boomgray5.jpg
title10.jpg

http://www.bligoo.com/media/system/images/bligoo-button.gifEste sitio funciona sobre la
plataforma de blogs sociales bligoo™ 

Bio

livingroom_100x113.jpgIn 2006, I founded ZapBoom Consulting,  which specializes in the analysis of how digital tools like cell phones and the Internet can be used in social change campaigns in developing countries.  I have researched and written reports on topics ranging from online citizen journalism to blog advocacy and internet censorship.  I have also performed in-country Internet monitoring and international conference organizing. 

You can contact me at MaryCJoyce AT gmail DOT com.

Read full bio....

Client Buzz

Feedback from Zapboom Clients:

"Mary's passion and energy for digital activism is obvious in every action and initiative she makes."...read more

"Right away she cut to the core of our needs."...read more

"She deserves much of the credit for organizing a tremendously successful event."...read more

"She was able to turn a potentially complex technical task into something that brought all the different viewpoints together and channelled everyone's energy in a collaborative manner."...read more

Digital Activism Projects

Current CV

Double-click the image to download.

CV_jan19_200px.jpg 

Written Products

site hit counter
View Stats

Digital Activism Examples

Posted by Mary on 29/09/2007 at 11:05

In the interest of defining what exactly grassroots digital activism is, I thought I'd create a list of some examples of grassroots digital campaigns. I'll be updating the list, so please send me your examples through the comments section.

Nosamo (2000-present): This is the fan club of Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun (the group's name means "those who love Roh"). The independent volunteer organization used a website and digital organizing techniques to support the progressive campaign of Roh, who won the 2002 is a huge upset. They are like Deaniacs except they also drafted their candidate by convincing him to

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment

a global practice and a global language

Posted by Mary on 27/09/2007 at 23:51

Since I got to Harvard I've been casting myself in all digital directions: research assistant at the Berkman Center, trying to start a student Digital Action Group (DigAct), maybe building some digital activism technology with Gene Koo, bringing a speaker to campus. I've got a big goal and I'm not sure how to accomplish it so I just keep grabbing hold of things, hoping that something will stick.

So what is this big goal? I want digital activism to be a global practice and a global language. I want people around the world to be able to use

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment

Digital Activists in Morocco

Posted by Mary on 27/09/2007 at 23:11

I said a few days ago that Moroccan democracy is near and dear to my heart and that while the government is shameful, the activists are inspiring. Well, I'd like to be more specific: these activists are inspiring. These three friends (two of then expats) created a photoblog site to record photos related to the upcoming election. You can read Jen Brea's interview with them here at Global Voices.  Here are some examples of the photos on their site:

"no to corruption"

 

"we Moroccans living abroad want the right to vote."

I was also really tickled to learn that they

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment

nGOmobile Competition

Posted by Mary on 26/09/2007 at 18:32

I've sung the praises of Ken Banks before. He's Mr. Cell Phone, dedicated to helping activists use mobile phones to organize for social change, mostly in the developing world. His newest project is nGOmobile, a project dedicated specifically to helping NGOs use mobile phones in their work.

nGOmobile is launching with a contest. From the web site:

NGOs from developing countries are invited to submit a short proposal outlining how text messaging could make their job easier. The ideas don’t need to be rocket science, or even earth-shatteringly original. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, easiest and most

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment |

An Awesome Gift

Posted by Mary on 25/09/2007 at 21:38

Heine_portrait.jpg A few months ago I did an e-mail interview with a Belgian graphic journalists named Ben Heine. As compensation for doing the interview (which was for a project related to his journalism degree) Ben offered to create a portrait of me. Seemed like a fair deal.

This is the result and I am honored. I really like to fact that he drew me in the mannerist style of Pontormo, which my art history professor Mom is sure to appreciate.

By the way, the illuminated cell phone in my hand is not me calling God, but rather a reference to

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment |

Command & Collaborative: The 2 Types of Digital Activism

Posted by Mary on 19/09/2007 at 15:07

In this post I foolishly choose a public forum to hash out a half-baked digital activism theory. 

There are currently two main poles of digital activism: comman and collaborative. In command activism, an institution uses the Internet to direct its members to take certain actions, like phoning a member of Congress or making a donation.  This model has most successfully been used by MoveOn.  The good thing about command activism is that it allows for massive coordinated action.  The negative thing about this form of activism is that it tends to be hierarchical and less democratic, as decisions about

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment |

Morocco's Sad Sad Election

Posted by Mary on 18/09/2007 at 17:38

Moroccan democracy is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I spent the academic year of 2004-2005 in Rabat as a Fulbright scholar studying democratization. Pretty early on, I realized that Moroccan democratization was a fraud, but I was really inspired by the passionate work of Moroccan grassroots activists, which led to my current passion for digital activism.


nice Al-Jazeera English analysis of the election

Unfortunately, the recent parliamentary elections on September 7th were pretty sad. I don't say that they were "disappointing" because it was really a surprise that the respected Islamist PJD party came in

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment

Semiotic Democracy on YouTube

Posted by Mary on 15/09/2007 at 18:04

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post that not many people read about semiotic democracy, the defining of culture by ordinary people who reinterpret and disseminate their own interpretations about what cultural elements. Yeah, it was really theoretical. Maybe it was even boring. Well, these two videos provide an example that I think really drives home what semiotic democracy is all about.

This is a video made a crazed fan of Britney Spears defending her against her detractors. The over-the-top melodrama made it an instant hit and the creator, Chris Crocker, gained his 15 seconds of fame,

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment |

Disappointed in Facebook Politics

Posted by Mary on 12/09/2007 at 18:45

koo.jpgI just found this great post by Berkman Center fellow Gene Koo. He's talking about how Facebook has not yet become a site for meaningful grassroots citizen engagement. One of his insights is that current Facebook groups (like I Went To Private School...Now Pump My Gas!) are more like status-proclaiming tatoos than civic organizations. There's a lot of other good stuff in the post too. Here 'tis:

Networking is the lifeblood of all politics. So why are the Obama and other political applications for Facebook so terribly disappointing? At best, they function like bumper stickers for profile pages,

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment

Political Equals

Posted by Mary on 10/09/2007 at 23:55

Today was my first day of class at the Kennedy School and, not surprisingly, one of my readings for tomorrow has inspired me.  (Part of the reasons I was looking forward to starting grad school was to have more blogging fodder.)

For my class in comparative politics, I was assigned a piece of Robert A. Dahl's 1971 book Polyarchy:Participation and Opposition, specifically, a section on democratization.  One throw-away comment that Dahl makes that I really like is that citizens in a democracy are "political equals."  I really like this formulation of equality and I think it  clarifies the impact

(Read more)
Tags:
| Comment
1 | 2 Next Last

Quote of the Week

"If you think you can influence the agenda, you walk through the world with different eyes and different ears."

-Yochai Benkler

What is Digital Activism?

Digital activism means grassroots activists using digital technologies like cell phones and the internet to increase their impact, thus subverting traditional power hierarchies and changing the world.

The Blog Advocacy Guide

        

Click image to download! 

Search


Zapping the Boom

There are 31 people browsing "ZapBoom" at the moment.

Tags

Publications by Month

Recent comments

RSS