Online Political Mobilization from the Advocacy Group's Perspective
Looking Beyond Clicktivism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23344337 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Karpf (0000-0002-2761-3101, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 7-41 |
| Publication date | 2010-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy & Internet (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1944-2866 • E-ISSN: 1944-2866 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2202/1944-2866.1098 |
| OpenAlex | W1972363002 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 119 |
| References cited | 25 |
Academic observers and public intellectuals frequently criticize mass email action alerts as “slacktivism” or “clicktivism,” arguing that the lowered transaction costs of the medium produce a novel form of activism that carries with it hidden costs and dangers for the public sphere. This article challenges those claims, relying on a combination of personal observation within the advocacy community and on a new quantitative dataset of advocacy group email activity to articulate three points. First, that mass emails are functionally equivalent to the photocopied and faxed petitions and postcards of “offline” activism, and represent a difference‐of‐degree rather than a difference‐in‐kind. Second, that such low‐quality, high‐volume actions are a single tactic in the strategic repertoire of advocacy groups, thus reducing cause for concern about their limited effect in isolation. Third, that the empirical reality of email activation practices has little in common with the dire predictions offered by common critiques. The article responds to a previous Policy & Internet article: “The Case Against Mass E‐mails.” 1 (1).
Action (physics) · Collective action · Database transaction · Mass mobilization · Media studies · Perspective (graphical) · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Public sphere · Repertoire · Sociology · The Internet · World Wide Web · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics
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Activism or slacktivism? The potential and pitfalls of social media in contemporary student activism
From Everyday Information Behaviours to Clickable Solidarity
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Congressional Candidates' Use of YouTube in 2008
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Self-Segregation or Deliberation? Blog Readership, Participation, and Polarization in American Politics
Interest Groups in the Rule-Making Process
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| Unique citing works | 119 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8,5 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 106 |