So far we have talked about how the media and politics interact with each other. We have also seen how menu people use social media today for a variety of things. We use social media to communicate with each other through Facebook and Twitter. We use social media to be able to keep up with what is happening in the world, to surf the web, gather information for research, watch videos, play music, and so much more. The question that I have is this, does social media have a huge impact in other countries outside of the United States? How do other countries use social media?
In a recent article written in the Economist, on September 13, 2014, there was talk about how social media has become a sort of, 'virtual revolution' in Saudi Arabia.
TUNE into one of Saudi Arabia’s television channels and you are likely to find a stuffy report praising the government or a sheikh spinning a dreary sermon. Little wonder that so many Saudis turn to YouTube and other online broadcasters for light relief. That has led to the emergence of new media companies, mainly in the more liberal coastal city of Jeddah, dedicated to amusing the kingdom’s growing population.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21617064-why-social-media-have-greater-impact-kingdom-elsewhere-virtual?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/avirtualrevolution
This article is very interesting because it chows how social media has had a huge impact on a nation and their people. They use social media to watch videos, tweet and reply using Twitter, and Facebook to communicate and keep in touch with friends. As one Professor mentioned that he uses Twitter in order to inform his students that they have a new assignment to complete. This just shows how social media has advanced so much in recent times because now we have Professors communicating with students through the use of social media. It is very interesting how social media can be used this way, positively, to where people can use it to keep in touch with even their professors.
Just like our book mention, during President Obama's first campaign, he used social media tremendously in order to get himself out their in the world. He wanted people to see him as an actual person and not just another politician. This is another way social media is used a helping to change the world around us. It is used for campaigning and also for people to keep in touch with their favorite celebrities. For example, back in 2010, while on her world tour, P!nk was injured during her concert in Germany. Before the news reporters were able to find out what the status was on her injuries, P!nk posted on Twitter for all her fans to see that she was fine. This is yet another example of how social media is now used in the world today. In your opinion, how do you think social media has changed the world? What other countries has social media had a huge impact in as well?
Social media has made a huge impact all over the world. Some recent examples that I can think of are in countries such as Thailand and India. It was only a few months ago that at military coup took place in Thailand and the new leaders faced a challenge unlike any before them. Thailand has had several coups in the past and the military has always been able to shutdown any resistance without problem. However, social media has changed that. Social media was used to organize rally's and to also warn people about the military's location in order to avoid violent arrests. Unlike in Turkey, the new government was unable to block online chatter which allowed the peoples voice to be heard.
ReplyDeleteIn India, the use of social media helped spark huge numbers to the polls in the largest democracy in the world. It got people involved, and like President Obama, the Bharatiya Janata Party used the power of social media to spread their message. Political analysts are calling the vote the "first social media elections". Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister and by the time he was sworn in he had 16 million likes on Facebook, which was the second most of any politician in the world, and was the sixth most followed politician on Twitter.