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Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Thanks, post-survey, Tweetbook, and… what’s next?

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Conscience Un-Conference participants,

Whether you joined in the lively discussions at the Holocaust Museum’s offices or via Twitter, on behalf of the organizing committee – Tom Scheinfeldt of the Center for History and New Media, myself and my colleagues at the Museum, David Klevan, Heather Ratcliff (who unfortunately could not be at #conconf), Michael Haley Goldman and Rebekah Sobel – I must thank you again for your interest and enthusiasm in discussing how institutions of conscience, and people of conscience in general, can better use social media for social good. We had hoped a diverse group of people with different experiences and skill sets would enliven a conversation about shared concerns, and we are humbled and emboldened that it appears to have worked.

If the un-conference was a success, it was largely because of your willingness to share your expertise and knowledge with each other. Now, we hope you will help us plan for even better future un-conferences. As a first step, whether you participated in person or via Twitter, we would appreciate if you would take a few moments to fill out a brief post-evaluation survey.

As many participants expressed, we too would like to continue the conversations started Saturday and we welcome your thoughts on how we can help sustain them. There was talk that a shared, collaborative online space could help support conversation, information-sharing, and laying the groundwork for the Conscience Un-Conference in 2010. If the Museum were to create such a space, what would you want it to include? What platforms do you think would best support it?

Regarding the Tweetbook, I’ve pulled all the #conconf tweets from Saturday and will start compiling them into sessions. If you facilitated any of the sessions, I would greatly appreciate if you would provide me with a short write-up that can introduce the session’s tweets in the Tweetbook. If, like Rik or Julie, you’ve posted a summary of your session somewhere online, please let me know so I can paraphrase an intro from that.

The Tweetbook will include a table of contents, the tweets pertaining to each session in chronological order, and an appendix compiling all of the shared resources. If you have any other ideas for what should be included, please let me know.

Thank you again for your participation in the Conscience Un-Conference: Using Social Media for Good. Here’s to it being just the beginning.

Tags: conversation, evaluation, feedback, Logistics, survey, thanks, Tweetbook, Twitter, wiki
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Twitter List of participants

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Just finished making a Twitter List of participants for the un-conference: http://twitter.com/HolocaustMuseum/conconf-participants. If you listed your Twitter handle in your profile, or I knew it already, you’re on here.

If you’re not on here and want to be added, ping me with your Twitter name. Thanks!

Tags: Logistics, participants, Twitter
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Mass Mobilizers or Niche Networks?: Rethinking Social Media and Political Reform

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

In the wake of the 2009 Iranian elections, social media like Twitter created an ostensibly minute-by-minute news feed of events on the ground, with the #iranelection hashtag trending for weeks afterwards. International media coverage of the event spoke of a “Twitter revolution,” and indeed, the theme of this Unconference is particularly pertinent in the context of such claims. When we look at ways to “use social media for good,” we must also be aware of the ways in which social media can either fail to create positive outcomes, or be utilized by the “bad guys.”

The US Institute of Peace’s Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding has been has been examining this issue for some time and has been partnering with organziations like George Washington University, Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Morningside Analytics, and Global Voices Online. While there’s clear evidence that social media can be beneficial for democracy and peace activists, there are challenges and downsides that must be taken into account, and we should approach the utility of social media with considerable skepticism.

Some points that should make us cautious about the causal connections we draw between social media and positive political outcomes:

1) These social media often tend to be the preserve of educated elite, especially in developing countries. Should we be skeptical of the grassroots political effects of a social media tool that is not widely adopted? At the time of the election, there were only 8500 Twitter users in Iran.

2) Repressive regimes are skilled at blocking internet access or other digital tools to their advantage. They can also rally their supporters to utilize social media tools to their own ends. For example, China employs it’s “50 cent army” to post pro-government blog and forum posts.

3) We should be wary of overstating the connections between online groups and actual collective action in repressive or violent contexts. The protests organized in opposition to the FARC in Colombia may have acted as a catalyst for large gatherings of people, but it is unlikely that many of the estimated 4.8 million Colombian protesters attended due to Facebook, since only 5% of Colombians actually use Facebook. Moreover, protests organized through social media in more repressive, violent contexts are bound to be problematic. Notifying pro-reform protesters of an upcoming rally on the streets of Cairo using a public space like Facebook can also notify the pro-government militias where they need to start violent crack-downs.

