By Latentexistence
As a political activist who is chronically sick I have found it extremely frustrating to be undergoing a severe relapse at a time when I want nothing more than to be out protesting. I want to stand up and be counted but at the moment I can barely stand up at all.
But have I really been deprived of a voice? Has my chance to change things been lost because of my illness? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no. In fact, I think I personally have had more influence through the internet than I would have had out on the streets.
Activism on the internet is not just about adding your email address to petitions, or clicking “Like” on Facebook. Petitions have their place, but tend to carry less weight than letters and debate, which is where the real power of the internet lies.
The key areas where the internet can change things are in raising awareness, driving debate and creating influence. With millions of people using social networks, raising awareness is much easier than in the physical world. Current issues come up in daily conversation online and on social networks your friends get to see what you are talking about, even if they don’t follow the whole conversation.
The nature of the internet is such that with a bit of luck a good blog article or youtube video can “go viral” and end up in front of hundreds of thousands of people who would not otherwise be aware of the issues. Although I was taken by surprise when this has happened to me in the past it is good to know that I had some impact even though I could not go out on the streets myself.
Social networks are a great leveler. Journalists, TV presenters, CEOs, celebrities and politicians all use social networks. It is easy, even commonplace, to have a discussion involving someone influential and to either become more informed by them or to inform and influence them yourself. I have witnessed a party affiliation change after a discussion with Ed Milliband via twitter and I have seen MPs decide to sign Early Day Motions after constituents contacted them through the same medium. I have seen journalists write about issues and bring them to a wider audience after they became aware of them through social media.
Websites like They Work For You and What Do They Know make it easy to keep tabs on what your elected representatives are doing at all levels of government. Sites such as Write To Them give an effortless way to send your thoughts to politicians, sending your missives by email where it is an option, or by fax where it is not. The Tweetminster website can put you in touch with your MP via twitter. Form letters are not so effective, but thoughtful discussion through these methods can make a difference.
Clifford Singer has said that social media has transformed protest. He talked about how social media has been used to unite activist groups and organise real-world actions, and he was correct to say that protest has been transformed. I am not arguing that everyone should cease protesting immediately or that they should move back from the streets to the internet. Far from it.
I believe that changing opinion requires the use of every available method of protest. But here’s the thing: if you want to change opinions and like me, you can’t go out to protest, the internet isn’t such a bad place to be.
Guest post by Steven Sumpter, known online as @latentexistence. A longer version of this article originally appeared here.
