Digital Activism 101 zooms in on two essential tools--Twitter and Facebook. Each section provides questions to help longtime activists and relative newcomers decide where, when, and how to focus their digital activism efforts plus ProTips to enhance effectiveness without doing damage to body, mind, and spirit. Guide created by Meredith Gould (@meredithgould): sociologist, digital communications consultant, online community manager.
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Digital Activism 101: A Guide to Showing Up, Speaking Out, and Connecting on Twitter and Facebook
1. Digital Activism 101
A Guide to Showing Up, Speaking Out, and Connecting on
Twitter and Facebook
Without Undermining Yourself or Your Cause
Created by:
Meredith Gould (@meredithgould)
meredith@meredithgould.com
www.meredithgould.com
Introduction
Right now, longtime activists as well as those who are relatively new to this privilege of
democracy are being extraordinarily challenged. We’re being challenged to rethink and
rebuild coalitions, especially among targeted groups; across generations and even across
party lines. We’re being challenged to rethink strategies and tactics for effective dissent,
persuasive protest, and sustainable movements for radical change.
Good news: we now have powerful social networking tools. Digital activism has become a
thing! But doing it effectively involves knowing much more than how to post a video, create a
meme, or getting a hashtag to trend. At the end of the 1960s, “the personal is political” was a
rallying cry for 2nd wave feminists and student activists. Today, the political has become
intensely personal thanks, in part, to social media. This mixed blessing of social media
underscores the importance of knowing how to use it wisely and well.
In this guide, Digital Activism 101, I zoom in on two essential tools—Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter delivers real-time news and facilitates rapid response in short, ~ 140-character
communications (aka, tweets). Facebook supports slower responses and lengthier
observations (aka, posts). Which should you use? In each section, I provide questions to help
you decide where, when, and how to focus your digital activism plus ProTips to enhance your
effectiveness without doing damage to body, mind, and spirit.
Sections:
Focus: Your Temperament and Personality
Focus: Your Call to Digital Activism
Focus: Your Social Media Presence
Focus: Special Situations
Moving Forward
Show Up. Speak Out. Connect.