Social Movements 2.0: Harnessing the Power of the Web for Change

In a recent article on AlternetBrendan SmithTim Costello, and Jeremy Brecher share their perspective as labor organizers on the current state and future potential of Web 2.0 as a foundation for movements of social change. They rightly understand, in my view, that the Web does not simply offer new tools for the same old tasks, but rather dramatically changes the way in which social movements can be developed and sustained:

[T]he online universe is not simply another place for people to congregate, circulate a petition, debate politics or mail out a newsletter. Nor is it simply a new technology like cable television — merely bringing more channels into the home. Instead, the web is increasingly looking like the invention of the printing press, which radically changed the lives of even those who could not read, by spurring the Protestant reformation and scientific revolution.

It’s an excellent overview, and the authors’ analytical insights are worth reading.