tl;dr I view lack of organization as one of the biggest weaknesses of boycotts of our time, and an app to help organize it may be beneficial.

Some thoughts

• boycotts can work
• many boycotts don’t work
• in my opinion, boycotts work best when they are: well organized, clear stated goal and demand, and have large participation
• boycotts that are lifestyle oriented, indefinite, too general (encompassing too many products or companies) and do not have clear demands have low participation and do not work as well.
• In general, people tend to follow trends, and participation drops when a boycott takes too long
• in my opinion, boycotts are much more effective when they focus on a few targets at a time for maximum damage, to deliver their political message and bring attention to their movement. On the other hand, issuing a boycott against a large number of companies will have lower participation and will be harder for regular people to follow.

I think having an app can be helpful for organizing. Here is what the app can do:

• show you the boycotts with the most participants (or let you indicate your participation). This will encourage the user to participate when there are other participants
• shows you the rationale for the boycott, with sources and evidence.
• shows you the boycott’s most common demands and political message.
• shows you progress on the demands or the political message.

The app can also serve as a database for all active boycotts, their rationale, demands, progress, timeline and participants.

What are your thoughts? do you have any recommendations for me if I make this app?