Social Movements, Virtual Communities and Development

Abstract

The text analyses the social networks and new technologies in the communication for development and social change. The mediated public space is deeply modifying current processes of communications: social movements of protest seem to be strictly related to technological changes. In this context, NGOs face a challenge, because they have to use contemporary technologies in order of keeping their function of mediation and guide in the social change path. Nevertheless, analyses of their communication practices show that they are in trouble especially with social networks participation, which on the contrary seem to have been a milestone in the current social movements and activism (i.e. Arab springs or the 15M in Spain). Following studies about technology and society, we identify the concept of virtual community like a key for the switch from the discourses to actions, considering communities as discursive buildings. Analyzing the discourses of social networks means to go into the socio-semiotics frame, as method and theory. Semiotics, which searches and analyses the making of sense, provides unexplored points of view about concepts like multimediality and interactivity.