Gladwell makes a salient point: activism in the age of social media has dispensed with the close ties of personal connections in favor of the weak ties of abstract fandom. We have more access to information now, but our networks are no longer resilient in the face of actual adversity.

This is a thought provoking piece that challenges conventional wisdom about the power of social media. Gladwell chooses his anecdotes and evidence carefully to build a persuasive case. Other anecdotes could tell different stories, which means his perspective might be completely wrong. But his level of detail, arguments and evidence are clearly worth considering carefully.

Beautifully written piece on "Why the revolution will not be tweeted". As usual, Gladwell cuts to the point and transforms our understanding of a phenomenon. In this article, he provides a devastating critique of the idea that social media will increase social activism and its impact. Through a series of examples and consideration of network theory, he argues convincingly for an alternative interpretation: social media "makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact."

As usual the New Yorker comes up with a thoughtful, well constructed article using powerful narratives to contrast live participation in events to the growing trend of cyber-participation. Underlying the article is the concept that traditional relationships and face-to-face socialization are in flux, as we as we make greater use of emerging powerful, more depictive technology.

The author provides strong arguments for why organizational structure is important to effective activism—and why today's digital networks are not structured to achieve real change.

A timely, thorough wake up to the irrationality of some of the beliefs being spread around about social media and what it can achieve.

This is good journalism because it recalls a story from first hand experience while drawing on current trends and global news. It's pitch is captivating and the first half is well written. Although, I did not understand fully understand why I was reading the article until about halfway, I thought Gladwell brought it together in a concise conclusion. He used references from respected professionals and was able to reach a wide audience. I really enjoyed this article.