Yesterday brought two big political decisions that have the Internet going crazy: Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and the decision to uphold Proposition 8. No one--yet--has really organized around the Supreme Court Justice nominee. But, tons of people have anticipated the Prop8 decision, and have been ready for action.
It's not surprising anymore that rallies and protests are being organized on Facebook and Twitter. What is interesting to me, is to see if they work.
This rally in DC has about 4,000 confirmed guests on Facebook as of now. I'd be interested to see if these really work, or if people have already tired of the flood of event/group invitations, friend requests, etc.
Maybe it just takes a really hot button issue to inspire action. But, I also wonder who is going to be organizing once 4, 000+ people show up. Is Facebook the right platform for full out organizing? Or does it just get people to the rally? Or, does it even work at all? I guess we'll see...
This is a chicken and egg question. How does it all start? Did people have burning issues already and did they go out into the Web looking for ways to interact? Or did the Web "profile" and find them and incited them to participate in the debate? Or is it both, and if so, how does one go about choosing which multimedia tools can best achieve the impact of getting the crowds in? Can some multimedia tools negate others, which implies that it may not be a good idea to put everything in just because they are available and neat?
ReplyDeleteI think the Obama campaign showed that online organizing for offline action works, and very well. The problem is that now this tactic is being overused, and people will soon get tired of it. Or not. Or maybe social tools are the next lobbyists.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is sure, though, online organizing cannot thrive without an offline campaign manager.
Organizing through twitter and facebook has been phenomenally successful in the past. Flash mobs are a frivolous, but effective example of the power of the internet to bring people together outside of the virtual space.
ReplyDeleteHere's a couple of examples of my favorite flash mob type videos:
The Alamo Drafthouse organized a world record breaking "production" via the web where people learned the dance from the video for Michael Jackson's mega-classic "Thriller," before performing it. I have friends in there, by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5jN4OUofys
Here's another Austin flash mob. There were about 200 people organized via the web who went to the world headquarters Whole Foods store downtown and all froze at once. It's really fun to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUipfp6qaBQ
And, to show I'm not entirely Texas-centric, here's a flash mob in London. A bunch of women dressed to play the part rush into Piccadilly Square and dance to Beyonce's hit, "Single Ladies." Really impressive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLj5zphusLw
Oops. I meant Piccadilly Circus.
ReplyDeleteWoops..the link I posted was from November 08, before the first Prop 8 vote....sorry.
ReplyDeleteBut, I think the questions still remain.
Thanks for your comments.
Nice discussion. Do you guys know about the Colombian protest organized on Facebook? It was a world wide protest: every Colombian that was living out of the country got out in the street to protest against FARC. Iwas traveling in Ecuador, watching iguanas in a square in Guayaquil...and I found this bunch of Colombians! at the same time, the same thing was happening in Chile, Peru, Argentina, and the U.S, of course. It was a walk that impacted the Colombian politics enormously. Such a great case study.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, you guys probably heard about the vigil in Dupont Circle for the doctor assasinated recently by a pro-life group. That was organized in 5 hours by Twitter.