ABSTRACT
Social media brought change in the communicational, cultural and social practices of many internet users including marginalised and minority groups – for some acting as a great emancipatory force, for others as another frontier fi lled with disabling features. In this chapter, I explore the profound impact of social media on the Polish deaf community, with a special focus on two aspects. The fi rst one concerns the welcoming milieu for the alternative public space for the deaf – one that gives space for debate outside the majority/hearing domain as well as outside the offi cial deaf agenda. The second is the possibility of mainstreaming the deaf cause with the skillful usage of the social media viral mode of communication. I will start, however, with a brief introduction to the history of the Polish deaf organisation model that will shed some light on how electronic media (not only social ones but so-called Web 1.0 as well) dramatically reshaped the deaf community, making grass-roots initiatives not only successful but possible in the fi rst place.
