Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age (Hardcover)

by Allison Fine (Author)
Key Phrases: using social media, connected activism, sociotechnical capital, Connected Age, Square State, Excalibur Effect (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Fine outlines strategies for "connected activism" in this idealistic, lucidly written account about using the Internet to build up networks among activists who can pool information and other resources to help create lasting solutions that address the roots of social problems. Citing organizations such as the advocacy group MoveOn.org and MeetUp.com, which promotes off-line gatherings like those that propelled the Dean for President campaign, Fine emphasizes a mind-set of self-determination among citizens and two-way rather than top-down communication from organizations. She takes a cue from the 1999 "Cluetrain Manifesto," aimed at corporations that were out of touch with consumers, translating its promotion of digital communication to the activist sphere. Some of her rhetoric seems hyperbolic, as when she suggests that online activism provides a neutral playing field in which women can advance their causes without getting dismissed because of their gender, and she pushes hard on the readiness of "plugged-in" Generation Y to change the world. On the whole, though, she provides activists with effective guidelines for streamlining the pursuit of social change through instant messaging, blogs, chat rooms and Blackberries.
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Review
"...a fresh, zestful way of thinking about and organizing social change work." (PublicNet.co.uk, October 9, 2008)

Thoughtful and thought provoking, which addresses technology strategies, relationships, and organizational change within the nonprofit sector. Far from a technical manual, it raises compelling issues that deserve consideration by all nonprofit organizations. (Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 05/01/2008)

Fine (founder, Innovation Network, Inc.), a New York social entrepreneur, writes on the way new social media-the Internet, cell phones, digital tools-allow activists to create new groupings of self-directed and self-responsible progressives. She believes that in this new connected era of the Internet, activist networks trump hierarchy, and she touches on how social media have already facilitated progressive actions. She points out the need for activists and progressive organizations to harness the new technologies while genuinely listening to those engaged in the new social media. She also ponders the future of activism in a connected age. This work contains some practical-and even inspiring-advice but is really a meditation on the interaction between technology and traditional activism. Most useful in academic and large public libraries. (Library Journal, November 15, 2006)

Fine outlines strategies for "connected activism" in this idealistic, lucidly written account about using the Internet to build up networks among activists who can pool information and other resources to help create lasting solutions that address the roots of social problems. Citing organizations such as the advocacy group MoveOn.org and MeetUp.com, which promotes off-line gatherings like those that propelled the Dean for President campaign, Fine emphasizes a mind-set of self-determination among citizens and two-way rather than top-down communication from organizations. She takes a cue from the 1999 "Cluetrain Manifesto," aimed at corporations that were out of touch with consumers, translating its promotion of digital communication to the activist sphere. Some of her rhetoric seems hyperbolic, as when she suggests that online activism provides a neutral playing field in which women can advance their causes without getting dismissed because of their gender, and she pushes hard on the readiness of "plugged-in" Generation Y to change the world. On the whole, though, she provides activists with effective guidelines for streamlining the pursuit of social change through instant messaging, blogs, chat rooms and Blackberries. (PublishersWeekly.com, October 23, 2006)

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (September 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787984442
• ISBN-13: 978-0787984441
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,841 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visionary work - must-have on your social ventures shelf, October 24, 2008

By	Tom Watson "tomwatson" - See all my reviews

Allison Fine's Momentum is the work of a real visionary, and it sets the stage for the best of today's wired social ventures.

Fine clearly understands - and respects - the demographic changes in the marketplace, especially the role of millennials in changing society.

To me, Momentum is particularly important to organizations who know that change is in the wind, but need some kind of roadmap that's friendly toward existing institutions. I couldn't imagine planning for a more wired, activist future - taking advantage of social networks to expand a base of support, for example - without reading Momentum first.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for nonprofits, January 4, 2009

By	Book Worm "maverick" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This books is a must read for nonprofit executives; board members and staff. It is full of applicable information regardless of size of organization. Easy to read/understand. Fine created a "road map".

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars basic introduction to social media and web 2.0, December 29, 2007

By	JimR (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

A fine, basic introduction to how social networking technologies on the internet are being used. If this is not new to you then there is little for you in this book. If you run a nonprofit organization and "web 2.0" is an unknown world, this is a nice primer.