Using Web 2.0 Tools for Advocacy

Fri, 04/11/2008 - 1:19pm — Megan Keane

Last weekend I conducted a workshop on using social media tools for activism for groups of college student activists. These select students came together as part of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)’s Youth Advocate Leadership Training (YALT) conference. Top promising activists were selected from colleges around the country to take part in a weekend of strategizing, networking, and developing action plans for social change.

We met together at the beautiful Haley Farm in Clinton, TN, about ½ hour outside of Knoxville in eastern Tennessee. The farm was formerly owned by the late author Alex Haley before it was purchased by CDF in 1994 to use as an event and retreat center. Fresh from the rain the previous day, the plentiful trees stood green and peaceful around the farm’s property. A large dining and meeting tent was set up for meals and group gatherings. Smaller groups met throughout the day for advocacy training workshops.

I enjoyed meeting other workshop facilitators, including presenters from advocacy organizations such as RESULTS and Campus Progress, as well as the friendly and helpful CDF staff. My workshop looked at different Web 2.0 tools, focusing in particular on Flickr, Twitter, and the virtual world of Second Life, with tips and techniques for how these can effectively be used for activism. Unfortunately Second Life was down for a series of unexpected technical difficulties, so I wasn’t able to demo the virtual world for my first workshop. Fortunately after a few tries, I was able to get into Second Life with my second group of workshop participants. There wasn’t a lot of time to spend in-world (in Second Life), but I had the opportunity to show them how the virtual office directory and some other features worked. We walked and flew over to the Nonprofit Commons amphitheater, where some of the wonderful folks in the Nonprofits in Second Life community came in-world and demonstrated their avatar dancing skills. Not only did this give participants an entertaining glimpse at what the virtual world has to offer, it also demonstrated the strong, supportive environment that exists in this community—here were a handful of folks willing to take time in their weekend to show up to help show this virtual space to others.

I was very impressed with the energy and enthusiasm present among the students presence. While virtually all of the students used Facebook, most of them had never used or in many cases even heard of Flickr, Twitter, or Second Life, though they had many intelligent questions about how they worked and how they could get started implementing them with their work. One question that came up in both sessions was, “How do you translate online organizing and social networking into real life, concrete action towards a cause?” Frequently the worry arises that as the use of social networking tools becomes increasingly widespread, people will spend little time meeting each other in person or doing the real-life ground work necessary for social change. I agreed with this concern, but pointed out that it isn’t an either/or equation. We can take advantage of the ease and increased connections, networking, and information sharing that these platforms offer us to connect with others on a global scale. At the same time, it’s important to find a balance with how to use these new tools to enhance face-to-face forms of community building and mobilization.

A common complaint I’ve heard repeated bemoaned by the media is the “Millennial Generation” or “Generation Y”’s self-absorption, self-importance, and/or lack of awareness. This group of students defied such characterizations, demonstrating a tremendous amount of dedication, energy, and belief that they are capable of making changes even at a young age. It was inspiring to me and re-affirmed my hope that new technologies can assist them in manifesting their advocacy goals.

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