Social Media Fanning the Flames Like Protests of the 60’s
The 1960’s are well known as a time of social change. The picket signs, the handing out of flyers in local communities, the soap box speeches and the radical leaders announcing a call to action around public policies and for social reform are all ways that messages and information calling citizens to action were the way organized change and perceived injustices were communicated to the larger community. These days have been replaced by social media.
Twitter, MySpace and YouTube are the new picket signs of the 1960’s. The digital age and advanced technology has created a forum that no longer requires physical gathering or geographic close proximity to join a community. A PDA, cell phone and high speed internet connection enable people all across the world to join together for or against a common cause or for the sake of communication.
Social media is a powerful tool with risks and benefits. Online communities can form gather and communicate rapidly around any issue or topic. They can range in purpose from open discussion to radical action with the ability to push millions into action. Hostilities can spread like wildfire. People generally gather because of something that they feel needs attention, usually a perceived injustice or an oppositional viewpoint on a current event. A disgruntled consumer can blog freely about the unfriendly interaction they had last week with a checkout clerk at a department store. A citizen can voice discontent with his or her view on the political action around healthcare and a photo without a release from all parties can be uploaded to a website in a matter of seconds.
The tools of social media have allowed society the ability, sometimes without rationale, fact checking or explanation to give and receive information in seconds and form an option based on the immediate receipt of that information. Gone are the days of the picket signs, the soap box speeches and the weeks of organized efforts to get the word out on the protest taking place at the state capitol. This forum has been replaced the immediacy of sharing information to millions at a time with the click of a finger.
Img via
Posted in Social Networking. Tags: grassroots campaigns, groups, rallies, social-media
No Replies
Feel free to leave a reply using the form below!
