4 Tips for Dealing with Opponents of your Cause on Twitter

December 2, 2009

As Twitter continues to grow at record levels, more people are bumping up against each other and, in some cases, butting heads in the Twittersphere. As we all continue to develop new ways to use this exciting new tool, I’ve discovered ways of dealing with people whose politics are diametrically opposed to my own.

Quick aside for those of you new to Twitter (you know who you are, you’ve uttered the phrase “I don’t get it”). Let me explain a little background. In many ways, Twitter for me is more about following hashtags and topics rather than about following people. By hashtags, I mean those words or abbreviations preceded by the number or pound sign: #. People who use Twitter invent hashtags to tag and find conversations on certain topics within the Tower of Twitter Babel. Instead of following people on the Twitter website, users resort to applications like Tweetdeck (my preference), HootSuite, etc. in order to follow the issues they care about. I will openly admit that I’m one of those people who love to share information. Until recently, I was the person who posted too much on listserves. When I realized that Twitter is a space where you can’t share too much, I’ve re-directed my energy there and learned a lot in the process.

As a person passionate about immigrant rights, I’ve been noticing more people using Twitter who are opposed to just and humane immigration reform. I’ll refrain from calling them ‘haters’ or ‘racists’ but they believe in “personal responsibility”, abiding by laws even if they are unjust or outdated and, in the words of cognitive linguist George Lakoff, they have an authoritarian worldview that sees the nation as disciplined father-dominant family (“Do it because I told you so.”).  As someone who sees my country as a nurturing family, I often find it difficult to engage the other side. Here’s what I’ve learned:

  1. Judge whether an argument is really worth it. Outspoken opponents of your advocacy issue are not going to change their point of view; no matter how persuasively you state your case and no matter what facts you cite. The opposing tweeter is not going to suddenly type, “I see your point! You’re right and I was wrong!” Not going to happen. That said, debates can help sharpen your advocacy skills. To break out of our issue silos in our balkanized media age, it’s healthy to engage the other side. But often these are not the folks you are going to convert and enlist in your movement.  The people on the sidelines, the tweeters who are eavesdropping on your conversation, are the ones you want to enlist. Keep that in mind and be sure to tweet in a respectful manner. As Quakers put it, recognize the light of God in all people.
  2. Give yourself a time or tweet limit. Debates on Twitter often go in circles, especially between entrenched sides. Before you jump in, tell yourself how much time or how many tweets you’re willing to commit. More than 10 tweets can be excessive no matter how passionate both parties are. You have a life offline: enjoy it (I say this in part to myself because I wasted an afternoon at the museum by tweet debating on my iPhone).
  3. Use hashtags to tag team the opponent. When you start or engage in a debate, be sure to include a popular hashtag so that your allies can see the conversation and jump in. While Twitter is not the right place for a town hall (see #4 below), it is useful for your opponent to grasp that you’re not alone in your “kooky” beliefs. One funny thing I’ve noticed is that tweeters opposed to my beliefs are often using hashtags without realizing their meaning or perhaps to pick a fight. For example, #ri4a refers to “Reform Immigration for America”, a pro-immigrant campaign by many immigrant rights organizations. Some folks interested only in heavy-handed immigration enforcement, have used #ri4a in their tweets.
  4. Redirect your opponent elsewhere. Conversations between multiple members are difficult on Twitter: the more people you include in tweets cuts into your 140-character limit. I think a better option is to redirect your opponent to a blog post or another online space where comments are allowed, i.e. “Let’s discuss this further over here…” There are many advantages to this. Not only will the blogger love you for getting a conversation going on their site, it provides a way to track an overall argument and involve others.
  • For avid tweeters out there: Based on your experience, do you have other recommendations for debates on Twitter? What would you add or disagree with above?
  • For folks unfamiliar with Twitter: don’t let this scare you away. It’s still worth dipping your toe into the white water rapids of Twitter. Be sure to use an application and follow hashtags or search terms you’re most interested. Find me on Twitter @willcoley and let me know how it goes!

Situating Social Media in Communications History

November 23, 2009

I’ve been working on this graphic with a friend of mine to help explain how social media relates to other communications technology. Please use the SlideShare below to get a closer look.

What do you think? Any suggestions or ideas? Please leave a comment below.


Teaching Video Activism with the Flip Camera

November 20, 2009

In collaboration with the L.A. Media Reform Group, I’ve been developing a curriculum on video activism and been fortunate to meet lots of great local advocates in the process. We had a great group of participants in the November Video Activism training sessions (see photos above). Harmonie Tangonan of CauseCast was our guest speaker on the first Saturday.  Stay tuned for a screening event for all these great videos!


New video: “Dying to Get In”

October 18, 2009

Here’s a new video that I made with my friends:

We submitted it to the Organizing for America video challenge and the Techsoup Digital Storytelling Event.

Here’s more information about the production and healthcare reform.

Please let me know what you think: rate, comment and share via YouTube!


New “Video Activism” training coming in November!

October 16, 2009

Picture 63I had a great time leading the last sessions of this training in August on using Flip Cameras to create and distribute video shorts about social justice causes.

