OMGs! Offline-based movement organizations, online-based movement organizations and network mobilization: a case study of political bloggers in Singapore

The proliferation of Internet technologies has paved the way for technology adoption among marginalized communities and individuals for advancing varied political and civic agendas. Social movement scholars advocate that technology is becoming an integral component of the social movement repertoire, and building on their work, Internet scholars have examined the evolving nature of movement organizations and formal networks. Adopting resource mobilization and social network theories as the conceptual framework, this study examines political bloggers' social networks. Through 41 in-depth interviews and 76 survey responses, we collected data on political bloggers' activism participation and their organizational affiliations. Social networking patterns are linked to different organizational affiliation types – membership with formal organizations rooted in the offline context; membership with issue-based online organizations which assume a temporal nature and non-membership. Focusing on the dialectics between offline and online, permanence and temporality, the study showed that activists who belonged to offline-based organizations experienced greater social influence and collectiveness with one another. However, activist bloggers who belonged to online-based groups shared strong ties and sustained communication even after a campaign ended. More significantly, the findings show that online movement groups, although temporal in nature, foster what Sunstein [(2009). Republic.com 2.0 (pp. 19–45). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press] termed as ‘enclave deliberation’, attributed to the inclusive and open networks of online-based movement organizations.