The Revolution Can Be TweetedDigital Activism

What is a 21st Century Activist?

Hashtag "#Jan25," a reference to the day on which protestors took to the streets throughout Egypt.

World wide rallies organized for Sakineh via Facebook

Sign on to a petition at: http://www.avaaz.org/en/24h_to_save_sakineh/?cl=820762599&v=7497 and http://stopstonningnow.com/sakine/sakin284.php?nr=50326944&lang=en.

CAIRO -- Wael Ghonim detained by Egyptian authorities for 12 days said Monday he was behind the Facebook page that helped spark what he called "the revolution of the youth of the Internet.

A Human Right?Our challenge is to harness the potential of information and communication technology to promote the development goals of the Millennium Declaration, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and development of global partnerships for development for the attainment of a more peaceful, just and prosperous world.

WSIS-2003/GENEVA/DOC/4-E

The early days

Iran electionYouTube video of a protester shot after Iran elections 2009

Kony goes Viral

Kony 2012: a Digital Activism Failure?

In the case of Kony 2012 the political and logistical factors overwhelmed the effect of Invisible Children’s online and offline actions. The organizers mismatched context and tactics, a difficult task in any campaign, especially one as intractable and international as the ongoing crimes of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Meta-Activism.org

• “Post-Arab Spring/Indignados/Occupy it is simply ignorant to argue that digital tools have no impact on political realities. They do, but the recipe of success and failure is far from clear. Scholars like Clay Shirky and David Faris argue that political outcomes have always been multi-causal and the introduction of digital tactics into these complex processes make them more complex, not less so.”

Top Ten Stories• Every year, Twitter compiles a year-in-review to

recap what the company believes were the most important tweets (out of 90 billion). They highlight the "best" according to the level of "impact, resonance, and relevance," and take into account the big stories that first broke on Twitter -- not by news agencies -- but by people looking to share a photo, a thought, or a moment in time with people they may never meet.

 "Welcome back Egypt #Jan25"• Ghonim, a marketing manager at Google who became a

symbol of the revolutionary movement, was held in captivity for nearly 12 days by the Egyptian government under Hosni Mubarak for organizing protests. When Ghonim was released, he told an Egyptian network to not focus the cameras on him. "I'm not a hero. The real heroes are the youth who are behind this revolution. By God's will, we're going to clean this country of this rubbish," he said. "I think the most important lesson there was that you give people simple tools and they will use them in good ways." said Doresy.

"my daughter her name is sarah m. rivera"

• Through Underheard in New York, an initiative to help homeless residents in New York City speak for themselves, Daniel Morales was able to use a prepaid cellphone to create a Twitter account and tweet, "my daughter her name is sarah m rivera." He posted his cellphone number and a photo of her at age 16. Morales was reunited with his 27-year-old daughter, Sarah Rivera, when she called him the next day.

 "Ercis central mosque behind the apartment building..."

 • After the earthquake in Van, Turkey, news

anchor Okan Bayulgen sent relief and aftershock information via Twitter. One of his followers gave him an address where people might be trapped alive under the rubble. Bayulgen shared the address with a relief agency, and two hours later the agency rescued two people at the location.

."Brooms up London!" • After riots in the U.K. dirtied the streets this

August, people rallied on Facebook and Twitter to organize a massive clean-up effort in the affected areas. An account on Twitter called @riotcleanup gained over 70,000 followers and brought together those who wanted to help.

. "Earthquake"• On March 11, when an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan many

people used social media sites to make sure friends and family were safe and to publicize emergency response information. "You want to feel like you're not alone in this massive, massive experience that is potentially very scary," said Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. "To me it's about being able to reach out instantly and know that others are with you and others are experiencing the same thing and others are out there supporting and that's what you saw in Japan. You saw people reach out and say we're in an earthquake right now and then all around the world you have all these replies coming in to these Japanese people saying we're watching…it's OK…are you there?"

What can we do?

http://www.howcast.com/guides/388-Political-Change

Online Petitions

Online fundraising

Micro Volunteering

How it works• Non-profits post challenges to the network.

Challenges are small tasks that can be completed entirely online - from simple questions that need answering to a quick brainstorm for ideas. From there, the microvolunteer community takes over and posts answers to help solve each challenge. Volunteers are free to get involved in any cause that they care about, and respond to any challenges that interest them and match their skills. And they can do it any time, on their own time, with no commitments.

What is microvolunteering?It is defined by these four characteristics:

ConvenientIt's volunteerism that fits into your schedule when you have free time. The tasks are simple so there is usually no training or vetting required. And it's all done online so you can volunteer from anytime anywhere - even your couch!Bite-sizedThere's a reason they call it microvolunteering. Volunteer tasks are broken into small-ish pieces, so they're quick and easy to solve. So if you only have a little time to help/spare, you can still make a big difference.CrowdsourcedCrowdsourcing means that anyone and everyone can help. And when it comes to coming up with ideas to help non-profits and solve challenges, a crowd of heads is better than one!Network managedAs microvolunteers post all of their ideas and responses, the community provides added value in rating the responses and helping non-profits decide which solutions are best. So even your opinion can help.

Making a Difference• Does not have to cut into your studies• Does not have to take time away from family• Does not require you to carry a protest sign

But it can…..• Shape the way you teach• Shape the way you plan lessons• Shape the minds of your students

Activism or Slack-tivism?

Citizen Journalism or Voyeurism?

Online Petitions and Free Rice.com:Compassion or Self-Congratulatory Do-Gooding?

Use social media to change the worldOR

Change the world so it can use social media?

What’s your opinion?