Digital Dissenter

I have never considered myself to be the blogging type. Nor did I particularly enjoy blogging for the sake of a coursework mark (this blog was set up as part of the requirements of my New Media specialisation). While of course I found the topic extremely interesting, there were limits to exactly how I could manage this blog and my opinion, without paying the price in a marking rubric later on.

So, as of now (and the previous post actually), if anyone is still paying attention, I will be posting what I deem to be interesting and relevant. And yes, I may use this as a platform to rant and rave about the types of activism I am most interested in. And yes, that could very well mean that this will become a space dedicated to issues surrounding animal rights activism. You have been warned.

Some of the posts may be completely random. Some may be in-depth commentary that make use of some of my (slightly rusty) journalistic skills. Others may simply share a thought or three. But most importantly, this blog will now be a blog for its own sake, and not for my Bachelor of Journalism degree.

And until something grates my carrot enough to blog about it, that is all. For now.

This is a short video piece that I produced as part of a multimedia exhibition for the Rhodes Organisation for Animal Rights second annual Animal Rights Awareness Week at Rhodes. The video was posted on myvideo.co.za and on Facebook and so far the response has been phenomenal. A Cape Town based animal rights organisation, Beauty Without Cruelty has also asked to use the video in their vegetarian campaigns. I was even stopped on the street by someone who I haven't seen since high school, who had come across the video online and she said that she found it to be incredibly powerful and it even made her decide to start cutting down on her meat consumption. Go Team Animals!

The music is a track called "Everloving" by Moby, and it was taken from the "Earthlings" soundtrack (Earthlings is a full-length feature documentary on the exploitation of animals which is freely available online). The words were taken from a poem written by Anonymous.

Online activism is often charged with making things too easy for people. Most commentators seem to want to cling to a notion of traditional activism as something that requires people to get their hands dirty, to put in the hours screaming the odds outside the headquarters of multinationals and to actually put a bit of sweat blood and tears into a cause. Being able to contribute to a cause by just a few clicks of a mouse just doesn’t seem to qualify as what many of would still like to believe activism should be.

But so what? Is it really that detrimental to activism as a whole to have some people support a cause without ever leaving their homes or their office?

Human beings are a very fickle bunch. And we are becoming increasingly so with the advent of social networking and social media and the growing need to construct and maintain our online personas. It is our preoccupation with image and social profiles that acts as quite a considerable barrier when it comes to getting people to do something.

Just like no one wants to be the first to arrive at a party, no one wants to be the first, or only person to show up at a protest. This is where the notion of mob-mentality comes into successful digital activism.

People expect a lot from activists. Their campaigns are said to be either too commercial or not commercial enough. They're either too broad or too narrow. Too edgy, too offensive. Demanding too much or demanding too little. It's difficult to find a formula that works.

Greenpeace is particularly creative in their approach. They are also very strategic. They are in fact one of the few organisations able to successfully combine on-the-ground activism with the supportive potential of online platforms. The Kit-Kat campaign was run earlier this year and resulted in victory for Greenpeace in less than a month.