DIY Digital Activism: Using Alternative & Digital Media For

Activism & Advocacy

Outline

1. The Tools

2. The Tactics

3. Local Organizations Using Digital Media• Susan McAllister—One Million Bones• Zachary Kluckman—100 Thousand Poets

for Change

The Tools

• Alternative Media – Blogs & Zines– Indie News Sources

• Mainstream Media • Digital Media

– Cell Phones– Websites– Podcasts– Electronic Maps– Social Media– Video

Using Alternative Media

• Economic Power of Media Makers

• Mainstream Media vs Alternative Media

• Alternative Media, Online & Offline

• How to use Alternative Media Successfully– Pro & Cons– Availability & Accessibility– Security Concerns– Audience

Using Digital Media

• Cell Phones• Websites• Podcasts & Audio• Electronic Maps • Video

• Games• Social Media

Cell Phones

Podcasts & Audio

Video

• Animation• PSAs• Witnessing/Recording• Protest• Community

Journalism

Maps

Games

Social Media

• Analysis & Understanding of Social Media

• Digital Activism & Advocacy in Social Media

• Making A Strong Social Media Strategy For Your Organization

The 4 C’s

• Content

• Collaboration

• Community

• Collective Intelligence

Content

• Everyone As Creator• Citizen Journalism—

ability to report hyper-local community news

• Just because anyone can create doesn’t mean that they will

• Most users consume not create

• The 1:9:90 Rule: – 1% Creators

– 9% Curators

– 90% Consumers

Collaboration

• Small, individual actions creating meaningful collective results

• Happens at 3 levels– Conversation: going

viral

– Co-Creation: wikis– Collective Action:

protests, petitions

• Difficulty grows with each level– Minimize by breaking

down a big task into individual, small actions that will still create a workable whole

• Bridge online with offline for best results

Community

• Every page = a community

• Online communities are of varied strengths & vibrancies

• Vibrant, strong communities are built around a meaningful social object

• Choosing the right social object is crucial for success– Progressive ideas

– Strong community leaders

– Meaningful public locale

Collective Intelligence

• Not only based on individual action, but also on algorithms & extracted meaning

• Can be based on implicit and explicit actions– Reputation– Recommendation

systems

• Becomes easier to extract meaning as the size & strength of a community grows

• If shared back with the community, members find more value in the community & it grows even more

4 C’s Summary

• Levels become harder to observe & activate as we move up the hierarchy

• Each level is often a pre-requisite for the next level to occur

• The best initiatives involve all 4, but most get stuck between Collaboration & Community

• Each level is valuable in itself• Can design a successful initiative that uses the

first 2 C’s only

Using the 4 C’s for Digital Activism

• Many DA groups focus on using digital media to create & share Content

• Some DA groups focus on a collective action around specific events: Collaboration

• Very few DA groups reach a Community &/or Collaborative Initiative level. Those that do:– Work over a long term

time frame

– Often are connected by an idea

– Are flexible & active

The Tactics

14 Tactics

1. Mobilize People

2. Witness/Record

3. Visualize Message

4. Amplify Personal Stories

5. Humor

6. Manage Contacts

7. Using Complex Data Simply

8. Information to Action

9. Real Time Response

10.Power to the People

11. Investigate & Expose

12.Research & Analytics

13.Music

14.Memes

Mobilize People

Witness & Record

Visualize the Message

Amplify Personal Stories

Humor

Manage Contacts

Using Complex Data Simply

Information to Action

Real Time Response

Power to the People

• Letting people ask the questions• Getting vital info to people when direct

communication is difficult or popular info sources are incomplete or misleading

Investigate & Expose

Research & Analytics

• Doing supplemental studies in order to make sure official studies are reporting honestly

• Using personal or group created research to make change

• Think Tanks (CAP, DATT, & Tactical Tech Collective)

Music

Memes

Q & A