Here is a very fine piece by Bernhard Warner, a freelance journalist and media consultant, appearing in the UK's TimesOnline. Entitled, "Social protesters stand up to Microsoft," it's actually about online social media protests in general, with Mircosoft being used as a recent example in the context of a broader point Mr. Warner is making. That point, I believe, in his own words, is this:
With the likes of Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace, activists have never had such powerful tools to mobilise the masses to protest. In an instant, online users can join a revolt today in Caracas, yesterday in Myanmar and tomorrow, perhaps, in Redmond... The customers are speaking. Shareholders should listen.
Mr. Warner's piece is rich in details of other recent online protests. It all leads me to believe that in the near future there will be more online protests; they will happen faster; they will involve many more people than you might expect to get at an actual march; and, that social media will likely drive a new age of more universal activism by people who have been otherwise powerless or voiceless or invisible heretofore. Makes for some interesting speculation, doesn't it?
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