{"id":49362,"date":"2017-01-27T08:07:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=49362"},"modified":"2017-01-27T08:09:51","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:09:51","slug":"social-media-brings-womens-march-on-chicago-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/social-media-brings-womens-march-on-chicago-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media brings Women’s March on Chicago to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kara Voght<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the hours following Donald Trump\u2019s presidential victory, a disappointed Liz Radford scrolled through her Facebook feed and noticed posts floating the idea about a women\u2019s march on Washington. Radford decided to gauge interest for a Chicago-based sister march within her own social network the weekend after the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put up a Facebook page on a Saturday morning, and by that night we had a thousand interested people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That social media moment inspired her to begin planning the Women\u2019s March on Chicago. Co-chair Radford and her fellow organizers relied on social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram to galvanize a grassroots effort that culminated in Saturday\u2019s 250,000-person march.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s social media\u2019s own creature,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have this tool available, and because you have that tool, that informed your thinking about how you\u2019ll start implementing your idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Protestors
Protesters cross a bridge in Grant Park to line up for the Women’s March on Chicago (Kara Voght\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Radford, 45, said the initial overwhelming response speaks to the power of social media platforms that make it easy for people to get involved with causes they care about.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to leave your house, you don\u2019t have to call anybody, you just log onto your computer,\u201d she said. \u201cIt offers an instant community, and I think a lot of people need that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That \u201cinstant community,\u201d built of over 36,000 Facebook page members and almost 2,500 Twitter followers, not only discovered the event online\u2014they helped shape it. Radford said the dialogue across social media informed how her team approached the day\u2019s events. They received a ton of feedback from their passionate online community, on topics ranging from nature of feminism to organizing advice from experienced activists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of information to mine,\u201d she said. \u201cIn several cases, we\u2019d pick up the phone or have an IM conversation with someone who either had criticisms or support we felt was significant. We really listened to all aspects because our goal is a successful inclusive march.\u201d<\/p>\n

To the organizers, inclusion meant more than welcoming as many individuals as possible. In addition to a physical march, they also hosted a virtual march<\/a>, a space on their website to share any social media interactions reflecting on the march. Those who used the event\u2019s hashtag, #womensmarchchi, could share their content to the wall. People shared almost 7,000 tweets mentioning the march\u2019s Twitter handle or hashtag Saturday.<\/p>\n

Amy Schoeffel, 42, the virtual march organizer, said it served as an especially important space for people who couldn\u2019t be there Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started off with people with disabilities in mind, but it blossomed into things like, the mom with three kids who just really can\u2019t make it to the march,\u201d Schoeffel said. \u201cSomeone posted to our page, \u2018Hey, I\u2019d really like to go, but I\u2019m undergoing chemo treatment.\u2019 Another woman posted, \u2018I\u2019ll be in labor at that time, that\u2019s when I\u2019m being induced.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A wall on the march’s webpage displayed social media messages from protesters near and far (Courtesy of Women’s March of Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marcher Keila Cruz, 26, a social worker from Chicago, had that population in mind as she captured scenes from the march on Snapchat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want everybody to see what we\u2019re doing out here,\u201d Cruz said at the march. \u201cIt\u2019s [Snapchat] an easy way to share information back and forth, because there are some people who work today and can\u2019t be out here in person to see what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of broadly sharing the march\u2019s message digitally resonated even with typically shy social media users. Sara Altshuler, 22, a music teacher from Chicago, said she typically never uses Snapchat, but had already shared several scenes before the march began Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really post a lot on social media, but today just feels like the day to spread the word,\u201d Altshuler said.<\/p>\n

Despite its crucial role in gathering support and sharing the day, Columbia Journalism School professor Todd Gitlin, a scholar of media and organizing efforts, warned that social media engagement does not translate into sustained change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes social media so useful in the short run also makes them illusionary in the longer run,\u201d Gitlin said. \u201cIt may seem so easy to make things happen via social media, but people think sending out a lot of tweets and retweets amounts to organizing. It\u2019s not, it\u2019s a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

To\u00a0Gitlin, face-to-face contact is key.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how a virtual network is going to put the heat on members of Congress, or state legislators,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Schoeffel is keeping Gitlin\u2019s perspective in mind as she considers what comes in the days after the march. She sees the march as the start of an effort that brings change to the community. The day after the march, the website posted a list of Chicago-area organizations to help people connect with initiatives that are important to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the idea of this march and it being a launching point for more good deeds and more good actions to help support other women in the months and years to follow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: A protester captures scenes on the Women\u2019s March on Chicago in Grant Park over the weekend. (Kara Voght\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kara Voght In the hours following Donald Trump\u2019s presidential victory, a disappointed Liz Radford scrolled through her Facebook feed and noticed posts floating the idea about a women\u2019s march on Washington. 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