We’re excited about running it again in early November. The registration page isn’t up yet but there are more details here.

Stay tuned…


Step up! Be in a video to SUPPORT healthcare reform on October 10

September 18, 2009

On Saturday October 10 in Santa Monica, I’m shooting a funny video short (30 seconds long) in SUPPORT OF HEALTHCARE REFORM. We’ll submit it to Obama’s video contest.

We need you (& your friends ) as stars or extras for the shoot. I can’t tell you much more unless you’re available to come (don’t want to spoil the surprise).

Here are some folks we need to find:

Picture 1
1. Big tall muscley kinda scary-looking guy
2. Skinny model-type woman
3. Hipster couple
4. Young mother and child (toddler)
5. Older gentleman
6. Lots of people with visible wounds/bandages, in wheelchairs or on crutches (Bring your own!)

Let me know if you or folks you know (who match above) are available. I have a treatment and script but want to keep a lid on it if possible.

RSVP for location information: Send an email to will (at) aquifermedia.com


Comparing the Flip to other digital video cameras: i.e. the iPod Nano

September 12, 2009

more about “Video: Flip SD vs. iPod Nano“, posted with vodpod

You probably know by now that I’m a big fan of Pure Digital’s Flip Camera (i.e. extremely user-friendly in filming, downloading and editing footage, the company’s program for nonprofits, etc.) but I’ve been curious about other video cameras that are also debuting on the market, including the new iPhone.

Today I saw this video from Blip TV and related post on Beet.TV and thought it was interesting enough to share here.


Online Video as Art (gasp!) & What This Means for Movement-Building

September 8, 2009

Picture 7Of all my beach reading over the Labor Day weekend, I was most impressed by Virginia Heffernan’s new article “Uploading the Avant-Garde” in the New York Times magazine. Heffernan’s thesis that YouTube is establishing “a home for the vernacular avant-garde” is something I’ve been thinking about, especially in regards to video and social justice movement-building.

These days, you can’t help but hear that digital media technology is having a profound effect on our society: sectors from newspapers to photography to the movie industry are all trying to come to terms with the new emerging reality. Even so, some of the same old questions persist, like the place of “The Professional” vs. “the Amateur”. Some folks continue to see the superiority of professionally-created media. A few years ago I read Andrew Keen’s anti-internet screed, “The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture” and found his observations interesting if not a tad alarmist. It seems to me that digital technology is here now and our task is figuring out to make the most of it. I’m not denying the important place of professionally-made content: I’m only saying that we should respect amateurs for the surprises they might have in store for us. ParadiseGardens

For example, whenever I bring up “The Academy vs. Folk Art” in discussions about user-generated digital video, I’m often met with puzzled looks. To me, it makes sense. Last summer, I made a pilgrimage to “Paradise Gardens“, the landmark built by renowned “outsider artistHoward Finster in Summerville, Georgia. Like many self-taught or naive artists, Finster was definitely seen as an howardphotooutsider, perhaps even a little nutty.  But Finster saw himself as a man of visions. When I walked around the weathered remains of his chaotic sculpture garden/art park, I found myself admiring this vision and the gumption that lead him to build such a place. Finster learned his artistic skills by simply making art. In much the same way, amateur filmmakers attempted to create celluloid versions of Finster’s Paradise Gardens. Not long ago, I read 17laverents190the obituary of Sidney Laverents who created a nine-minute short “Multiple SIDosis” that is now listed in the National Film Registry alongside Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” and Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas.” (Note: I’m doing further research on more examples beyond white men: suggestions welcome…)

In the 21st century, digital videographers are also experimenting and learning while doing… but online. As Heffernan points out, “what’s surprising is how little the homemade videos [on YouTube] resemble the pro goods. Sure, there are parodies of mainstream clips here and there, but mostly the amateurs are off on their own, hatching new genres.” Just as Finster unwittingly created a new genre of visual art and Laverents extended our understanding of what is film is, we’re witnessing something similar happening online.

So what does this mean for movement-building for social justice? For one, we can all create and distribute media today like never before. Instead of geographically-specific art-sharing locations like Howard Finster’s art park in rural Georgia and Sidney Laverents living room, we now have the ability to share our social justice-themed art with lots more people… immediately. Of course, both men honed their technical skills over the years. Their successes created entirely new genres. In much the same way, videographers can create art… but it needs to be good: effective, compelling and interesting.

What excites me about video is that it is often collaborative. While it’s possible to make something on your own, the best video content always seems to come from interactive between people either in conceptualization, production and/or distribution. And collaboration, after all, is the cornerstone of civic engagement. It seems to me that if a group of people can see a video through to completion, they’ve learned something about collaborating, something that they can apply in their larger civic lives and social movements.

To quote Margaret Mead (as many have), “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Maybe we can add “…one video at a time.”




