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Digital Activism Decoded the New Mechanics of Change

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Digital Activism Decoded the New Mechanics of Change Digital Activism Decoded The New Mechanics of Change Digital Activism Decoded The New Mechanics of Change Mary Joyce, editor international debate education association New York & Amsterdam Published by: International Debate Education Association 400 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 Copyright © 2010 by International Debate Education Association This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en_US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Digital activism decoded : the new mechanics of change / Mary Joyce, editor. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-932716-60-3 1. Information technology--Political aspects. 2. Internet--Political aspects. 3. Cyberspace--Political aspects. 4. Social movements. 5. Protest movements. I. Joyce, Mary (Mary C.) HM851.D515 2010 303.48’40285--dc22 2010012414 Design by Kathleen Hayes Printed in the USA Contents Preface: The Problem with Digital Activism . vii Introduction: How to Think About Digital Activism Mary Joyce . 1 Part 1: Contexts: The Digital Activism Environment . 15 Infrastructure: Its Transformations and Effect on Digital Activism Trebor Scholz . 17 Applications: Picking the Right One in a Transient World Dan Schultz and Andreas Jungherr . 33 Devices: The Power of Mobile Phones Brannon Cullum . 47 Economic and Social Factors: The Digital (Activism) Divide Katharine Brodock . 71 Political Factors: Digital Activism in Closed and Open Societies Tom Glaisyer . 85 Part 2: Practices: Digital Actions in the Aggregate . 99 Activism Transforms Digital: The Social Movement Perspective Anastasia Kavada . 101 Digital Transforms Activism: The Web Ecology Perspective Tim Hwang . 119 Destructive Activism: The Double-Edged Sword of Digital Tactics Steven Murdoch . 137 Part 3: Effects: What Is Digital Activism’s Value? . 149 Measuring the Success of Digital Campaigns Dave Karpf . 151 The New Casualties: Prisons and Persecution Simon Columbus . 165 Digital Politics as Usual Rasmus Kleis Nielsen . 181 The Future of Advocacy in a Networked Age Sem Devillart and Brian Waniewski . 197 Conclusion: Building the Future of Digital Activism Mary Joyce . 209 Glossary Talia Whyte and Mary Joyce . 217 About the Authors . 223 vi Digital Activism Decoded Preface The Problem with Digital Activism Over the past few years, citizens around the world have become increasingly aware of and interested in the expanding use of digi- tal technologies—mobile phones and Internet-enabled devices, for example—in campaigns for social and political change. These practices, which we refer to as “digital activism,” have been re- ported by journalists, dissected by bloggers, and eagerly studied by scholars, students, activists, and enthusiasts who wish to un- derstand and replicate the most effective tactics. In our efforts to understand digital activism, however, we are too often presented with only anecdotes and case studies: tales of political campaigns, like Barack Obama’s, that used a social network to mobilize volunteers; inspiring stories from Iran or Moldova about citizens broadcasting mobile phone videos on YouTube or giving protest updates on Twitter. Anecdotes are re- ported, lauded, hyped, and critiqued. Sometimes lessons and best practices are extracted that can be applied to other campaigns. The field, nonetheless, remains fragmented. If we focus on anecdotes, we will never truly understand digi- tal activism because the use and relevance of digital tools and tactics are constantly changing. The goal of this book is to move beyond surface anecdotes to underlying mechanics: What are the contextual factors we must consider when evaluating any case of digital activism? What conceptual framework can we use to ana- lyze the practices of digital activism? What is the value of digital activism within our global society? While we will continue to be inspired and fascinated by cases of digital activism around the world, for understanding, we must first discover the fundamental forces that allow these actions to unfold. Why Use the Term “Digital Activism”? Just as the mechanics of digital activism are clouded, so is the terminology. In fact, the phrase “digital activism” is not even the consensus term for the use of digital technology in campaigning. If the term “digital activism” is contested, why do we use it in this book? Because the speed, reliability, scale, and low cost of the digital network are what enable the great scope and reach of contemporary activism. This phenomenon is what we focus on. We want a term to refer to this set of digitally networked cam- paigning activities—or practices—that is both exhaustive and exclusive. Exhaustive in that it encompasses all social and politi- cal campaigning practices that use digital network infrastructure; exclusive in that it excludes practices that are not examples of this type of practice. Some terms fail to meet the criterion for exhaustiveness be- cause they preclude relevant practices. For example, “cyber-ac- tivism,” “online