Can a Revolution be Tweeted?

Will the next revolution be tweeted? Yes! But it wont’ stop there. It will also be:

* Blogged    
* Emailed
* Photographed
* Filmed
* Texted
* Organized by phone – just reach out and touch someone.
* Written about in print – remember newspapers?
* And most importantly organized on the ground – good old fashion field organizing.

There’s been a ton of discussion in the blogosphere about Malcom Gladwell’s article “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” in the New Yorker.

Gladwell says that effective activism is built on strong personal relationships, and the willingness to take real risks, not "Friends" online who just point and click on an action button to sign a petition.

Anil Dash of Expert Labs responded with his post "Make the Revolution" and said, “The traditional method sit-in and picket-in-the-streets form of protest is clearly a failure online." But he goes on to say Gladwell's lens on the issue is anachronistic. "There are revolutions, actual political and legal revolutions, that are being led online. They're just happening in new ways, and taking subtle forms unrecognizable to those who still want a revolution to look like they did in 1965."

Dash raises great points. In an ideal world, every point of contact a campaign would have with potential supporters would be so incredibly educational, meaningful and personal that these people would immediately become passionate, super activists. But that is not reality. Building a campaign or a revolution requires moving people up the ladder of activism. It requires an engagement strategy across multiple channels and it’s best to start with a small and easy action to hook potential supporters.

Post originale: http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2010/10/25/can-a-revolution-be-tweeted.html