Wednesday 21 March 2012

Social Media

     A boon to social movements everywhere has been the flow of information and ideas provided by the internet. Those groups and individuals who once thought themselves isolated in their certain beliefs and ideals have been able to come together to create an arguably bigger impact than they would have without the support of others and solidarity of community. The use of social media has also given movements the ability to provide a constant flow of ideas and reminders of why their movement is necessary, as well as being able to network with other groups to create a bigger impact.

     SlutWalk has used social networks to great advantage. They have both a Facebook account and twitter page dedicated to SlutWalk in general, and in addition most cities have their own in order to organize walks and for local members to network more easily. I have been monitoring the SlutWalk Facebook group for the better part of a month now in preparation for this blog. Not only do the organizers of the group post links to SlutWalks all over the world, but they, as well as supporters, actively post links and images that relate to sexual assault, women's rights, and other articles relevant to the goals of SlutWalk. This has allowed members to be aware of the solidarity available to them as well as showing solidarity to similar organizations.
Courtesy of SlutWalk



References Cited:

Graeber, David.
     2009. Direct Action: An Ethnography. AK Press. Zine Library.
      http://zinelibrary.info/files/Direct%20Action%20-%20An%20Ethnography.pdf

Warf, Barney and John Grimes
      1997. Counterhegemonic Discourses and the Internet. Geographical Review. 87: 2.
       http://www.jstor.org/stable/216008

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