4) Social media can also socialize violent extremists, exposing them to a narrow set of messages that reinforce their existing ideas. They work to articulate partisan opinion in the same way that Fox News or MSNBC cater to the ideological leanings of their specific constituencies, only with more extreme results.

5) The potential insularity of online discourse can also undermine the cause of political reformers. When opposition groups are only talking amongst themselves, whether on the internet or otherwise, this diminishes their capacity to create broad, oppositional coalitions of the sort that are needed to trigger democratic transitions.

While the effects of social media need to be explored, these on-the-ground realities should give us pause. The limits of online discourse in the offline world should inform the way we formulate policy as we go forward. These limits should not diminish our enthusiasm for “using social media for good,” but they should temper our expectations.

Tags: conflict resolution, democratization, Facebook, Iran Election, Twitter
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Session Proposal: International Communities of Conscience?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Recently, I’ve been particularly struck by the micro-communities that have been popping up during conferences, and the conversations that ensue via hashtags and @replies, and, as a result, I began to wonder how we could use those types of resources to continue the dialogue after those conferences and summits have ended.

This past August, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan for a 2-week seminar on Japanese and American remembrance / interpretation / commemoration of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About 9 American students met up with over 30 Japanese students, and we formed small “peace families” of four, with whom we could discuss things more in-depth. Even though there was no shortage of discussion with our peace families, conversation soon spilled over into the entire group, and spurred on by messages of taking action for peace (and nuclear disarmament, naturally), we were empowered to keep that discussion going, difficult as it may be at times. If we can’t discuss those issues that we find so hard to bring up – the reasons for dropping the atomic bombs, for instance – how can we build a relationship of peace between our generations?

Enter Facebook. Once the two weeks were up, there was a mad scramble of friending on Facebook, and tagging of photos, but then things quieted down. This was unusual, as we were never wanting for spirited discussion in Japan.

So I wonder: how can we keep these dialogues going? Social media, with its inherent immediacy and connectiveness, seems like the perfect outlet. It is perfectly in place to take up those reins, spread the word and encourage action in a wider place than we ever could have imagined – in this case, cross-cultural collaboration on creating an international community of conscience.

So how best to create and facilitate this dialogue? How do we use this framework of social media to promote action at home and abroad? How can we convince others through the sharing of our experience online?”

Tags: advocacy, culture, Facebook, memory, peace, peace-building, Twitter
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Social Media, Consciousness, and Conscience

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

I’d like to propose a discussion that, fundamentally, is about the relationship between consciousness and conscience and social media’s (potential) roll in sparking both. It is one thing (difficult enough in itself) to raise consciousness about a given topic. Many people and institutions have become quite proficient at using social media tools to get people talking about important issues, and it is critical to start those conversations.

But it is another huge step to move from general discussion, and even expressions of emotion, on a topic to a personal investment—to something that breaks through the clutter of our inboxes and our everyday lives to really affect us. That, in essence, is when an issue becomes an issue of conscience—something that gnaws at us and compels us act.

There are two main areas I’d like to consider:

1) How to we take that leap successfully? How can we use social media to nudge people toward a personal investment in a social or eco-justice issue? How can we offer compelling narratives and information that equip people to fight injustice? What is the balance between trying to stir up a global movement and connecting people to local issues in their own communities?

2) Should we, as institutions or media producers, try to make this leap? What are the potential ramifications to our communities/audiences (visitors, users, etc.) and what are our responsibilities? Can we do so genuinely in 140 characters? How do we avoid causing fatigue and a sense of helplessness by dwelling on guilt or fear? And how can we deal with such emotions in a virtual environment?

I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, and I would be grateful to get some help thinking and talking them through.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on Saturday!

Tags: action, authenticity, awareness, conscience, eco-justice, Facebook, Twitter
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We’re all organizers now: Cultivating movements with web 2.0

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

This session will be a look at the strategy of using online tools for social change.

I’ll be filling it with examples: How Kenyans in the midst of violent chaos used mobile phones to report attacks in real-time, ultimately helping to end the violence. How attempted revolutions in Madagascar and Moldova attracted the mainstream media’s attention thanks to constant online updates of people on the ground. How college students on MySpace and Facebook raised half a million dollars for Darfur.

