Social media activism : water as a common good / Matteo Cernison.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cernison, Matteo, author.

Series:

Protest and social movements

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet and activism--Italy.

Internet and activism.

Social media--Political aspects.

Social media.

Water-supply--Italy.

Water-supply.

Privatization--Italy.

Privatization.

Italy.

Physical Description:

241 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, [2019]

Summary:

This book focuses on the referendums against water privatisation in Italy and explores how activists took to social media, ultimately convincing twenty-seven million citizens to vote. Investigating the relationship between social movements and internet-related activism during complex campaigns, this book examines how a technological evolution - the increased relevance of social media platforms - affected in very different ways organisations with divergent characteristics, promoting at the same time decentralised communication practices, and new ways of coordinating dispersed communities of people.0Matteo Cernison combines and adapts a wide set of methods, from social network analysis to digital ethnography, in order to explore in detail how digital activism and face-to-face initiatives interact and overlap. He argues that the geographical scale of actions, the role played by external media professionals, and the activists' perceptions of digital technologies are key elements that contribute in a significant way to shape the very different communication practices often described as online activism.

Contents:

Case Study: the Italian referendum campaign against water privatization p. 19

Connected Activism: loose interactions on social media and their possible effects on campaigning p. 21

Methods to Investigate Large-Scale Campaigns: a challenging object of study p. 24

1 Models of Online-Related Activism p. 29

1.1 Online-Related Activism: key concepts p. 31

1.2 Overlapping Plans: research on online phenomena and its complexity p. 37

1.3 Recurring Questions p. 43

2 Methods for Investigating Online-Related, Large-Scale Campaigns on the Web p. 49

2.1 The Italian Referendum Campaign on Water: methodological opportunities and difficulties p. 52

2.2 Online-Related Social Research: some inspiring methods p. 59

2.3 A Methodological Proposal for Investigating Large-Scale Online Campaigns p. 65

3 Water Commons: Global movements and the Italian campaign against water privatization p. 71

3.1 The Global Context p. 74

3.2 Acqua Bene Comune: the growth of the Italian water coalition p. 82

3.3 The 2011 Referendum Campaign against Water Privatization in Italy p. 90

3.4 Alliances and Conflicts during the Campaign p. 98

4 The Web of Water: A trace on the links structure p. 107

4.1 Investigating the Web as a Network of Links p. 110

4.2 Network Analysis of the Water Campaign on the Web p. 114

4.3 Community Structures and the Content of Websites p. 130

5 Patterns of Online Communication during the Referendum Campaign p. 139

5.1 Online Communication during the Campaign: an evolving strategy p. 142

5.2 The Role of the Specialists: technological and communications skills p. 149

5.3 The Media Context: the relationship with non-digital media p. 155

5.4 Processes of Website Creation p. 159

6 The Campaign for Water on Facebook: Perceptions and organizational models in a real-digital space of activism p. 165

6.1 How to Investigate a Facebook Campaign p. 169

6.2 Activism on Facebook during the 2011 Referendum Campaign p. 176

6.3 Groups, Initiatives, and Patterns of Use p. 181

6.4 The Perception of Facebook p. 193

7 Reinterpreting the Data: New theoretical perspectives and methodological proposals p. 203

7.1 Three Final Perspectives for Observing the Referendum Campaign p. 204

7.2 On Methods: strengths and weaknesses of a combined methodological approach p. 214

7.3 Five Directions for Further Research p. 219.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9462980063

9789462980068

OCLC:

1061311904