So after this weeks lecture i have realized that there is so much in going on in the world that i am, and a few others in my class are totally unaware of! For example the little thing call the ARAB SPRING. Sure i had heard there was some unrest or something going on over the other side of the world, but im kind of unintentional not tuned into those sorts of news articles because i feel like its sort of expected in those countries. Its probs due to the mainstream media not seeing it as important to report on as events like the Queen coming to Australia or some other rubbish. I think this sucks, just because we have more ties with the queen means she gets all this media attention, when real revolutionary and historical events are occurring. Anyway enough of that, back to the main point. Revolution in the Arab springs and the role that social media plays. After looking at the prescribed reading, it was kind of put out there by Evgeny Morozov, that he is a little sceptical of the role that the social media plays. I see his point but I think that if the same situation was to be played out again, this time with no social media present it would may not have the same impact. It takes a lot of passion and belief in a idea to just blow every thing off in your schedule (think about if you where one of the lucky few that had a job, and if you went to voice your opinion and not many people turned up you could potentially be out of a job and no actual change to the situation you are stuck in.) I think that with this example, seeing is believing. People who kind of believe but dont have the same passion can be inspired by the tweets, facebook pages and more importantly the Youtube footage and get off their asses and join together.
One case in particular is an Egyptian by the name of Asmaa Mahfouz who helped start an idea that is still gathering support today using viral media campaigns through social media sites. It is truly amazing to see what happens when one persons little voice is combined with so many. As can be seen from the pictures, people power is a very extraordinary thing and when times need changing there is a way to get these changes to happen. Social media is not the answer, but it sure adds another element to help speed up getting good ideas out there.
I agree, that is amazing the how one person and a social networking site can have such a huge impact. Social media may not be the answer but it definitely makes things easier. Imagine how things would have panned out, if even only 20 years the situation in Egypt occurred. Unfortunately, Asmaa Mahfouz would have found incredibly hard to have had the same impact that todays technologies allowed. It would have been impossible for the same amount of people to have been inspired, or even just made aware of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your last point. Most of us are hailing social media as the messiah of the modern age, I however feel it is merely a tool that the real heroes have cleverly deciphered and used to effect change.
ReplyDeleteI posted a link on twitter about the truvk convoy descending on Canberra, they had thousands attending but they only ended up with 200 all up, proving that it's easier to click attending to a protest than to actually attend