[Air-l] welcoming thoughts about activists and 'new media'

[Linda Jean Kensicki]

Hello,
I'm doing some research with people involved in non-profit organizations and
their use of 'new media'. I am trying to find out how exactly they use
technology to organize and navigate through information, what types of
information is transferred between groups and why users essentially engage
the technology ‹ in this case, for social change.

I'm interested in gaining a deeper understanding about horizontal and
vertical flows of communication, physical connectivity, data communality,
interactivity and ease of use in organizing social-change networks within a
technological framework for democratic advancement.

I'm preparing a focus group session, and with such a wealth of different
ideas/individuals/thoughts on this listserve, I was wondering if any of you
had some ideas as to what types of questions you would ask...what
explorations do you think are worthy in this area? What specific questions
would you ask if you were in this focus group with non-profits?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide...I will be sure to share
any information I gain from the meeting.
Linda Jean Kensicki