[DW] Article: Community Activism and the Internet - The Butterfly and the Hammer

[Steven Clift]

*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do ***


Thank you Ted Coopman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for preparing this for
DO-WIRE.  We had a great in-person chat about local activism and the
Internet, something I think we will hear more and more about.

To discuss this article and share your own lessons with local
activism online, join the DO Networking Neighborhoods forum
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.  Post to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
If the lessons of local online activism are not shared by you, how
else will we learn from each other?

Steven Clift
Democracies Online



The Butterfly and the Hammer: Community Activism and the Internet
by Ted M. Coopman, Rogue Communication

I attended the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) conference in
Minneapolis in October and took the opportunity to visit some "virtual"
friends at Americans for Radio Diversity (ARD)
<http://www.radiodiversity.com>.  These people have quite the reputation
in media circles, so I was surprised to hear of their difficulties in
organizing locally.  They had spent a lot of time setting up a great
website and doing outreach on the internet, but local participation
seemed flat.  While people all over the US knew about ARD, many in
Minneapolis didn't.

This illustrates a problem facing many community groups; how can a world
wide medium be used to help in local organizing and outreach?  Isn't
using the net to organize on the community level a little like using the
hammer to kill the proverbial butterfly?  Having been a
participant/observer in the Micro Radio Movement since 1993, being
involved in the Live Oak Neighbors Association (LONA), a small community
group in Santa Cruz, CA., as well as operating an experimental community
information and "arm chair" activism website, Unite4SantaCruz
<http://www.unite4santacruz.org>, I have a lot of opportunity to witness
the effect of the internet on grassroots organizing.  Working on both
national and local organizing on the internet, I have come to the
conclusion that internet over-dependence often gets in the way of fully
utilizing this fantastic tool.  And that's what it is, simply one tool
of many in the activists tool box.

Physical vs. Virtual
The internet does not alter the fundamental realities of organizing on
the community level.  All the basics still apply.  Distributing flyers
and newsletters, tabling, arranging meeting rooms, and getting PSA's on
local radio and TV are still what's going to bring people together to
face issues that concern them. The "unwired" are as important to this
process and require a meatspace to get them and keep them involved.
Ultimately, the physical meeting of people is still the key to a
successful local group.   However, what the internet CAN do for your
local group can be broken into three basic areas: savings, action, and
access.

$avings
The "killer app." of the internet is email.   It is especially key on
the local level.  Setting up a listserv on one of the free services,
such as Yahoogroups <http://www.yahoogroups.com>, can help greatly
reduce one of the main costs of community groups, postage.  LONA's
primary expenditure is the newsletter it sends out.  We are small, but
it costs hundreds of dollars for photocopies and postage.  Like many
groups, we operate on donations, so our resources are limited.  By
converting as many people as possible to getting the newsletter via a
listserv, your group will save scarce resources.  A modest website will
also help attract new members.  Most email accounts now come with some
webspace, often unused, so a site can be set up by a group member for
almost no cost.  Chances are a budding webjock will jump at the chance.
Just keep it simple and make sure your reach does not exceed your
graphics (ability).  The utility of the site is it will give people who
hear about your group a "safe" and non-threatening way to check you
out.  Always make sure you have an easy and highly visible way to join
your list on your website.

Action
The main obstacle for those of us trying to operate in the tangle of
local politics, is not just getting the information, but getting it in
time to act.  Often notification of public comment opportunities come at
the last minute, or more likely, the minute after it is too late.  A
listserv can give you the ability to contact and activate your groups
members on short notice.  Even though not everyone will be online,
chances are enough will be there to make a difference.  According to our
County Supervisor, many items have passed the Board even though members
were not altogether for them, simply because no one from the public was
there to object.  Usually because no one really knew about it.  That one
person from the list who could make it to that meeting could make all
the difference.  A list can also be a source of dialog among group
members.  It is often groups of people within the organization who get
together and get things done.  A listserv keeps people in touch and
gives them the opportunity to interact and act together.

Access
The internet allows local groups to not only access information to help
with their mission, but access to power and the media.  Lists and
websites are a great way to facilitate contacting your representatives,
local officials, and business leaders at the click of a mouse. An email
with an imbedded email link can generate pressure or encouragement as
needed.  Further, information gathered via the web can be disseminated
both electronically and physically to members of the group.  The media
can also be easily approached through the net, via chat rooms at media
web sites and emailed letters to the editor.  The latter has been used
to great affect by myself on numerous occasions.

B.Y.O.N.
I have been talking a lot about group members online, but the internet
can also affect those members who are unwired.  Those of us with access
can Be Your Own Node of the network.  In the early days of Micro Radio,
many groups only had one person with internet access.  This person would
network, and in turn, share the information with the others.  This type
of distributed system can help facilitate communication with all members
of your group, either by word of mouth, telephone, or by printing out
flyers and newsletters for those off-line.

The internet can be a important component to your local organizing
activities.  The key is to use it in conjunction with, and not in place
of, your other tried-and-true methods.  Do not rely on it to overcome
other shortcomings and don't expect to solve all your problems.  It
won't. But it can help you in variety of ways to do more with less.


Ted M. Coopman <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> is a media scholar specializing
in media democracy and the role of alternative media and dissent in
democracy.  He has had his research published in the Journal of
Broadcasting and Electronic Media, the Journal of Radio Studies, and the
American Communication Journal. <http://www.roguecom.com>.


------- End of forwarded message -------

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Minneapolis    -   -   -     E: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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