Umair Vahidy
The dynamism of our current world is perhaps best exemplified by the Internet, with its seemingly unlimited potential to present the interactions, thoughts, ideas, movements and marvels that this world and its people offer. The ‘cyber world’ – as it has come to be known – is one of the greatest inventions of our time, where a kind of parallel digital universe has been created to co-exist alongside our physical world.
And with this has come a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Not only have ssocial networking sites, blogs, podcasts, wikis, video sharing sites, web applications and their like transformed our communication landscape, but are now increasingly impacting the social and political dynamics of our countries. In 2009, a series of mass protests in the Eastern European country of Moldova – coordinated through text message, Facebook and Twitter – resulted in a loss of power for the ruling Communist Party. And more recently we have seen how the uprisings in the Middle East have been propelled by social media interaction and youth mobilization. The really amazing thing is that nobody involved in the development of these various social media applications could have foreseen how these inventions would go on to become such groundbreaking tools for social change.
Authoritarian governments repress communication among their citizens because they fear (correctly) that a well-informed and better-coordinated public would constrain their ability to act with impunity and without oversight. But while such regimes are busy trying to curb access to these tools, their influence around the world is only getting stronger. China leads the pack when it comes to restricting the functions of online media through massive firewalls and intrusive software. The Chinese government employs thousands of paid commentators who pose as ordinary web users and infiltrate chat rooms and other online forums to counter any criticism of the government. Known derisively as “50 Cent Party” members (as they are usually paid 50 Chinese “cents” per post) these ‘shapers’ of public opinion sustain the government’s online propaganda efforts.
However, the huge numbers of people recruited into the “50 Cent Party” actually bear testament to the power of social media, showing us that even in the face of strict censorship policies, the government has been unable to put an embargo on online media and has instead had to resort to using the same social media platform to counter criticism. Therefore, regardless of the most stringent of censorship policies, the expression of honest public opinion on the internet cannot be curbed entirely, because social media applications are available in so many different forms and because they are inexpensive and widely accessible.
The explosion of new online media is also transforming journalism. Not only is it empowering media professionals but is also allowing amateur journalists and citizen media to reach out to a large and broad audience without the help of any sophisticated resources. In Tunisia’s recent Jasmine Revolution protesters used blogs, Facebook, Twitter, WikiLeaks documents, YouTube and other methods to mobilize and report on what was going on in the face of a media crackdown. The Internet was the largest source of news about the protests, and much of it has been provided by the demonstrators themselves, despite Tunisia’s strict internet censorship policies.
Throughout world history, revolutions have broken out and repressive regimes have been challenged by the masses. But these dramatic events did not take place overnight; it usually took years for public opinion to mobilize and enable public action against oppression. Now the dynamics of “change” are changing themselves.
This modern, enhanced capability to communicate, coordinate and mobilize masses towards a common objective has deeply impacted the collective conscience of nations. A regular teenager today who writes a blog, networks on Facebook, and exchanges thoughts on Twitter, can actually act as a unit for collective change. Social media has played a huge role in the Egyptian uprising and the successful ouster of the 30 year-old dictatorial regime of Hosni Mubarak. Facebook pages recording incidents of police torture and other forms of oppression, coupled with tweets and extensive blog coverage, mobilized Egypt’s tech-savvy youth into a thoroughly modern form of political action never before witnessed by the world. The reverberations of Egypt’s Revolution 2.0 are now being felt in neighboring countries with autocratic regimes, such as Yemen, Bahrain and Libya.
But even before the “Facebook Revolutions” of 2011, social media has been used very effectively to engage the masses in awareness programs and mobilization towards peaceful change. On February 4, 2008 hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Columbian cities and around the world to decry the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), an ultra-leftist rebel group. The main source which sparked this uprising was a simple Facebook page called “One Million Voices Against FARC” set up by Oscar Morales, a well-known activist and web developer. Morales also helped mobilize the largest-ever global anti-terrorism demonstration, with over 12 million participants in 200 cities. In his recent visit to Pakistan for the launch of Khudi, a counter-extremism social movement, Morales told the audience that he can relate to Pakistan’s dilemma of being perceived as a dangerous and problem-ridden country but that despite all these issues, Pakistani youth can still voice their opinions very effectively through social media.
