SXSW 2012 - Digital Protests: Social Media as Activism

Digital Protests: Social Media as Activism
Event	Interactive 2010
Format	Panel
Organizer	Ramya Raghavan – YouTube
Description	This session will explore the role that social media plays in protests, through the lens of recent events like Iran and the American health care debate. The panel will cover the various tools (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook) that are being used to elevate protests, examine the benefits and drawbacks of the internet's involvement and whether social media makes protests more or less efficient, and discuss the issue of authenticity in information dissemination.
Questions Answered	How have new media tools changed the way social protests unfold? How have social media sites been used in the past year to highlight protests? What are the benefits/drawbacks of social media's role in protests? Is social media making protests less/more efficient? How valuable is the information coming through social media sites? How can we verify information being shared? How important is it that we do? How can journalists and news organizations leverage how social media sites are being used during protests? How well does offline activity translate online? Are there ways to make this process more effective? What is the journalist's responsibility to verify information coming from social media sites before using it in their reporting? What does the future of digital activism look like?
Level	Beginner
Category	Non-Profits, Online Video, Social Issues, Social Networking, User Generated Content

You might also like:

Digital Protests: Social Media as Activism