Stick It to the Man: How the Web Spurs Political Change

Egypt: February 2011

The Internet was such a concern for the regime that the government shut down the majority of the country's Internet access for about five days during the protests.

Activism: Wildly effective

Russia's Wintertime "Spring": Winter 2011/2012

Online activists managed to raise $129,000 to stage an antigovernment protest on December 24, complete with a sound system, video displays, and portable toilets, according to the Wall Street Journal. A second protest is planned for February 4, one month before Russia's presidential election.

Activism: Effective

Occupy Movement: Fall 2011-Present

Digital tools may not create and sustain change on their own, but we'll surely be seeing more tweets, Facebook posts, and YouTube videos with revolutionary themes for years to come.

Activism: Effective

Social Change With Digital Tools

Some people question whether digital tools are effective in bringing about social change.

Digital activism critic Evgeny Morozov is well known for arguing that the Internet also serves as an effective tool for oppression, and he cautions against giving too much credit to digital tools as a force for bringing people together.

Similarly, author Malcolm Gladwell criticizes digital activism, arguing that it does not facilitate the commitment that street-level protests require for success.

"What mobile digital and social media are providing is radically changing the capacity for global social movements," Boler told PCWorld. "The integration of social media and in-the-streets protest is a new and hybrid 'form' of social protest, with potential we only begin to envision."

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