ONLINE ACTIVISM

Zoos Victoria

 

Rebecca Levy, General Manager Community Conservation, Monday 26th May 2014

 

We spoke to Rebecca Levy about the successful 'Don't Palm Us Off' Campiagn and the role that social media played.

 

How do you structure an online campaign? Can you identify a process?

 

Our online campaigning is generally part of a broader campaign with face-to-face at its heart. We have three zoos that see more than 2 million people each year so this should predominantly be our basis for a campaign. We use our zoos and our animals to connect people to a specific animal, help them understand the issue that is threatening them and then we use this to inspire action. We use the basic principles of community based social marketing to remove as many barriers as possible to taking an action. The action needs to be specific, measurable and meaningful to the issue behind the particular wildlife threat. Online is one way we provide an action that is simple, targeted and measurable.

 

From your experience, what processes have not been as successful?

 

Anything where there are more than three steps to the action. It becomes too tenuous and onerous. People have limited time online and the browsing behaviour means that you need to make an action as easy as possible. Also, if you don't have an emotional and powerful communications piece (such as our first Don't Palm us Off ad) or a unique and emotional animal encounter (such as with our orangutans and Melbourne Zoo), it is often hard to drive people to online. Having something purely online requires something highly creative, shareable and not seen before. Getting something viral is actually a lot of work and often a lot of luck.

 

What are the best technologies or online platforms for raising awareness of issues? What function of that site assists an online campaign?

 

Facebook and twitter are great for sharing campaigns but it is our custom-built sites that work (such as specific campaign action pages as well as the Zoopermarket).

 

What tangible offline change has resulted from your campaigns? Do you think online platforms/social media sites initiated this change or did it simply contribute to raising awareness? How so?

 

We have had massive results with Don't Palm us Off. The first stage generated a petition signed by 163,000 Australians calling on the government to implement mandatory labeling.  Before we had this petition, we could not get any meetings from politicians. As soon as we had the data, we could secure meetings with all of the politicians we needed. The fact that the petition was online and that we collected the data (i.e. it didn't go direct to the politician) helped facilitate the action (both the signing of the petition by consumers and the politicians agreeing to meet with us).

 

If you were to compare the ways in which political and social issues are dealt with today and prior to the introduction of widespread social media, how has activism changed with the advent of Web 2.0?

 

I think there is a lot more activism today that is accessible to a lot more people. We are seeing greater numbers of people involved in a huge array of issues. I think it is an extremely exciting time for civil participation in politics.

 

How does participation in an online campaign relate to an individual's participation in offline social action (involvement in an activity that may cost them money and time)?

 

In our experience it is relatively easy to get people to take an action online, then easier to get them to donate a small amount, followed by asking people for their time. The time issue is probably the hardest commitment.

 

Do you have any ideas about how online tools could be designed to encourage more active offline participation?

 

I think we have a view in our society that online activism comes at the cost of offline. I really don't think this is the case and I think that if it was to be researched, we would find that it is not  a situation of 'either/or'. You only have to look at the Arab Spring, the Ukraine, Occupy Wall Street and even the recent rallies around the country protesting political issues. Online activism is extremely important for enabling people to be involved and connected to issues that they may not know about or have a connection with if they were not online.

 

How are attitudes toward political or social issues impacted by social media?

 

Greatly! Look at the use of social media being used in election campaigns across the globe. In Iran and Egypt, social media was the only source of communications coming out during the Arab Spring; look at the use of social media on Q&A, through Obama's first election campaign, the use of social media to scrutinise the current budget, the use of social media to encourage community funding for the Climate Council. Social media provides people with a means of engaging directly with politics and society.

 

Can you identify any negative affects in your experience with online campaigns?

 

People have less of an emotional filter online and can sometime say things that they normally would not say to someone's face. We find this a lot with the phenomena of trolling. I think that is not so much a negative impact of online campaigns; rather it is a negative side effect of the online environment and just plain bad behaviour on the part of some people.

 

How should online activist participation be handled when it steps over the line?

 

The first rule is 'do no harm but get your point across'. Campaigns must be targeted, specific, based on evidence and able to move as you achieve your campaign goals. If people are promoting incorrect information it is up to the campaigner to correct it. If they don't, their credibility is at stake and they may open themselves up to legal action.

 

Are you conscious of avoiding activism fatigue and slacktivism when promoting campaigns online? If so how do you go about this?

 

I think there is a bit of a myth around fatigue and campaigns. People choose the issues that are close to them and will be inspired to act on them when the action is easy and targeted. I don't like the word 'slacktivism'. It denotes that online campaigns take over from offline and I think that they are both equally as strong. The one thing that you do need to ensure is that the campaigns are evidence-based, targeted and the actions are simple - same online as offline.

 

What advice would you give to someone trying to gain online awareness?

 

See above! Online has revolutionised activism and campaigning and it should be embraced.