Social media only create networks, not a hierarchical organization

High-risk activism requires authority structures to coordinate activities. Individuals are held accountable for their assigned duties, and important conflicts are resolved by the authority.

Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals. They can’t think strategically; they are chronically prone to conflict and error. How do you make difficult choices about tactics or strategy or philosophical direction when everyone has an equal say?
RELATED ARTICLESExplain
Technology: Oppressor or liberator?
ICT's capacity to spread democracy?
Cyber-utopianism
Cyber-utopians overstate the revolutionary potential of the Internet
Social media create "weak ties", insufficient for high risk activism
Social media only create networks, not a hierarchical organization
Graph of this discussion
Enter the title of your article


Enter a short (max 500 characters) summation of your article
Enter the main body of your article
Lock
+Comments (0)
+Citations (0)
+About
Enter comment

Select article text to quote
welcome text

First name   Last name 

Email

Skip