Social Media for Community Organizing: The Fight to Save Oconomowoc Dispatch

Abstract

Using theories about community organizing and civic engagement, this study examines a small Wisconsin community’s efforts to save its local 911 dispatch center from being dismantled. It is a qualitative project that draws on autoethnography and interpretive content analysis to show that community organizing across multiple spheres of engagement (e.g., online and face-to-face) helps people recognize their ability to impact local politics and enact tangible change in their community. Our case study of the Save Oconomowoc Dispatch campaign suggests that social media tools are an important element of community organizing and that online citizen-led campaigns can help residents feel empowered and better prepared to act in offline settings. Most importantly, we show that a push campaign focused on disseminating information, such as the use of Facebook posts that do not feature comments, can be sufficient in helping residents recognize the importance of local services and take real-world action. This finding suggests that extensive online deliberations may not always be necessary for effective community organizing and that community leaders’ strategic use of one-way interactions on social media are effective ways of engaging residents in local politics and government.