Online tools comprising the “participatory web” offer groups a powerful way to empower supporters with ways to speak in their own voice. In the long-term, this means less focus on the organization and more focus on the movement, with individuals who know their voice matters and have seen the power of collective action. For museums and educational institutions, this may seem treacherous, but I believe it could lead these organizations to fulfill their deeper missions of social change.

Below, I sketch out some of the basic ideas for the session; I’ll leave the case studies for the presentation itself.

GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

One of the defining aspects of web 2.0 is social organization. People are constantly presented with their social circles in visual media: Facebook news feeds, MySpace top friends, Twitter updates, etc. In short, more people can see their network, in a much more literal way. This is especially true for young adults (currently Millennials) who might have social networks scattered across wide geographic areas and are less firmly rooted to a specific place through vocational, familial or other commitments.

Communities at the margins of society have always had a more visceral understanding of their social networks, which are often the sites of social change planning and strategizing — consider the role of black churches in the US civil rights movement, or gay bars and bathhouses in the early Stonewall era of the gay rights movement. So I don’t want to suggest that this phenomenon of a community visualized is necessarily new for everyone, but I think it is new for many folks in the mainstream of society.

The online “social web” — social networks and social media — allows people to organize their social connections, not simply to put them in order, but to connect and collaborate with others. Evite invitations and Facebook events are clear examples of this, as is Wikipedia.

Increasingly, the social web is teaching everyday folks how to be community organizers.

ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS: AMPLIFYING THE MOVEMENT’S VOICE

The question, then, is what role organizations and “professional organizers” (for lack of a better term) can play in this ecosystem. The fact that more people are organizers, and that everyone can exercise leadership, does not mean that there is no role for the full-time organizer. Indeed, those with particular knowledge become more important than ever, passing on stories and lived experience, and sharing a pedagogy for cultivating new leadership. What fades away is the positioning of some people within a movement as “experts” to whom everyone looks for direction — and that has big implications for organizations.

Many nonprofits use social networks and online activism as a way to boost their membership rolls and donation levels. That seems less useful to me than focusing on empowering an effective movement — whether or not people donate to your organization or sign up for your newsletter. This isn’t to minimize the challenges everyone faces on how to support working for social change, both financially and emotionally. But it is to say that movements are bigger than any one nonprofit.

Only when the operational concerns are placed secondary to social change concerns do I see social change really being possible. It’s not a secondary outcome; it has to be the primary concern. And that’s true, in my opinion, whether you’re talking about online or offline social change.

What’s interesting is that this time around, there’s a significantly higher ability for activists to self-organize. The message to nonprofits from the past few years seems pretty clear: Stand in our way, and we’ll just go around you. The 2006 student walkouts for immigrant rights spread through MySpace without any “sponsoring” organization. As I explained in a presentation on social networks, when the Genocide Intervention Network first arrived on the scene, we found dozens of existing groups and networks already active — our objective was simply to connect them and provide them with effective tools for action. A participant in the protests over the Jena Six said, “I am so disappointed with the media right now. I live in Connecticut and I never even heard of this. Honestly if it wasn’t for Facebook, I still wouldn’t know.”

So the question really goes to the nonprofits and other groups using social networks and social media: What kind of social change do you want? And are you willing to help facilitate even if you don’t get credit/coverage/donations?

You need to let your supporters speak for you on social networks. The whole point of the social experience is the coveted “recommendation from a friend.” Forcing your members to send out only board-approved talking points won’t inspire much loyalty, and probably won’t be very persuasive to their friends. Nonprofits have to be willing to lose some of their message control in exchange for member loyalty and long-term movement building.

Further ideas on organizing and movement-building online:

• Finding the movement’s voice: Online social networks and social change (list of resources, including numerous blogs)
• Accountability Through Web 2.0: A Sudan Case Study (how “web 2.0″ could be driving a new model in “crowdsourced” high-level advocacy)
• Gurus Are Not Enough: A Call for Organizers and Organizing in Social Media
• Using Social Networks for Social Change: Facebook, MySpace and More

Tags: advocacy, community organizing, Darfur, democratization, digital divide, discussion, Facebook, fundraising, genocide, Human Rights, MySpace, participation, proposal, Twitter, user-generated content, video
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[Session proposal] Mobile Devices and Human Behavior: How Can Institutions of Conscience Leverage Phones for Social Good

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Among the many challenges facing institutions of conscience is the question of best methods to engage and mobilize a global constituency to raise awareness, learn and investigate facts, modify behavior and take action in order to prevent genocide, promote human dignity, etc. I am particularly interested in the role that mobile devices can play in such efforts. Because they are highly individualized, intimate, globally ubiquitous, and mobile, cell phones offer exciting opportunities and challenges for institutions of conscience.

