them to talk about the experience. As the title of the advertisement says "life is for sharing". Nick Burcher wrote in his blog Personal thoughts on the evolution of media and advertising that "advertisers are creating events to push user generated content coverage, a physical community made virtual. The event drives the Conversation, rather than the other way round as Wasik intended" (Burcher, 2009). Flash mobbing has become more than Wasik first imagined. On this case it has been utilised to raise brand awareness, but the same techniques can also be used to promote political opinions.

Hans this is a very interesting article and ties in with the article I found by McGreer (2010) who discussed the business response to FlashMobs. Whilst two different approaches were used the one constant was the use of professional film crew to use the footage for uploading. The question McGreer raises is when it no longer has the artistic element, which Wasnik defines an event as a FlashMob, are commercial applications really FlashPerformances? McGreer, B. (2010). Give Them something to talk about. US Banker. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.

Hans this is a very interesting article and ties in with the article I found by McGreer (2010) who discussed the business response to FlashMobs. Whilst two different approaches were used the one constant was the use of professional film crew to use the footage for uploading. The question McGreer raises is when it no longer has the artistic element, which Wasnik defines an event as a FlashMob, are commercial applications really FlashPerformances? McGreer, B. (2010). Give Them something to talk about. US Banker. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.

Grant, W. J., Moon, B., & Busby Grant, J. (2010). Digital Dialogue? Australian Politicians' use of the Social Network Tool Twitter. Australia Journal of Political Science, 45(4), 579-604. Using the social network tool Twitter by Australian politicians has proven to be a common practice in Australian political arena. The analysis mentioned in the article, suggests that the politicians use the Twitter for political engagement and gaining of more political benefit. For politicians the Twitter is simply a good way of connecting with public. 'Engaging with community online is a great for me, as Premier, to get feedback on the decisions and actions of my government… Twitter in particular is a frank and spontaneous way for people to share views and thoughts - it's not filtered or tempered by second thoughts, it's raw and immediate, and its 24/7.' One of the authors' questions as part of their conducted analysis was 'Does Twitter offer us better ways to collectively shape our world, or is it instead a fragmentary, dangerous and disempowering distraction?' The obtained results were received from 152 Australian politicians and 477 random Australian Twitters. Data analysis suggested that Australian politicians are clearly engaging with Twitter and their broadcast tweeting is of higher number that of Australians in general. Collected data also suggested a pattern of tweeting that Australians in general follow politicians more than politicians follow them. The data analysis conclusion was the tweeting is used by Australian politicians for influencing the communities and for the benefit they may gain through the tweeting. The Twitter provides a tool for listening to the communities by the politicians and is a definitively a good access point to valuable feedbacks. Twitter's rapid connection between politicians and communities is one of the greatest benefits using the Twitter. The Twitter is providing a venue for Australian politicians, citizens and media to connect and sh

[Part 2] The report found that apart from tweets to broadcast information, there is a reasonably high level of 'retweeting' performed by politicians, retweeting is a micro-political act of endorsement. It also suggested that the number of people a politician follows loosely translates as the level to which that politician listens to the public. Politicians replying to tweets from non-politicians, however were found to be quite a low percentage of posts, suggesting that to date Twitter has not particularly facilitated an open political dialogue. References: Grant, W. J., Moon, B., and Busby Grant, J. (2010). Digital Dialogue? Australian Politicians' use of the Social Network Tool Twitter. Australia Journal of Political Science, 45(4), 579-604. DOI: 10.1080/10361146.2010.517176

