Fast Change

     In Malcolm Gladwell's Small Change he discusses social activism and the role social media is playing in current social issues. Recently, media has been very supportive of Facebook, Twitter and the impact they have had in current events. One event that Gladwell cites is the student protests in Tehran; many people believe that Twitter had a positive impact in empowering the people of Iran, and helping them organize their demonstrations. Gladwell challenges this view saying, "social media can’t provide what social change has always required." He dissects the civil rights movement of the '60s to establish what made the movement such a success, and then illustrates why current social media does not fit into the mechanism of effective social change.

     Gladwell repeatedly emphasizes two factors he sees as responsible for the success of the civil rights movement. First, he establishes that the movement was like a war machine, it moved with purpose and precision provided by the NAACP. There was a clear line of authority, and the organized hierarchy allowed for effective central planning that made the movement so successful. The second factor Gladwell points out is the activists had what he calls 'strong ties' to the movement and the people around them. This movement, like most progressive social changes, came with lots of risk. People were putting their lives at risk for this cause, and it's because they were strongly tied to the people it effected and the people participating in the activism. Gladwell logically states that if this bond were not there, people would not take the risk.

     According to Gladwell, Facebook and Twitter do not provide a coherent hierarchy or the strong ties necessary to enact meaningful social change. He says these mediums are great at quickly amassing lots of willing participants for social activism that doesn't force you to commit to much, or risk endangering your life in any way, and to a certain degree he's right. Even had Facebook existed over 50 years ago, it would not be responsible for the immense social change we saw in that decade. However, what I believe Gladwell fails to do is recognize the role this social media does play in current activism.

     Much of Gladwell's reading of the situation stems from his view of Facebook and Twitter as groups of disconnected individuals. While social media is focused on enabling the individual, social media also helps establish and connect many small communities. While none of us would leap out of our chair to participate in a dangerous protest we heard about on Facebook, we would certainly tell our friends and family about it. Facebook would help spread awareness to us and people we have strong ties to. While Gladwell's right to say we would not join protests with strangers, we would certainly be inclined to join a friend in protest.

     In Gladwell's breakdown of the civil rights movement he glosses over the mechanism that modern social media plays. He discusses how the network of black churches was critical to the movements success. First, everyone got their weekly gossip on Sunday morning. Your friends, family and neighbors would be talking about everything important happening in the world. Secondly, the church was made up of people you had strong ties to, people you were invested in. Because of the wide network of church, mobilizing support for the movement was easy. The church acted as a recruitment tool. While perhaps you might not have strong ties to members at other churches, your small church community was an important building block.

     If we view Facebook like the network of churches, we can see that it certainly does succeed in providing us information about the world quickly. In doing so, Facebook reaches small communities like your family and close friends. These communities are the building blocks for enacting social change. When Gladwell recognizes that Facebook and Twitter are not directly responsible high risk social activism, he fails to see that they are a catalyst for change. While Facebook will never be a group of tightly knit churches with articulate and disciplined leaders fighting for change, it can spread information to small communities faster than we have ever seen before. Social media allows for all the building blocks of social change at our fingertips, it just doesn't build the machine of effective social change for us.