Practicum Post #6

For my final exploration into online activism, I checked out a popular website called Avaaz.org. Although it specifically is self-described as a site solely devoted to activism, Avaaz is radically different from the other sites I visited, in a variety of ways. The focus of the website is not discussion based, and users are not even able to comment directly on the website. There is also no specific political or one-issue slant. Instead, Avaaz hosts polls and petitions, where users submit issues that could benefit from a large public voice calling for action and change. If a particular user-promoted issue becomes popular, Avaaz will create a petition for the issue on their website, as well as help users organize a campaign to further raise awareness and activism for said issue. They also accept donations that go towards operating the site and funding campaigns. To maximize the effectiveness of issues, they also try to take advantage of timing of issues. An excerpt from their "About Us" page describes this:


"In the life of an issue or a cause, a moment sometimes arises when a decision must be made, and a massive, public outcry can suddenly make all the difference. Getting to that point can take years of painstaking work, usually behind the scenes, by dedicated people focusing on nothing else. But when the moment does come, and the sunlight of public attention floods in, the most crucial decisions go one way or another depending on leaders' perceptions of the political consequences of each option. It is in these brief windows of tremendous crisis and opportunity that the Avaaz community often makes its mark."

Some of the ongoing petitions and issues are no surprise. There is a popular petition page denouncing CISPA, which has nearly seven hundred thousand signatures. There are also petitions and money raising for issues I have never heard of, like the call for European nations to stop all rhino trade, since the demand for rhino parts is causing them to be hunted towards extinction, which has closer to eight hundred thousand signatures.

Even though there is no direct discussion or interaction between community members happening on Avaaz itself, they have a facebook page and twitter. The Avaaz community uses these social media platforms as a way to amplify their voices and help make their issues more visible to others. The facebook page and twitter account both have around three hundred thousand members/followers and information about issues is rapidly shared and discussed.

But the obvious question still remains: does Avaaz have any real influence on the issues they are trying to change? Are they effectively activists, or just an outlet for slacktivism? It seems to me like Avaaz is able to create a certain degree of influence, since they do aggressively send their petition signatures to governmental and corporate bodies who have the most power in changing the issues. For instance, they were able to organize an hour long meeting with White House officials during which they presented signatures and messages from their community denouncing anti-privacy legislation, and the White House soon after condemned the bill. While it is hard to imagine Avaaz was the sole reason for the White House's decision, it appears that they did have some amount of influence, since the government was at least willing to listen to them about an issue they were undecided on. And more importantly, the fact that they took action off the web and in real life adds to the argument that Avaaz is more than just internet slacktivism.