As we all know social media is used by almost everyone to communicate, express thoughts and increase awareness. In a number of recent high profile work stoppages social media has been successfully used by the union movement to organize large scale rallies, mass picketing and protests. Information regarding non-violent civil disobedience is openly shared instructing union activists on how to carry out tactics. Is this new form of protest a blessing or a curse? A great deal can be learned about the protest in terms of who is involved, when and what is going to take place. Legally some of the data might prove useful for the purposes of court injunctions or other legal proceedings. The down side is your strike will now also garner worldwide attention overnight. Contingency planners must now take into account that social media will be used as a tool by protesters. More importantly, information needs to be gathered on an ongoing bases to ensure proper mitigation strategies can be deployed.
