Can we be Activists after it has stopped #trending on our Newsfeed?
March 13, 2012 § 2 Comments
Without Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare we organized the March on Washington . In our rush to redefine activism we have forgotten very simple ways to be active in our communities. American cultural historian Robert Darnton writes on this, “The marvels of communication technology in the present have produced a false consciousness about the past—even a sense that communication has no history, or had nothing of importance to consider before the days of television and the Internet.” Carpooling, picketing groups, and street canvasing all were methods to spread ideas and information.
The urgency is not in posting videos and statuses as quickly, and to as many people as possible. The urgency is in creating an active and educated populis. If a million people know of an idea but do nothing, its the same as if no one knew about it at all.
R.Otoo
x Pearls and Revolutionx
ps: I wrote this piece listening to “One Mic” Nas as I post this on my wordpress blog, a conundrum indeed!
Photo and information from: http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/0/225404/all-cartoons
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell
Pearls and Revolution 
I love this post! Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. has become the power tool for passive activists…just spreading the word. An example is the recent FB trend…..”Put you favorite cartoon character as your profile pic…if you want to end child abuse” Huh? That was so ridiculous! Or even the latest KONY 2012…please!
What people fail to realize is that…. though information sharing is vital and has an important place in activism by reaching people quicker….the work is done when you do something constructive …. in efforts to eradicate the problem (i.e. donate money, volunteer and put in sweat equity, take an abused child out of the home, write and call your legislators). Social media has paralyzed our ability to act with conviction and purpose……
Yes. So true, as society changes, its mostly due to the speed of technology. Social Media these days is a way to connect a lot of people for selfish reasons. We did more than exceptional during the 1960’s to get equal rights act passed. However; technology purpose is to make humans lives easily, but people like to take advantage of this such as the KONY 2012. Why didn’t he start this social media takeover years beforehand, at the time when he actually made the video. I think that was obvious, now it would just be irrelevant alluding to funny comic strip you have. (lol)
Technology is literally taking over humans. Think about it, we communicate thru technology and even learn thru it. One of my favorite writers said it best as the World grow and as technology brings us some of the most innovative useful inventions of all time, but would it be the death of us?
“An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.”
– Thomas Hardy