Jenny Weber, Timothy Davis, Richelle Fischer

Analysis of ChangeMSP

11 April 2011

Social Movements and Internet Use

 
             The Internet has permeated into most aspects of our lives. Its influence is strong and extensive.

Consequently, it is increasingly important to consider the Internet when organizing for social change.

According to Surman and Reilly, “As civil society, we are confronted with an opportunity—to use the

Internet [. . .] to support our quest for global peace and social justice” (4). With our project, ChangeMSP,

we are taking advantage of this opportunity and embracing the social change movement that has already

emerged online. While creating this project, it was vital to consider why it is a necessary project as well as

how we can best go about using the internet to pursue social change.  In this piece we will explore the

connections between activist and resources, be informed by various works covered in our coursework, and

flesh out ways in which we come to understand our work.

            In many respects, we have applied aspects of Internet and social movement theory of which Lerner

explores in an analysis of how Internet can best be used for social change. According to Lerner, “It is [the]

combination of online activity and learning and offline participation that makes the Internet an intriguing

element in the development of social movement theory” (559). Thus, the coalescence of Internet use and

live activism has proven to be an enormous force for social change. This has been apparent in the recent

revolutions in the Arab world. An enormous force of the Internet is how it can be used for mobilization, for

connecting activists to the real life issues they intend to change. As Surman and Reilly assert, “One of the

most widely discussed uses of networked technologies within civil society is online mobilization and

activism” (5). It is the Internet’s capabilities of linking activists with movements and actions that in part

make it beneficial for social change organizing. Our project, ChangeMSP, will hone in on this by using the

Internet to make the necessary connections between student activists and local organizations. Our work will

not pursue change through online means alone; its influence will be in how it supports the activism in the

city currently which we believe will then lead to social change.

            A large aspect of what will drive our website is the student written blogs. In terms of creating social

change, blogs have engaged protestors, been the medium for political debates, and have even influenced
revolutions. As Lerner notes, “Blogs are seen as an alternative to traditional print media and their attendant

short comings. Blogs are considered more democratic in their bottom-up approach to gathering and sharing

information” (558). In our case, the blogs are an alternative manner of gathering information on the

organizations as opposed to going to the service-learning website or to the organizations website. We feel

that this alternative information is necessary for potential volunteers to know, as another volunteers

perspective can be much more worthwhile than either: first, the lack of information from the service-

learning website, or two, the top down information from the organizations themselves. By hearing first

hand the accounts of other volunteers, potential volunteers are more capable of finding an organization that

fits their needs and passions. Lerner notes that blogs are changing communication and learning; we believe

that we have honed this change in a positive way, with communication and learning between activists being

our top priority.

            Lerner sees two main purposes to websites: first being the expansion of knowledge and ideas to a

broader audience, and second being a way to contact the constituency of a group.  For our website, our

main purpose is the former. We are hoping to spread access to and knowledge of different organizations in

the Twin Cities. We decided not to make the cite just for University of Minnesota students or just social

justice minors, but instead, it will be for all learners regardless of school or major. In this way, we are not

limiting the group that we will be able to reach. Our goal is to have our site be open to an exchange of ideas

between all activists in the Twin Cities. As Lerner establishes, “the World Wide Web can connect like-

minded individuals and help them pool together” (558). ChangeMSP will focus on bringing together these

local activists to learn from each other to grow in our abilities to make change. The part of our site, “Post-a-

Project,” will encourage the sharing of ideas. It will be a venue for all types of information to be shared.

We recognize that our peers can also be our teachers, and that this learning can happen online through our

website.

            However, our project has an additional purpose, that of collaboration. In her book “Stir It Up”,

Rinku Sen advises on many key components to developing an effective organization.  As an ‘organization’

informing other organizations, the Change MSP mission and tool lends itself easily to looking at a larger

picture of our local politics by means of non-profits and community work.  For example, in her chapter

“United We Stand”, Sen stresses the importance of allegiance collaboration.  We think that our website,
Change MSP, could potentially re-inform connectivity between local organizations because our volunteers

would be more informed about the society they work in.  It helps to establish the plausible networks within

a local radius with which we can identify our weaknesses and strengths while working collectively in social

change.  Furthermore, as a website we give all organizations within the area equal access to this resource

and potentially the means by which to discuss amongst one another in blogs and project points.

            Surman and Reilly also recognize the importance and potential of collaboration online; “There is

clearly much potential for online collaboration within global civil society, but this success is tied up in the

ability to develop more equitable networks and better online collaboration skills” (4-5). Our collaboration

with students and organizations will explore this potential and fill a niche in the network between students

and organizations. We feel as if the network, as is, is weak in its ability to match activists with

organizations that will best fit their skills and interests. We intend to explore to find the best online

collaboration skills that will fulfill this purpose.

