Monday, October 10, 2011

Occupy Wall Street: Social Media's Role In Social Change

I heard a piece on the radio about how well-organized the Occupy Wall Street protesters are - neatly lined-up shoes, shower rotations, medical and security teams, free food distribution. That and the facts that there apparently aren't any leaders, and that the folks at AdBusters - who put out the original call for this protest- said they were inspired by the Arab Spring, made me wonder about the role that social media is playing in this (maybe) burgeoning movement.

This piece doesn't get to the bottom of it, though it does acknowledge that social media is very much present and has certainly played a role in recruitment: "The best way to get people away from their computer is through the computer".

Social media has also be instrumental in catching the mainstream media's attention, which in turn has helped feed the protestor's ranks.

Still, I'm curious about if and how social media has played a role in the organizing logistics.

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