#4Change is a monthly Twitter-based conversation about how social media is helping to create change.

WHY?

Social media is becoming a key driver of social change, allowing for the dissemination of new ideas, the formation of new communities and coalitions and the realization of new efficiencies and reach by existing social change groups. Throughout the world activists, organizers and non-profit professionals are exploring how best to use these tools, and sharing the results using the tools themselves. However these conversations are less international and therefore less effective than they could be.

We have so much to learn from each other. From new forms of political campaigning in the United States, experiments in e-government and civic participation in England, from the fight against internet censorship in Australia and New Zealand and from start-ups in Canada and France. And beyond.

We need a platform for light-weight, easily-organized and openly accessible conversations involving people from numerous countries. Twitter, I believe, provides us with such a platform.

WHAT?

#4Change will take place on the second Thursday of each month between 5-7pm US Eastern Time (GMT-4). Currently that corresponds to:
2-4pm US Pacific Time
10pm-12am UK
7-9am Australian EST (on the second Friday of the month).

The only exception to this is the first #4Change chat which will launch as part of the e-Festival of Ideas hosted by Vibewire (www.vibewire.org – www.twitter.com/vibewire). This first chat will cover the same territory as the “Social Media Making a Change” panel in the e-Festival.

This will take place on Thursday May 7 (May 8 in Australia) at the usual time.

WHO?

#4Change is organized by a host committee comprising social media for social change enthusiasts and practitioners in several countries.

#4Change was initially proposed by Tom Dawkins (@tomjd) in Washington DC who is joined by Todd Pitt (@zerostrategist – Washington DC), Morgan Sully (@memeshfit – Oakland, California), Natasha Judd (@tashjudd – London, England), Edward Harran (@edwardharran – Brisbane, Australia) and Vibewire (@vibewire – Sydney, Australia).

#4Change is open to everyone! If you have an opinion, a story, a question or a caveat about social media #4Change we would love to discuss it with you.

HOW?

First you will need a twitter account. To find out more about twitter check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter or just go to www.twitter.com and sign up.

During #4Change use http://search.twitter.com or an application like Tweetdeck or thwirl to follow the #4Change hashtag and keep up with the conversation.

Enter the discussion by just tagging one of your tweets with #4Change (during the hours of the conversation).

TOPICS:

The first #4Change chat will focus on the topic of the “Social Media Making a Change” panel at Vibewire’s e-Festival of Ideas:
“How can social media drive social change? How can those online media tools and applications impact poverty, climate change, unemployment or violence? Or do social media users only exist in a bubble of their conversations with each other? And if it does create change, then how can you measure this? How is it making a difference offline?”

Thursday May 7 (May 8 in Australia), 5-7pm US EDT.

For subsequent chats we will have more focused topics within this area. Please suggest topics you would like covered either in the comments below or by writing to @tomjd on Twitter.

We look forward to having this conversation with you!