#informationactivism

'Twitter. An online social networking service that enables users to send and read short messages called "tweets"...Registered users can post tweets, but unregistered users can easily read them.'

It should go more like this.. 

'Twitter. An online social networking service that enables users to identify as whoever they chose to portray or be - whether for professional, recreational, or political use - in an array that they will find other twitter users who either think as they do or have a similar thought on the tweet.'

Social networking sites (such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus) allow you to create whatever online identities you want. Whether or not you choose to take on your physical identity or create an entirely new identity that represents your virtual self is completely up to you. People use these networking sites for a variety of reasons. Whether it is a way of self expression or confession or even for the mere purpose of contacting with friends that exist in the real world as well. But have you ever thought about the users that use these as a way to relay information? And no I'm not talking about the information that relates to your life personally, but the information that everyone deserves to know (information that some people want to hold confidential when in actuality, it is the people's information.) The kind of information that leaks through anonymous users on Twitter, viral YouTube videos or bloggers who don't leave their trace. These people often disguise their identities because they don't want to get in trouble by the major capitalist companies or the government for sharing this information. They just strongly believe that the people deserve to know this information. 

Anonymous (Information Activism)

         First off,an information activist is someone who makes information available to the public that otherwise would go unseen. An example of a large group that does this is Anonymous, known individually as an anon. Anons are labeled in the media as hackers, but define themselves as "average internet users". There original purpose was to protest scientology, which they continue to do today along with a number of other conquests. They are a leaderless organization fighting for the rights of the public: free speech, privacy, freedom from surveillance, and to share and innovate ideas.

          I used a French video message from anonymous (with the face of Guy Fawkes) to show that this is something international. Not just some extreme movement in one country like America, but an interactive organization that stretches across the globe.

Information Activism is the release and freeing of information to the public. One group who practices Information Activism to the extreme is Anonymous, who’s mission is to raise awareness on social issues, such as their protests against the Church of Scientology and their support of Wiki Leaks. They claim they are not hackers going after credit card or social security numbers, but instead are average internet users fighting for freedom of speech, knowledge, and innovation. Because they are a faceless and nameless organization with no official leader, they feel like they represent the people of the internet as a whole and the rights we should have on the web as shown in the logo and quote above.

Information activism is the process of making unknown information to the general public known.  A well know information activist is Anonymous, which is an internet gather for groups of information activists, also known as hacktivists, who have protested against government and religious bodies and corporate websites.  Another type of information activism site is WikiLeaks, which is an “international, online, non-profit, journalistic organization which publishes secret information, news leaks, and classified media from anonymous sources.”  Both of these “groups” have a common goal:  to provide the general public information that is being hidden and deprived from us. 

The artifact I chose is of Anonymous and their motto.  They believe knowledge is free to everyone and no one should be deprived of it from anyone and that includes government.  It relates to this concept because they are a group who works to bring us information so we are not in the dark about issues and things going on around the country and around the world.