Blogging, Bridging, and Brokering: Analyzing Interconnected Networks in Online Collective Actions

As evident in the mass protests during the Arab Spring and Occupy movements, social media platforms helped the protesters spread messages, organize, and mobilize support for their campaigns. The emergence of collective action facilitated by social media has attracted much attention not only from journalists and political observers but also from researchers of various disciplines. In recent years research devoted to deepening our understanding of online collective action has surged. Yet, due to its novelty and complexity, more research is needed to further our understanding of the many facets of it. Here the authors study the transnational nature of online collective action through the lens of inter-network cooperation. We analyze interaction and support mechanisms between the networks of two online collective actions related to women's rights; i.e. ‘Women to Drive’ (primarily in Saudi Arabia) and ‘Sexual Harassment’ (global). The analysis is based on data collected from blogs from 23 different countries authored by female Muslim bloggers. The methodologies used in this study include: an extraction of social networks for each collective action, mapping of interactions among the actors common to these two networks, and a sentiment analysis on the observed interactions to provide a better understanding of the support mechanisms. The broader goal of the study is to examine the common dynamics between the interconnected collective actions. In both we observe an aspiration toward collective awareness by addressing gender inequality and women's rights. This research contributes to understanding of the mobilization of social movements in the age of digital activism. Moreover, this paper contributes to our understanding of the role of cooperative networks in online collective action.