CYBER ACTIVISM

CYBER-ACTIVISM also known as digital campaign, digital activism, online organizing, electronic advocacy, e campaigning, e-activism and internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, especially face book and Twitter, You Tube, Yahoo mail, My space, Pod casts and others for various forms of activism to enable faster communications by citizen movements and the delivery of local information to a large audience. Internet technologies are used for cause related fundraising, community building lobbying, and organizing, political campaign, marketing, buying and selling.

Sandor (2011) divides cyber activism into three main categories, they are;

         I.            Awareness or advocacy

      II.            Organization or mobilization

   III.            Action or reaction.

The concepts of organization/mobilization, for example, can refer to activities taking place solely online, solely offline but organized online or a combination of online and offline, the concept of awareness/advocacy entails, distribute news, email message, reporting atrocity to the outside world, emailing petition and asking people to pass them on e.g. The concept of action/reaction encompass active participatory communication between groups, gathering protest. Cyber activisms have considerable potential to reach and engage opinion leaders who influence the thinking and behavior of others. The internet is a key resource for independent activist or cyber activist, particularly those whose message may run counter to the mainstream.

“Especially when a serious violation of human rights occur, cyber activism is essential in reporting the atrocity to the outside world”. Cyber activism in the words of Kleinfeild (2011)

“Cyber activism connect all sides of issues, not just an ideologically broad anti -war constituency, from the left of an answer to the pressed for time ‘soccer moms’ who might prefer move on, and conservative activism as well”. According to the institute for politics Democracy and the internet, cyber activism, what they call “online political citizens”

Cyber activism is a major opportunity to improve exchange of information and ideas throughout the world. The profound opportunities of participation in sphere of issues, programme and events as there to recruit and communicate with more users’, cyber activism provide technique to increase support for belief causes, positively influence their desire public image, influence opinion within groups and to push for policy change.

SOCIAL NETWORKING MEDIA:

The term networking refers to a set of communication links for connecting a collection of terminal, computers, telephones, printers several other types of data communication and data handling devices. The internet is a collection of global computer networking linkage together with the same computer languages accessible through direct link and online information services such as the “Social network Media” Platforms

According to Kaplan (2010) social networking media is “a group of internet based application that build on the ideological and technological foundation of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content” In other word social network media are social software which play role in human communication, exchange of information and respectively create one on one interaction. In the year 2012, social network media became one of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms like face book and Twitter. It is evidently opened that when the techniques are in place, social network media is ubiquitously accessible, and enabled by scalable communication techniques.

   By Mbogo Tausi

      BAPRM 42611