Catalyst

In all our case studies, we were able to identify an instance, event or general circumstances that mobilize members of the group to take action. In colloquial terms, we refer to this instance as the "kettle comes to a boil" moment. Though shared in its relative significance, the contributing factors, mobilizing moment, and resulting action differ significantly between individual case studies. For the Living Room Rock Gods, the mobilization happened when videos were removed from YouTube. As Kevin Driscoll explains in his case study of the group, "The forum made visible the collective effect of the Warner takedowns and the LRRGs began to see themselves as part of an embattled population rather than unlucky individuals. "Kevin Driscoll For the Harry Potter Alliance, the initial mobilization centered around founder Andrew Slack's personal experiences and convictions. Significantly, as a community rooted in participatory culture moves towards this mobilizing moment, it finds it has already gathered and developed the skills needed to enter effectively into the larger public sphere and be heard. As Driscoll notes, "they [members of the group] leveraged the technical and social resources nurtured by their fan practice to effect tangible political change."Kevin Driscoll The Alliance is now able to move to act based on suggestions from members, local community needs, and immediate natural disaster situations (Help Haiti Heal). Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender were already connected through social networks, and already skilled as artists, writers, and employed these skills in their campaigns. It was, however, the casting decisions of the film that moved them to action. In the case of Rang de Basanti, the catalyst to action, or to what Mehta calls "flash fandom" was the murder of the model Jessica Lal and the subsequent release of man who murdered her. As we probe further into the mobilizing instance, we may find that the defining characteristics of participatory cultures may help create the conditions for such mobilization.