Post on 21-Aug-2015
Social Media, Activism & Community Building
Marie K. ShanahanUniversity of Connecticut, Department of Journalism
January 20, 2014Associated Press File Photo
Associated Press File Photo
Social media as a tool for generating awareness, regionally &
internationally.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
TsunamiA 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake caused a huge tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, killing more than 225,000 people in 11 countries.
September 2007 Protests in Burma
Peaceful citizen protests in Burma captured on mobile phones showed the world images of monks being attacked.
AP File Photo
September 2008Kashmir’s mobile phone
chroniclers
Citizens using mobile phones document atrocities during demonstrations, then post footage on
YouTube. AP File Photo
June 2009Iran election protests
Twitter proved significant in keeping Iranians and the world advised as to happenings in Iran -- where open Internet and cell phone communication had been thwarted after the highly disputed reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
AP File Photo
"The founders of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube did not create their products with the intent of starting revolutions and ousting dictators.
“Though they may feel they have played a role in the process by providing these vehicles for change, these revolutions begin in the minds and imaginations of those driving them.
[Individuals] choose their tools and their mediums for communication, whether it is print, radio, blogging or just word of mouth, but the strength of a movement lies ultimately in the will for activism. "
-- Madeline Storck