By Carlo S. Ople
I was just reading the latest articles on the recently concluded Anti Con-Ass rally on Inquirer.Net. According to the police, this rally had the lowest turnout, around 6,000 based on their estimates.
The organizers, on the other hand, claim that they had 13,000-15,000 warm bodies. You got to ask yourself the question: despite all the outrage this issue has generated, why only 15,000 people went to the streets?
I’m sure there are varied reasons but at the end of the day the measurement of success for events like this is the number of participants. Sadly 15,000 is not representative of the majority of the Filipino people and can easily be dismissed by the politicians pushing for Con Ass.
However, the good news is that on the Internet, we have almost double the number of the people who went to the rally sign up on the “Stop Con Ass Now” cause on Facebook. As of this writing, there are almost 28,000 sign-ups on the cause.
With that in mind, I came up with this short article explaining the strengths of Cyberactivism and why it should be taken seriously not just by the proponents, but also by politicians and organizers who want to provide a platform for the citizens to be part of a cause.
Physical Rallies can be Inconvenient
Let’s face it, life these days is hard. Missing a day of work means a salary deduction or a lost vacation/sick leave. The reality is a lot of Filipinos will not “pay” to be part of a rally by missing work. I think this was the biggest hurdle a lot of office workers had to face in Makati when they wanted to join the rally last night. This was the sentiment of several colleagues I have here in the office.
Rallies also need a convergence point. You physically have to be in one spot on a specific time to be able to make the effort count. This literally makes the rally limited since those who are outside of Manila, especially those in Visayas and Mindanao, cannot participate because they won’t buy a plane ticket and fly all the way here to protest Con Ass.
Virtual Rallies, on the other hand, are completely the opposite. All you need to have to be part of it is to have access to the Internet. The good thing these days is that there are more than 10,000+ Internet cafes spread all over the Philippines and most of them charge very reasonable and affordable rates.
There are a few cafes in Davao that charge as low as P5/hour. By going to the worldwide web, you transcend the inconveniences brought about by physical rallies. You’re still counted and your part of the movement without having to spend that much time, resources, and effort.
Physical Rallies end when they’re finished
This, I think, is the biggest weakness of physical rallies. When the crowd disperses, the event ends, especially if there were only a few or an average number of attendees. Other succeeding rallies are usually treated as separate efforts and they don’t really all add up in terms of metrics.
And that I think is one of the strongest qualities of Virtual Rallies. The moment a person joins, he’s in it for the long haul. The count is cumulative regardless of the time and space. As long as the website is up and running, people will be counted. That’s the reason why the Facebook Cause against Con Ass is already nearing 30,000 sign-ups. Imagine if we give it more time? That number will continue to grow and eventually might even end up more than 100,000.
What is more effective in pushing for a cause? An unsure attendance of 6,000-15,000 in a rally in Makati or a virtual representation of more than 100,000?
Organizers of the Anti Con Ass Campaign should really take Cyberactivism seriously. Given the right firepower, the Facebook approach might actually be more effective in the long run.
Carlo Ople is the main author of New Media Philippines (http://newmedia.com.ph), a blog that aims to help Filipinos maximize and realize the potential of New Media. Apart from being a blogger, Carlo also serves as a Marketing Manager for one of the leading online gaming companies in the Philippines. He is also a freelance digital marketing consultant and has worked with various politicians and business owners expand their reach and influence through the use of social media. Read more about him at New Media Philippines (http://newmedia.com.ph)
August 11th, 2009 at 5:45 am
“Has anyone bothered to ask what the Opposition is offering as an alternative to the current state of affairs? Are the Opposition opposing a situation? Or are they merely opposing a personality?”
that’s a good point to bring up–been actually wondering that myself. I’d like to hear what the alternative will be — although i can’t say much good about the current government, i am wondering about the alternatives.it would be nice to have this enlightened by the opposition.
