10 Tactics for turning information into action
I don't really focus on information technology, but seeing as this involves use of digital images I thought it workth posting. So, here is a short promo video by The Tactical Tech Collective on how rights activists are using the internet for activism. A 50 minute film will be released at the Front Line Club in London in December. Worth looking out for.
Although we have come a long way since online activism consisted of sending an email to the Prime Minister of some country doing bad stuff, we should not get too dazzled by the tech. As one of the activists says in the promo 'basically we are using new tools to do old fashioned activism.' I constantly come across activism sites and actions that would appear to be generating tiny responses, and using tactics that are dubious. It is not that one tool or tactic is necessarily better than the other, but that we use what is appropriate. With so much activism taking place online and so much content being produced I am often stunned by where to look next. And believe me, I have time - I am on a one year sabbatical looking at this stuff and still find it hard to keep up. God knows how others cope. Not that we have to look at everything, but some times I wonder if we need another sparkly online platform for a video petition? I have this image in my head that this so-called digital revolution is like the Big Bang. It has produced trillions of bits flying around in space that will gradually gravitate into useful groupings. And that will mean greater coordination and use of the best quality ideas, images and video. Strategy, content and coalitions will all still be key.