The Real Social Media Revolution
And no, I’m not talking about how advertisers can use it to flog wares to their target audiences. I’m talking about it being used for the original reason Zuckerberg actually invented it.
Egypt
Social media was invented for people to stay in touch with, and network with, people over great distances, but in real time. No hanging about for the postman, or waiting for the next monthly gathering of the Women’s Institute to convene.
The social media revolution I’m talking about is the one that’s just occurred in Tunisia, and is underway in Egypt.
In Tunisia, students arranged to meet via Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. They uploaded their protests via music on YouTube.
It worked.
It mobilized people that ordinarily wouldn’t have known what was going on in a state-controlled broadcast nation.
Interestingly, Egypt has cut off all internet access within its country to try and avoid what occurred in Tunisia. But I suspect it’s too late for that. The first tweet has already been cast and has gathered its own momentum.
The internet really has given power to the people. In the same way that the Gutenberg press revolutionized mass literacy, (ergo knowledge), so has the internet enabled us to share and access information we would hitherto never have dreamed of being able to access.
Okay, so Egypt pulled the proverbial plug. But can that alone stop the power of the world wide web? I doubt it. Everytime a nation state thinks the people might be revolting do they turn the lights off? Can’t see it happening. The truth will out.
I wonder, did Tim Berners-Lee imagine just what he would enable people to achieve when he created www.?
P.S. Advertisers can still make the most of the revolution if they act quickly. “Two balaclavas for the price of one”. Or, “Buy two Molotov Cocktails, get a third free”.