Tedx Talks — Rise of the Amateur Organizers

Michael Silberman '02 knows a lot about the power of technology to connect people. As a Howard Dean staffer, he saw the launch of the “Meet Up” program, which attracted 189,000 people in 1,200 neighborhoods at its peak. He’s seen a student organize a march to Washington, D.C. for immigration rights, the first lobby day in D.C. about Darfur, and the growth of Middlebury’s own “350 Day” events. What is not unique is that people are meeting up. What is unique, Silberman said, is that ordinary people can organize these things with technology and social networking.

“Before, trained organizers had done this type of thing,” Silberman said. And what does it mean, he asked his audience, when anyone can be an organizer?

“The power of all this to us right now … versus what was going on when I was involved in [policy work]: its’ just no longer in the hands of an establishment,” Silberman said. “Any of us now have the power to lead social change movements.”