I’ve been thinking about different forms of online activism and wondering if they can be grouped into differnet models based on the scope of individual interpretation and creativity demanded from the partcipants. (I’m using a couple of simple “game” metaphors to label these models to make them easier to describe, but i haven’t field-tested these labels very widely yet, so I hope they’re reasonably clear).
“Simon Says” actions are planned and set out in detail by campaign’s coordinator, and come with a set of specific instructions detailing what participants need to do in order to take part. The name “Simon Says’ comes from an english childhood game where one person calls out simple instructions and everyone else obeys: “Simon says … put your hands on your head”– that sort of thing. Online petitions would fall into this category - especially the ones that have just a field for name and email address — there is only one, fixed way to participate. As well, forward-to-a-friend and send-a- letter-to-a-politician action can also be largely “Simon Says” kinds of activities. The strength of these activities is in their accessibility - they are easy to do, require very little thought, and are great tools for engaging new contacts into a campaign. The danger is that Simon Says actions can get repetitive and if they are not presented in the full campaign context, can seem small and unimportant. This can lead to activists dropping out because they don’t feel their indiivdual input is valued, and that they’re being viewed like a bunch of trained monkeys.
“Mini-putt” actions get their label from those mini-golf couses with twisty paths and obstacles such as windmills and ramps. These kinds of actions require some thought and planning on the part of each participant. While everyone has the same goal - get the ball into the cup - each individual has to make their own way to achieving this goal. Some may shoot through the windmill, others might go around it, and others might try something completely different. Mini-putt actions tend to be built around mobilization or mass-participation activities. Meetups, house parties and other peer-to-peer activiites all incorporate elements of the Mini-putt model. There is an overall goal but each individual makes decisions about the exact format they will use to participate.
As an example, each year Amnesty Canada runs a national writeathon (http://www.amnesty.ca/writeathon) that invites amnesty supporters to hold a pary or get-together to write letters in support of prisoners of conscience. Some write alone; other choose to invite people over to their homes, others meet in cafes, church rooms, or barber shops; and whole schools may participate en mass. The goal is the same - write as many letters as possible, but the formats are many and varied.
Mini-putt actions are a way to drawing people deeper into a campaign - inviting them to make an investment of time, energy and creativity as a way of recognizing that they can make a valuable personal contribution to the overall campaign. These activities can increase the loyalty and commitment of participants - especially if the action is something that is fun and expressive as well as outcome-oriented. However, only a particular subset of campaign supporters are likely to participate in mini-putt actions, maybe because of time constraints, or lack of commitment to the cause, or simple personal preference, but those who do particpate are likely to be repeat participants, and may be predisposed to do even more to support the campaign.
Of course, this is all mostly just theory - I don’t think that in practice there’s really such thing as a 100% ‘Simon Says’ or 100% ‘Mini-Putt’ action - usually it’s a mix of both models. Take for instance the recent photo-blog anti-whaling site launched by Greenpeace. (http://whales.greenpeace.org). In this campaign, there is a simple base action - take a picture holding a printed message and upload it - but the possibility is there for more complex, creative activities to generate that image - some hold group photo-events, others take art-style photos and others write evocative personal comments to accompany their image.