A GUIDE TO TWEETING FOR PEACE and SOCIAL CHANGE

A GUIDE TO TWEETING FOR PEACE and SOCIAL CHANGE
http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/profiles/blog/show?id=780588%3ABlogPost%3A726981&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post
Since its founding in 2006, Twitter has rapidly grown to be one of the most powerful online platforms for connecting hundreds of millions of individuals and organizations around the world. While the estimates vary, Twitter estimates they have over 100 million active monthly users of the platform and almost 500 million registered Tweeters, with several hundred million tweets sent per day (see http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-statistics-2012_b18914) . The service is experiencing exponential growth and has rapidly changed the Internet (see the bottom of the guide for an infographic that has more detailed info/stats on Twitter).

This resource guide provides an introduction to Twitter, discuss the role it can and has played in peacebuilding and social change and offers key resources to begin actively using the platform. Over the past few years, Twitter has rapidly become a powerful tool for connecting social activists fostering political reform and change in many regions of the world. From the Arab spring countries, to Occupy Wall Street in the US, to how individuals inform and connect on serious issues such as organizing political movements, documenting resistance, reporting on violence, to more lighthearted uses such as connected groups around common issues, ranging from education to humor, Twitter has and will continue to have a tremendous impact. It is important to note Twitter is part of the larger movement of using mobile tools for social tools, such as the field of crisis mapping (http://crisismappers.net/ a separate PCDN guide should be forthcoming soon on this field).