Rearticulating Web 2.0 Technologies: Strategies to Redefine Social Media in Community Projects

This chapter argues that to align social media with community partnership building, all participants must develop a critical sensibility about these media. This sensibility must rearticulate social media to leverage their use toward the goals of the community action. A more thoughtful understanding of social media and their potentials and constraints can help to foment stronger, sustainable partnerships between higher education and community partners. This discussion is situated in a specific service-learning professional writing course and offers strategies to rearticulate personal use toward more critical deployments of social media.