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By Nirupama Sarma ‘10 Tactics for Turning Information into Action’ is a smart, nifty resource package, loaded with valuable information and links that unlock the doorway to a world where hard data, software technology, creativity and sheer human ingenuity frisson to tell tales of human resilience and struggles for social justice
My response to new media has oscillated between a healthy curiosity and the trepidation of a dinosaur forced to ballet-dance on eggshells. Having worked in development communication for a couple of decades, I am simply more used to the sheer hardiness, the touch-feel tangibility of video, a flip book, a theatre performance. Very different from Web 2.0 where a click of a button throws you into a vast and faceless terrain, one that is real-time, tensile, volatile. My fears were somewhat assuaged recently when I made some tentative segues into this forbidden territory. ‘10 Tactics for Turning Information into Action’ is a smart, nifty resource package, loaded with valuable information and links that unlock the doorway to a brave and inspiring new world – one where hard data, software technology, creativity and sheer human ingenuity frisson to tell tales of human resilience and struggles for social justice. Produced by the Tactical Technology Collective, an international NGO with staff across six different countries including India, the package provides a timely introduction to info-activism, with detailed ‘how-to’ tactics for negotiating a complex virtual world that has come to represent the public domain. The creatively-designed and visually-illustrated package consists of a 50-minute documentary that unpacks a range of tactics within diverse socio-political settings, together with two sets of foldout cards -- one covering the basics of a communication campaign, the other detailing each of the tactics, relevant web resources and the actual how-to of info-activism. The documentary Well-researched, tightly-edited and cogent, the film is an attractive and compelling testimony to the power of new media to record and amplify civil society voices, mobilise communities, and spark social movements. For example, an LGBT group uses Facebook with a “friendless” profile to mobilise and support lesbians while also protecting their anonymity in a conservative society such as Lebanon. In Morocco, an anonymous ‘Targuist Sniper’ uploaded his video recordings of police officers demanding bribes from motorists on YouTube while protecting his identity. The instant and widespread visibility of these videos spurred the state into penalising these officers. Interestingly, soon after, the state instituted the same technology to ensure regular checks on police behaviour. Closer home in India, a young woman used Facebook to launch the Pink Chaddi campaign to counter right-wing groups such as the Ram Sene, successfully mobilising 16,000 members in three days and importantly, providing the urban middle class with an opportunity to respond with some wry humour against right-wing forces. What is inspiring is that many of these efforts have been launched by ordinary citizens who, confronted with a crisis or injustice, resorted to using new alternative media tools to highlight issues, mobilise communities and seek redressal. Take for example, the case of Madagascar where citizens used SMS to report to Foko about military and police violence in their neighbourhoods, which were published on an online map and cross-checked by local bloggers – thus providing real-time and accurate reportage on the crisis which the mainstream media were unable to do. Or take the case of Noha Atef, a young journalist, who actively and persistently blogged on the country’s long-standing history of police brutality and illegal detentions, including one case of a man detained 14 years after he was declared not guilty. Mainstream news media finally picked up this much-neglected issue, amplifying it until this man (and several others in his situation) was freed. Successes notwithstanding, the resource package is not simply a paean to digital sublime and cybergnosis, and provides a much-needed caveat that not all info-activism translates to offline impact, nor necessarily happy endings. Myanmar’s ‘saffron revolution’ was discreetly recorded by citizens through digital and microchip cameras and broadcast through the net, along with blogs on state violation of basic human rights. While this opened the world’s eyes to the atrocities in the little hill country, it only further strengthened the state’s oppressive tactics. Cell phone and net connectivity were immediately cut, and some bloggers were identified and jailed. Similarly, the geo-tagging of the Tunisian President’s official aircraft across 20 different international airports (with 19 of those trips being the first lady’s shopping sprees) was broadcast through YouTube and Daily Motion, bringing shame and ridicule to this official misuse of taxpayers’ money, and invariably being blocked by the government. Integrating these lessons learned, the package traverses rich and diverse genres of popular culture (karaoke videos used by sex workers in Asia), citizen journalism (Neda Agha-Soltan’s death in post-election protests in Iran) and folklore (animated for feminist reinterpretations in Egypt), a blend that reassures with the somewhat familiar, and challenges with the new. Case studies of more ‘traditional’ approaches such as video-for-empowerment co-exist with those using popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and complex