Social media for centuries has played a pivotal role in politics and in the unification of societies. Other than being a popular text, Shakespeare’s Macbeth sends a strong political message threatening death to those who disrupt the natural order of society. If we fast-forward a few centuries, politicians like Hitler (for an extreme example) have used newspapers and television to deliver propaganda and ultimately make mass murder and discrimination appear acceptable. Today, mobile phones and the internet are proving popular as political tools for uniting societies and encouraging civilians to publically challenge government regimes. Seemingly, the uses of social media remain constant, while its ‘face’ is ever-changing. Shirky (2011) describes the potency of social media stating “demonstrations organized by text messaging led to the quick ouster of Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar”. If the power of new social media isn’t obvious enough – government paranoia in China has lead to internet censorship. Is it merely coincidental that China's internet information on Egypt is unavailable while Egyptians orchestrate mass protests through social media? I think not.
So just like fellow bloggers Lucy and Scott, I adamantly support free access to social media particularly given the revolutionary support it provides. As highlighted by Shirky (2011) – “The more promising way to think about social media is as long-term tools that can strengthen civil society ”.
References
About.com. "How China Uses Its Great Firewall for Internet Censorship". Last modified 2011. http://chineseculture.about.com/od/mediainchina/a/China-Internet-Censorship.htm
Oracle Digital. 2011. “Convinced about Word of Mouth Advertising? Well Jump on the Social Media Bandwagon!” Image. Accessed March 28, 2011. http://www.oracledigital.com.au/convinced-about-word-of-mouth-advertising-well-jump-on-the-social-media-bandwagon/
Shirky, Clay. 2011. “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change”. Foreign Affairs. 90 (1): 28 – 43.
The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. "Adolf Hitler". Last modified 2011. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html
The Wall Street Journal. "Beijing Blocks Protest Reports". Last modified January 31, 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704832704576113810779590744.html
