Social Media helps Delaware

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/18405-delawares-social-media-surge

"After talking about social media at DSU, Grant showed its power by inviting his Twitter followers to meet us in Wilmington an hour later. About a dozen showed up to talk about their belief in the benefits of social media, including Laurie Bick. She says, 'The whole idea is to help each other, so if somebody knows of an opportunity, they use whatever means available to them- Twitter, Facebook, whatever- to get that opportunity to a person they know could make that connection. That's awesome.'"

This article talks about how businesses, government, and just regular folks can be helped with social media interaction.  Perhaps Delaware is the great test bed?

Aussie society helped by Internet

http://www.news.com.au/national/survey-net-users-arent-all-losers/story-fn8g495p-1226046523120

"The survey revealed two-thirds of us use the net at least once a day, with the same number comfortable downloading audio, video and image files. Researchers said contrary to expectations, the poll suggested our internet obsession is not creating a meaner, more individualistic society."

When the Internet started people predicted it would isolate people and turn them anti-social. The opposite has actually happened.

The short history of Anonymous as activist

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/pieces/anonymous-lulz-collective-action

"What we can note about Anonymous is that since the winter of 2008 it has become a political gateway for geeks (and others) to take action. Among other opportunities, Anonymous provides discrete micro-protest possibilities that aren't otherwise present in a way that allows individuals to be part of something greater. You don't have to fill out a form with your personal information, you aren't being asked to send money, you don't even have to even give your name but you do feel like you are actually part of something larger. The decision to engage in political action has to happen somehow, via a concrete path of action, a set of events, or influences; Anonymous is precisely that path for many."

This is a pretty good summary of both the history of Anonymous activism and their "structure."  Of importance here, it notes that "The uneasy relation between these two tendencies is partially resolved when anons constantly remind each other to refrain from behaving like a leader, and thus push participants to strive for consensus as the preferred mode of decision-making."

avaaz; linking activists worldwide

http://www.avaaz.org/en/

"Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force."

Here's an article about them in the Guardian.

"While most of Avaaz's projects are initiated by the staff themselves, every few days they survey a random collection of 10,000 members to ask them which campaigns they want to prioritise. They also monitor constantly online statistics that reveal which campaigns are attracting most interest among members, enabling the membership itself to chose the network's focus."

How teens are using technology

http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/how-do-they-even-do-that-myths-and-facts-about-the-impact-of-technology-on-the-lives-of-american-teens

A typical teen makes 50 text messages per day, and 1-5 phone calls per day.  Lots of interesting stuff here.  How will these teens use technology when they become adults?

Excellent video on collective action at work!

http://www.youtube.com/user/UsNowFilm?blend=3&ob=5

"Us Now" is an excellent film, with good resources (Clay Shirky, Don Tapscott, etc.) that gives many examples of collective action and much insight into what it can achieve.  If you want to see the future, watch this.

Syrian online activists

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13168276

"Just like the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, the protests in Syria are a grassroots movement, with no real leaders but with a number of prominent activists who keep things going."

This article talks about some of the online activists in Syria and how they communicate information on a more national level, while locals organize their own protests.  Facebook played an important part in getting the protests going, but "but now Facebook is really just 1% of the movement," said one of the activists.

Again, there is no hierarchy, just people doing what they can locally or online.

Google embraces crowd sourcing, to a degree

http://www.betanews.com/article/Google-opens-Map-Maker-crowdsourced-mapping-for-US/1303251104

"Users submit map edits which are then reviewed and posted by Google's own editorial staff. Google says the edits should appear within a few minutes of submission, and edits can be tracked in realtime in Google Earth."

So Google gets input from its users, which Google first reviews before putting online.  This I would assume is the best way, to avoid the trolls directing today's soccer fans into a canal instead of the stadium.

What if somebody doesn't like your plans?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42578969/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Assign security agents to work “via Facebook” to “jam up” political opponents. In particular, it suggests that security agents using “pseudonyms” pose as political dissidents and then gather intelligence about the opposition as well as “slip in” messages that would tarnish the reputations of leading dissident figures. Opposition figures should also become the target of lawsuits designed to “smear their moral and religious reputations.”

* *

Wow, I guess the Syrian government doesn't like protests!  I have no advice, other than to look at what others have done, and think things through before starting any project.  It's sort of like, how do you handle trolls online? There seems to always be somebody willing to screw up somebody else's plan, so that has to be taken into consideration.  A few times at our protests, Scientology had infiltrated our group.  We found out about it and decided basically just to not worry about it. We weren't doing anything wrong, and they couldn't really find out much of anything that wasn't already public.  Plus we knew who they were so we could keep an eye on them.  But man, if your opponent plans to kill you?  That's way beyond my paygrade.

Here's a report on TOR and other software useful for anonymity online.

The Internet of Elsewhere, new book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Internet-of-Elsewhere/Cyrus-Farivar/e/9780813549620/?itm=1&USRI=the+internet+of+elsewhere

I read the introduction to this book here, which was fascinating.  Hopefully I'll get to read the whole book. It appears to mostly deal with how the internet is a battleground between those who want freedom of information and communication, and the Iranian government that wants to control both.