My first experience was about a year ago when a new radio station in Ottawa bought some bus and other advertisements containing sexist put down images of women. I joined a FB group working to get the signs taken down. I also phoned a station advertiser saying I wouldn’t shop in their location as long as they advertised on that station.

After a few weeks the radio station pulled the ads.

BUT they are our elected officials and they should be working on our behalf. In Parliament now. That Harper shut down the process infuriates me…and that’s why this non-voter joined that Facebook group.

A number of these people (including people I invited, and who I was surprised to see join) were fed up with Harper’s tactics but didn’t know what first step to take to express their anger. Facebook was that first step. Joining the group meant joining thousands of other people who felt just as angry, and it led to finding out about other ways to express their anger about the situation–including writing letters to MPs, planning demonstrations, sharing information about the repercussions of the prorogue on legislation in progress and investigations underway.

Pleas for innovative web comedy aside (??), Hirsh’s shaming came off as being remarkably similar to those at the Star, NOW magazine (surrealistically) and the National Post: “Facebook is for losers.” I guess if you can’t drop everything and mount a multi-platform campaign against Harper complete with community toolkits and Navigator spokesperson talking points, better to crawl back under your rock and not do anything at all.

Thankfully, it appears that more people are continuing to join the group, are exchanging information and ideas with each other, and are looking for next steps to follow that first step. What those people really need is *encouragement*, and specific suggestions about how to turn their discontent into constructive long-term action, and how to remain engaged in the political process beyond January 25…particularly if we’re heading towards a spring, or fall, election.

Yes, but that’s a pretty unlikely outcome. I’m not sure what the trigger is that makes people become politically active, but I think it’s far more likely to come from a face-to-face interaction with a prof in the classroom or at a party when you really want to impress that smart cutie you’ve had your eye on… Facebook is an easy way to make a statement, but because it’s so easy it has little meaning. Someone with thousands of friends and hundreds of groups… this is likely just another one on that pile, and isn’t about to get them writing their MP.

70,000 people (as of this writing) is pretty insignificant spread across the country, even if you factor in that Facebook’s audience is going to be more concentrated in some ridings than others. It doesn’t help when under-30 voter turnout in Canada is well below 50%, and under-25 turnout is well below 40%. If we’re going to measure the political impact of things like this, I have to side with Coyne in saying that this has none. Prorogation, like Afghan detainees and climate change, are topics that most Canadians care about, but not so much that it’ll swing votes.

I think people feel powerless to affect actual change. But for extremely little effort, and at little personal cost, you can feel like you’re part of something, like you’ve been heard. And maybe that gives people a feeling of having some power.