Twitter as used by politicians stands at a crossroads. Held in scorn by many politicians, it is often derided as a trivial communications platform with a distinct lack of professionalism. This is well exampled by Julia Gillard's attack on Twitter fan Joe Hockey for daring to consult his 'tweets' for policy opinion. ""He can't govern the nation by tweet," (Courier Mail 2009). Akin to this is the British House of Commons ban on tweeter for apparently as the Deputy Speaker puts it "letting the outside world know what is going on (in parliament)". (Financial Post 2011) In contrast, is enthusiastic tweeting by politicians such as Federal member Joe Hockey and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell. O'Farrrell in particular uses Twitter for daily political discourse with his constituents. Often offering further insight into policy matters or recent actions in media. With over 6000 Tweets (NSW MP Tweets 2011) O'Farrell has set a precedent for high-profile Australian politicians using Twitter as an effective medium. With Hockey being accused by Gillard over crossing the line between consulting and collaboration using Twitter, the evolving use of the service remains of great interest to the political world. References Julia Gillard hits Joe Hockey's Twitter usage (2009) Courier Mail. Accessed http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/julia-gillard-hits-joe-hockeys-twitter-usage/story-e6freooo-1225804950598 Twitter banned in British Parliament (2011) Financial Post. Accessed http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/19/twitter-banned-in-british-parliament/ NSW MP Tweets (2011) Statistics about Barry O'Farrell on Twitter. Accessed http://nsw.mptweets.com.au/barry-ofarrell/

John Sutters article presented on CNN online is a personalised recount of the factors (technological and social) leading up to the demonstrations in Egypt. This article is interesting as it outlines the impact that the Internet has on peoples daily lives, the way the it has allowed members in society the opportunity to gather information and allow freedom of speech that would never be allowed in their own government regime. Sutters article follows a man called Saleh, (Egyptian born) and explores the impacts that living in his society has brought on his daily life. Being born into a country where rape, murder and wrongful imprisonment are just a part of daily life he soon gained the motivation to want more. The lack of information that he could obtain from Egypt's two national television stations, gave him the drive and motivation to want to learn more about the world (Sutters, 2011). When he was 16 he rejoiced in the fact that the Internet had come along, "I was waiting for the Internet to arrive in Egypt years before it arrived. Reading about it, I could see how much freedom there was (online), how much information you had" (Saleh, 2011). The Internet was a way for people to gain access to limitless amounts of information, it is not by chance that these social media tools are now being used to mobilize people in society to speak out, take action and express their thoughts and feelings to create change. After an Egyptian man was allegedly beaten to death by police outside an Internet cafe Saleh and his friends were shocked by the news of the event and decided to create a Facebook page "We Are All Khaled Said". The results were astounding, more and more people started to comment and join the group, which eventually lead to a mass protest in which protesters stood along the banks of the Nile wearing black (Sutters, 2011). Events that followed on January 27 were even more impressive. The online organizers in Egypt are quick to spread

credit. No single person, group, Facebook page or political party planned this movement. It just happened, they said. Partly in response to the events in Tunisia. Partly by years and years of lingering economic, social and human rights problems. Saleh, the young man who grew up yearning for an Internet connection, said he was amazed at the degree to which the Internet played a role in the movement. These social media platforms allowed people to mobilize more freely than in public. Decoy events could be set up and changed on a moment's notice; messages could be spread to other countries and updates could be passed through out the country and the world (Sutters, 2011). The flexibility around social media is something that can shed some insight into why these types of events have become so successful. Messages can be updated, read and sent from any portable device, Facebook and Twitter can be access anywhere at anytime, meaning that mass collaboration over these services can be organised to such a precise level. As state above, the Internet has become such an influential medium for nations under tight control to express themselves and gather outside information about what is happening in the world and also to express and broadcast injustice that is happening in their own society. References Sutters, J. (2011). The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html. Saleh, O. (2011). The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html

