Sneckdowns: digital communities

Before you complete this discussion, complete Friday's readings, which can be found in Week 7 Readings. These readings will serve as a bridge between our last unit, on the city, and our next unit, on digital spaces. 

Part 1:

For this discussion, I'm providing a series of open-ended questions that I want you to answer.  Your answers to these questions should total at least 300 words and should make references to the article and videos. 

1. Chao suggests that sidewalks are important public spaces that are shaped and shaped by power relations. What power relationship is the #Sneckdown movement is engaging in?  And how you might connect ideas in this article to other ideas about "the street" and "public spaces" that we've discussed in the class so far in the class? 

2. How are people in the #sneckdown community participating in local, global, and digital communities at the same time? And/or, how does participating in this hashtag make someone part of community? What might that reveal about how digital spaces work? Or, what might that reveal about the way that digital activism works? 

3. What makes the #sneckdown movement rhetorically effective? Consider the texts they are creating, the spaces they are using to disseminate their argument, the audiences they are reaching, etc. 

4. Draw a connection. For example, can you think of any other digital activism that had a bearing on decisions being made in Miami (if so, explain)? Or, have you ever participated in #hashtag activism (if so, how did it work)? Can you think of any changes to Miami (as a physical city) that social media users might want to get behind? You can make any connection to the reading, these are just ideas. 

LINK TO VIDEOS/ARTICLE: 

https://vimeo.com/19607481

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejPEM2p-PNE

https://www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2019/11/26/sneckdown-a-digital-community-using-snow-to-combat-poor-urban-design/