Activism by Social Media?

(Community Matters) In the New Yorker (Small Change: Why The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted),  Malcolm Gladwell contends

[Online activism] is simply a form of organizing which favors the weak-tie connections that give us access to information over the strong-tie connections that help us persevere in the face of danger. It shifts our energies from organizations that promote strategic and disciplined activity and toward those which promote resilience and adaptability. It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact. The instruments of social media are well suited to making the existing social order more efficient. They are not a natural enemy of the status quo. If you are of the opinion that all the world needs is a little buffing around the edges, this should not trouble you. But if you think that there are still lunch counters out there that need integrating it ought to give you pause.

I’ve thought about this quite a bit lately – especially as relates to bloggers. It’s fairly easy to criticize and pontificate from the sidelines – and it’s really easy to ignore those blogging by simply not reading their posts.  Granted, when the bloggers motivate and mobilize action, then they become powerful.  Gladwell touches on the sustainability of this action, however.

And, of course, social media is without a doubt an important media form for reporting

I took the quote directly off Andrew Sullivan’s blog.