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Connect and conquer

Social media strengthens one of society's greatest advantages over the influential elite - the power of numbers.

Lezette Engelbrecht
By Lezette Engelbrecht, ITWeb online features editor
Johannesburg, 19 Oct 2011

Occupy is a loaded word. It's more than merely to fill. It somehow transcends the stock definition of simply taking up space or time. To occupy speaks of making one's presence felt, of demanding attention and engaging interest, of seizing control. And this is exactly what thousands of ordinary people are doing in an attempt to reclaim their place in the national consciousness - with technology providing the links in a global chain.

The campaign isn't against wealth or authority, just the abuse of it.

Lezette Engelbrecht, online features editor, ITWeb

At the weekend, a wave of protests spanning 82 countries from Tokyo to SA saw people demonstrate against the powers that be in a global 'day of rage'. The event was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has seen thousands of US citizens camp out at a park close to the nation's financial hub over the past 30 days. The crowd's physical invasion reflects a push from general society to displace the domination of wealthy corporates, as millions of Americans buckle under economic pressure.

Using the power and reach of social networking, protestors have raised their whisper to a shout, amplified by thousands of connections that encourage people to join the call to action. The movement has grown in size and influence in the past month, with demonstrators in more than 1 500 cities gathering on Saturday to demand an end to corporate greed, social injustice and environmental destruction.

The global village concept has been tossed around in social and economic circles for years, but only recently has this been realised in a tangible sense for millions of ordinary people.

Building connections - whether between local communities or with groups across the globe - is something that's become woven into the fabric of society. Thanks to global message boards like Twitter, one can view people's ideas and activities in a second-by-second stream, spreading relevant information across borders like never before.

Many protestors say they represent “the 99%” - the majority who want a say in the way systems are devised and implemented, instead of it being dictated by a select few with money and power. The figure stems from Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz's famous finding that the top 1% of Americans control 40% of the nation's wealth.

While the individual topics of protest differed from country to country, the demonstrations shared a sense of solidarity that has been difficult to generate in years before the social media boom. The ability to share information, organise and collaborate across continents in real-time has become so ingrained that it's easy to underestimate the impact it's had on activist groups (whether benign or malicious).

Here is a way to tap into the collective skills and participation of millions, around themes that touch their lives. A platform of expression and action for those who otherwise remain voiceless in broader society. The social Web allows people to leverage one of the greatest strengths they have against the so-called “1%” - the power of numbers.

Dark bedfellows

The global financial crisis and ensuing recession, coupled with the ever-increasing demand for food, energy and space, has created widespread and deep-rooted discontent. It laid bare the corruption and greed lurking beneath systems of artificial prosperity, exacting the greatest toll on the citizens who supported these systems - financially or ideologically. And a movement is growing among the 99%, as seen in the slew of uprisings following the revolt in the Middle East. People across the world, from various walks, are uniting against a universal malaise - the suppression of the majority's rights for the benefit of the minority.

If it all starts to sound a little socialist, the campaign isn't necessarily against wealth or authority, just the abuse of it. For both social ills and environmental degradation, it's become a case of reality versus riches. Unemployment rates and national debts weigh heavy on the global social conscience. At the same time, pollution and the relentless consumption of finite resources are threatening the planet's ability to sustain life. As environmentalist Bill McKibben notes in a recent interview with the Guardian, the science is clear, but money and politics will ultimately decide the world's fate.

Most people are not in the position to instil the systematic changes that will make a real difference to issues like poverty, disease and climate change. But we rely on elected governments and influential organisations to supply us with the policies, products and services to enable us to make a collective difference. So while most of us drive petrol cars and buy oil-based plastics and use coal-based electricity, it's because we haven't been given much of a choice. We contribute to our own demise by supporting the very companies which influence lawmakers and destroy the earth, because their monopolies enable them to keep a stranglehold on the market. Exxon Mobil made more than $30 billion in profit last year - more than the GDP of many African countries.

As seen with the recession, quick fixes have limited success, because the rot runs deep. The same goes for environmental pressures: when water supplies diminish, crops fail and natural disasters increase in intensity, there's no fast way to reverse the damage. The repercussions will reverberate throughout the world in ways we cannot control with financial summits or clever strategies. You cannot lobby or buy off nature.

The 'Occupy' movement, along with others, is seeing the increasing overlap of activist interests, and social media is joining these causes in a far broader affront on those threatening the collective wellbeing.

The power of the 1% has allowed them to occupy the seas and forests, to engulf villages and smaller businesses, and to fill up far more space than they're due. And now the walls of global discontent have begun to push back.

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