            Although the Internet has incredible capabilities to connect activists and share ideas, we

acknowledge that it has limits, that “online activism has merely proven to be another social movement

innovation, rather than a replacement” (Lerner 571). The Internet, with all its potential, cannot take over the

work of all of the organizations in the Twin Cities that bring about change. The Internet can support

movements, but it cannot be the only vehicle of a movement. We are supporting organizations through our

site because they are today’s activists’ primary source for creating change. Student volunteers are

incredibly important to many of these organizations and, therefore, by connecting these individuals with the

change they are passionate about, we are pursuing social change in the traditional sense through the

medium of modern technology.

            Along with its limits, the Internet has major challenges to overcome in the pursuit of social change.

A major task is now to “[gain] the skills and perspective to be able to appropriate these technologies—to

use them strategically and politically” (Surman and Reilly 6). Surman and Reilly recognize four major

challenges in effective use of the Internet. We believe that we have addressed each challenge in a way that

will help us overcome them.

            The first is that of equity; “there is a need for more conscious and concerted attempts to develop

online spaces that are inviting and equitable” (Surman and Reilly 7). We have done this in several ways.
We have included all student learners to extend the potential to reach a broader audience and invite them

into our online community. We have also tried to make the website user-based and, in this way, create an

equitable space without our own personal biases.

            The second challenge noted is that of impact; “to use these technologies to their potential, we need

better information on the impact we are having” (Surman and Reilly 7). Because we have a direct “contact

us” page on the site, users can contact us directly and give us feedback. We also believe that the impact we

are having will be reflected in the progress and growth of the website. By being aware of the use and the

posts by users as well as critically thinking about the feedback that we are receiving, we will be able to

understand the impact that we are having.

            A third challenge is that “as we move forward, there is a need both to preserve the social capital of

civil society communities and to develop more effective cultures of collaboration online” (Surman and

Reilly 7). This is an issue of trust that we have countered with our user-based model. Users share

information with each other and, therefore, are creating a culture of collaboration themselves. They can put

trust in fellow peers and volunteers instead of just us as creators or just organizations.

            The fourth challenge of which Surman and Reilly write is that of sustainability, how we will plan on

continuing the project and how it will continue to function. We believe that the blogs and post-a-project

sections will be mostly self-sustaining, since anyone is welcome to put in their input, not only the three of

us. We also hope in some way to pass down the responsibility of the website on through the social justice

minor so that it can continue to grow and influence students in the Twin Cities.

            Surman and Reilly also put forth several recommendations for the future. One such

recommendation is that “there is a need to further build and support the ‘social tech’ movement that is

emerging, both creating better connections within this movement and, more importantly integrating more

holistically with other spheres within civil society” (Surman and Reilly 7). Our project will take this

recommendation seriously as we continue on the project, with our main goal being that of creating better

connections while supporting activists and organizations in any way we can. Another recommendation that

we will take into account is to “experiment with more equitable network models” (Surman and Reilly 8).

As stated previously, we are attempting to make activists have more options and power over their activism

while embracing a bottom-up approach of gathering information. We are thus creating a place were each
volunteer is equal in the way that we value his or her contribution to the project. We will continue to

experiment to see how we can further emphasize this type of approach. Surman and Reilly believe the

focus in the future should be “successful collaboration [that] is based on the principle that there are both

collective benefits and benefits for individual participants” (8). We are already very strong in this regard,

however, as we continue we will keep this goal at the forefront. The last and perhaps most important

recommendation of which we must pursue in the future is that we must continue to experiment and stretch.

We have an opportunity to be creative and flexible; thus, we will not contain our ideas or put constraints on

our project. We must encourage ourselves to continue to evolve and test different ways of pursuing our

goals and therefore, be most effective in achieving them.

            With each click of an Internet browser it is important to remember that there is a mind attached to

the direction of travel.  Accordingly, social location of our constituency, namely local students, largely

shapes our objectives.  Each of us, by means of being students has several privileges that unify well within

the capacities of ChangeMSP: time, energy, and access to technology.  Not to mention the large role that

the Internet plays within our daily culture, it would be shortsighted not to actively reform our connection to

our constituency via this resource.  Finally, our outreach as a website will help achieve a goal of

understanding and complementing the movement in the Twin Cities.

            With the combination of honing in on the strengths of the Internet and supporting the work of the

organizations, we believe that our project ChangeMSP will do just that, change Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Lerner states, “an integral aspect of social movement is its ability to inspire and reach out to a broad

coalition of society [. . .]” (571). With this in mind, our development of our project will continue to find

ways to inspire and reach out to the passionate and capable activists in the Twin Cities.
 Works Cited

Lerner, Melissa Y. "Connecting the Actual with the Virtual: The Internet and Social Movement
Theory in the Muslim World-The Cases of Iran and Egypt." Journal of Muslim Minority
Affairs 30.4 (2010): 555-574.
 
Sen, Rinku. Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass, 2003.
 
Surman, Mark and Katherine Reilly. “Appropriating the Internet for Social Change.” Social
Sciences Research Council. (2003): 4-9.