(Photo courtesy http://www.digitalaboratory.it/ )
Social media is the collaboration between people in the
means of exchanging content virtually via networks. There are many definitions
about social media but I shall emphasize on the definition given by Merriam-Webster dictionary. It defines social
media as
“forms of electronic
communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to
share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)”
There are several conditions that need to be satisfied for
any collaboration method to be called as social media. They are (1) The
exchange of information or content, (2) A virtual community, (3) An online
gathering place such as a social networking site, blog or a forum. Despite the differences between mainstream media, many
think that social media is similar to conventional media if not an extension f
the former but the core concept of social media being the direct involvement of
people make it differ from others. It is a well-known
fact that in the recent past, social media is recognized if not accused as the main reason to brewing revolutions
throughout the world.
The concept of social media started
when humans begin to communicate. They express their ideas in cave paintings
and ancient stone scripts. Although it is obvious that the first form of social
media didn’t involve the internet or any
other sophisticated communication methodology, it was similar to modern social
media in terms of the exchange of ideas and community interaction. However the
social media we called today came with the introduction of the internet as a place to collaborate. With that,
new methods of sharing information are born. First,
there are internet connection places such as chatrooms and online forums. With
the social networking sites such as facebook, google+ and myspace, the whole
concept of social media came to new heights. Social networking sites are
powerful tools for the growth of social media. Blogging is a relatively new
concept allowing anyone to write your ideas in a virtual diary for the whole
world to see. The microblogging site twitter has become immensely popular
social media tool. It facilitates sharing ideas, news or anything you like on the internet but with only 140 characters.
Although, it seems not to be enough for anything to be published, by far
twitter’s contribution to the social media exceeds all other internet based
platforms. Photo and video sharing sites such as youtube, Picasa, Pinterest
Instagram [need to give inks]also play
a crucial role.
Although it is not a mandatory thing for a social media to
be based on the internet, being on the
internet itself is the main advantage the social media have. It has a large number of audience. Internet users are
growing exponentially so internet based social media always gains popularity.
Social media is not tightly regulated or not regulated at all. Access to that
is not restricted allowing free information flow. Social media is free (at
least the internet based ones) if not cheaper than the conventional media. Most
of the social media contributors being community organizations provide access
to new ideas in a free environment. The main advantage of social media is the
people getting directly involved in getting information. Most of the time
social media acts as an active way of providing information. News providers, as well as the audience, engage in
conversations. The audience may give feedback and their opinion regarding the
information they have received from social media. The above interaction may
happen instantly so timewise it is efficient.
Social media was now famous (or infamous) for its
contribution to fuel revolutions. For revolutions to happen, an exchange of new
ideas needs to be put up. People who need a change should get together. Gaining
popular support nationally and internationally is a must. Social media provides
all those.
This scenario proved to be true in many parts of the world
in the last couple of years. The popular
uprising against dictatorships in middle-eastern countries (often called ‘The
Arab Spring’) is the best example of how
social media help the birth of revolutions. Especially in Egypt and now in
Syria, the role of social media is prominent as never before. A fight for change in a monetary system ruled by large banks and
multinational companies has swept across most parts of the western world. That
was called ‘The Occupy Movement’. Thousands of protesters were gathering at the
financial centers and government institutions urging for a change. Social
media, mainly social networks and microblogging sites were used to send
messages to people directing them to protest
places and gathering active support.
A popular uprising in Ukraine to overthrow its president is
another example of the successful use of social media to direct popular
uprisings. For example, the youtube video below shows a young lady speaking in
the midst of a protest (probably a standoff with the police) urging the
international community to actively support the revolutionaries.
Sri Lankan context;
Sri Lanka has an active social media presence. Social
networks such as Facebook are the main player. A small but growing twitter
community, online forums, and active bloggers
publishing in both Sinhalese and English play an active role.
Independent media organizations, NGOs use social media to
influence people. Since there is a popular conception that the mainstream media
is infiltrated by the government, for an unbiased representation of opinions,
people are turning into social media.
On the other hand, differences of opinions are appearing
from the Sri Lankan social media. A rise of nationalism (some depict that as
racism) and religious revival of Buddhism and Islam can be seen via social
media. Recently, a surge of Sinhalese Buddhist revolutionary ideas and talks of
a conspiracy by minority religions to destroy Sinhalese Buddhist identity are
immerging from social networks. This is leading to an all-out cyber war between
different religious factions.
More and more people are getting internet access. Technology
literate young people are using social media as a place to share ideas. With
social media more openness and transparency are
created, we are no longer a passive entity gobbling anything the mainstream
media serve us. We have become investigative and social media change the
perspective from which we look at the world forever. Although there are immense benefits of social media, it should
always be considered as a double-edged
sword. For example, the same discussion forum or social network that used to
create intellectual ideas can also be used to spread religion hatred and
fanaticism.
Social media is always here to stay and get evolve with the
people. The best and wisest thing is to use social media for the benefit of
the entire human kind.