Getting Immigrant Rights on the Agenda at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh

August 18, 2009

Picture 12I just returned from three jam-packed days in Pittsburgh, PA for the 2009 Netroots Nation conference of progressive bloggers. Not only did I really like Pittsburgh (or the parts I visited) and get to hear Bill Clinton defend his legacy, the conference was a great chance to get immigrant rights on the broader Progressive agenda. I’ve been frustrated that more U.S. citizens, especially those on the left side of the political spectrum, are not taking up immigrant rights like they could. I look to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and how lots of people saw it as an American issue, something that concerned all of us, not just African-Americans who had experienced injustice. While this struggle still continues, I see immigrant rights and just humane immigration reform in much the same way: the means to create the nation we all believe in. Our current system falls well short of our American ideals (to say the least).

Of course, I wasn’t the only person who cared about immigrant rights at Netroots. Many of my talented colleagues and friends also trekked to western Pennsylvania and organized several interesting and worthwhile panels on the topic. In the panel I helped organize, we tried a different tactic. I’ve often seen how conference participants tend to go to panels on issues they already care about. I suspected that if “immigrant” or “immigration” were in the title, the folks who showed up would be people who already care about the issue. Picture 10So we dubbed our panel “Stepping it Up: Creating Powerful Multiracial Alliances with Progressive Bloggers” (yes, I admit it’s ambiguous). We also took a different approach to the issue of immigrant rights.  We suspected that progressive bloggers stay away from the issue precisely because it intersects with race which they’re afraid to discuss. With the help of four excellent panelists (Rinku Sen, Kyle de Beausset, Jacki Esposito and Cheryl Contee), we examined how immigration enforcement and criminal justice unjustly affect communities of color in the US today. We did slant the presentation more towards immigration and tried to give participants frames by which they can start discussing immigrant rights.

Here are some of the comments we got back from the evaluations:

  • “I don’t work on immigration but the session gave me an idea of how to include it in my work.”
  • “I learned a lot of new facts (disturbing ones) and aim to talk about this issues more on my blog and offline.”
  • Most helpful aspect: “resource and info/context about immigration situation and reform.”
  • “Would have liked to hear more in depth about places for intersection between black.brown/white, etc. bloggers.”
  • “Liked the array – seemed bloggers come from diverse issues.”
  • “Interesting. My work is different but not your fault.”
  • “Although would like to address wider racism beyond immigration.”
  • “You guys rock. This was great and thank you for what you do.”Picture 11

About 30-40 people came to the session, a small percentage of the 2,000 people at the conference. But we asked participants to tweet notes of the entire session with the hashtags #NN09 & #StepUp. I realized later that this helped get the issues into the Twitter feed at the conference. So even if folks didn’t attend the session, if they were following #NN09 on Twitter, they had an “ambient awareness” of the discussion.

3824004368_f6a1ccff0eWhile I think these type of sessions are important, I wonder if immigrant rights advocates could take another tactic at the next Netroots Nation and other progressive spaces. For example, I think we should have organized ourselves in advance and ensured that we sent someone to almost every other session where we could have asked questions linking the issue at hand with immigrant rights. For example, I intended to go to some of the “Green” sessions and point out that many anti-immigration activists and nativists are trying to link their agenda to immigration. Granted, I did hear that there was a guy with a big yellow sign that made himself a nuisance in every session he went to by taking the mic and derailing the larger discussion. Any linking of issues ought to be done respectfully and connected to the topic at hand.

While I had some logistical and diversity concerns about Netroots Nation (i.e. the conference was LawrenceCCheld in the Convention Center which swamped us and there was NO food included with your registration fee), the conference was an interesting experience that really showed me the challenges in building transmedia activism, as my friend Lina Srivastava has been developing thinking on. I met someone who called me out for not blogging more here: “Once or twice a month is not enough!”

With all this in mind, I’m in the process of organizing a conference call with my immigrant rights colleagues as a debriefing from the conference. I’m also hoping that they comment on my perspectives in the comments here.


Learning while Gathering Video about Adult English Language Programs

August 5, 2009

The above video is one of four that I created as a recent project with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center on adult English as a Second Language programs in southern California and how they assist the integration of new immigrants. California has the largest adult education system in the country that is supported in large part by state funding. Over the past few months, I visited a dozen adult education schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties. I met determined administrators, passionate teachers and lots of eager students.

Unfortunately, timing played a critical role in this project. We quickly found that, due to budget negotiations in the State Assembly, the ground was shifting beneath us as well as for the adult school and community college administrators we contacted. While the current fiscal crisis in the state has forced these schools to pare their classes, these programs are pressing forward to meet the demand from their communities.

I enjoyed working on all of the videos but I still think “Finding Their Way in English” is the one closest to my ideal of community participation. I filmed the footage but the students came up with the idea and volunteered for the acting. Like so much social media, these videos were built on real world relationships. It took several weeks of visiting the class and getting to know them gradually. We talked a lot about how much they appreciated the English classes and wanted to see them continue. The final “script” was how the students thought they could portray the importance of English to them: finding their way in a new country. We also talked about the importance of storytelling in video.

Including action steps for viewers was also challenge. We realized there are multiple ways that viewers could respond. See this anchor page for more information on how you can further support these English language learners.

(Special thanks to Moby for the donated music.)

Webisodes on adult English language programs: