How can political videos from civil society effectively assert themselves on the Social Web against the dominance of advertising, entertainment and propaganda? This is the central question of a joint research project that will be presented in this lecture. The project explores new activist strategies for designing, producing and distributing political videos, with special regard to the attention economy of the Social Web. These strategies include the formation of new production alliances, the invention of new video formats, the use of new technologies and distribution strategies. The field of video activism may be seen as a particularly illuminating case, highlighting both the opportunities and risks of political interaction, discussion and conflict on the Social Web. The research project is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Jens Eder is Professor of Dramaturgy and Aesthetics of Audiovisual Media and Vice President for Research and Transfer at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. He is a principal investigator of the research project on Attention Strategies of Video Activism in the Social Web. His research focuses on aesthetic and socio-cultural theories and analyses of current developments in audiovisual media. Britta Hartmann is Professor of Film Studies and Audiovisual Media Culture at the University of Bonn and co-editor of the academic journal Montage AV. She received her Ph.D. from Utrecht University with a dissertation on the textual pragmatics and narratology of film beginnings and is a principal investigator of the research project on Attention Strategies of Video Activism in the Social Web. Chris Tedjasukmana is Assistant Professor at the Seminar für Filmwissenschaft, Freie Universität Berlin and a principal investigator of the research project on Attention Strategies of Video Activism in the Social Web. He is also co-editor of the academic journal Montage AV. His research focuses on political aesthetics, digital publics, critical theory as well as gender and queer studies.