>> tactical media

the appropriation of mass media, consumer media, media taken from the domain of power to oppose this power and criticize it by making (temporal) use of its own means. It can be described as being activist, fast, hacktivist, temporal, oppositional, nomadic. The intended poassive consumer becomes an active user, re-defining the use of the media for her/his own goals.

other key-phrases:
>> use of dominant media
>> long term strategies vs quick tactics
>> occupying time not space
>> "Don't hate the media, become the media"
>> often combining art and activism
>> availability of cheaper media and open distribution
>> Michelm de Certeau, "The Practice of Everyday Life", 1974
>> consumers as producers


tactival media and art - shortened from wikipedia:
>> tactical media and the situationists' detournement:
Both take over images and words from mass culture in order to convey a new meaning, often going against the mainstream media. The appropriation of elements and the importance of aesthetics seen in detournement are reflected within tactical media.

>> tactical media and dada: Like Dada, tactical media often aims to do the opposite of the media it penetrates: it shocks and reveals an antithesis.

>> tactical media and surrealism: borrowing the idea that a 'truer' experience that the present one is present. Much like surrealism, tactical media also criticizes social, political and cultural elements of a given society through its domain’s techniques.


--> see also Lovink/Garcia, "The ABC of Tactical Media", 1997