It is now common knowledge that mobile devices are among the three objects which most people carry with them wherever they go. They have become indispensible to modern modes of communication. So-called smart phones are expected to make up the majority of the market by 2012 or 2015 in the USA (depending who you ask). Most people are already aware that mobile technology (combined with social media) has played an important role in human rights movements from Egypt to Iran to China as well as the United States, usually because the technology allows users to easily photograph or video capture events and upload to the Internet for a global audience. In addition, mobile apps are emerging that leverage volunteer efforts to tag photographs, provide data quality assurance, and contribute to or promote various campaigns via social media.

This session proposal seeks to explore how institutions of conscience can best exploit the unique qualities of mobile devices to raise awareness, promote action, and affect behavior change in a global constituency. Questions for exploration include:

1.
Because mobile devices are (were) originally designed for personal communication, what are best practices for institutions to use them without violating the personal space of constituents? What challenges and opportunities does this highly individualized and intimate technology present for institutions of conscience? What, if any, is the potential for creating a sense of connection, intimacy, and belonging?

2.
What opportunities for contributions of user-generated content are unique to mobile devices? What challenges do they present? What opportunities do they present?

3.
Mobile devices collapse our physical reality. We can “be” in multiple places at once, wherever we are. What are the implications of ubiquitous communication? Does this open opportunities/pitfalls for institutions of conscience? If so, what? For example, there was much discussion about the implications of becoming “a fan” of Auschwitz on Facebook. It just sounded odd. Are there implications for our particular institutions as we engage people in other highly personal, informal, and often unpredictable settings?

4.
As social media (Facebook and Twitter in particular) integrate with mobile devices, what opportunities for instantaneous and viral action emerge?

5.
Many venues have already demonstrated the potential of mobile devices and social media like Twitter and U-Stream to create blended virtual and live events. In a world where this capability is increasingly in the hands of the end-user, what potential is there for institutions of conscience? Can such content be readily integrated into Augmented Reality via mobile? And how can we exploit the immediacy of such content without sacrificing our reputations for authenticity and authority?

6.
Finally, how can mobile technologies best be leveraged to facilitate communication, understanding, and a sense of shared obligation between people in communities around the world?

Tags: authenticity, Human Rights, hybrid experience, mobile, participation, proposal, Twitter, user-generated content, video
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[Session Proposal] Interaction as a Two-Way Street

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

My name is Ned Prutzer and I am an intern for the Museum who is majoring in English and American Studies at the University of Maryland – College Park. I have worked with social media in prior internships, and I anticipate a productive discussion regarding the manner in which the Museum can extend its current use of social media while maintaining the professional nature of its mission.

What I would like to pose as a topic for discussion is how the Museum can implement its use of social networking into the visitor’s experience of its exhibits – that is, how it can provide a more interactive experience on each end of the spectrum, to those who are coming to the Museum and those who are active on our pages. How can we use varying mediums of social media to replicate the experience of visiting the Museum as best as possible? How could we go about making an exclusively on-line experience of the Museum for those who are unable to come to DC and visit interactive without making it seem inauthentic?

It is clear that other prominent institutions are facing similar questions as they enter the realm of social networking. The Brooklyn Museum of Art, for instance, has digitized some of its collections through ArtShare, consolidated its web pages through the SimplyRSS application on Facebook, and utilized Electronic Comment Kiosks in their exhibits, for which they gather user-generated comments and post them on the walls of the exhibits.

Likewise, over the summer, the Museum hosted an innovative tour focused its architecture that encouraged participants to Twitter on their thoughts and post pictures as the tour was going on. There’s an interesting blog on the event by Robert Michael Murray of boxednoise that I think is very pertinent to the issues being raised in the un-conference. Could we extend such an initiative into Twitter-based tours where groups can ask questions for guides to respond to and leave comments for each other to see? This is a great example of the issues that arise from the questions I proposed earlier, and though the issues I am raising may not be enough to sustain an entire session, I think that these are questions we should keep in mind and address during the un-conference.

Tags: authenticity, hybrid experience, interaction, mobile, proposal, Twitter
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