Embracing Digital (Conservative) Activism: Transforming Ohio from Your Couch

The following is an episode of the Grassroots Freedom Initiative Podcast. This episode is the audio from videos released on our YouTube and Rumble channels. There may be times in this episode when we refer to information displayed on the screen that is impossible to provide in podcast format. However, links to the video version of this episode, as well as links to sources mentioned in this episode can be found in this episode's Show Notes.

Now, the Grassroots Freedom Initiative Podcast.

Today we're diving into something that's changing the game when it comes to making a difference in Ohio without even getting off the couch. It's true. We're talking about digital activism.

How we can fight for what matters most to us from our phones, our laptops, or, yep, even from our couches with a bag of chips in hand.

The Grassroots Freedom Initiative, GFI for short, is a digital activism network for grassroots Ohioans who want to take back control of how we're governed in Ohio.

We're an information distribution network, getting Ohioans news and information everyone needs to make better decisions in the voting booth and suggest actions we can take to to pressure politicians to do what we want them to do, all without leaving our homes.

Now, if you hear the word activism and immediately picture huge protest crowds, handmade signs, or chaining yourself to a tree, hey, those things are powerful. But activism doesn't only live in the streets. It's also alive and thriving on our screens and over the Internet. So what exactly is digital activism?

Digital activism is any form of activism that uses digital tools like social media, email, websites, or even texting to raise awareness, share information, pressure our elected representatives, organize and mobilize, get out the vote and demand change. It can be as big as launching a national viral campaign, or as small as resharing a post that educates people about an issue you care about.

Both matter, both ripple out. Let me give you a few ways you can get involved without ever leaving your house.

You can share and amplify, follow organizations, movements and change makers on social media. When they post something important, share it, like it, comment on it. That little engagement helps boost the message so more people see it.

You're not just scrolling, you're spreading the word. I want to stress that sharing on social media is gold. Just liking something doesn't spread the word. Sharing does.

You can use your voice and words, write a social media post about why an issue matters to you, record a quick video, or drop your thoughts in a tweet. Real, authentic voices are powerful and yours could be the one that helps someone else understand or care.

You can get creative love to Write and feel strongly about something. Start a blog good with graphics. Make infographics or memes to educate. Have a podcast talk about it.

There are infinite ways to plug your skills into a cause. You can sign and share petitions. Petitions can be a way to show collective support or demand change from institutions, companies and governments.

Bonus, most of them take about 30 seconds to sign.

You can email and text your elected representatives There are online activist systems that make it insanely easy to contact your elected officials with just a few clicks. You don't have to write the perfect message, you just have to fill in your name and address and hit send. Which brings us to an exciting announcement.

Thanks to a donor, GFI now has this capability. You can see a sample call to action on the screen.

It allows us to automate petitions, emails, X Posts (X was formerly known as Twitter), and calls to our elected officials. If you haven't checked it out, you should.

By the way, when you send emails through GFI's digital activism system, you can record up to a 60 second video that gets automatically attached to your emails. How cool is that?

If you get a call to action from GFI using this new capability where it has two or three modes of communicating with our elected representatives, please just don't do one. Do all of the actions listed if you can. Especially important is to call them to express your displeasure.

The thing politicians fear most is hearing from angry voters. Here's the bottom line. You don't need a megaphone. You don't need a giant platform. You don't even need to change out of your sweatpants.

If you've got a device and a connection, you've already got power. And digital activism makes it easier than ever to use it.

So whether you've got five minutes or an entire afternoon, there's something you can do right now. Start where you are with what you have. Change doesn't just happen in the streets. It happens in the scrolls, the shares, and on our screens too.

Thanks for tuning in. And as always, stay cozy, stay loud, and keep showing up in whatever way works for you. Digital Activists Unite! On the couch!

This video is brought to you by the Grassroots Freedom Initiative, or GFI for short. If you're not already on our email and text lists, please be sure to join our network of thousands of Ohioans.

It's easy, free, and we won't ask you for money. Visit gfiohio.com and click the Join Us button in the upper right hand corner of any page or text.

Please remember to stay informed ... and get engaged!