Welcome to my site! I invite you to subscribe/contact me:In line with the class I am in, the existing theme of my blog, and the desire to have a topic that really motivates me to write, I want to highlight the use of, examples of, and characteristics of real change being made through the social web. This could be anything from looking at how a flashmob disrupted (or not) traffic to trying to see if offline components of organization and change still apply online.
I know that components of healthy community building on and offline are probably a big part in social change. Yet, I know there are exceptions. There are on< -->offline community building examples that resulted in social change, not all have. I’m interested in harnessing and trying to bear witness to those components that make community & change possible.
My biggest trouble will be in making sure I write and keep writing. I have a tendency to look up and “research” information more than I need to. After that, I’ll have learned a lot but done nothing to pay it forward via my blog or other online community spaces.
I’m excited to explore this territory. I believe a loose definition of change will allow me to explore smaller Ning communities, online fundraising efforts by nonprofits on Twitter, as well as intense social organization that leads to riots and other momentous “on-the-ground” change.
I’m sure a bit of research is in order but I’ve always struggled with the place of the “academic” online. Any suggestions on managing the balance between online sources and the occasional academic paper that ends up being way less accessible?
Justin,
I think this is exactly the right place to bridge the considerable gap between the academic and the social in terms of information sharing. Sometimes I feel as if we live in two completely separate worlds… the Harvard Business Review, and, uhh… Reality TV online. So maybe some translation is in order. My experience is that academic papers feel frequently inaccessable because of their perhaps deliberate aim for a narrow audience. But true social transformation requires that groundbreaking ideas are accessable to all. Translate for us! Maybe one paper a week, giving credit in terms of source, and distilled into something that real people can USE?
Posted by Bonnie J. Wallace | October 27, 2009, 4:04 pmAs we are being taught, people scan before they read. In fact, that’s how I look at research articles I might need for academic pursuits. In the short attention span that comes with the internet territory, there has to be considerable effort to get certain points across in just a couple seconds. Rarely does a post get a full read, a trend that is exaggerated online.
I remember back when I was a young one trying to blog, my big “it” ideas was to write posts that were rooted in real academic rigor, cited all of its sources (both online and off), but still offered it up in a digestible way. I learned that while I think people enjoyed the entries, it wasn’t worth my time. I also ended up posting things akin to academic papers instead of blog posts (annoying to any casual reader).
So to your point…I think the purpose online is to contribute to a continuing conversation. The online world and sometimes tight online communities do not function well if individuals only display their thoughts and theories for all to see. The modern day Harvard Business Review article is formed via multiple posts interlinked to each other on similar but slightly different topics. My translation will probably be more in this form, trying to serve as one of the center “nodes” that connect previously unconnected big ideas. That is what opportunity looks like online. If I do seek out academic articles or books to summarize or “translate” as you put it , I will have to challenge myself to keep contributing to the conversation by finding that author’s blog, a review on Amazon, or something that keeps the conversation connected online.
The academic world feels forced to me. Which I think produces some important results, but I do not think that arena is where the knowledge of the future is located.
Thanks for giving me a lot to think about Bonnie!
Posted by Justin Fenwick | October 31, 2009, 8:37 am