Snog, Marry Avoid?Corporates versus activists
in the public sector
#SMAsmweek@markoneinfour
@VictoriaBetton
What we’re going to do
Victoria
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History
Finding a voice
Victorian dad
Activists
Communication
Peter Hitchins
“an electronic leftwing mob”
Digital divide
What I think…
Get me campaign
www.digitalmentalhealth.co.uk
@VictoriaBetton
Hello, I'm Mark and I'm an accidental online
activist
I'm @markoneinfour
What do activists actually want?
To be taken seriouslyTo be listened to
To influence eventsTo make something happen
Why is online awesome?
I can speak to thousands at the press of a button I can speak directly to people I would never get to
speak to offline (or at least not so easily) I can reach journalists quickly I can engage people who would otherwise by
atomised and separate I can respond to events in real time I can use online contact to generate offline action
What kinds of people are online activists?
Online activists come from all walks of life and all kinds of situations
Some may be directly concerned with the issues they campaign about
Some may be politically motivated Some may come from the professional area that
they campaign about Some may have a specific area of interest,
others a particular theme
What kinds of objectives do online activists have?
• Some may be activists for a particular course of action to be taken
• Some may be activists against a particular course of action being taken
All are trying to shift the offline world in one direction over another
What do online activists do?
Bring to public light issues that they feel are under-exposed
Spot and publicise 'injustices' Present alternatives to existing narratives
How are online activists trying to change the world?
They are trying to get a seat at the table of decision making
or trying to generate a groundswell of public opinion
or Trying to reach opinion formers and decision
makers
Or a combination of these
All activists leverage whatever power they have to bring about the result they want
Social media is, at present, an area where there are still opportunities for activists to punch far above their
weight and where power is distributed more evenly
Online public opinion
Generally speaking, people who use any particular service experience this on an individual, not collective basis. For the first time, social media is bringing together people who use
services in an easy to access and easy to use way
If people want to check out whether it's only them who has a fault on their iphone map program, they don't wait for a newspaper
article about it: They go online
In the past its been easy to see online public opinion as unrepresentative. Now it's not so easy
Activists and online public opinion
Online activists are constantly walking a line between responding to online public opinion and
creating online public opinion
Increasingly online public opinion influences offline public opinion
Big bodies and local communities
Large organisations, especially in the public sector, are brim with rhetoric about stakeholder
involvement. They talk of being part of the community they serve. Yet many struggle to
engage their communities, the public, in providing feedback on their performance
Online, your community, your public, is banging at your virtual door
Online activism: with great power comes great responsibility
An online activist can respond to a corporate message
in three ways:
The can choose to amplify it They can choose to ignore or direct away from it They can work actively against it
With great power comes great responsibility 2
Corporates can often feel aggrieved when online activists get their facts wrong
BUT...
It's worth remembering that online activists are often piecing together what information they can from the
public domain. If you don;t put enough out there, expect people to come to conclusions that are other
than what your organisation would like
The powerless activist?
An activist who feels that there is no hope of change within current structures or who feels (or has been) ignored can shift from a constructive
voice to a destructive voice
While maintaining the best of intentions, they may move closer to trolling than constructive debate
Never for money, always for love... (perhaps)
Many online activists are activists out of love (or hate). They aren't members of comms teams or
representing an organisation (although sometimes they might be)
Their activities as activists will continue whether or not a large corporate chooses to engage with them
They'll still be talking even if you don't choose to talk to them
So what do we have in common?
Both activists and organisations (in theory) want 'good' things to happen
Both activists and organisations care (in theory)
So...
All things considered about online activism...
Would you snog me, marry me or avoid me?
Mark Brown
Editor One in Four magazine http://oneinfourmag.org
Development director Social Spider CIC http://www.socialspider.com
@markoneinfour on twitter