This document discusses social media and social change, focusing on its role in Cameroon. It first outlines different types of social change, then discusses how social media has facilitated social change by shaping debates, tracking online conversations, and spreading ideas globally. It notes that over 500,000 people in Cameroon use Facebook, and Douala is in the top 10 African cities for Twitter usage. It highlights challenges social media activists face in Cameroon and proposes strategies like linking groups, engaging selectively with tools, monetizing work, and maintaining efforts long-term. The document promotes a platform called SM4C Cameroon to support social media users driving social change.

1. Social Media for
Social Change
Change, change agents and social
media for Cameroon
Victor van Reijswoud - victor@mis4d.com

2. Outline
1. What is change?
2. The role of Social Media
3. Social media in Cameroon
4. Your own role

3. Social change

4. Change
1. Emergent changes
2. Transformative changes
3. Projectable changes

5. Emerging changes
They occur as our life
unfolds every day. They
are adaptive and
irregular processes
based on experiential
learning, and occur as
the result of the
unexpected and/or non-planned
changes that
emerge from the
dynamics called Life.

6. Transformative changes
Crisis and stagnation prepare
the ground for change. This
type of change is based on
un-learning and liberating
oneself from those mindsets,
relations, identities, formal
and non-formal institutions,
etc. which hinder and delay
the probability of enacting
new realities that are more
just and fair in economic,
social and political terms.

7. Projectable changes
Changes based on complicated or simple problems that
can be resolved by means of specific projects and actions
planned from a linear logic.
1 2 3

8. Social Media and Change

9. The role of social media for change
1. First, social media played a central role in
shaping political debates
2. Second, a spike in online conversations
often preceded major events on the ground
3. Third, social media helped spread ideas and
events across international borders easily

10. What different with social media?

17. Social Media in
Cameroon

18. Access to internet is crucial

19. Africa goes mobile

20. Where are we
on Facebook?
562,480 FB users
(Dec. 31, 2012)
#101 in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by Country

21. We like LinkedIn!

22. Douala
in Top
10
Twitter
towns
in
Africa
Research: http://www.portland-communications.com/publications/how-africa-tweets-2014/

23. Who are the influencers?

24. Blogs in Cameroon
➔ Hard to get a clear image
➔ Limited number of active blogs that discuss
the situation in Cameroon
➔ French vs English
➔ Level of organisation improving

25. Your role

26. It’s not an easy route

27. Link and connect - you’re not alone

28. Engage and select the right tools
1. Social media participation
2. Low cost - high impact
3. Mobile solutions
4. Explore new online tools
a. Online petitions
b. Participatory (crowd) mapping / sourcing
c. Etc

29. Make money
ROI - Return on
Investment
Develop business
models that provide
bloggers and social
media players a
financial incentive to
sustain their
activities

30. Challenge 4 - keep going when needed

31. Have a strategy and have a plan

32. Be prepared to invest time and energy

33. SM4C Cameroon

34. What are we doing
A platform to host people that engage in social
change
- Support and educate
- Together we’re stronger
Where can you find us:
- Web
- FB
- Twitter
- etc

36. Next ….
Next training in Douala in Nov
Digital security training planned in December
Analysis of new tools
What else do YOU want?

37. Today
Improve your writing
skills
Improve your visibility
Ask the experts!