I found this article interesting and thought provoking; being a personal, first-hand account of the events in Egypt it provided a different perspective to some of the articles I've read on this topic. The last paragraph summed up the power of social media well, "Facebook, Twitter and email created a 'parallel Egypt' on the Internet", a world where citizens could maintain anonymity and mobilize more freely than they could in public" (Saleh, 2011, cited by Sutter, 2011). I think that we tend to take for granted the freedom and rights we have here in Australia. I have joined a few political organisations online, and I couldn't imagine how I would have felt if shortly afterwards the Government hacked my computer to gain my Facebook password! Yet this is what happened to activists in Tunisia (Zuckerman, 2011). Your comment Tim, "the flexibility around social media is something that can shed some insight into why these types of events have become so successful. Messages can be updated, read and sent from any portable device, Facebook and Twitter can be access anywhere at anytime, meaning that mass collaboration over these services can be organised to such a precise level", (Findlay, 2011) reminded me of a comment made by a Cairo activist who said "We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world," (activist cited by Howard, 2011) According to Howard (2011) "the most consistent causal features of democratization include a wired civil society that uses digital media to undermine authoritarian rule in the course of national and global public opinion." The recent events in Egypt are certainly a case in point. REFERENCES Findlay, T (April 13, 2011) The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0' Diigo OUA-Net308 group Retrieved April 14, 2011 from http://groups.diigo.com/group/oua_net308_2011 Howard, P (February 23, 2011) The Cascading Effects of the Arab Spring Miller McCune Magazine Retrieved April 13,

Project: Carousel! » How to organise a successful student protest using online tools The author of this article is Pontus Westerberg is a member of the Project Carousel! Team, "a student-led online community working under the auspices of the Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London". This brief article advises student protesters which online tools may be useful for organising protests and keeping protesters informed. The recommended tools include Twitter, blogs, video, plus online mapping tools. The article also recommends creating a central node, such as a website to tie all these disparate elements together, and as an example links to the UCL occupation page (http://www.ucloccupation.com/), which shows an example of this being done. Westerberg gives an overview on the use of Twitter hashtags to organise protest conversations, making them easier to keep track of, citing examples of these such as the #demo2010 that was used to organise conversations around the student protest that took place on the 24th October 2010. The 140 character limitation imposed by Twitter, also makes Blogs an attractive online tool for protest, offering a forum where ideas and issues can be disseminated and discussed in a lengthier format. Westerberg also provides examples showing the effectiveness of images and video in getting a message across, and indicates that there are benefits in utilising humour and encouraging user generated content. Overall the article provides basic information, but links to quite a few interesting examples of sites and tools that are being used by the student protest movement in the United Kingdom. References: Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Retrieved from: http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-s

This article from the Project Carousel website is a step by step guide describing how to organize "a successful protest using online tools" (Westerberg, P. 2010). It was created specifically for student activists however it would be adaptable to many forms of online collaboration since it shows efficient strategies for creating independent networks using free web services and social networking tools. This is similar to a guide describing how to create localized 'cell' based networks from 'Tools to help the Revolutions Part II - Online resistance cell organization', an article that I have posted to Diigo. Both of these guides explain practical methods for creating and working across decentralized networks, focusing on free online resources and web services. They also identify the primary need for a central point of contact (or node) which is connected to multiple communication and content sharing websites (as satellite services). These methods of collaboration describe "local cells that keep in touch through their decentralized networks" (anon, 2011), yet they are also effective ways to organize, manage and create widely accessible and secure channels for global communications. Both articles show techniques that allow a group to form strong and flexible networks with like minded people from across world. Refeences anon. (2011) 'Tools to help the Revolutions Part II - Online resistance cell organization'. Anonymous Hamburg. 23rd of February 2011. Available from: http://hamburger-anon.blogspot.com/2011/02/tools-to-help-revolutions-part-ii.html Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Available from: http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-student-protest-using-online-tools/

