Even revolutionaries fret over new media. The challenge facing the dozen activists preparing for Occupy the London Stock Exchange--next weekend's Occupy Wall Street-style event--was whether to use the group's twitter handle (#Occupylsx) or website (Occupylsx.org) on banners.
Two young women, including Occupy London Faceboook group co-founder Kai Wargalla, said placing hashtags front and center would keep the campaign cutting edge and aligned with the spirit of the Arab Spring (which famously utilized micro-blogging). A majority worried about accessibility, favoring a url.
"As much as I'm on twitter," said Ronan McNern, an activist in his 30s, "It only reaches a certain media savvy group."
Not everyone at Saturday's banner making workshop had a twitter account, although they all agreed the goal was to get people online, hopefully turning from television coverage to the internet.
In the end the website appeared on the main banner. "A .org gets to a wider audience," activist Matthew Slatter said.
And, as long as the keyword appeared, the message should resonate. "The word Occupy is what unites everything that's going on around the world," Slatter said.
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