February 13, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Neighborhood Activists' Toolkit

Toolkit Home | Getting Started | Organizing | Publicity | Online Activism

ONLINE ACTIVISM

Brooklyn residents opposing the construction of a basketball arena at the Atlantic Yards have been busy passing out flyers stating their position, collecting thousands of signatures from those who agree with them, and attending public meetings and staging protests.

Supporters of the project have adopted similar tactics.

In the midst of the busy debate, Lumi Michelle Rolley has found her role. Every weekday morning when she wakes up, Rolley posts news related to the project on NoLandGrab.org, the Web site that she helps run. Some content relates to the Brooklyn project specifically, some to general issues surrounding building sports arenas, and some even details the public review processes in other places where Bruce Ratner, the developer who wants to build the arena, operates.

Increasingly, activists have taken to the Internet. Putting together a blog like noLandGrab.org or a simple Web site that gives an outline of a group's issue has become easier and cheaper; with more people on the internet it has also become more useful. And while Rolley uses the Internet to collect and present information, others use it for fundraising, to find allies, or to apply political pressure on decision makers.

Rolley sees her job as that of an editor, sorting through news to give other activists and residents a "one-stop portal" about her issue. She has professional experience programming, one of the reasons she decided to get involved in the site. But online activists are not necessarily techies. NoLandGrab.org uses software that allows even novices in computer programming to post; such technology is readily available free of charge. "Especially with the moveable type -- or blog -- format, that's something that pretty much anybody can get started," said Rolley. "As you saw in the election, it added a different level to the political discourse in our nation."

While creating Web sites is useful, some online activists believe that email is an even better tool. In the NetAction.org's online publication the Virtual Activist, it writes that activists should not settle for "passive" internet technologies like Web sites, which require initiative to reach.

"Email is much more widely used than the Web, and is a far more effective tool for outreach," it says. "When you send email, whether it is a private message to one individual or an electronic newsletter to a list with hundreds of subscribers, you are 'pushing' information to other Internet users."

The Virtual Activist recommends that activists collect email addresses from everyone they deal with, and then distribute newsletters, press releases and other printed materials online; it's a quick and cheap way to distribute printed material.

Additionally, some free programs help activists organize online petitions and other types of email campaigns. CitizenSpeak, for example, allows organizations to create form letters that members can send directly to decision makers via email.

TOOLS

RESOURCES FOR ONLINE ACTIVISTS

Virtual Activist A Training Guide This site is a good step-by-step guide to online activism, published by NetAction. This covers the best ways to use email, Web sites, and related issues.

An Activists' Strategy for Effective Online Networking -- TechSoup.org, "the techology place for non-profits", provides an online guide with basic thoughts on using Web sites and email for advocacy. There are also links to a few more articles.

BUILDING WEB SITES

Tripod -- Through this site, visitors can build Web sites using pre-made formats for Web novices or HTML for those who can code themselves. There are also options to create blogs and photo albums.

Geocities -- Yahoo's GeoCities allows members to create simple Web sites using several templates. There are several paid services which allow users to build more complicated sites.

START AN EMAIL CAMPAIGN

-- Email is an easy way to rapidly distribute information to many people, and lends itself to petitions and other campaigns that involve many people. There are various sites that make this process easy:

IPetitions -- After a quick and free signup, visitors to this site can create petitions from a template and circulate them via email. A paid service through the same site gives users more options.

The Petition Site -- This site is sponsored by Care2.com, an online network for activists. Care2.com members (registration is free) can create and send petitions through this Web site in several minutes.

CitizenSpeak -- Citizenspeak allows organizations to have their members email decision-makers directly. After registering with the site for free, visitors can write a form letter that they want to deliver to a public official (or other influential person) and distribute it to people who would be willing to sign on. Each person who receives the letter can add their own message and send it directly to the intended recipient.

ESTABLISH A DISCUSSION GROUP

-- Web sites and email are also easily used by like-minded activists to discuss and debate issues. Message groups make this easy.

Yahoo Groups -- Yahoo allows members to establish message groups. These groups, which are listed in Yahoo's directory, allow members to send emails to everyone at once, facilitating discussion between, for instance, advocates working on a common project.

Care2 Connect Group -- Care2's Connect Groups work similarly to Yahoo's. For free, visitors can establish discussion groups whose discussions will be archived on the Care2 Web site. The site also has more advanced options which cost money.









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