The widespread adoption of online communication leads to social change, which offers the potential to bring about a major reshuffling of established power structures. Such realignment provides an unprecedented chance for political activists to gain influence for their causes.
All activism (and change) brings with it risks. One group of political activists might be able to use online communication effectively to organize collective action, while another might endanger its members and supporters through an easily traceable digital data trail. A group of activists might adopt a digital tool too early—before that tool gets widespread social traction—or successfully integrate a digital tool in the workflow of their organization and achieve a higher degree of efficiency only to have the tool discontinued a week later.
In this chapter, we discuss some of the issues that arise for activists when they adopt innovative technological tools. Since each group of political activists faces specific, individual challenges, we cannot deliver a blueprint of 10 neatly organized bullet points. Instead, we try to discuss some of the issues that activist groups will need to address when thinking about the adoption of innovative digital technology.