Empowerment through Web 2.0

When people talk about Web 2.0, many immediately associate it with social networking web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, blogs, etc., but do not link it with a concrete instrumental purpose. Because of this, I found it especially fascinating in this week’s assigned reading that many oppressed regions and groups have been using Web 2.0 communications to empower their communities.

One particular point of interest is flash mobs. For any readers out there who aren’t already aware, a flash mob is “a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an act for a brief time, and then disperse.” (Thank you, Wikipedia for that fine definition.) In countries that have strict, repressive communication policies such as Internet monitoring, secret police, and so forth it can be very difficult for citizens to exercise free speech or peacefully protest against government. This is where new communication technology such as text messaging and mobile applications comes into play. These applications allow masses to assemble very quickly with little “tracked” planning efforts and allow citizens to participate in protests.

These flash mob protests lead me to examine protesting in the past and potential for the future. It is likely that previous rights movements, such as for women’s rights or civil rights, would have advanced much more quickly with the organizational tools that are available today. Even in the introduction scenario of the Shirky text regarding the crusade to get back a lost cell phone demonstrates how information can now “go viral,” whereas in the past everything was dependent on word of mouth. I can only imagine the innovative ways in which groups will take advantage of this technology in the future, and adversely, the measures government will take to combat it.

And just for fun, take a look at this YouTube video of a flash mob of more than 200 dancers in the Central Station of Antwerp Belgium. If you read the caption, you will learn that this was a promotional stunt for a Belgian television program. How would you have reacted if you had been there?