Project Carousel is a 'student-led online community based at the Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London' (Project Carousel, n.d.). The article was written Pontus Westerberg in 2010, during the student protests regarding student fees. It was written as a how-to guide to help would-be protesters make the most of social media to add their voices to the campaign in an open, transparent way. Westerberg is less informational and more instructional in his advice to establish a profile using popular social media tools like Twitter, with hashtags, creating a blog and making videos, making a particular point to be humorous at the expense of authority. 'Do something funny', suggesting that positive attention may be garnered through fun and humour. Unlike the Anonymous movement, Project Carousel appears to endorse, if not outright encourage, transparent participation with user-generated content and boldly putting faces and names toward the campaign. The points made in the article may seem obvious, but new inductees to the social media mechanism, eager to participate, would find these easy-to-follow steps a clear guide to joining the protests and being heard. Though not a crowd-funding or crowd-sourcing tool, it does provide a useful guide to generating interest from 'the crowd', be it a personal project or a community-conscious endeavour.. Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Project: Carousel!. Retrieved from http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-student-protest-using-online-tools/.

"Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere" (Avaaz.org, 2011). Avaaz means voice, in "... several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). This is not a website where you need to prove your credentials or log in to be a member. However, it is one of the most powerful and influential organisations in the world. The Avaaz community "... empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). Their online platform "... allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). The Avaaz community supports campaigns in 14 languages, has a core team on 4 continents, includes thousands of volunteers. Overall, the community helps organise the signing of petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, contact through emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events. They do this to "... ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all" (Avaaz, 2011a). Two very good examples of the strength of the community include: * Stand With Anna Hazare (Avaaz.org, 2011b) shows of a petition where over 624,876 people have signed since the campaign launched on the 7th April, 2011. Before the goal of one million signatures was reached, a victory has been announced. * Blackout-proof the protests (Avaaz.org, 2011c) is a current petition to "...secure satellite modems and phones, tiny video cameras, and portable radio transmitters, plus expert support teams on the ground -- to enable

Avaaz addresses global issues to generate global interest in improved conditions - globally. The world in action (Avaaz.org). Available in fourteen different language, it encourages borderless interest in issues relevant locally and internationally, promoting campaigns to 'close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want' (About Avaaz, n.d.). Avaaz is to the world what GetUp! is doing for Australia, including its policy on transparency, evidenced in the availability of financial reports, member statistics, and its member-funded, crowd-sourced model. Rather than a distributed, region-dependent staff and budget, Avaaz has a 'single, global team with a mandate to work on any issue of public concern' (Avaaz.org, n.d.). It is Avaaz members who decide where to direct resources The website projects a sense of global community, as much in being available in so many languages as in movements presented on every page heralding from many different countries representing the plights of many and varied communities. Avaaz is a global example of social awareness instigating social movements, easily promoted through the connectivity of the internet and the tools for social networking, to create a better world. Websites and movements for campaigns such as Avaaz and GetUp! Australia are helping to raise awareness and reclaim power for the people. Avaaz.org.(2011). The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org. GetUp. (n.d.) GetUp! Retrieved from http://www.getup.org.au.

As yet another online resource for the "lounge chair activist" Avaaz.org seems to cover it all. Whether you're interested in saving the whales, climate change, gay rights or donating to flood victims, there is a cause available for you. Avaaz, started in 2007 with the mission to "organise citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want" (Avaaz.org, 2011). So far they seem to be achieving this goal. With over 8 million members worldwide, who have so far taken over 38 "actions" this is a website that seems to be doing what it's promised. To ensure that there is no underlying bias, no political voice hiding behind the curtains, Avaaz ensures there is "democratic accountability" by being 100% member-funded. It is mainly staffed by volunteers, who email actions to members in way that registers interest in the project and nothing more. These actions are also normally put forward by Avaaz members themselves, rather than outside parties. Avaaz, like BOINC, relies on word-of-mouth to spread the word. Also using social network sites to keep up the interest between members. Their hope is that once someone joins through a campaign for one specific issue, that they will then continue to support other actions. To prove their success, after "China's violent crackdown on the March '08' protests and riots in Tibet"(Avaaz, 2011) Avaaz was able to build the most successful global position to date. They were able to achieve 1.5 million signatures in just three weeks calling for dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama. Whether you just sign a petition or donate money, having so many available voices ensures that Avaaz will make it count. As stated by Zainab Bangura, the foreign minister of Sierra Leone "Avaaz is an ally, and a rallying place, for disadvantaged people everywhere to help create real change"(Avaaz, 2011). Avaaz.org. (2011). Avaaz.org: The World in Action. R

