Getting fired up when you're wired up.

We're nearly all connected today. Of course, as the same species we always have all been, but I mean connected online. The Internet began as a learning and research tool, nearly 30 years ago, and now it has remodelled virtually all society. From MSN and MySpace to Vine, social media and online chatrooms have ushered in a new definition of networking and interaction.

And now, it has inspired a whole new phenomenon: Internet activism. If that's a sign of our times, I believe it is a good one. Because the Internet gives everybody, from a head of state down to the most obscure citizen, a soapbox they can get up on whenever they like. It began with the Iraq War, and since then online activism has given rise to the Arab Spring, the Black Lives Matter and Occupy movements, the pro-gun control efforts in the US, and even Barack Obama's election in 2008. Whatever your stance on any of those, and whether you played a role in any, there's no denying their significance or that of how they came to pass.



Another event that comes to mind here is Margaret Thatcher's death in 2013, which several commentators labelled the first significant political death in the social media age. Her opponents even used social media to campaign for the song "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz to reach number one in the UK charts the week she died (it made #2); this sparked a counter-campaign from her supporters using the Notsensibles' 1979 hit "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher."

But there can still be too much safety (in a not-going-to-be-arrested sense) and convenience in getting political online. You can do that by all means if you're inclined, but you'll make more of a difference if you maintain it after logging off. That said, staging or participating in a public protest is never something to do lightly or flippantly, and getting political online can backfire regarding employment et cetera depending on how you do it. Nonetheless, another thing online activism is great for is just raising general public awareness of any issue or event. After all, if nobody spreads the word, how can we get out there to make a difference?



That last photo is of a 23-year-old John Curtin, in 1908. He is for me Australia's greatest-ever Prime Minister, and he remains the only Australian PM to have served jail time. That was for attending an anti-conscription rally during World War I (he was released the next day). Thankfully, today conscription is long gone, and as I just said, protesting publicly (be it online or in the streets) is noble and brave, but should never be done impulsively. But were John Curtin among others alive today, I'm sure they would agree with me that many wrongs still must be righted, with whatever arena and through peaceful means.