The A Spot

Two recent articles caught my eye - using small, flash memory sticks to transmit viral videos in Cuba and the use of SMS in Zimbabwe for election and voter advocacy. In both cases citizens are making use with the technologies on hand and not relying on overly burdensome or complex systems they would have to create and maintain themselves. There is great potential in people making do with the types of technologies that already exist. What do these examples tell us about the potential for cyber activism in other countries with repressive regimes? How can we help community based advocates develop the most compelling campaigns, collect the information they need, understand their target audiences, craft their message and use tools such as these in their campaigns?

ZIMBABWE: Election campaigns go hi-tech

BULAWAYO, 5 March 2008 (IRIN) - Savvy text messaging and cheeky ring tones are the new face of cost-effective political campaigning in Zimbabwe in the run up to the 29 March election, despite the creakiness of country’s cell phone networks. (more…)

I found this article by Laura Miller of Salon.com a fascinating look at how advocacy works in communities where civil order breaks down — as Miller puts it, whether you’re talking about “Afghanistan, Somalia, or the South Side of Chicago.”

The piece is an extended book review of Sudhir Venkatesh’s inside look at inner city housing projects, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes To The Streets. Venkatesh spent seven years following a Black Kings gang leader through the Robert Taylor Homes, the largest housing project in the United States. His account documents how when civil services are unavailable and ostensibly “legitimate” authority figures are unable or unwilling to act on behalf of their constiuents, all sorts of informal power structures will emerge. Citizens come to rely on back-door connections and unspoken agreements to advocate for their needs.

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