ABSTRACT
Common preservation starts from people reaching out to each other, calling out to each other about their fears, hopes, and despairs. This is where social movements start and how they grow. The hallmarks of a social movement are the handwritten picket sign, the basement meeting, and the street rally, joined today by the social networking message. In the women's liberation movement it was the formation of consciousness raising groups. In the lead-up to the Battle of Seattle it was the formation of affinity groups, the mutual outreach of labor and environmental organizations, and the visits of union members to community meetings throughout the Seattle area. The network form allows cooperation among people and organizations that have different agendas other than their area of common concern. Network participants can be highly diverse and may disagree on many matters, as long as they accept the network's defining frame of the issues that it addresses.
