1. Creating social justice initiatives
online
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Ashoka News and Knowledge Fellow
TED Fellow
Architect and co-curator, Groundviews
2. What really is this social media/new media ecosystem?
• Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media
monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many).
• It supports the democratisation of knowledge and information, transforming people
from content consumers into content producers. (Wikipedia)
3. What is social justice?
• Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is
based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human
rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.
• Absence or end of war is not a just peace or society.
6. new media foundations
• Blogs
• Social networks (Twitter, Facebook)
• Mobiles: SMS to social networking sites, mobile
photography and video
• Wired (ADSL) and wireless broadband (3G etc)
• Greater access, also in Sinhala & Tamil
• Lower transactional cost (cost per SMS, subscription
for ADSL, cost per dongle, data subscriptions)
7. what’s new?
• Ubiquity of two way communications
• Addressable peoples, even those who IDPs or refugees
• Both news generation and dissemination leverages new media
• Disintermediated models vs. traditional media model
• Citizens as producers
• Low resolution, hyperlocal helps focus and granularity
• Aggregation of low resolution helps macro analysis and strategy
8. the revolution
Passive
Media Consumer
Information as a package
Active / Reactive
Consumer /
Media Witness /
Producer
Information as a conversation
Knowledge through curation
14. “saffron revolution” in myanmar 2007
• 100,000 people joined a Facebook group
supporting the monks
• No international TV crews allowed in the
country
• Mobile phone cameras were the first footage of
the monks protest
• Blogs from Rangoon were the only sources of
information
• The junta shut down all Internet and mobile
communications
26. change making through civic media
Be the change you want to see
Create and curate frames of respectful dialogue
Be critical of everything, but not equally so
Fail, it is the best way to learn. Be open about it.
Challenge authority, age and conventional wisdom.
Know what you want to see and communicate it
Stand up for principles, even if you are the only one.
People will remember the hope you gave, not the site design
Take risks, never be afraid to give it all up
Embrace technology
Bear witness, not pursue regime change
29. consuming the news
• Buying fruits of vegetables • Consuming news
• Check price • Check authorship
• Weigh it in one’s hands • Check for veracity, quality
• Look at it from all angles • Is it accurate, fair, topical?
• What is the bias? Is it progressive?
• Look at it in context
• Select a few from many sources
• Look at a few, not just one
• Discard if out-dated information is
• Discard if old presented
• Ascertain location where it was • Be cautious of unverified information
produced and breaking news
51. take home
• Think beyond text. Online is not print.
• Think beyond prose. Online can be satire, verse, haiku!
• Think of photos, audio, video. Rich media tells stories, adds context.
• Think of SMS and crowd-sourcing, the audience are the producers.
• Don’t suggest you know everything. Use the community to add value to story.
• Link to other stories online, they add value.
