Social Media Activism
The Future of #Euromaidan and Beyond
#Euromaidan is the Twitter hashtag informally given to the demonstrations currently taking place within Ukraine. The name first appeared on Twitter, stemming from the population’s desire to adapt a lifestyle more similar to countries in the European Union. It’s true, you’ve probably heard about the revolutions taking place. You can thank social media. #Euromaidan has been passed around instantaneously on Twitter and Facebook since early November 2013, creating worldwide topics of interest. In Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, the first wave of demonstrations managed to oust President Viktor Yanukovych and his fellow officials. With the demonstrations ongoing and the President resigned, the rest of the planet has been left to question the motive behind Ukrainian protesters. Euromaidan points to a controversy with many dimensions, suggesting political injustice, human rights violations, and government misuse in Ukraine. One thing is certain, without the Internet #Euromaidan would have not escalated as quickly as it did and the country of Ukraine would not be questioning where citizens are likely to go next.
Common knowledge suggests that social media has played a major component in the formation of protests and outbreaks in Kiev and other cities worldwide. Soon enough, tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will be the reason revolutions are capable of surviving in autocratic governments and stratified societies. Not only are citizens relying on their smartphones for up-to-minute information, but they are expressing the word of protest themselves to friends and family online. Many people have tried to examine social media in its ability to escalate protest, yet they have leaned toward it being capable of only sharing irrelevant photographs and overused memes. None of these accounts seem to establish the reality of social media as a tool for revolution success in the future. The Euromaidan movement itself demonstrates two characteristics which may help to explain this confusion.
- Euromaidan is demonstrating the importance of weak-tied Internet connections.
- Euromaidan is acknowledging online influences from international communities.
It is acceptable to say the Internet has evolved into a place where highspeed sharing results in the instantaneous exchange of knowledge and ideas. The bittersweet problem that comes with this is that some ideas may never make their way to the physical world. It is too easy to tweet an idea and not act in person. In reality though, that is an ignorant misinterpretation. Euromaidan itself has evolved from these same exchanges of shares and tweets which have all progressed into physical protest.
Malcolm Gladwell, journalist for The New Yorker and The Washington Post writes in an essay titled “Small Change” his deduction of this idea. He also writes of the importance of weak-tied connections between friends and family online. In this piece Gladwell states, “There is strength in weak ties…our acquaintances—not our friends—are our greatest source of new ideas and information. The Internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvellous efficiency”. Gladwell is accurate in the concept of revolutionary ideas and not only does he explain a benefit of the Internet, but he also hints at the continual success of weak-tied connections online. Examples of the latter will be continually demonstrated in social media in order to propel movements in the coming years.
We can agree that weak tied connections are the future of Internet activism and social media positively exaggerates their significance. Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, employees of Google, recently published a book titled “The New Digital Age” in which they share their ideas of Internet use in the coming years. In this piece, they unknowingly mention the importance of Internet-based weak ties. These same ties are the ones Gladwell only associates with citizens who prefer to remain uninvolved online. Schmidt and Cohen are able to refute the importance of weak ties by stating:
“But today, and even more so in the future, multifaceted technological platforms will allow some to participate full time while others contribute on their lunch breaks”.
Schmidt and Cohen adequately summarize the reality of the Internet today. The value of being able to contribute to a cause as needed is quite efficient and has even proven successful with today’s Euromaidan protests.
Weak ties not only get word out easier, but they can physically contribute to movements taking place. Olga Onuch from The Washington Post demonstrates this by stating:
“We have noticed a pattern whereby a sign or slogan first goes viral on Facebook, and then seems to show up more often in protester signs … first impressions point to an “Internet-to-the-streets” directionality of claims and framing of demands”.
Not only does this information from Euromaidan point to the validity of weak ties online and their effectiveness in years to come, but it also reinstates the idea that protesters on the street will participate based on what they learn from social media sites.
An article from the TechPresident blog reinstates this by talking of protesters documenting the brutality of Ukrainian government forces to make Euromaidan “globally broadcasted”. Social media makes it easy for protesters to share pictures and videos online where they are able to spread word of the movement. More importantly, they will be able to do it all while still fulfilling their hectic modern lives. The Internet is making it easier for revolutions to get started as well as make their way to physical protest, proving that weak ties online contribute to far more than a share or retweet.