The online protest group 'Anonymous' use web based networking and collaboration tools as effective ways to support and achieve their collective goals. This article follows the technological and social conditions that have shaped the groups innovative use of the internet as a tool for political protest. Like the author states, "as the social, political and technological environment has developed, some have already begun to explore new options, seizing new chances for digital activism"(Anonymous, 2011). In many ways it is hard to see how decentralized networks of like-minded protesters can achieve political change. While Anonymous are aware of how "a loose network of people with shared values and varying skill sets (providing) substantial help to a population abroad is seen as quixotic"(Anonymous, 2011), recent campaigns in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are generally recognized as highly effective and indicative of what is achievable when collaborating on real world projects via web-based networks (see, Keane, B. 2011). Like Wikipedia and other mass-collaboration projects, it is a global network that drives Anonymous' influence. For example, anonymous use tools such as 'Low Orbit Ion Cannon'; or 'LOIC' (see, Arthur, C. 2010), allowing people from around the world to collaborate together. LOIC enables the group to carry out "distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, involving thousands of computer users who request large amounts of data from a website simultaneously, overwhelming it" (Anonymous, 2011). Online systems of mass-collaboration are proving to be productive and influential vehicles for social or political change. To understand their success we need to acknowledge how the "technological infrastructure that allows these movements has been in place for well under a decade - but phenomena such as WikiLeaks and Anonymous have already appeared, expanded, and even become players within the geopolitical environment" (Anonymous, 2011).

One of the problems with digital activism is that the internet is a tool that can be accessed by many people, cross-border and across many different countries. What might be acceptable practice and perfectly legal in a country like Australia, might be liable to prosecution in countries like China where the government censors not only the internet, but people in general. Freedom in countries like Australia is taken for granted. Other countries might not enjoy this freedom, and when people try to access content that is politically sensitive or illegal in their country, questions are raised about who is providing the illegal content, and the person accessing the material can be liable to prosecution. Internet laws are also changing rapidly, and it is very difficult for people to keep up with the constantly changing landscape of laws that are evolving and reshaping. While there is a need for activism, an awareness or a better understanding of the potential for breaking the law needs to be clearly understood when posting politically or socially active sensitive material online. There is a real danger that activities that are legal for people surfing the web in Australia are not legal in other countries, and the implications this can mean for people not only posting material, but those reading and interacting content, especially if they have to by-pass traditional methods of accessing the internet to get through to what they want to read, hear or see. Louis-Jacques, L. (2003). Legal Research on International Law Issues. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html

Digital or online 'Hacktivism' has a perception of existing as a natural extension of more traditional forms of protest. Being that the Internet has moved on from being a relatively static information source and into a dynamic realm where regulation and social policy is conducted by governments, protesting has struggled to find its place. An example of collaboration gone astray can be seen in the story of 22 year old Matthew George. In October 2009, in reaction to the Australian Federal Government's attempts to legislate an Internet filter Matthew volunteered to let his PC take part in a denial of service attack on government websites. In collaborating with other PC's Matthew thought "We hoped to achieve a bit of media attention to why internet censorship was wrong..." (SMH 2011) Charged and bought before court, the hacking was not seen as protest by authorities but more akin to cyber-terrorism. Whilst the 'real world' allows avenues for protest, as in registered street marches...the Internet has no such outlet, with the exception of self-publication on forums and social media. This has led to a situation where online collaborative protest seems to lead frequently to vandalism in the form of denial of service attacks. Meet the hacktivist who tried to take down the government (2011) Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/meet-the-hacktivist-who-tried-to-take-down-the-government-20110314-1btkt.html#ixzz1L9cdAeuE