Can civil society be powerful on-line? To answer this question, Darius decided to do something unconventional, creative and experimental. Prior to the Forum he created two fake online profiles of a beautiful girl and a handsome guy. Using social networks and e-mail addresses he contacted the participants of the Forum in order to prove how much information he could receive from people who do not know him and to what extent people trust him.
How was your project supposed to prove or disprove that civil society can work on-line?
The main goal was to find the attributes of the internet that help civil society on-line. And I found the speed of the internet and its fastness and falseness, because I realised that people do not check the staff on-line. They do not use it properly. So I decided, if I can find these attributes for civil society in a useful way, then the main goal that on-line is powerful for the civil society is proven. If the experiment had not worked, I still would be confident that the internet is powerful for civil society. It was more effective to show rather than to speak, because people saw the power of the internet.
What were the most interesting or surprising reactions of people that you got in touch with?
First of all it was interesting that many more girls responded, which was maybe the consequence of the fact that the fake personalities I created were very appealing. So, I realised that the people I approached were not conscious at all, but they also did not come too close, they were not flirting. First of all, only one person checked who the person was that approached them, although I was asking for personal information. They all were overfriendly without being a little careful.
Why do you think it is so important to be careful? Personally, I would appreciate that people trust me even though they do not know me.
I am sure I would have reacted in exactly the same way. If a beautiful girl contacted me and wanted to meet me in Bratislava, I would not say no, obviously. But my whole idea was to prove a point and not necessarily get people in a difficult situation where they should be careful. Of course there is nothing wrong in talking to a person who approaches you, but I proved how easily everybody can get your contact data.
Are you satisfied with the project?
Yes, I am, especially with the fact that people reacted so optimistically to it. I am happy that the organizers let me do it although they were afraid that the experiment would make the people involved feel offended.
What are the most important conclusions of your project that can be used in the work for civil society?
The internet is fast, so you can reach people with your message very quickly. However, you have to be more suspicious and not take for granted all the opportunities that the internet gives you. On the other hand, the internet has caused many very creative ideas to emerge just from the fact that it exists. People don’t realize all the aspects of the internet and not enough people use the internet to improve things. Although the organizers made the effort to promote the Forum on the internet, the participants did not use this tool to make it more visible. I have not seen that any of the participants put the link to the Forum on his or her Facebook profile.
Did you?
I didn’t do it either, so it shows that I am like the rest of society.
Posted in | 19.09.2009
By: Marta Gawinek
