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Abstract
Using the online activist organization MoveOn.org as a case study, I examine how an Internet-based organization constructs an image of community in the absence of traditional avenues for community development. Through the rhetoric in its e-mails, MoveOn constructs an image of ‘the MoveOn community’ and uses this image to mobilize members for political activism. To be successful, MoveOn must define community boundaries, empower members, and activate them. This top-down community construction does not allow members to negotiate the meaning or values of the community. I refer to this community form as a manufactured community because it is produced and marketed to activists much like a product. I also argue that the model of fast activism inherent to online activist organizations is adaptive to our current fast-paced society. Moreover, this model of activism allows new segments of the population to become ‘biographically available’ (McAdam 1986, 1999) for political participation.
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