- Survey responses show that organizers desire some older technologies despite the fact that many online strategists doubt their effectiveness. 46% of respondents would like to use bulletin boards and online forums, for example, but these technologies are not necessarily the most useful ways to encourage peer-to-peer communication among constituents. As one technology provider put it: “Bulletin boards/forums are the number one tool people ask for, but don’t use once we give it to them.”Paradoxically, 46% of respondents also express no interest in social networking tools, which are often regarded as more useful than bulletin boards or forums in generating peer-to-peer communication.
- Respondents do not always want valuable newer technologies, because they don’t understand them, or they don’t recognize their strategic value. For example, 55% of respondents explicitly indicate no interest in text messaging although this technology has proven to be an extremely effective organizing tool worldwide. This suggests that organizers simply may not have the information and resources needed to successfully integrate this technology into their campaigns.
- In other cases, respondents request tools they mistakenly believe do not exist. Some respondents express deep frustration that certain tools, like targeted emails to legislators, do not exist. This frustration is most likely caused by a lack of information about available options.
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This report compiles insights from more than 400 social change groups, technology providers, and nonprofit technology capacity builders, examining the needs of organizers working to utilize new technologies, and offering recommendations for how to meet those needs more effectively.
September 28th, 2006 at 3:49 pm PST
> text messaging although this technology has proven to be >an extremely effective organizing tool worldwide.
I think the organizers are right. How does the number of campaigns that have successfully used text messaging compare to the existing 10,000-100,000 (or more?) campaigns for social change that are doing fine using traditional methods?
You cannot predict trends reliably unless you have a large enough sample size.
Text messaging might be useful in some instances, but unless I’m mistaken and that there are systematic uses of it within dozens or more of social movements, the verdict is still out.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:41 am PST
Aaron - I think we are at the cusp of having a ‘verdict’ about the effectiveness of text messaging, albeit not in the US yet where some campaigns indeed failed miserably for a variety of reasons. There are many examples in other countries; we describe a few over at www.mobileactive.org where we track stories and people using mobile phones for activism and civic engagement, among other things. Just to give you a few examples: In India there was an outpuring of messages to several TV stations who posted the sms, protesting the release of a man, the son of a prominent minister, who had murdered a popular movie actress. The messages in the Jessica Lal case condemned the nepotism and ineffectiveness of the Indian Justice system to the point where there was national media, a retry of the case, and several government commissions attempting to look into reforms.
In Argentina, Greenpeace has been using text campaigns with hundreds of ‘movile activistas’ to pass local legislation and engage in actions to protect wildlife. In Saudi Arabia, women got out the vote in the first-ever election they could participate in in large measure through text messages and email.
We describe one after another at www.mobileactive.org.
Numerous countries now have more cell phones than people - and with 2.5 billion in the world there is a spread and potential there for mass communications, peer-to-peer communications, rapid action, and mobilization that is unparalleled.
Because mobile phones are such a just-in-time medium, because they are so personal, so ubiquitous, inexpensive, and lend themselves so much to immediate response and immediate action, organizers better figure out how to use them in their work. I believe that sooner rather than later they will be even here in the US the medium by which people are best and most immediately reached. Do I have data here? No, not reliably. But I see the increase in texting, the decrease in email open rates, the pervasiveness of cell phones, and the fact that people who have no Internet access have cell phones all over the world, and my organizer heart perks up.
Do I see the handwriting on the wall in relation to what is happening elsewhere? Absolutely. And we would be foolish not to get creative about it very quickly.
We are publishing a five-part series of Strategy Guides for Mobile Activists starting nest week, so if you are interested to get a pre-release copy, email me at katrin at mobileactive dot org and I’ll send you one the day before the first one is released (focused on elections, getting out the vote, and voter registration.)
Here are some other links that might be useful or inspiring:
http://www.mobileactive.org/wiki/index.php?title=MobileActive_Stategy_Guide_to_Using_Mobile_Phones_in_Civic_Campaigns
A Mobile Strategy Guide for Campaigners
http://www.mobileactive.org/mentengro_election_monitoring
Mobile phones in systemic election monitoring in Montenegro earlier this year (Ohio, anyone?)
http://www.mobileactive.org/node/1310
Protest stories from around the world- powered by SMS
http://www.mobileactive.org/cell_phones_stories_from_the_field
A slew of stories we compiled a while back.
http://www.mobileactive.org/node/3570 — mobile health advice for teens in the UK (ok, not exactly organizing, but once you have their numbers, you could…)
http://www.mobileactive.org/justiceforjessicalal
http://www.mobileactive.org/JessicaLal_SMS_Update
More on Jessica Lal and the hundreds of thousands of text messages her murder generated
Political jokes via text for organizing under repressive regimes
http://www.mobileactive.org/sms_jokes
We want to hear from you if there are other stories, campaigns, organizing efforts, and mobilizations. Contact me at katrin at mobileactive dot org.