Protest 2.0

We’ve all seen the use of Twitter in organising real-life protests at a moments notice. Examples are rife across Europe and the US, especially San Francisco where we’ve seen activists using Twitter to organise and co-ordinate an anti-war protest. Another example of the innovative use of Social Media in this way is that of James Karl Buck who “twittered” his way out of an Egyptian jail.

Further abroad, we see more examples of innovative protest. Given France’s penchant for striking at a moment’s notice, it comes as no surprise as the innovation in raising-the-fist for one’s rights should come from this corner of the globe. Employees (such as the air-traffic controllers, taxi drivers and dockers) who had gone on strike are becoming a little cleverer in the way they execute their protests. It had started with just-in-time striking, a term borrowed from just-in-time-production of the manufacturing industry, in which the strikers strike for a little part of the day causing maximum disruption with minimal loss of pay. For some companies this method of protest has already proven fruitful in terms of winning disputes.

Protest has now spread into Web 2.0 with workers and unions utilising social media like blogs in order to get what they want. The workers utilise this platform to garner support from outside stakeholders such as consumers, politicians and the local communities. The French were ahead in this measure again with workers at Fnac, Savoy furniture and La Redoute; using blogs to rally support, run campaigns, share information on possible closures and organising resistance.

The Internet, and specifically Web 2.0, aggregates opinions on a wide scale, and in this case we’re beginning to see aggregated discontent amongst employees. The most remarkable and innovative example of this was the recent protest by 2000 IBM employees on IBM’s corporate campus… in Second Life!. The dispute was over a pay settlement (which they got), and the virtual protest won an award, handed over by the president of Microsoft France, at the Forum Netxplorateur in February this year.

The most interesting thing about this phenomenon is the creativity we are seeing being brought to life through the use of Social Media and Web 2.0, I can only imagine we can see more of it, and I personally hope to see this form of protest come to South Africa.

Anybody for a toyi-toyi in Second Life outside the South African Government Buildings?

Source: The Economist