Annals of Innovation - Small Change

Why the revolution will not be tweeted.

Malcolm Gladwell - 04 October 2010

During the elections in Iran, most of the people tweeting were almost all from the West.

Nobody seemed to notice or care that most people were tweeting in English instead Farsi.

Revolutions built around Strong Ties

• Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964 - registered black voters in the South, raise awareness.
• People that kept with it had a strong personal connection to the movement, so they knew people directly involved.
• The sit-ins at Woolworths worked because all the people sitting there knew each other, and in a way, nobody wanted to lose face.

Revolutions built around Weak Ties

• Activisms associated with social medias are all weak.
• Effective at increasing participation by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires.
• Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.

Civil rights movement was a military precision style campaign.

• Plans were made - Training sessions were held.
• The Greensboro 4 were all a part of this network and belonged to the NAACP.
• Civil rights movement was high risk and hierarchical.
• Non-violent confrontations are high risk strategies because if even one person deviates from the script and responds violently, the moral legitimacy of the tactic is compromised.

Facebook can build non-hierarchical networks.

• It's difficult to reach consensus and define goals without centralized leadership.
• It's a strategy that shifts from strategic and disciplined activity towards those which promote resiliency and adaptability.
• It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that activity to have any impact.