Social Movement & Social Media : A qualitative study of Occupy Wall Street

Abstract: This project is important to the research in both the fields of social movement and of social media and their growing relationship.  This report has analyzed the responses of several key role players in one of the biggest social movements in American history, Occupy Wall Street.  Social media was used as a tool for both communication and information gathering amongst all those who were involved in the movement in a variety of capacities.  The relationship and change that is occurring between traditional media and social media as information sources is also examined.  Through qualitative analysis the importance that the role that social media now commands in our society in the context of social movements specifically became clear.  The results will show the significance of this work and its importance in understanding the role that social media will continue to play in future social movements in the digitized public sphere of the 21st century.