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I’ve never carried on a non-web conversation with Niv from Israel, but I consider him a friend. I don’t understand his native language or his country’s plight in the Middle East, but I know he is a friend. And I know he is passionate about trying to communicate the truth. Not the political truth, the human truth. [I’m asking Niv to cross post this article in Hebrew on his Techpoliti site. Let’s get the conversation started. Here is the Hebrew translation from Google Translate.]

When we met, back in 2009, via Skype, we were talking about my political activist site MeterThis.net and his site that was sharing the human toll of incoming rocket bombs hitting the homes of his friends and neighbors. It was a simple site. It is a very complex issue. And perhaps it is the MOST COMPLEX POLITICAL issue of our time.

So why did my connection with Niv flourish where so many others have waned? What about our “translated” Facebook conversations have kept our conversations and aspirations going? Why do I care, what NIV is up to? I can’t even read his posts 90% of the time.

And yet, I would do almost anything to help him get his message out. WHY? I’m clear that I don’t know what his message or his agenda is. Occasionally I’m not sure he does either, but that’s probably a translation issue.

We have nothing in common. We share a love of social media as an outreach and humanizing force. We do believe that social change and political change CAN happen with social media as a tool. And I suppose that is the thread that has kept our conversations alive spanning the 4 years since we shared our first “for no reason” skype call.

He’s in his early thirtes. He’s very active in social media in Israel. He is articulate and funny. He has his heart up front where you can see it. When you talk to him, you will smile just like he does: easily and often.

But that’s not enough.

I’m not clear on what his next plan is. We spoke on Tuesday about his “day job” and his passion play. He’s working (has been working since I’ve known him) to bring the two passions together in a sustainable model, to provide a living support for himself. (at this point, I believe he is unmarried)

Today I got an email from him, in Hebrew.

With the help of the genies at Google Translate, I read his message. It is an invitation to his new apartment in Israel. It is an open invitation to come share his prosperity and company. It contains a map to his new digs, and a call to action to come visit him soon.

I have no idea how I got included in this email. But I responded. In English.

“Honored.”

He wrote back in English.

I guess this is a kind of love story. Not between two men, but between to humans interested in understanding and furthering the dialogue that builds connection. We have very little in common, but we share a sense of wonder at it all. And in this we recognize each other as connectors.

I’m not concerned with his politics, or where we are going with this. Someday he will get the funds to attend SXSW in Austin, and he will have a free place to stay. And we will share the wine, he offers in his email to local friends. Somehow we are LOCAL. Somehow the tech has kept us talking and joking and exploring what this social media experience can be used for. Can social media power social change?

Here is NIV’s Facebook page for his new venture. Engage at your own risk. But engage with an open mind.

niv calderon's techpoliti — click to visit techpoliti on facebook

For me, the connection is enough.

We (you, me, Niv) have no clue about all the forces and influences in this political flash point in the Middle East. What we can know, is the people in the area. We can listen to the humans rather than the politicians. We can ask for poetry and heart rather than manifestos.

That’s what I believe will be the tipping point of this political furor. I know I am idealistic. I know I have no idea what I’m talking about. And when it comes to Niv and Israel, I really know I don’t know what I’m talking about. But the point is, I am talking. And Niv is talking. And we’re trying to talk to each other using social media and free tech. What a wonderful world we live in. Maybe the Global Mind is still possible.

@jmacofearth (also seen on Google+: jmacofearth)
permalink: http://uber.la/2013/04/social-activism/

Update: Fun to see this:

Reference:

MeterThis.net – Groundswell for Good
99 Voices – 99 Stickers – Facebook Political Community
TechPoliti – Facebook page for Israel social news network
Moveon.org – started when Clinton was being impeached over the definition of “is”
99 Spring – Moveon grass roots activism movement

The Essentials of Digital Marketing:

Social Media U – videos and best practices
Digital Strategist’s Notebook – my current best-of for small business
Workin Facebook – all the Facebook learning you’ll ever need
The Twitter Way – the Twitter book in post form
The Other Social Networks – Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest
Social Media Funnies – cause we need to laugh at ourselves and our social medianess
Contact Me – let me know how I can help you grow your business online

The recent sequence of social media-influenced victories points to an online audience of “participants” rather than just “clickers” and “likers.” When the Komen foundation began to weaken and reverse their defunding of Planned Parenthood yesterday, the social web claimed another victory of influence. And while SOPA is not done, the webbies can claim a pretty powerful response to this misguided legislation as well.

