Digital activism is a concept that it not apparently clear to me upon first thinking about it. However upon pondering it quickly I can begin to understand the simplicity of the two words, digital and activism. Activism is not a new term or activity however much like everything else these days it has and is becoming more digitised, that is it is being expressed more openly on a worldwide and open forum such as social media. There are many activists who have been influential on a number of subjects throughout history, whether it be for peace, anti-war, freedom or anything else deemed a worthwhile cause. In the modern era activism is open much more broadly to anybody for any reason. Julian Assange and Occupy Wall Street are some examples of people or organisations taking to modern, digital technology to spread the word of their causes in order to achieve their goals. Julian Assange is someone who has been made very popular in various forms of media because of Wikileaks, I will discuss this in more detail in a later blog. Occupy Wall Street was a phenomenon aimed at ridding social and economic inequality. While now I cannot recall the exact end result I do remember how popular the movement was. Occupy Wall Street coined the term “We are the 99%”. A term that it was impossible not to see or hear for weeks, maybe even months after the protest first started. Like most protests however it was subject to criticism mainly drawn to the fact that the 99% they were claiming to be was an outdated and inflated figure. Luckily to good people at South Park were able to shed some humorous light on the matter and simplify it in this sort video.
But how did Occupy Wall Street use digital activism to get their message across? Organisations such as AdBusters and Anonymous were used to spread the word using their pre-existing worldwide member base to inform those with similar view as to what was thought, desired and planned. Both of these organisations use an array of social media and other digital technology to send their messages across.
Digital activism is still relatively young, and while there are organisations such as AdBusters and Anonymous around, any issue be it important or not, as the possibility to be made public should there be enough interest in the subject matter.
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