Inspired by Allison Fine's report for the Case Foundation, "Social Citizens," this month's Net2ThinkTank question was, "Is Online Activism Good for Social Change?"

Ivan Boothe of thequixoticlife says that online activism is good for social change, but the bigger question is:

"Online activism is good for social change — but what kind of social change?

Many nonprofits use social networks and online activism as a way to boost their membership rolls and donation levels. As I've written before, that seems less useful to me than focusing on empowering an effective movement — whether or not people donate to your organization or sign up for your newsletter. This isn't to minimize the challenges everyone faces on how to support working for social change, both financially and emotionally. But it is to say that movements are bigger than any one nonprofit. Certainly, organizations can ignore that and focus on using MySpace to get new email addresses and Facebook to drum up donations — but frankly, I don't think that has a lot to do with social change.

Only when the operational concerns are placed secondary to social change concerns do I see social change really being possible. It's not a secondary outcome; it has to be the primary concern. And that's true, in my opinion, whether you're talking about online or offline social change.

Jonathan Tarr of HASTAC says, "online activism is ubiquitous among the Millenials generation and should absolutely continue, in spite of perceptions that our lifestyle is a waste of time that shields us from real issues."

Finally, shortly after the Net2ThinkTank question was posted, Dan McQuillan sent me a link to an interesting Global Voices Online post, Egypt: Facebooking the Struggle that includes an email interview with blogger and activist, Nora Younis, about the role of Internet in Egypt as a platform for political activism. When blogger Sami Ben Gharbia asked her,

"The use of web tools has caused the arrest of some of those activists, but it also helped release the American student James Karl Buck who was arrested while photographing the 6 April demonstration. His Twittered message ‘ARRESTED‘ through his cell phone alerted the world about his arrest. Who do you believe is going to win this new kind of battle of information?"

Younis replied:

"On April 5 the number of my Twitter update followers was 90. On April 6 it was 130, and today it is 180. Only because I was Twittering strike and detainees updates. James Buck gained wide support through his Twitter SMS. More people are joining the blogsphere, Facebook, and Twitter by the hour. I don't think this could ever be reversed. There is a techie, passionate, frustrated generation now on the playground….and one could only expect more to come. In few years time there will be no need for registration of political parties. Like-minded people will organise and will be heard"

What do you think? "Is Online Activism Good for Social Change?"