From the psychological concept of the Bystander Effect to the historical significance of the Arab Spring, European Summer, Occupy, and Black Lives Matter movements, how can we understand the power of social media in creating social change?

1. Presented By: Andrew G. Hill

2. From Kernel Magazine-
“Hashtag Activism is Real”
“Using hashtags as a way to organize
information and conversations on Twitter was
conceived by former Google developer Chris
Messina in 2007.
The original purpose, Messina told the Kernel,
was to create a way to have organized
conversations on a platform that lacked the
traditional forum-moderator structure.”

3. • Occupy Wall Street
(#OWS)
• “Arab Spring”
(2009-2011) Lybia,
Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen
2011
• #Kony2012,
#StopKony
• #StandWithPP
(Call for Komen Funding of Planned
Parenthood- Female Services)
• #JusticeforTrayvon
2012
• #VemPraRua (Brazilian
Protests of World Cup)
• #BostonStrong
• #WeAreTrayvonMartin
2013
• #BringBackOurGirls
• #YesAllWomen
• #Ferguson
• #ICantBreathe
2014

4. From Culture Club-
“#IAmNotYou”
Many folks, including myself, have a whole lot
of privilege that will protect us if we protest
with our bodies. I’m white, I’m on the
masculine spectrum most days, I take up a lot
of physical space (at 6’4”); not many people
would mess with me. But if you’re trans and in
public, if you’re on the feminine spectrum and
in public, and/or if you’re black and in public,
you could be harassed and killed if you
physically show up.”

5. From Culture Club-
“#IAmNotYou”
“Online activist spaces can be a literal safe
havens for those who can’t take any more
risks with their lives. These spaces can
connect folks to form communities who
regularly would not be able to meet in real life
because of threats of violence or even just
because of geography.”

6. The New York Times:
“Hashtag Activism and Its Limits”
“Sure, hashtags come and go, and the so-
called weak ties of digital movements are no
match for real world engagement. But they
are not only better than nothing, they
probably make the world, the one beyond the
keyboard, a better place.”
David Carr, New York Times (March 25, 2012)

7. Huffington Post:
“The Case for Social Media and
Hashtag Activism”
“As an activist, I saw social media as an
opportunity to spread the word about various
causes at a faster rate, and to a bigger number
of people, than through traditional methods.”
Sabrina Khan-Ibarra, Huffington Post
“These tools probably do not hurt in the short run and might
help in the long run -- and that they have the most dramatic
effects in states where a public sphere already constrains
the actions of the government.”
Do digital tools enhance democracy?
Clay Shirky, Foreign Affairs.com
“The Political Power of Social Media”

8. Internet freedom is a long game, to be
conceived of and supported not as a
separate agenda but merely as an
important input to the more
fundamental political freedoms.