Category Archives: Activism

Thanks, JS, for facebooking this (ironic it came from fb!).  A recent article in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell stated that contrary to popular opinion, social revolutions cannot be started by social media.  Ari Melber from the Nation somewhat argues against Gladwell in his piece Gladwell Gets It Wrong on Social Media.  I say “somewhat” because they are working with different non-mutually exclusive premises–Gladwell’s thesis is that the importance of social media is overstated when it comes to activism, while Melber’s thesis is that “the web and networked communications open up new and effective ways for citizens to converse and organize each other in repressive societies.”  Gladwell believes that “strong bonds” are important for real social activism, and that platforms like Facebook and Twitter build “weak bonds.”  Melber argues that these platforms provide communication that helps activism.