Networks in the network: activism and social media

Abstract

From the study of 39 urban activism groups in Belo Horizonte-MG, thepresent article seeks to understand the action of civil society asone of the many actors that produce the cities. As this V!RUS issue’seditorial heralds, "the contemporary city is produced bymultiple actors, from public managers, planners and scholars toprivate business groups, third sector organizations and, inparticular, by its inhabitants." (2017, s.p). However, theimbalances of power between these actors are evident, which Souza andRodrigues (2004) emphasize in the existing consonance between theState and the already privileged groups of society.

The articulations between urban activism are the most dramaticmoments of rupture - even if temporary - of this scenario ofimbalance, making it possible to catalyze the construction of commonprojects among groups of organized civil society. Informationtechnologies are a valuable tool in networking among urban activism,which is increasingly using WhatsApp, Facebook, and other digitalsocial networks. It is precisely in the analysis of these means,especially Facebook, that this article is built. To do so, urbanactivism fan pages were monitored as well as their interactions,occurring through Facebook likes and content sharing.

Obviously, the relationships between urban activism go beyondFacebook. However, the connections occurring in this social networkreproduce several characteristics of the other articulations, insideand outside the digital environment, such as its ephemerality, itsconnection to emergency moments or the recurrence of some commonguidelines.