organizing,” and “online activism” are not exhaus- tive because they refer only to activism on the Internet, excluding the use of mobile phones and other offline digital devices in activ- ism—distributing digital content on thumb drives, for instance. Likewise, the phrase “social media for social change,” which re- fers to the use of social applications like Facebook and Flickr for activism, is not exhaustive because it precludes other relevant activist applications like mobile SMS and email. Other terms are exhaustive in that they encompass all rele- vant practices, but fail to be exclusive because they include irrel- evant practices. “E-activism” and “e-advocacy” are earlier terms for digital campaigning practices that are derived from the word “email,” in which the “e” refers to “electronic.” At the advent of the Internet, the “e” preface was useful in differentiating mail sent by an electronic device, the computer, from mail sent by post, or a bound paper book from an e-book. However, the range of technologies that are electronic is far broader than those that are viii Digital Activism Decoded Preface ix digital. Activists have used Dictaphones, electronic megaphones, and VHS tape recorders, but these technologies are not digital be- cause they do not encode and transmit information as the digits 1 and 0, as is the case with a digital device. They do not make use of the low-cost scalability of the global digital network. While non- digital technologies certainly have value for activism, they will not be the subject of this book. So far, the terminology of digital activism has referred to par- ticular types of infrastructure, both hardware and software. Cyber- activism refers to the Internet; social media for social change re- fers to social software applications; e-activism refers to electronic devices. The last term that fails the exhaustive and exclusive test is different in that it refers to content, not infrastructure. “Info-ac- tivism,” a term coined by the international training group Tactical Technology Collective, refers to the use of “information and com- munications technology to enhance advocacy work.” However, as project leader Dirk Slater commented in a recent online dialogue hosted by the organization New Tactics in Human Rights: “I’d define info-activism as the strategic and deliberate use of infor- mation within a campaign. It’s not necessarily digital or Internet- based, in fact it often isn’t one of those two things at all.”1 While some info-activism uses digital technology, it need not. Effective info-activism could use printed flyers, stencils, or word-of-mouth. The scope of practices encompassed by info-activism is broader than those encompassed by digital activism, so the term is ex- haustive but not exclusive. In this book, we are not arguing for the preeminence of the term “digital activism” over other terms. If someone is exclusively interested in the use of the Internet for activism, he or she can and should use a term like “cyber-activism” or “online advocacy.” However, we are arguing that—because it is exhaustive and ex- clusive—“digital activism” is the best term to discuss all instances of social and political campaigning practice that use digital net- work infrastructure. Preface ix Two Caveats on Bias and Certitude Two caveats before we continue. First, a note about bias: The au- thors in this anthology are not dispassionate observers of digital activism. We study, analyze, and criticize digital activism because we want it to succeed. We want to see a new world in which citi- zens can use digital technologies to exercise their political power more effectively. We are practical idealists and we hope this book will inspire you to become one as well. Second, though the title of this book is Digital Activism De- coded, it would more accurately be called “Beginning to Decode Digital Activism” or “The Extent to Which Digital Activism Has Been Decoded Thus Far.” Although the current title certainly has a better ring to it, these other two more accurately reflect the po- sition of this book in the field. Digital activism is a new practice, a new term, and a new field of study. In fact, this is the first book explicitly dedicated to the topic. Being first is important but far from glorious. No doubt, others will improve on the work put forth in this book. No doubt, too, that some of the predictions and formulations in this book may end up being wrong or at least incomplete. Developers like to call the first version of a piece of software they release 1.0, an appellation that assumes 2.0 will follow. The field of digital activism needs foundational knowledge. We humbly present this book as the first stone and invite others to build upon and improve it. Appreciation We are unable to acknowledge all those who have made the pub- lication of this book possible, but we would like to thank a few. We would like to thank our editor, Eleanora von Dehsen, for her kindness, wisdom, and energy in shepherding this book from con- cept to publication, and Martin Greenwald at the Open Society Institute/iDebate Press for believing in this project.
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