The other day I blogged about the collective conscious that social media users could become – are becoming, actually. Then I wrote about how users themselves – and not just ethical venture capitalists – could demand that startups bake safety and other pro-social basics into their apps and other services and that anti-social policies in established services get fixed. Then I watched this … [Read more...] about For solving social problems: The social media jujitsu remix
social activism
Young change agents leveraging social media
This article was originally published July 19, 2012, then my service’s server crashed, losing months of data. So reposting 10/20/12. I hope parents and educators have seen these two clear signs of how kids are using social media to "be the change." There's 14-year-old Julia Bluhm in Maine who noticed that friends in ballet class were always criticizing their bodies and spearheaded a protest in … [Read more...] about Young change agents leveraging social media
Courageous 13-year-old change agent
Social change agents used to go to "the press" (remember that?) to expose social ills and make things better. Now they go to social media. Stop and think about what a huge difference that is, in terms of the actors, the actions, the issues, and the medium. The social activists can now be anyone. They don't have to persuade an editor that something's important. No matter how small the issue, if the … [Read more...] about Courageous 13-year-old change agent
Snapshot of how Indian youth view social media
It's interesting to see that dismissive attitudes toward youth in social media are universal and that, where they turn up, so does the "clicktivism" argument – the one about how online activism is inconsequential, or not real activism (see this). In India, a recent national survey of people 18-35 found that 76% "believe that social media empowers them to bring change to the world," particularly in … [Read more...] about Snapshot of how Indian youth view social media
Study shows Net supports civic engagement
Certainly "clicktivism" isn't the all of social activism – it's a complement to it – but it's clear the Internet is an increasingly important support to civic engagement in this country, a just-released Pew/Internet survey shows. According to Pew's report, 75% of US adults are active in some kind of voluntary group, and 80% of those who use the Net are (compared with 56% of non-Internet users). … [Read more...] about Study shows Net supports civic engagement