Small Change; Why the revolution will not be tweeted

Gladwell, M. (2010, October 4). Small Change; Why the revolution will not be tweeted.  The New Yorker, 86(30), p. 46.

In this essay by Gladwell he starts out discussing the protest that took place in Greensboro, North Carolina by four black students. They were protesting the prejudice that took place towards blacks. They were standing up for civil rights. This one particular sit-in was the result of other protests prior to  known as sit-ins throughout the south, and as far as Texas within a month. Eventually the numbers grew as the word spread around the country. These four black students were close friends, and had face to face contact. These strong ties are not the same today with the use of social media. This revolution took place without the internet, facebook or tweeter. Today these tools are used to get the word spread quicker for activism, but the platforms of social media are formed from weak ties. However, these weak ties could also lead to motivating groups to protest, but over the internet protestors could be across the world. The article ends with a teacher from NYU who demonstrated the organization and power of the internet. The internet and social media as shown in this article can be used for good but have relationships that are not strong.