Activism 3.0
Protests are increasingly appearing on the internet in real time in a myriad of ways. Adam Waldron takes a look at the smartphone applications that every activist needs
Karl Marx famously said that capitalism would produce its own gravedigger – and of course he meant the working class would overthrow the world order. But the arch-capitalists at Apple are rapidly arming students and trade unionists with the technology to agitate online, secretly organise direct actions and then publicise them worldwide in seconds.
Apptivism has the potential to transform the spontaneous outburst of demonstrations and renewed interest in the radical left into a coherent, highly organised and efficient movement. When protesters go ‘tooled up’ to demonstrations these days, they are grasping iPhones and Blackberrys bristling with the latest applications.
Micah White argued in The Guardian that ‘digital activists’ promoting ‘clicktivism’ are endangering the very ‘possibility of an emancipatory revolution in our lifetimes’. But as Red Pepper launches its clicktastic new website, here is a practical guide to Apptivism – because iPhone apps will be used to equip the uprising out in the streets, in real time, and make sure it is televised.
via Activism 3.0 | Red Pepper.
The Free 