and less familiar tools such as Frontline SMS, Squirrelmail and content management systems (CMS) such as Joomla. Some of the terminology can be intimidating, and the much-needed glossary provides simple, jargon-free decoding. The how-to resources A set of foldouts titled ‘Basics’ anchors the rich array of case studies and resources within the package, acting as a Communication 101: the importance of defining clear objectives, segmenting target audiences, developing strategies, creativity sessions to encourage out-of-the-box thinking; monitoring reach and effectiveness. Interesting tools featured here include Google Analytics to track visits to a website, referral links etc, ‘Clikheat’ which provides visual representations of web page sections that are most interesting and effective as action triggers; Feedburner to track subscriptions and increases in popularity over time, Google Alerts to subscribe to syndicated content (RSS). The actual 10 Tactics may seem somewhat simple (such as using humour, amplifying personal stories, visualising information and messages) but what’s invaluable here is the technical guidance on how this can be done in cyberspace. Each of the handouts provides a brief summary of the tactic, an example or case description, new media tools used, additional case studies and links for further learning. Users planning a campaign will find this kind of practical detailing – of the tools used, issue addressed, reach, costs including resources and time, and level of difficulty – extremely useful for designing and selecting tactics based on their specific needs and resources. Being a Luddite I examine more closely the only handout with a case study marked level 1 of 5 in terms of difficulty, and attempt a do-it-yourself operation. The case study is that of ‘flash mobs’ in Belarus organised chiefly through mobiles and the internet. I try the links, but some of them don’t work for me (one is in Belarussian (http://communitylivejournal.com/by_mob), the other is an article from Foreign Policy debating the Twitter revolution in Moldova, and a third link results in a Page-not-found error (http://bit.ly/11hBvm). The difficulty ranking of some new media tools may be debatable -- what ranks as 2 seems more like a 4 to me. I try accessing the resources for the We the Women project, and connect with the New York Times blog on the campaign and sticker photos from Flickr. Easy enough (difficulty ranking of 2 on 5), but the case study does require web design competency of an estimated seven months. I don’t even attempt the 350 International Day of Climate Action, with a difficulty ranking of 3. Notwithstanding some glitches, the package is a unique repository, a seminal contribution to strengthening civil society voices through info-activism. Its potential value to NGOs and activists cannot be over-emphasised, especially given an increasingly corporatised and homogenous media, and the new media promise of democratic and pluralistic spaces within the mainstream domain. Alongside, the package also helps strengthen our understanding of the internet as an increasingly politicised space, with online phenomena such as cybercrime, hacker culture and militancy – a world overloaded by information and multiple players, which must be negotiated strategically. Since its launch in December 2009, 10 Tactics has caught on like wildfire. Over 20,000 plays of the film on Vimeo from 174 countries, more than 22,000 site visitors, 120 film screenings and translations/subtitling into 22 languages mostly on a voluntary basis by an active and rapidly-increasing tribe of techno-activists. Online maps and other tools provide up-to-date information on 10 Tactics events conducted and planned, and testimonials by people representing a range of disciplines such as governance, journalism, development, gender, technology and academia, from the large metros to remote, inaccessible towns in strife-ridden corners of the globe, indicate an exciting and increasing buzz surrounding the film and package. However, if the package’s value is to effectively benefit NGOs and activists, it would necessarily have to be introduced in a workshop setting, with far more hand-holding and guidance than a DIY can provide. TTC representatives indicate that workshop curricula are currently being developed – good news of must-attend workshops to follow! The collective has also developed a host of other toolkits and guides, including more detailed thematic handbooks for digital mapping, mobile advocacy, digital security etc. In keeping with the spirit of the collective, all resources are available for free access on their website -- www.tacticaltech.org. Finally, any discourse on new media and info-activism prompts a volley of fairly predictable questions: can YouTube and Twitter become a voice of the oppressed when basic literacy and access are lacking? Has the case for new media been overstated? While evidence lends support to both sides of the debate, what is indisputable is that the internet today has become a living historical force, a key to understanding, engaging and shaping the social, political and cultural life of the world today. New media and info-activism are critical elements in this blurring of lines between voice and subject, creating alternative and democratic spaces for a multi-voiced gnosis of our world. This package then, stands as a totem pole, a signpost, to the dawn of a new virtual world. (Nirupama Sarma is a Delhi-based communications consultant) Infochange News & Features, July 2010
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