Boyd Neil, a former political activist and trade unionist, spoke on the importance of utilizing the internet to help fuel social movements. Neil, a self-proclaimed “left-wing activist,” was arrested during a demonstration in Cananda on the one year anniversary of the War Measures Act, a “fascist” law (as he called it) that limited the freedom of Canadians. He went on to organize for unions and other political movements.

Neil compared the difference between being an activist in the 1970’s and today. Speaking about technology he said that, “the tools that activists have in order to challenge things in society that we think are wrong are huge for organizers.” Of course in his day there was no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Cellphones, livestream or any of the other technological tools that activists today are able to take advantage of. The Arab Spring was one example of activists using technology to make social change today.

Neil  argues that being an activist online, as in blogging, Tweeting, using Facebook, etc., is not being lazy, but rather is a different and new form of activism. He also argues that it is up to the organizers to engage those people who show interests. He outlined a four step plan to get people active. First is connection, as in; someone “liking” a post on Facebook or Retweeting something on Twitter. Then is engagement and influence; in other words, getting the person to research the topic and tell their network of friends about it. And finally is action; getting the person to get off the couch and go out and act. Neil says that “it’s the job of the organizer to get people active.”