Digital technologies and collective action

Summary

In this online lecture, Professor Lena Salander from the University of Gothenburg explores the dynamic relationship between digital technologies and collective action. She discusses the challenges of rapid growth, such as fragmentation and message cooptation, and the symbolic associations that can energize new movements. Salander emphasizes the volatility of online collectives due to the mutable nature of digital data and the influence of backend technologies like recommender systems. She concludes by urging a deeper understanding of digital technologies' inherent capacities and their social, cultural, and political entanglements to better analyze contemporary collective action.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Professor Lena Salander introduces herself and her research focus on the relationship between digital technologies and collective action.
• 🔥 Digital platforms and technologies enable contemporary movements to grow rapidly, crossing national and contextual boundaries.
• 💡 Scholars emphasize the characteristics of digital movements and the challenges of rapid growth, such as fragmentation and cooptation of messages.
• 🚨 The risks associated with collective action include individual risks and the political and social impacts of such actions.
• 🤔 It's challenging to define success or failure in collective action, as movements may influence others even without achieving their stated goals.
• 🔗 The concept of symbolic association is explored, showing how symbols like hashtags and memes link movements together.
• 🛠️ Digital technologies are inherently editable and mutable, allowing for changes in meaning and purpose over time.
• 🔄 Data can be reused and transported into new contexts, contributing to the volatility of online collective action.
• 👁️ Invisible backend technologies like recommender systems and machine learning influence what we see and how we interpret information.
• 🌐 The fluidity of data is evident as it moves between contexts, with potential to empower or suppress in unforeseen ways.
• 🔑 To understand digital collectives, it's crucial to recognize the significance of data beyond its initial creation and use, considering the inherent capacities of digital technologies.

Q & A

Who is the speaker of the online lecture?

The speaker is Lena Salander, a professor at the Department of Applied IT at the University of Gothenburg.

What is the main focus of Lena Salander's research?

Lena Salander's research focuses on the relationship between digital technologies and collective action.

What does Lena Salander suggest about the growth of contemporary movements facilitated by digital platforms?

She suggests that digital platforms and technologies allow contemporary movements to grow rapidly, like wildfire, across nations and contexts.

What challenges does Lena Salander highlight in relation to the rapid growth and scaling of movements?

The challenges include high risks of movement fragmentation, cooptation of messages, and risks for individuals engaging in collective action.

What does Lena Salander believe about the difficulty of defining success and failure in contemporary collective action?

She believes it is unproductive to ask about failure and success because movements may not reach stated goals but can still influence and energize new movements through their symbols.

What concept does Lena Salander discuss to illustrate how movements can link together through symbols?

She discusses the concept of 'symbolic association' to show how hashtags or memes can link movements together.

How does Lena Salander describe the inherent attributes of digital technologies?

She describes digital technologies as editable, mutable, and constantly in a state of becoming due to their ability to be altered, changed, and repurposed by new actors.

What example does Lena Salander provide to demonstrate the fluidity and repurpose of digital data?

She provides the example of data from traffic cameras being repurposed to track abortion travels, showing how data can change meaning and purpose over time.

What role do invisible backend technologies play in shaping our interaction patterns and digital behavior?

Invisible backend technologies such as recommender systems and machine learning influence what we see and how we see it, effectively shaping our interaction patterns and digital behavior.

What does Lena Salander emphasize about the significance of understanding digital technologies and their attributes for analyzing collective action?

She emphasizes that understanding how digital technologies work, their social, cultural, and political entanglements, and the inherent capacities of data is crucial for analyzing the emergence and impact of digital collectives.

What implications does Lena Salander discuss regarding the interpretation and significance of data over time?

She discusses that as time progresses and new political realities emerge, the interpretation and significance of data can change, which can have severe consequences for individuals.