[BLOG] A guide to tweeting for peace and Social Change
Since its founding in 2006, Twitter has rapidly grown to be one of the most powerful online platforms for connecting hundreds of millions of individuals and organizations around the world. While the estimates vary, Twitter estimates they have over 100 million active monthly users of the platform and almost 500 million registered Tweeters, with several hundred million tweets sent per day (seehttp://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-statistics-2012_b18914) . The service is experiencing exponential growth and has rapidly changed the Internet (see the bottom of the guide for an infographic that has more detailed info/stats on Twitter).
This resource guide provides an introduction to Twitter, discuss the role it can and has played in peacebuilding and social change and offers key resources to begin actively using the platform. Over the past few years, Twitter has rapidly become a powerful tool for connecting social activists fostering political reform and change in many regions of the world. From the Arab spring countries, to Occupy Wall Street in the US, to how individuals inform and connect on serious issues such as organizing political movements, documenting resistance, reporting on violence, to more lighthearted uses such as connected groups around common issues, ranging from education to humor, Twitter has and will continue to have a tremendous impact. It is important to note Twitter is part of the larger movement of using mobile tools for social tools, such as the field of crisis mapping (http://crisismappers.net/ a separate PCDN guide should be forthcoming soon on this field).
WHAT IS TWITTER?
Before getting into specifics, first it is important to define some of the key terms related to Twitter. According to the company, “Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting.” The central aspect of Twitter are Tweets, which are similar to SMS messages of less than 140 characters and can contain text, links, pictures and other media. While 140 characters might sound absurdly short, a Single Tweet by a high profile Tweeter (someone who does the Tweeting) can reach the world within a few minutes and have and possibly mobilize millions to take action and/or put pressure on cause a government, company or some other institution to change their unjust actions.
HOW DOES TWITTER WORK?
Anyone who has Internet access can setup a Twitter Account by going to Twitter.com and registering (it is free and only takes a few minutes). A Tweet can be written online via the Twitter Platform, via a Twitter client or Software program on a smartphone or computer or via many other means (a summary of some key programs is provided below).
The key feature of Twitter is that it provides a real time means of communicating with the world. Once a user has an account, she can then find users who are tweeting on topics of interest, such as peace, politics, food, Bollywood movies, music, and much more. One of the most useful aspects of Twitter is that users can be constantly surprised and find new Twitter Friends and sources of news, inspiration and fun.
One of the most powerful features of Twitter is that any user can “Retweet” or repost instantaneously in a second a “Tweet” that is compelling. When a user Retweets the message is distributed to all of the user’s followers and this can create a chain that sends a particular Tweet viral and go from 100 people reading to 1 million in a short time frame.
Users can also create lists of Tweeters who Tweet on similar topics to help organize access to information. A newer trend is creating Twibes, which is “..a group of Twitter users with a common interest” http://blog.twibes.com/twitter-tools/what-is-a-twibe
A key organizing feature of Twitter is the use of Hashtags which Twitter defines as "The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages." When posting a Tweet using the # symbol to highlight key topics is key for helping to attract greater interest in a post.
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION OF TWITTER TO PEACE AND SOCIAL CHANGE?
A key question is can a single Tweet create peace? While it is unlikely that one tweet will create sustainable peace, one posting can go viral and create significant pressure on a regime, company or other institution to pay attention and take corrective action.
There are countless examples of how Twitter has helped to Tweet for Change. However, there is there is a very healthy debate in the field, where some scholars and activists believe Twitter and other online platforms do not have much of an impact. They are critical of the lazy person’s approach to social change by clicking or Retweeting at a computer instead of doing the long-difficult work needed to create an impact. For example, as Malcolm Gladwell comments, “This revolution will not be Tweeted.” On the other hand, there are countless organizations and individuals that are effectively using Twitter as a tool for new forms of organizing, connecting and creating change. Twitter has curated a collection of stories where the platform has had a tremendous positive impact on individuals, communities and the world (see http://stories.twitter.com/). Examples include Wael Ghonim a prominent activist in the Egyptian revolution who was imprisoned after and a global campaign for his release took place largely through Twitter and other social networks. Upon his release Ghonim stated “"If you want to liberate a government, give them the Internet."
For a wonderful report exploring the debate about the “Twitter Revolutions” see USIP’s report, Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics
Other powerful examples of the impact of Twitter include:
? Chris Strouth who Tweeted he needed a kidney and found a donor
? In Kenya, Village Leader Francis Kariuki uses Twitter to stop crime
? Tweeting for Peace could have a big impact on relations between Pakistan and Indira or other conflicted regions
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HAVE INFLUENCE ON TWITTER?
There is no single recipe for how to have influence on Twitter. One of the key factors is how many followers a user has. But what is almost equally important is how many users Retweet a user’s original Tweet. Thus a user with 1000 followers who posts a Tweet which many of her followers Retweet may have a bigger impact than a user with a much larger number of followers.
Some of the world’s top politicians, celebrities and others have over a million or more followers. For example the musician Lady Gaga has over 23 million followers, while Shakira has almost 16 million (see the top Tweetershttp://twittercounter.com/pages/100). With both musicians actively engaged in social projects, anti-bullying, education and other initiatives a single Tweet can have a big impact. Of course many Tweets are simple fun, or not designed to have an impact or there are also spammers as well.
TOP TWEETERS TO CONSIDER FOLLOWING on PEACE, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL CHANGE and RELATED FIELDS
The following is a list of some of PCDN’s favorite Tweeters to follow. It would be very difficult to post a complete list of all the Tweeters posting high quality information so this list is intended as a starting point. Please feel free to also add your own suggestions.
