Collective Causes & Groups

What kinds of collective causes have you become a part of? Did the cause have a website? How did you learn about the cause? How did you participate? What kind(s) of technology were used to communicate re: the group forming or group action?

Shirky could not be more dead on when he describes that our 'social urge to share information isn't new.' - page 149. He then describes that "Prior to e-mail and weblogs, we clipped articles and published family newsletters. Recalling these older behaviors, it's tempting to conclude that our new tools are merely improvements on existing behaviors; this view is both right and wrong." There has always been an urge to share information yet with the development of the web and networking sites, the ease of sharing information has broadened those urges. These sites make it quick and easy to share opinions and interests, which attracts others of the same interests and can then form a network or a group.

As for a personal example, one group that I joined that was a in high school in support of a friend's sick mom. She had been fighting ALS for a few months and many people in the town came together to help raise money, awareness and especially support for the family. Although people had constantly been supporting the family, the group became 'official' on facebook, which turned out to be a great way to communicate with the members. Eventually, by word of mouth, many more people came to her support.