The Participatory Media/Collective Action Guidebook

Details

Techniques: research, design of rating systems, report writing
Tools: wikis, spreadsheets
Team: 2 School of Information Masters Students with backgrounds in Communications and Computer Science (myself), 1 Masters of Public Health, 1 Masters of Journalism, and 1 Masters in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Website: http://pmguide.wetpaint.com

Design Objective

Implement a collaborative wiki for individuals, organizations, scholars, and other interested parties to learn about various forms of online participatory media and how this media can be used for collective action.

Design Solution

The PMCA guidebook, a wiki and rating system for the best uses of various online participatory media.

Result

Users can use the guidebook to compare and contrast different participatory media according to the same criteria, and choose the ones most appropriate to their needs and preferences. E.g. if members of a student group were interested in mobilizing collective action on the Burmese monks’ protests, this guidebook would allow them to compare different participatory media and choose among them. Note that the participatory media are not mutually exclusive, but can be leveraged together in an articulated PMCA strategy.