The Backuppers’ job is to document the project, which we are doing by setting up and operating this blog. Our main questions are:
What media tools have activist groups used to document their campaigns?
We had some difficulties defining what the questions actually were about. That is why this question has not been answered yet. Blogs usually offer an archiving function, thereby it is at least possible to document what has been posted when and which comments it caused.
Which social media platforms do you plan to use to create an archive of your campaign?
It was finally decided to use this blog to archive the campaign. We shall link content used in the campaign to illustrate our work.
How do you plan to make a record of your campaign accessible to other activists?
It seems essential to link with other activists in the same field to make the actual campaign known. The same applies for the documentation. The best way to promote it would be in activists’ networks or on news pages like Digg, so that it can be found and maybe is talked about and spread. The group will decide how to handle this matter at the end of our campaigning phase.
These were our first ideas of what we would be doing:
After the blog had been set up, our main task was to document the campaign and our respective activities. We further prepared a small interview to be used for the taste test. Unfortunately, this could not be conducted as none of us was able to join the event due to working on Wednesdays.
These are some of the Backuppers’ conclusions as to the campaign:
- In the beginning, it was hard to figure out what ‘documenting the campaign’ actually meant.
- Preparing two separate documentations made collaboration within our group hardly feasible.
- Having separate campaign / overall project group / Berlin team pages on Facebook was great to be able to follow the respective activities during the campaign.
- Working with WordPress and producing content for the blog was fun.
Finally these are the Backuppers’ recommendations for people who want to create their own social media campaign:
- Documenting your campaign is essential for evaluation and future reference!
- Think of a proper way of documenting your campaign and set up the necessary tool / structure before your campaign starts, then you can document what you have been doing from the very beginning!