"Social Network Activism"

Social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, and Blogger are places in which people (friends, family and strangers) can connect with one another and discuss any and everything.  People use these networks to meet new friends, reunite with old ones, build personal relationships, share music, pictures, videos and other things that reflect our interests and backgrounds, and, recently, advertise.  What is now heavily advertised are social movements.  Social movements are activism for change to benefit a group of underrepresented people.  To benefit them, groups of people inspired to create change come together to discuss the problem and plan possible solutions to these problems.  These solutions are in the form of collective actions.  Today these groups have taken advantage of the new technology and have been able to spread their message via the World Wide Web. 

I have seen "social network activism" online on the activist's webpages, on Facebook and on ads in the columns of websites that I have visited.

Save Darfur Facebook page

I have also seen social network activism on television and via text messaging.  During the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, foundations like the American Red Cross, Habitats for Humanity, Doctor's without borders and tons others spread awareness through commericals in which they aired a phone number that, if texted, would donate money to the fund.  In the video below, the United State's First Lady Michelle Obama, commanded the help of Americans to benefit the Haitian victims by texting the number 90999 (HAITI) to donate $10 in relief.



I have followed through with many of these forms of activism.  It is a clever way to make a difference in the world without taking too much time out of your scheduele.  Activist on Facebook clevery spread their missions onto large groups of people because it is so easy to share information with a click of a button.