TechChange to Host Digital Organizing Twitter Chat on Friday April 27th

Moving forward from online ‘awareness-raising’, in which over 85 million people viewed their video Kony 2012, Invisible Children is now asking their supporters for something more – offline action. Regardless of your position on the efficacy and appropriateness of the campaign, the upcoming Cover the Night will be an important event in the short history of digital activism. How will Invisible Children translate a resounding marketing success into tangible action? What does this mean for the greater advocacy community?

As a precursor to our course on digital organizing and good governance, TechChange plans to host an open twitter chat to reflect on the campaign and its successes and approaches to date.

Date: Friday 27th at 1:00pm EDT

Key Questions:

1.  One of the biggest criticisms of Kony2012 was that it oversimplified the history of conflict in central africa and the mechanisms needed to create change in the region. How do organizations handle conflicting demands of delivering a message in an accessible way vs attending to complexity and nuance of an issue?

2.  Invisible children was clear that Kony2012 Cover the Night was not intended for policymakers or for affected communities in central africa, it was targeted towards US based activists. Should organizations/campaigns segment or customize messages and actions for different target audiences and how might they do this effectively?

3. Kony2012 proved the power of viral video in getting the attention of tens of millions of people. How do organizations successfully translate online activity into meaningful offline action? how do they sustain success?

Hashtag: #TCTalk

Be sure to participate in the chat by logging on twitter on Friday April 27th between 1 and 2pm EDT. Please remember: use the #TCTalk hashtag, introduce yourself, stay on topic, be respectful and have fun. This discussion will be part of TechChange’s monthly twitter chat, which are real-time conversations structured around specific themes.

Have a question but can’t attend the chat?
Mention @TechChange before the chat with any questions you have or issues you are interested in exploring – or just comment right here on TechChange Blog. We’ll do our best to include this feedback in the chat.

Sample Tweet: Join @TechChange for a twitter chat discussing #Kony2012  and Digital #activism on April 27th 1-2pm. Use #TCTalk http://bit.ly/JcwMm9

Interested in continuing the conversation further and engaging with other activists across the globe? Be sure to check out TechChange’s upcoming online certificate course, TC104 Global Innovations for Digital Organizing: open data, good governance, and online/offline advocacy. This course will evaluate case studies where new technologies have been employed for effective change and what factors and contexts are most influential on outcomes. More information can be found at TC104 course description page on the TechChange website.