Publish at May 12 2010 Updated April 17 2025
Mobilizing crowds to defend noble causes is all very well, but how do you go about it?
The British association Tactical Technology Collective offers Ten Tactics for Turning Information into Action, an instruction manual on digital tools for mobilization, in ten videos, each of which illustrates a possible use. The various points are addressed through examples of successful information and mobilization campaigns carried out all over the world, and in developing countries in particular.
The ten strategies are as follows:
- Mobilize people. The use of video is recommended, as is the use of social networks.
- Testify and record. Today, with the widespread use of cameras integrated into cell phones, anyone can bear witness to what they see and then post their video on the Internet.
- Make your message visual. Using animation and maps, you can make complex information or information that is difficult to tackle head-on more attractive.
- Add value to personal stories. Journalists know that the world's major problems become much more concrete when they are tackled through personal accounts.
- Use humor. Hijacking songs, movie posters... is a light-hearted way of tackling serious issues.
- Manage your contacts. Applications, some of which have been developed specifically for the not-for-profit sector, enable you to manage your contacts, sending them relevant messages (and only relevant messages) by SMS.
- Use complex data. You need to visualize information that is difficult to understand through text, and harmonize information that comes in different forms (tables, videos, photos...).
- Use collective intelligence. Swarming, or micro-blogging, allows you to collect a multitude of partial pieces of information before grouping them together on a dedicated site and comparing them with traditional sources of information.
- Let people ask questions... and answer them. Clever systems can provide people with targeted information. Here too, SMS and IP telephony, which allows anyone to open a call center, are effective.
- Investigate and testify. It is sometimes necessary to look into subjects that are hidden by the traditional media. Being persistent in concentrating on a subject, using all the information the web can provide, can prove effective and even attract the attention of the mainstream press, thus influencing certain practices.
Testimonials and comments are far from idyllic, and alert users to the limitations of certain tools. Facebook, for example, has as many faults as qualities. In many cases, we need to guarantee the anonymity of those who sign up, to avoid reprisals. This is particularly true of members of discriminated minorities.
Some testimonials show that collective mobilization has a powerful effect. For example, a young blogger recounts how she was the only one to report on the story of a man who had been kept in prison for 14 years, after being found not guilty! The mainstream press picked up on the blog, and the man was released.
The material is in English. But, thanks to the volunteer translators on the dotSub site, a version with French subtitles can be found here. The only criticism that can be made of this version is that it presents all 10 videos in a single file, which makes them less convenient to use. Nonetheless, it's still very good material for anyone wishing to mobilize en masse for just causes. The whole thing is licensed under a Creative Commons license, so it can be freely used, distributed and modified.
10 tactics for turning information into action
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