The Question for Activists is Always How to Use Available Tools Effectively
The whole Malcolm Gladwell networked activism brouhaha has pretty much petered out, but I’ve just had reason to go back and re-read one of my favorite responses to his piece, and I liked it even better this time.
Here’s a big old quote. Go read the whole thing. It’s good.
The question for activists is always how to use available tools effectively. So blogs are for sharing longer ideas, Facebook is for spreading basic information and links, and Twitter is for sending small amounts of information publicly on the go. We even use phones sometimes. The internet can’t hammer a nail, but that’s what hammers are for. But there are some tools that don’t stand the test of time as well. Gladwell writes, “… what use would a digital communication tool be in a town where ninety-eight per cent of the black community could be reached every Sunday morning at church?” Of course, this is a completely useless question. What good would Twitter have been for dinosaurs? THEY COULDN’T EVEN PRESS
