This is a fascinating read by the brilliant Gladwell. In it, he draws a distinction between networked activism (twitter/facebook) and “old-school” hierarchical machine-style mobilization. He contrasts the intimate connections between local NAACP/CORE desegregation activists with the successful efforts of a contemporary New Yorker to retrieve his lost/stolen mobile through the use of social media. He suggests that modern weak-tie activism is best at tweaking, rather than radically challenging, the system. While networked activism may serve to enforce social norms (equity), it is unlikely to do for those who believe that “there are still lunch counters out there that need integrating.”

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