The Growth of #blacklivesmatter on Social Media
Supporters and opponents alike have taken to many different platforms of social media to express their feelings towards police brutality and #blacklivesmatter. According to Nick Monfort's "The Coding and Execution of the Author", it can be argued that these users are in co-authorship with the computer to convey their thought. The computer is otherwise known as the cyborg author in this situation. Monfort comments that "[w]hile the concept of the cyborg author seems difficult to discuss in any formal sense, there are clearly reasons to be interested in the authorship of texts by humans and computers working together (Monfort). When searching for the hashtag, #blacklivesmatter, the computer presents the human with other comments about the movement as well as stories of police brutality that may shape the human's thoughts toward the movement.
Facebook
Patrisse Cullors was the first person to use the hashtag, #blacklivesmatter. She used and continues to use Facebook as her platform. Now, #blacklivesmatters is always trending on Facebook.
The founders of #blacklivesmatter created their own Twitter page to spread stories and celebrate the lives of African Americans. This page was created right after the verdict of George Zimmerman in 2013.
Now, #blacklivesmatter is in the Top 10 list for most used hahtags on Twitter.
Tumblr
The founders of #blacklivesmatter also used Tumblr as a platform. This page was created at the same time as the Twitter page in 2013 to reach out to the community about the movement and encourage people to speak out.This type of social media can include people's various perspectives on the movement and its relation to racism, police, etc.
