I didn’t hear about the protest!
I didn’t hear about the protest!
On Saturday, following news of Trumps illegal invasion of Venezuela, we quickly organized a “pop-up protest” at the courthouse. Given the last-minute nature of the protest, it was too late to include in a newsletter, and many people unfortunately didn’t learn of the protest until afterwards. Getting information out quickly to a large, in-homogeneous network is a challenge. People find out about events through a wide range of mechanisms, and Indivisible Benton County currently has limited capacity in this area. That’s why, when you learn of an event, sharing with your own personal networks is so important. We asked a few attendees at the pop-up protest how they found out about it, and word of mouth was by far the most common answer.
When the Indivisible BC Communication Committee publicizes a “short-notice” event, the best places to check are:
- The “Featured” and “Events” tabs (desktop) or ovals (mobile app) at the top of the Indivisible – Benton County, OR Facebook group page
- Request to join the group if you are not automatically accepted.
- For “Events”, you should be able to “Share” the event to other Facebook groups or with specific Facebook users.
- The Indivisible Benton County Facebook page.
- The @bentonindivisible Instagram account.
- The r/IndivisibleBenton sub on Reddit.
- Our website https://indivisiblebc.org
We don’t always have time to update all of these accounts, but these are good places to check if you are wondering whether a protest is planned in response to significant events. (And if one isn’t, we encourage you to start one yourself!)
If there is more lead time before an event, we will also include it in:
- The weekly newsletter (what you’re reading right now!)
- Physical flyers posted around town.
- Announcements at general meetings (2nd and 4th Wednesdays, either at the Corvallis Library or Community Center)
- Our Mobilize page
Posting information to all of these platforms takes time, and there are additional methods of communication we could incorporate (e.g., a Signal group for publicizing urgent, specific actions). As we approach the primary election season and midterms, being able to articulate the devastating impacts of the Trump regime’s actions and policies, and the importance of voter engagement, is crucial.
However, the Communications Committee is currently comprised of only a few volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering to help us reach a wider audience and keep our members informed, please email [email protected] with the subject “Communications Committee” or talk to Esther at the next General Meeting (Jan. 14).