1. Social Media and Political Activism
James Chen
April 6, 2009
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

2. Overview Politics and social media theory Case Studies
The Four C’s of Social Media
Yochai Benkler’s “Networked Public Sphere”
Country-level factors
Case Studies
U.S.: Barack Obama presidential campaign
China: Charter 08, human flesh search engines, cyber-nationalism, Internet censorship
Election campaigns in India and Taiwan
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

3. Politics and Social Media Theory
The Four C’s
Content
Collaboration
Community
Cumulative value
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

4. Politics and Social Media Theory
Yochai Benkler’s “Networked Public Sphere”
The public sphere before social media
Enabling technologies and their effects
What social media changes
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

5. Politics and Social Media Theory
Country-level Factors
Level of Internet and social media adoption
Degree of political openness
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

6. Case Study: United States
Internet and Social Media Adoption
73% of U.S. population is online: 220 million Internet users
60% read blogs, 43% use social networking services, 74% watch online video clips
Political Openness
Wide latitude for political expression and organization
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

7. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

8. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

9. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

10. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

11. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

12. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

13. Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
Houdini Project
Vote tracking database
Real-time updating
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

14. Social Media and the Right
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

15. Social Media and the Right
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

16. Case Study: China Internet and Social Media Adoption
26% Internet penetration rate – 298 million Internet users
54% of netizens are bloggers, 75% use instant messaging, 19% use social networks, 67% view online videos
Political Openness
Limited room for political expression
Tight government control of Internet
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

17. Charter 08 Published on the Internet in December 2008
Call for legal reforms, human rights protections, political freedoms, and democracy
303 original signers, 8,100
additional signatures after
release
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

18. Charter 08 Government Response Arrest of Liu Xiaobo
Police questioning of other signers
Removal of charter text and references online
Current Status
Most Chinese have not heard of Charter 08
No significant follow-up activity
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

19. Human Flesh Search Engines
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

20. Cyber Nationalism
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

21. Internet Censorship Conventional Tactics Blocking Keyword filtering
Modified search results
Updated Tactics
50 cent party
Selective filtering
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

22. Case Study: India Internet and Social Media Adoption
4.5% Internet penetration rate: 49 million Internet users
Most popular social media services: Orkut, YouTube, blogs
Political Openness
Civil and press freedoms enshrined in law, but they are threatened by extremists
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

23. Parliamentary Elections
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

24. Parliamentary Elections
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

25. Parliamentary Elections
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

26. Case Study: Taiwan Internet and Social Media Adoption
66% of population online: 15 million Internet users
Most visited website last year was a blog hosting service. IM, video sharing, and photo sharing are also all popular.
Political Openness
Wide room for political expression and activity since democratic transition.
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

27. Legislative By-election
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

28. Legislative By-election
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government

29. Conclusions Social media’s disruptive potential Local context matters
Social media in closed societies
MSFS 556: Social Media in Business, Development, and Government