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Advocacy and the Internet (Part 4 of 4)

 
Submitted by Carol L. Glasser on Aug 10, 2010 |


The internet significantly influences the tactics that animal protection organizations use and the ways in which those tactics are implemented. The internet is now a mainstream part of American life, with 71% of U.S. adults accessing it on a daily basis1. Social networking sites like Facebook, online petitions that automatically generate letters for campaigns, and speedy access to a large number of people via email lists are all tools unique to the internet. For animal advocates who are typically working on a shoestring budget, the internet helps level the playing field.

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Other parts in this blog series:
Part 1: Defining Tactics
Part 2: Attitudes Toward Social Movement Tactics
Part 3: Shock Advocacy
According to Laura Stein, author of a 2009 study examining the role the internet plays for social movement organizations, the internet serves six major functions: 1) providing information, 2) facilitating action and mobilization, 3) supporting interaction and dialogue between movement supports and social movement organizations, 4) fostering lateral linkages (links from the organization to other information such as news, research and other organizations), 5) creative expression, and 6) fundraising.

Stein found that among the organizations she studied, most of these features were underutilized. The most utilized was providing information, with this being employed on organizational websites at a moderate to high level in only 55% of the organizations studied.

Although we know how social movement organizations are using the internet, we do not know if it is an effective tool. The internet is relatively new to social movement organizing and so studies have not yet been conducted to measure its efficacy for achieving movement goals. Though it is clear that a lot of information can be posted on websites and can reach a wide audience, it is not clear if this leads people to take action. It may be that the information directs people to ways that they can help animals.

However, there may also be a saturation effect, whereby people see animal abuse images and information so frequently that it stops affecting them. Further, spending so much time online might take away from time people would have spent engaging in other social movement activities such as volunteering, outreach, or protesting.

Because the internet is a relatively new tool, animal advocates need to be diligent to utilize it in the most effective way possible. We need to focus on its potential to disseminate information quickly and allow our social networks to grow stronger. At the same time, we also need to remember to log off and get out when needed.

Now let us know what you think. What are your experiences using the internet for animal advocacy? Is the internet a friend or foe to the animal protection work you do?


1. Pew Internet and American Life Project (2009).
http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data/Online-Activities-Daily.aspx



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I have a marketing

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2010-09-05 13:25.
I have a marketing background so my orientation to using the internet as an activism tool is based on my work in driving traffic and visibility of web sites to targeted audiences. In this sense the potential for reaching a broader audience is like no time ever in the past. If we do a good job at search optimizing the site and utilizing the social networks, we can have great results that are easily measurable. It still takes a lot of work and creative thinking to get the results though. The quality of the content is the next big hurdle. To answer the question, those who benefit most from the internet are those who have a solid marketing strategy coupled with quality content. CONTENT DRIVES TRAFFIC. In this sense, it is not so much a question of who wins, the animal advocacy side or the stronger opposing sides, but who, either as individuals or organizations, are most successful at delivery the equation of content and marketing strategy.
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"What are your experiences

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2010-08-28 10:14.
"What are your experiences using the internet for animal advocacy? Is the internet a friend or foe to the animal protection work you do?" As a web-based animal advocate (who also does advocacy offline) I believe the web is a fantastic resource for activism when done well. I run a website called Vegan Soapbox and I regularly receive emails and comments that say the website helped web users go vegan or stay vegan. Just like any form of activism, though, effective web advocacy requires knowledge and skills. I highly encourage anyone serious about web activism to learn about marketing.
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Who makes better use of the internet?

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2010-08-11 09:24.
Another way to frame this question, which may be of use, would be to ask who gains more from the internet. Perhaps activists benefit from the internet but not as much as the industries we are working against. If that were the case, the internet would represent a net loss for activists. Tools like the internet are available to both sides of this struggle and its important to consider who is able to make better use of them...as opposed to simply whether or not they are useful.
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