When examining Euromaidan alongside social media, we mustn’t overlook the influences of outsiders on social movements in the future. Everywhere we turn online, there are ideas, beliefs, and misinterpreted information provided by others. This input, as we’ve established, is what helps to propel movements forward. Schmidt and Cohen mention this more specifically in regards to activism by stating:
“Countries that have not yet had their first big protest in the new digital age will experience it on a global scale, with the world watching and potentially exaggerating its significance”.
Not only will the world be watching, but it will be participating in the movement itself. Euromaidan statistics have proven this to be true. In fact, more than 50% of tweets in recent months under the hashtag #Euromaidan were written in English. Strangely enough English is understood to be a universal language crucial to international success, leading me to believe that Euromaidan is positively taking place on a global scale.
Euromaidan would not be possible without the help of people all over, clicking away on social media websites. Barberá and Metzger explain this notion by stating:
“Our numbers do not suggest that Ukrainians are tweeting less than during other high-volume days, but instead that their numbers are being augmented by a much larger population of users from the international community”.
Thanks to social media, the world wide web is propelling the Euromaidan protests forward. Perhaps through exaggeration, the outside world is enabling positive support structures in the protests taking place within Ukraine. These same systems will surely be used in future movements.
It is clear that social media from around the globe enables movements to progress more easily however, journalist Malcolm Gladwell may opt to decide against its integrity. Unsurprisingly, he mentions very little on the significance of the Internet as a tool for organizing activism. So far Euromaidan has otherwise proven the Internet a useful tool for decades to come.
Gladwell implies that those influencing the movement from the outside are limited in their ability to help because they can only participate so much. I quote him from “Small Change” when stating: “But how did the campaign get so many people to sign up? By not asking too much of them. That’s the only way you can get someone you don’t really know to do something on your behalf”. But asking little is not the only way to get people involved.
It is apparent from many news sources that people from the international community on Euromaidan are becoming physically and emotionally invested in the progression of the movement. A news article examining the effect of outsiders on protest, mentions the importance of creating online connections in an attempt to spread information to the international community. Take for instance the demonstrations currently taking place in Cairo, with a situation similar to Ukraine. According to Neil Ketchely from The Washington Post, “Social media facilitates the diffusion of these new tactics, allowing for protesters in Cairo to follow the activities of their comrades in governorates and vice versa. If a new tactic is especially effective, protesters from other areas will travel to see it in action first-hand”.
We have already established that international communities only help to propel movements forward. With the forefronts of social media at our fingertips, movements such as those in Cairo and Kiev, will only prove much quicker and more innovative with outsider help. In fact, a poll from Ukraine showed the about 49.8% of protesters involved are residents of Kiev whereas the other 50.2% have come from other parts. Communities from the outside world will undoubtedly continue making action on the ground smoother while providing connections to protesters online. In this way, Malcolm Gladwell has disregarded the reality of humanity and their willingness to provide support on a globalized scale.
In the months to come it will prove interesting to see how #Euromaidan unravels through the help of social media. Not only will the international community prove wholeheartedly involved online but they will help to spread information through the use of hashtags, heartfelt YouTube videos, and Facebook posts from insider protests. It is certain that protesters in the coming months will rely heavily on the use of Internet to get ahold of friends and family, find out more about organized protesting events, and receive regularly updated information regarding Ukrainian government.
The years to come will increasingly deem the necessity of Internet connections. Through the help of people around the globe, social movements will become increasingly easier start and especially easier to organize. From the support of outside sources revolutionists will escalate rapidly as in the creation of Facebook pages for Euromaidan. Not only will these individuals provide a backbone to the movement, but they will round up information from international onlookers to rev the significance of the movement.
In a perfect world, we imagine all nations united as one. Essentially the Internet and social media in the future will enable just that. Those who are unwilling to participate in autocratically controlled societies will require the help of individuals who have already undergone similar transitions. Perhaps the Internet will enable a domino effect to occur. Maybe it will be the outcome of people who constantly tweet their viewpoints on Twitter without knowledge of the situation. Perhaps revolutions will remain relevant for those who constantly voice their opinion on Facebook pages they know little about. Either way, movements in the future will rely heavily on the use of social media just as in #Euromaidan, which we are watching unroll live from Ukraine.
