Summary: The Logic Of Connective Action

According to Bennett and Segerberg, organizationally enabled networks tend to receive more positive media attention because they have specific action frames that can be discussed by the media and tend to be more organized in terms of action and cohesion. In contrast, while crowd-enabled networks that include a large number of members may have the ability to affect the public to a similar degree, perceived levels of commitment and engagement tend to fluctuate, resulting in a media coverage that may be less favorable. However, these variable levels of engagement and participation are consistent with the previous discussion of personalized participation within connective action networks. It is important to note that collective and connective …show more content…
According to Bennett, collective action frames operate such that individuals who are part of such an action network must adopt a collective identity in order to take part in the network. Furthermore, digital communication does not shift the organization, structure, and dynamics of collective action networks; instead, they reinforce existing processes and norms that exist within the organization. However, in contrast, connective action networks stem from the personalization of politics, which occurred as a result of shifts from group-oriented political activity that have been occurring throughout history, allowing for more individualized participation. Digital technologies have also facilitated this by allowing for the creation of social networks that allow connected individuals to organize action and operate using personalized action …show more content…
Such networks allow for personalized participation within movements and connect people into networks instead of groups across protest spaces. These networks are connected via weak ties, which create links between different networks that may exist within a protest space. Additionally, connective action networks appeal to new audiences of people who have varying levels of political involvement but still want to participate in the protest space to some degree, and shift from the norms of group-oriented, collectivist movements that dominated the protest space in the past. This is consistent with the idea of networked individualism, which is discussed by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman in Networked: The New Social Operating System. According to Rainie and Wellman, instead of operating within clearly defined groups, individuals are part of multiple networks and participate within all of them to varying degrees, and this can include connective action networks, as participation within such networks is individualized and personalized. Furthermore, these networks have begun to emerge within and across protest spaces with relative speed, as digital technologies have become used more