Digital Organizing
What exactly is digital organizing? Let’s take a closer look!
Digital organizing (also known as internet activism, hacktivism, web activism, online activism, digital campaigning, digital activism, online organizing, electronic advocacy, and e-activism) is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements.
A Deeper Look:
What exactly is
digital organizing?
Many of today’s most aspirational movements sprouted from digital organizing. Whether it is the #MeToo movement advancing gender justice or the #BlackLivesMatter movement fighting for racial equity, we have been witnessing history through the tools of digital organizing. Below are examples of the most recent digital organizing tools we can use to supercharge our campaigns.
DIGITAL ORGANIZING TOOLS
86'd list
86’d Lists are Instagram accounts that anonymously share stories of injustice, racism, and abuse in the workplace. While the primary focus is restaurants, other workplaces are occasionally included. In many cities, 86’d Lists have popped up and have driven meaningful dialogue between employers and their staff.
Transparency Spreadsheets
Have you ever wondered how much the line cooks make at the restaurant across the street from where you work? We have just the tool for you. In the summer of 2019, adjunct professors & museum workers began publicly sharing their wages & working conditions on Google Sheets. The spreadsheets were crowdsourced via people submitting their own information for everyone to view. The process is simple – you fill out an online Google form and it automatically appears in the publicly-viewable (but cannot be edited) Google spreadsheet. Since the initial successful project, transparency spreadsheets have popped up all over the country, highlighting wage disparities & working conditions in workplaces all over the country.
VIRTUAL TIP JAR
Created in the Spring of 2020 in response to the blunt financial impact of COVID-19, virtual tip jars allow customers tip staff directly via online payment systems like Venmo or PayPal. After filling out a Google form, restaurant workers’ names are added to a comprehensive list. For customers, regulars, or any good Samaritan, they are able to donate by simply clicking on the “Tip Someone” button and a random name appears for them to tip. More recently, other employees have used this virtual tip jar to call on their company to compensate their employees directly due to loss income and poor working conditions.
coworker.org
Have you ever wanted to start an online petition focusing on your workplace? Maybe you want the restaurant to give the line cooks a two dollar raise? Or how about something really simple like letting people have visible tattoos? This is the best site to use and the best people to receive support from. Coworker.org allows you to start & win your own campaign for changes in the workplace, with the technology you need at your fingertips. It can be big or small, heroic, or ordinary. If you have an idea, this platform helps you turn that idea into a reality. Crowdsourced via people submitting their own information for everyone to view. The process is simple – you fill out an online Google form and it automatically appears in the publicly-viewable (but cannot be edited) Google spreadsheet. Since the initial successful project, transparency spreadsheets have popped up all over the country, highlighting wage disparities and working conditions in workplaces all over the country.
WANT TO USE ONE OF THESE TOOLS?
CONTACT US.
Jordan Romanus
Director of Digital Organizing
Lisa Tran
Digital Organizer
Jessie Harmon
Digital Organizer
Taylor Stessney
Digital Organizer