In all the furore over social media's inflammatory role in the riots,
little has been said about how local networks can bring neighbourhoods
together
Much of the rhetoric following the disturbances in London
is about reasserting connections and alliances: "our community", "those
outsiders", "working with the police/community/local businesses" and so
on. There's a sense of finger-in-the-dyke desperation in the attempt to
shore up community resilience against unpredictable damage.
Meanwhile, reports of the role of social media in orchestrating criminality have been accumulating – with particular insight being offered in Jonathan Akwue's note about Blackberry Messenger.
But little has been said of the potential for social media in response
to disorder – as a resource for sharing defensive information,
challenging falsehoods, providing reassurance and, ultimately, shoring
up community resilience.
Traffic to the local social network Harringay Online increased significantly on Sunday, along with related activity captured on HOL's Twitter stream.
The site's core geographical scope does not quite reach to Tottenham,
but of course its interest does and in lieu of a more local online
focus, it was heavily used.
As events spread south on Sunday evening, the Brixton blog Twitter stream trended high across London, keeping people informed about transport availability and other news.
What
is striking about HOL's role is that while media coverage was dominated
by spectacle and emotion, the site was quietly fulfilling the kind of
role the politicians call for: sharing information, challenging
misinformation, urging calmness and offering reassurance.
HOL's
coverage started on Saturday evening with alerting posts and links to
live news coverage. These were followed by responsibly-toned
confirmation messages, like this:
"On Twitter last night there
were reports of Turkish men outside their shops tooled up ready to
protect them. Walking down Green Lanes now I can confirm that as true."
There were deliberate attempts to show a considered response:
"There
are simmering tensions and we need to be especially careful not to jump
to conclusions about who was behind last night's events. A sad, sad day
for our neighbours."
Speculation began to emerge of course, but
because of the established debating culture of the site, unsubstantiated
assertions tend to get challenged – usually with politeness.
Nonetheless the administrators were on high alert and stepped in at one
point as the politics of retribution heated up:
"I've just deleted
a post that was calling for the most severe retribution. I understand
the sadness, but I don't want this site to be used for intemperate calls
for reaction."
Local blogger William Booth argues that these events show the value of citizen journalism in the media mix:
"Citizen journalists can fill the gap in two ways," he says. "With local knowledge and with speed of response".
But
because of its collective nature, neighbourhood networks like HOL go
beyond citizen journalism. Several eyewitness accounts confirm HOL's
role as a repository of record, and the site was used to make sure
people protected themselves. One respondent was asked whether they had
noted car registration numbers: another stepped in quickly to advise
that they should not answer.
The messages built up a sense of
sadness and commiseration, illustrating how a local resource like this
can be used for the healing process. By Monday lunchtime, people were
asking what they could do to help those who had been burnt out:
"Does anyone know what is being done for these poor people, or if a fund has been set up to help them?"
Among the responses:
"They're
asking for bedding, towels, clothes, toys and any other material
donations to be taken there. There's an emergency line at the council
for further details."
Similarly in Brixton a tweet has gone out about organising a community clear-up. There simply isn't a better channel for this sort of communication.
The
experience that built Harringay Online is being extended to other areas
around the country by Networked Neighbourhoods, helping local people to
establish their own online communities.
Given HOL's role in providing a record, clarifying information,
providing an outlet for opinion and a source of reassurance, the logic
is that Tottenham's recovery should include a neighbourhood network of
its own.
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