During Pakistan’s State of Emergency in November-December 2007, President Musharraf cracked down on major news channels such as Geo TV, ARY and even international outlets such as BBC. The ban on traditional media outlets allowed for the rise of social media as a viable alternative for information dissemination and mobilization of protestors. Students turned to the Internet to register their opposition to the Emergency, predominantly using blogs and Facebook to denounce Musharraf’s action and to organize flash protests.
It has also been argued that social media can contribute to the spread of negative ideas and hate speech due its inherently uncontrolled and global nature. While regulations and restrictions do exist with regards to hate speech, incitement to violence and targeted attacks on individuals in cyber media, the issue is murkier when it comes to cultural sensitivities. Susan Gordon from Facebook Causes discussed this issue at the International Youth Conference & Festival 2010 in Islamabad, where she argued that censorship won’t work in any case. It is important to realize that a policy of free speech in the social media sphere can only lead to a better understanding of different, complex situations. Moreover, the issues related to cultural sensitivities are quite relative in nature and we should never try to streamline such difficult topics through strict, wide-sweeping censorship policies.
Despite the challenges mentioned above, it is clear that the dynamic and resourceful tools of today’s online media help us cope with the multifarious challenges of the 21st century. Through the growing popularity of social media, the communication landscape is becoming more participatory: the networked population of today continues to acquire greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action. It is high time that we, as the youth of a developing country, keep ourselves updated on these new developments which can be used to further empower ourselves.
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS FOR YOU:
Blogging:
“Blog is an abbreviated version of the term ‘weblog’ which is a term used to describe websites than maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog features diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites, usually presented as a list of entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject – such as web design, sports or mobile technology – or a whole range of eclectic issues. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts.”
– WordPress.org.
Blogging can be considered as one of the easiest ways to express oneself on online media. To be a blogger, you don’t need to be tech-savvy since WordPress, Blogspot and many other websites not only provide free hosting services but also provide convenient tools to help new bloggers design their entire blog without have to learn complex html coding. A great number of bloggers have become opinion-makers for their internet audience, often fostering debate on taboo topics. Bloggers have various tools which allow them to connect with each other and help reach out to their target audience.
Podcasting
Podcasting is a very simple alternative to radio broadcasting, which basically involves making audio content available online using RSS Feed. Podcasters give listeners more control over what they listen to and when, as they can download content on demand, determine what they want to listen to and save archives to access at a later stage. Podcasting also gives far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. Podcasting can cover just about any topic and is particularly useful for promoting or sharing music, educational and informational materials, discussions and commentaries and for generally sharing a personal opinion with a large audience. As someone described, “While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists, podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio personalities.” It is easy to get started on podcasting yourself as all it involves is recording your content and producing audio files and then publishing them online using RSS feeds, all of which can be done using free software. These podcasts can then be uploaded to a website and downloaded onto listeners’ computers, iPods and mp3 players.
Vlogging:
Video blogging (or Vlogging) is a form of blogging for which the medium is video. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. These videos can be recorded in one take or cut into multiple parts. Youtube is a very powerful tool for Vlogging as it allows individuals to share their video content on the main website as well as embed videos on blogs and websites. Vlogging is now becoming a major tool for sharing information and is playing a significant role in citizen media. Many amateur journalists, documentary filmmakers, human rights activists, NGOs, and social commentators have their own channels on Youtube and other video uploading websites. Not only do they have a following of millions of people but they have the ability to reach a very diverse audience all over the world with almost zero resources. As Susan Gordon from Facebook Causes said during the International Youth Conference and Festival 2010, “If every human rights activist had a video camera, it would have changed the world.”
To have your own video blog all you need is a camcorder and a computer with video editing software. Popular video editing programs for Vloggers include iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Windows Movie Maker. Once you have made your Vlog, you will need to host it on a site (such as Youtube or Vimeo) and share it with the world.
Twitter:
Twitter offers free social networking and microblogging services, allowing its users to send and read messages called tweets. Each tweet is a short burst of information, up to 140 characters displayed. Users can choose which tweets to subscribe to (referred to as ‘following’ in the Twitter lingo). Tweets are publicly visible by default but senders can restrict message delivery to just their followers. Twitter is a very efficient, real-time information sharing tool in the social media sphere. Its simplicity and accessibility have made it a powerful tool for protests and campaigns, particularly in Egypt, Tunisia and Iran.