go small or go home

For years, I’ve been lamenting the declining power of protest marches and public demonstrations. As a teenager, I did my time picketing against clearcutting in British Columbia’s old growth forests, marching for peace and joining the crowds calling for a coordinated and government-backed strategy on HIV/AIDS. But, as I’ve come to realize in a painful, I’m-growing-old kind of way, these types of protests just aren’t as effective anymore, particularly in the Western world. Perhaps we’ve all coccooned ourselves in our comfortable, wired-up homes and can’t imagine venturing out to challenge an issue that seems inevitable to us anyway. Or perhaps governments and other decision-makers have learned to ignore the protests altogether, choosing to only notice movements that affect their popularity in the polls.

(If I sound a little jaded, forgive me. I live with a cynic.)

However, the online world has grown to accommodate dissent, as well as commerce, gossip and networking. And why not? If we can use new media for every other aspect of our lives, then it stands to reason that we can use it to push ahead with social change too.

Internet users in censor-plagued China have found ways to skirt the government bans on what information they can access as well as what information they can disseminate. And in Iran, in the midst of an escalating conflict over the recent election, journalists and ordinary citizens have found a way to bypass Internet clampdowns, bravely issuing reports via Twitter.

Use this as your Facebook photo

Want to get involved? The Utne Reader has posted a comprehensive guide on how those of us who live outside of Iran can help, with online tools, of course. Simple acts like changing your Twitter location and Facebook picture can help the people of Tehran get the word out. Because in this new world that we are just learning to navigate, nothing is more important than listening to the voices that are straining to be heard.

Let’s face it, artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians and other creative types frequently have ideas that, while outlandish to some, seem perfectly legit to them. Today creatives are using online communities not only to connect with like minded people, rather they are putting their ideas front and centre so that others can help make them happen.

You want to make a documentary about trying to reunite the band, the Kinks? Or what about flying to Iceland to photograph fjords?

Kickstarter is a funding platform that helps bring to life ideas and endeavors put forth by artists, writers, designers, photographers, musicians, filmmakers and others. The website lists each project and allows others to share the project information through email, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or to grab a widget and promote the project (as seen below) with the hope of garnering more support. Pledges are $1 minimum.

One of the projects is We Scream: Voices From The Ice Cream Underground, a documentary short that explores the subculture of ice cream truck owners and paleteros (cart vendors) in Los Angeles.

Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious about what’s behind the old painted truck buzzing down the street, mechanical nursery rhyme standards filling the air, a gaggle of kids chasing after it. Pretty sweet way to support the arts.