Online networks of student protest: the case of the living wage campaign

Abstract

Contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs) have given rise to networked communities useful in organizing, coordinating, supporting and maintaining 'real life' activism. This article examines the campus living wage movement among college students in the United States to identify a networked activist community, its key components and the consequences for its members. A refinement of Howard's network ethnography approach serves as a mixed methods design strategy. A network analysis of hyperlinks revealed the structure of the network, while member interviews were used to discuss the importance of such connections. The findings revealed the importance of ICTs in maintaining a movement through the creation of an unintentional networked community in times of both mobilization and latency. Notably, the resultant network has allowed the campus living wage movement to overcome previous limitations inherit in student protest, and sustained the campus struggle through several student generations.