Saturday, 21 December 2013

Buy nothing this Christmas ?

With Christmas just days away you are being given permission to ‘Buy nothing this Christmas’. In doing so you are not just relieving yourself from hours of shopping mayhem, you are also joining a political movement. 
The 'Buy Nothing this Christmas' campaign is an example of a digital activist campaign by Adbusters. Adbusters is one of many online groups that are trying to forge a major shift in the way we live. Whether it is a campaign to stop people consuming or citizens trying be heard. One of the positives from social media is the ability to connect those who are disconnected either by location or circumstance. Media guru Clay Shirky explains civic life as.. 

 

… not just created by the actions of individuals, but by the actions of groups, the spread of mobile phones and internet connectivity will reshape that civic life, changing the ways members of the public interact with one another.

 

 

  Digital activism empowers individuals to easily act on the beliefs and causes they are passionate about. Campaigns such as Kony,   Obamas campaign and the recent uprising in Egypt are examples campaigns in which their cause was driven to the world via social media. The main driver of each of these campaigns was organised online communication, better known as DIGITAL ACTIVISM.  

  

 Getup is an Australian organisation that helps give everyday Australians the opportunity to get involved by holding Politicians accountable on important issues. Why sit at home fuming over a recent ludicrous political decision made by government monkeys when you can Getup and do something about it.


Whether it is sending an email to a member of parliament, engaging with the media, attending an event or helping to get a television ad on the air, GetUp members take targeted, coordinated and strategic action to effect real change. 

GetUp drives digital activism by providing a step-by-step guide to setting up your own campaign online whether it is for a local cause or of national relevance.  I have often ‘joined the cause’ simply by clicking a vote button. It makes change possible and brings it to our desktop. Campaigns such as;

-       ban live export

-       save the Barrier Reef

-       save the  Tassie forest

 

I don’t consider myself an activist but on the 'value of Digital Activism Scale' (Sivitanides 2011) which incorporates; optimist, pessimist and persistent 

I consider myself an optimist. 

We can do more than just like a page on Facebook  (I mean is there anyone out there who does 'like' cancer – really!)  I like the ability of digital activism to easily empower citizens to be able to alter political power. 

 

Activism is not new but the digital age has revolutionised the accessibility of being able to make change happen. The future sees a world which we will become one by the ability to out rule corruption and unfairness at the touch of a button.

 

Have a Merry Christmas whether you choose shop or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adbusters 2013, Buy nothing xmas, Adbusters blog,  https://www.adbusters.org/blogs/bnd-xmas-2014.html, viewed 21 December 2013

 

Shirkey, C 2009. The Net Advantage, Prospect <http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-net-advantage/#.UrZkk40j75k> , viewed 20 December 2013

 

Sivitanides, M 2011, The Era of Digital Activism, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University. Accessed via Swinburne Blackboard 10 December 2013

 

 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Nicole,
    Have you actually witnessed your “likes” cause the change you want?
    I am asking because I’m an optimist too, but my partner is not and keeps on asking me that very question.
    By the way, great blog filled with interesting information and links. The choice is endless if you really want to get activist.
    Cheers,
    Elisabetta

    ReplyDelete
  2. On a campaign site such as Get Up your 'like' is counted as a signature vote and is making a change, their site mentions many successful campaigns.
    I suppose a like on something like Facebook is an affirmation that others are on the same page as you. I wonder what your husband thinks of that?

    ReplyDelete