Analyzing the mobilization of grassroots activities via the internet: a case study
What part does the internet play in socio-political mobilization? The internet has influenced the ways in which we interact with each other and has been hailed as a great potential force to enrich civil society. In order to understand the extent of the internet's influence on social activists' activities, we examined newspaper and journal articles to identify indicators of that influence. Combining these indicators with elements drawn from theories of resource mobilization and participation, we focused our analysis on two distinct grassroots activities online and examined the roles of the internet for each. This analysis helps us conceptualize the mobilization of grassroots activities via the internet. The results may help inform social scientists as well as practitioners who are involved in grassroots activities, and provide a baseline for comparison with future research that examines mobilization of such activities with the use of the internet over time.
resource mobilization online mobilization grassroots organizations