1) @PCDNetwork - news, networking, careers and resources 4 individuals/orgs in intl affairs, development, peacebuilding, social change and related fields.
2) @Masterpeace2014 - Grass Roots #Peace Movement! Empowering People From All Over The #World To Use Their Talents To start Creating #Peace. Together.
3) @SocialEdge - Global online community by social entrepreneurs, for social entrepreneurs.
4) @Ning - Ning lets you easily create a social network for just about any purpose.
5) @NickKristof - New York Times columnist, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, co-author@Half the Sky.
6) @mrsimoncohen - Founder of @globaltolerance. Champion of media ethics & communications with conscience.
7) @OpenSociety- The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.
8) @Ashoka - Ashoka is an international citizen-sector organization which is leading the way to an Everyone a Changemaker World.
9) @SFCG_ - Search for Common Ground - global peacebuilding NGO headquartered in Washington DC
10) @USIP - Created by Congress, the independent U.S. Institute of Peace works to prevent, mitigate and resolve international conflict through nonviolent means.
11)? @ushahidi- We are a non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software for information collection,visualization and interactive mapping.
12)? @SkollFoundation - Driving large-scale change by investing in, connecting, & celebrating social entrepreneurs & innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems
13)@GlobPeaceIndex - The Global Peace Index aims to go beyond a crude measure of wars and systematically explore the texture of peace.
14) @globalvoices- Calling attention to the most interesting conversations and perspectives emerging from citizen media around the world.
15) @AWID - Association for Women's Rights in Development: Strengthening the voice, impact and influence of women’s rights advocates, organizations and movements globally
16)@ThePCFF - Israeli and Palestinian Bereaved Families Supporting Peace, Reconciliation and Tolerance.
17) @Love_Forgive - The Fetzer Institute's Campaign for Love & Forgiveness encourages bringing these practices into the heart of individual & community life. Converse. Take Action.
18)@rotary - Official Twitter page for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, an organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, & community leaders.
19) @TechChange - We train leaders to use tech for sustainable social change. #ICT4D#EdTech and much more.
20)@AfPeacebuilding - The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) is a coalition of diverse organizations & professionals working together to build sustainable peace and security worldwide.
21)@EmmanuelJAL - I do not know how to start or end this bio, but just to put it short, I am an ex child soldier turned into a recording artist.
22)@JaredCohen - Director of Google Ideas & Adjunct Senior Fellow at CFR. Author of the books Children of Jihad, One Hundred Days of Silence, & forthcoming The New Digital Age
23) @Gens_for_peace- Generations For Peace is using sport for peace building by empowering volunteer youth leaders in communities experiencing conflict.
Top TWITTER TOOLS:
1) Twitter.com – Twitter site that provides all features.
2) There are many Twitter Clients that can be used on computers and/or smartphones.
1. Top Twitter Clients offers useful reviews of most popular tools - http://twitter-client-review.toptenreviews.com/
2. A list of Top Twitter Clients 2012 - http://windmillnetworking.com/2012/01/31/top-20-twitter-clients-2012/
This guide is intended only as a starting point. Please feel free to tell your stories about the impact of Twitter in your work, your favorite Twitter Client, and much more.
CHALLENGES
Apart from the debate about the impact of Twitter on social change, as described earlier, there are also some other key considerations to consider when using Twitter.
? Overconnectedness - There is increasing research that being connected 24 hours a day (or close to this) can be addictive and take a tool on sleep as well as a person's mental/emotional health. Similar to Email (but scaled exponentially), Twitter is constantly being updated and it is impossible to stay up to date. Thus it is recommended to set Twitter free time to stay focused on important professional and personal activities. For wonderful work in this area, see the groundbreaking work of Wisdom 2.0 Conference and Network
? Oversharing - Some people use Twitter only as a a professional tool, while others share their daily lives and combining both is possible. It is important to reflect how one wants to user Twitter and also if personal activities are posted to think through what is posted and that it can be distributed to the world. It may be useful if one works for an organization to have a separate professional and personal Twitter Account
? Who Owns a Tweet - Organizations should develop media policies regarding Tweeting. Recently there was a court case in which a person who left a company was sued by his former employer over who owned former employees Twitter Account and more importantly the followers.
HOW TO FIND INTERESTING TWEETERS TO FOLLOW?
There are several main ways to find Tweeters to follow. The first, is if a user has a friend or institution that she would like to follow on Twitter it is possible to search Twitter and find the account (Twitter accounts are written with the @sign. For example the Twitter Account for PCDN is @pcdnetwork and can also be accessed athttps://twitter.com/#!/pcdnetwork). To follow a user go to the profile page on Twitter and click on follow. Second, Twitter provides some general categories such as Music, News, and Food that can help to identify interesting Tweeters. Third, Twitter also has wonderful suggestions for accounts to follow based on a user’s particular interests. For example, if a user starts following Twitter Accounts from leading news outlets such as Al Jazeera English or AlertNetTwitter will recommend other key news sources.
HOW CAN A USER GET OTHERS TO FOLLOW HER ACCOUNT?
One of the key ways to start attracting a healthy number of Twitter followers is to create a clear and compelling profile page (which is a user’s public profile). Second, to post regularly updates about key news, events, inspiring news stories, etc. It is important to experiment and find a Tweeter identity as one gets comfortable with the platform.
Be Sociable, Share!
Follow us on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/africabizz
https://twitter.com/Quantusbabes
This article was originally posted on Sustainable Development Africa Platform