So what is happening? Why now? What’s different? And what things have not changed?

As Americans we love to fight for the liberation and rescue of other like-minded countries. When Haiti was devistated, the social media response was immediate and quite powerful. The relief organizations were initially overwhelmed by the donations. These are online-activated people offering physical labor, clothes and supplies, and ultimately money. It was quite a moment. And then Egypt rose up in a Tianmen-like moment in Cairo and again the web participants changed the color of their avatars on Twitter and Facebook to reflect their support of the seemingly social-media-driven uprising against a cruel dictatorship.

People do want to be on the winning side of a cause. And humanitarian causes are the easiest to support. When things get political the response is a bit more tempered. And when things begin to show up in your own town, in your civic centers, and your actions could have personal consequences the support response is more restrained. We will come back to the power and challenge of the Occupy movement in a minute.

So taking an issue like Pro-Live vs Pro-Choice (Komen and Planned Parenthood) the voices, opinions, and actions have a very different tone and energy than support for Egypt or Haiti. The news for social media proponents is that people showed up en masse to voice their anger at one of the most respected and loved brands in non-profit fundraising, the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The same company that emblazoned the pink ribbon in our cultural minds, was now under fire for the actions of a few individuals who had recently come to power within the organization.

Regardless of how you feel about Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice, the issues behind this multi-billion dollar political action by a beloved non-profit focused on breast cancer research, regardless of how you feel about that issue, the response social media response was HUGE. And it stretched beyond Twitter and Facebook and quickly into the main-stream media outlets. And suddenly the Komen Foundation was under fire for using their non-profit status to force a moral belief (clearly not shared by a majority of Americans) down our proverbial throats.

What I noticed in my little sphere of social media was a massive out pouring that was a mix of humor, anger, and action. Not only were my liberal friends asking for people to like and retweet the news, but they were also making statements like this, “I hope all of my friends are actually sending in money to PP and not just doing the easy social media support thing.”

And yesterday Komen reversed their controversial (and morally divisive) decision. They did not reinstate the PP grants, but they made a public statement that admitted their mistake. That’s enough for now. The public opinion and “action” machine online had made its point. Much like the SOPA blackouts that crossed Wikipedia, Twitter, and thousands of other sites, the Komen retreat was a massive and swift victory for public response.

Finally, looking at some of the reaction and controversy surround the Occupy Wall Street movement, we can see when the actions can have immediate at dire financial consequences the reaction and support is a bit more discreet. So people who will support and march with the occupiers, will not come out and shout their support online, as they did in the Komen case. And the police chief of our city when thanked by an occupier for providing protection, said, “It’s our pension plan too.”

The HARD PART to understand is the continued police crack down on the occupiers across America. Actions that we would violently oppose in other countries are being tolerated and in some cases supported. Yesterday, in my fair and progressive city of Austin, the police decided they had put up with the occupiers at City Hall long enough. And at 10 pm, according to local news, the police began to force the physical clearing of the occupy camp. With arrests and threats to accompany their force.

The amazing part, to me, was the online reaction. On the local paper’s website the curses and vitriolic hate came quickly and almost violently. “Get a job!” and “About time!” and “Good riddance!” comments flowed in at about a 5-to-1 ratio.

What is it about Occupy Wall Street and the “Get a Job” public that is causing such a divisive and violent rift? The Komen reaction and response was tame compared to our local reaction to the OWS police forced removal, last night.

And why is it, that even writing about OWS gives me trepidation about my own security?

BOTTOM LINE: The social web is powerful and swift. With SOPA and Komen the social influence is clearly a driving force behind these reversals of action. With OWS there is something even deeper than Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice at work. And the widening gulf between the two sides of the issue is getting bigger and more enflamed. I don’t know what it is. If you have ideas I’d love to hear them in the comments or directly.

@jmacofearth (also seen on Google+: jmacofearth)
permalink: http://uber.la/2012/02/social-media-mind/

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