August 9th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
This virtual rallies had a valid point, this is the main reason of why Senator Trillanes won an election without campaigning for his position while he was and still in Jail, besides pilipinos nowadays is much more practical than during peoples power peaceful revolution with the real Hero Cory Aquino, not chavit singson the hero of edsa2, it needs a virtual presidential candidate who can really pinpoint what political platform issue that needs urgent attention to win the presidency position, the former president Erap uses his eradication rehabilitation against poverty, what i can suggest is real income support for the unemployed whom are now around nine million pilipinos who are really suffering, while PGMA can afford to dine in america for a million pesos, who is really paying this.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Cyberactivism is not as effective as text messaging which was used against Erap.
Cyberactivism only reveals how wide the existing Digital Divide between haves and the the have-nots in this country.
Considering that the World Wide Web is now 15 years old, is Cyberactivism such a new thing?
Or are we just 15 years behind?
August 4th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Has anyone bothered to ask what the Opposition is offering as an alternative to the current state of affairs? Are the Opposition opposing a situation? Or are they merely opposing a personality?
There is a big difference between the two. If the only thing on offer is someone else, well, I think we’ve seen that proposition often enough to be a bit cynical about whether anything different will come about whatever the Opposition delivers. What has so far been lacking is an alternative WAY. There is nothing in the slogans and platitudes mouthed by Oppositions and anyone who attends these “rallies” that remotely resembles a WAY FORWARD.
So the issue here is not really about what rally is held, how it is held, or where it is held. The issue is whether any REAL THINKING underpins the current “activism” we see today.
July 30th, 2009 at 1:37 am
i don’t know if i will fully agree with cesar. But i certainly think he has a point. I hate the current administration. Never liked it. Kay erap an alang ako mag tatyaga,. mag nanakaw siguro si erap pero ang nag bebenipisyo mga mahihirap. si gloria sya lang. Anyway, ang nakakainis sa mga nag rarally na mga kababayan natin tulad ng KMU, Bayan, Gabriella, etc ay ang pag rally halos araw araw, kahit anong issue ipinag lalaban kahit di naman karapat dapat. May mga bagay din na magandang nagawa si Gloria, tulad ng pag papa breast implant. HAHAHA> di lang sya nag benifit doon. Si Syempre si FG. I mean im sure its not everyday masama ang nangyayari. Sa tingin ko bigyan natin ng tsansa ang mga KMU or bayan maupo bilang presidente. pag hindi nila naayos ang bayan natin pwede ho bang tigilan na natin ang mga rally rally na yan kung hindi naman talaga kinakailangan. Tumulong tayo sa ating bayan.Pano? tigilan na natin ang mga pag aalsa na wala sa panahon at sa rason. Kung Si Ka Satur kaya ang presidente? o si teddy casino? mag rarally pa ba kayo? perpekto ba ang mga taong ito? may mga nalalaman ba to sa Ekonomiya? Magaling bang Leader sila? o magaling na maninira ng bayan? Di ako galit sa mga taong ito. Gusto kong may lumalaban para sa demokrasya. Pero sana po bawasan na natin ito pag katapos ni Gloria. MAg tulungan tayo kung gusto ninyong umasenso ang ating bayan. Hindi po ibang tao ang kinakalaban natin. Mag kakababayan po tayo lahat. GLORIA lumayas ka na po. Kung ano man ang ninakaw mo sayo na yan. Hwag mo na lang dagdagan pls.
FG ang Diyos na po ang bahala sayo. Di naman ikaw mapa tunayan kahit may ebidensya at hawak mo po ata lahat. Salamat po sainyo at kay gloria. Nakita na natin an bawal tumiwala sa maliit. Si Gloria parang sili. mas maliit mas maanghang.
Paki usap ko lang kalimutan na natin si Gloria at ang kanyang mga kasalanan. Tama na po yan. Ang importante maka bangon tayo at mag tulungan.