Before I begin to formally write this post, I would like to ask all of
you a question simply because I am curious and would like to see if
there is a variety of opinion; what do you think of
slacktivists/slacktivism both as a busy student and as someone deeply involved
in public service? Also, how many of you were already aware of what the term
meant?
I did not know what it meant until I read Allison H. Fine's A. Fine
Blog, but since we are discussing social media and nonprofit
effectiveness/performance in class I thought it might be an
interesting topic.
"Slactivist" is a not-so-nice term for someone who joins face
book groups, signs e-petitions, posts badges or buttons, changes their
avatar image, or sends out chain emails or messages. The argument,
and root of the term, is that these individuals are passive in
creating social change because the above activities give them a sense
of having done good, while in reality the action alone did very little to
create any actual social change.
There seems to be some debate as to whether slacktivism is good or bad. I think for the most part it can be good. The more people retweeting or sharing something on facebook, the more it is seen by others. One of those hundreds of folks might donate time or money to a cause they might otherwise not have thought about.
Two interesting posts I found on the topic are:
Geoff Livingston: HOW TO: Turn Slacktivists into Activists with Social Media
http://mashable.com/2010/05/13/slacktivists-activists-social-media/
I thought the tips offered by Livingston were good for organizations to think about and offered a more sympathetic viewpoint to slacktivism. (FYI Beth Kanter also makes an appearance here.)
Slacktivisim: A gateway drug to activism by Populista:
http://mydd.com/users/populista/posts/slacktivisim-a-gateway-drug-to-activism
Populista makes an interesting point; some people are just very shy. The internet gives shy people a way to get involved who may not have otherwise done so because of meeting and introducing themselves to strangers. From my experience with volunteers, some people are terribly hesitant to even ask local business for donations.
To touch on the topic of Effectiveness, do any of you feel that Slaktivism has anything to do with organizational performance? If there are a lot of people just “liking” their local library’s status update on facebook but not really attending the committee meeting to plan the annual Library Book Sale, is the library doing something wrong? I am thinking about this myself (as someone who has served as president of a library fundraising board) and don’t have an answer yet. It is hard to get people in the community (especially if it is fairly small and the library is competing with Barnes and Noble or a large library branch) to get involved with planning events and commit to more than a few hours of their time to sell books.
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I have never heard of slacktivism until I read this. I certainly agree that they can be both good and bad in the social networking arena. For the most part, for the sake of changing avatars and constantly posting updates on status for friends to see, I certainly think it's for attention, because every time a change is made, it forces a post to the "news feed."
On the same token, this can be an effective strategy for local non-profits. Sometimes, they get very little attention and I do believe that the rise of social networking can give them more attention and force the community to see what they are doing, and what they have to offer.
That said, I think the real challenge is getting members of the community to be their "friends" on Facebook or "followers" on twitter. What strategies can they use to get in the ears of the community so they can become effective slaktivists?
- Matt Schofield
I agree that "slactivism" can be both positive and negative. As a consumer of social media outlets, I often get frustrated by the seemingly endless amounts of "causes" on networks such as Facebook. It seems as though there is a "ribbon" or cause for everything, and like more would get done if people could choose a few things, be very passionate, work hard for change, and leave it at that. This isn't to say that many of these causes aren't worthy ideals to support, but they are often repetitive or too specific. My clicking to "like" a cause against domestic violence doesn't change the life of a battered woman down the street. Additionally, I remember the book discussing that one of the fears of increased use of less-formal means of publicity by individuals will make the organization look bad because blogs will have typos, etc. I have to say that I agree. When a so-called "slactivist" invites me to join a group on Facebook and didn't take the time to spell the words correctly, I have to wonder how passionate about the cause a person really is. And, as a manager someday, I can understand why it would be challenging to let go of the control of how your organization is portrayed to the public.
ReplyDeleteKristen
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI also have only recently heard the term "slacktivism," and it was in reference to a more negative situation (in my opinion). Have you heard about Ted Williams, the homeless man who was "discovered" for having a great radio voice? A video of him speaking went public on YouTube a month or so ago, and he was given opportunities to appear on morning television shows and auditions for paying gigs.
I think people felt good about supporting him, and the attention could have changed his life in many ways. But I think a lot of times, people are drawn to amazing stories and forget about all of the other homeless people who may not have fame-worthy stories. It just gets overwhelming to look at all of the others who need help.
On the other hand, tiny activism acts can add up if enough people band together and participate. I have definitely played Free Rice (http://www.freerice.com/) which donates 10 grains of rice to those in need for each vocabulary word you answer correctly, through the World Food Programme.
For me, slacktivism is a good thing. Not all people are going to be ardent social activists, but if these so-called slacktivists can help to spread the word of a worthy cause, then I deem their involvement a truly valuable resource. For instance, a slacktivist's involvement or tie might inspire an ardent activist to become involved with organization or cause. Indeed, ideas or causes only have as much power as the people that support them, and slacktivists who support a cause, no matter how seemingly detached or trivial, could theoretically enlist or mobilize a large number of ardent supporters. Social media is a free way for nonprofits to spread their ideas and cause, and as Hayley said, "tiny activism adds up."
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your post about slacktivism, the first example of slacktivism that came to my mind was a recent slacktivist movement on Facebook that involved people changing their Facebook profile pictures to cartoon characters to raise awareness of or to support an end of child abuse. Although many of my Facebook friends changed their profile pictures to cartoon characters, I didn’t change mine. I thought that doing so would have no real impact on ending child abuse or raising awareness of child abuse. After all, how is a picture of a cartoon character related to children, or child abuse, in any way? After reading “The Networked Nonprofit” and your post about slacktivism, though, my opinion about the potential impact of the seemingly inconsequential movement of people changing their profile pictures to support a cause has changed. As we learned in The Networked Nonprofit, the simple act of women sharing messages on Facebook about posting their bra colors as their Facebook statuses to raise awareness about breast cancer gained attention by the national media and served its purpose of raising breast cancer awareness. I’m not aware of whether or not the cartoon character profile pictures gained media attention in the same way that the bra color status updates did, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. While the people who participated in the cartoon character profile picture movement may have no affiliation with an organization that combats child abuse, they were able to get the attention of many Facebook users and possibly non-Facebook users as well. In an age where people’s attention is constantly being vied for, getting people’s attention may be considered a significant feat in and of itself. Once that attention has been obtained, however, I believe organizations need to make the most of it by reaching out to people.
Kate
This is the first that I am hearing about the term Slacktivism. I appreciate the pejorative nature of this term and "its" attempt to describe feel good measures of social activism. While these efforts may seem passive in part I agree with some of the aforementioned statements that any form of activism is a step in a forward direction. Social media is an engine for awareness and eventual change. It is also important to recognize that not All people are comfortable or capable of non-anonymous activism. Any attempt at bettering the world is An attempt at bettering the world. Period. :)
ReplyDelete