The surge in mobile phone usage, proliferation of basic phones with social media apps and an overall push for further Internet connectivity makes India an exciting market for socio-political trends using the web
At the rate with which social media is permeating our lives — our gathering of information and our decisions — the day can’t be far when it may be credited for a political win. In the case of AAP, Narendra Modi and Barack Obama, there have been several examples documented to suggest networking sites proved their worth and contribution to political mileage. A post that can change the voter’s moodIJ A tweet that reflects a politician in good lightIJ Internet and social media are becoming leading influencers behind who gets elected and how. We are now certain that social media will have a definite impact on elections simply because of its power of influence.
“The use of social media in today’s campaign is not only important — it is critical,” says Hubert ‘Sonny’ Massey, a business instructor and advisor at South University, Savannah. “Millions of people are involved in using social networks daily. It is the opportunity to be in touch with large numbers of voters quickly, constantly, and at a low cost.”
The ‘viral thumb’ as someone called it, is changing how we consume information. Our digital fingers have for once helped in creating a level playing field, allowing people of different walks of life to participate and influence the decision of who will govern us. The surge in mobile phone usage, proliferation of basic phones with social media apps, and an overall push for further Internet connectivity makes India an exciting market for socio-political trends using the web.
India remains at the cusp of change when it comes to technology and communication and tends to pick on trends ahead of the curve. For example, India straight hopped to the mobile phone concept giving landlines a complete skip. It’s not different with social media and its impact. Social networks make the world into a ‘global village’ a term popularised by Marshall Mcluhan in his books The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man and Understanding Media. Mcluhan’s prescription was that Internet was an ‘extension of consciousness’ and the globe contracted into a village by electric technology; brings all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion, electric speed heightening human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree.
let’s look at the example of the Middle East uprisings, now known as Arab Spring, when thousands of people got together to protest against dictatorial governments of North Africa and Arab region. The impact was so widespread that former US security advisor Mark Pfeifle said in 2009 that Twitter was instrumental in helping document the crisis in Iran following the contested presidential election results. “When traditional journalists were forced to leave the country; Twitter became a window for the world to view hope, heroism, and horror,” he said. “It became the assignment desk, the reporter, and the producer. And, because of this, Twitter and its creators are worthy of being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize,” he wrote in the Christian Science Monitor.
The sheer richness and diversity of information available on the web is empowering people with significant knowledge. In 2006, the Time magazine put out a prophetic cover, albeit then reflecting the power of the few social tools of the Internet and how its power to connect people would herald change. The cover put ‘You’ as the Person of the Year. “It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people’s network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.” Today, these tools have multiplied from Wild, MySpace to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Vine and many more.
Users are no longer limited to one source of news. Everyone with information to share is a journalist, every other person an editor. A smartphone can be your mega studio. Time magazine further articulated the changing nature of the World Wide Web as one beyond the one Tim Berners lee put together. ‘The new Web is a very different thing. It’s a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it’s really a revolution.’
This evolving change in the web and its instruments have led to a new relationship between new and traditional media. Television broadcast, newspapers, and magazines continue to graze social sites for news triggers and social media becomes a great ground for scouting reactions. This has not only changed how we consume news but how we produce it too. One specific innovation that is going to shake up everything is the digital format — for example, where are people watching videos, are they watching on standard television, on apps or onlineIJ
The relationship between social media and politics also has its nodes in the desire for change. Today, the public at large is using its information and networking access to find solutions. Can civil society channel the concept to drive real changeIJ Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur says on his blog, “like ideas, social media will give rise to communities that will rise and fall around ideas, while some will grow massively. No longer limited by geography or language, fiercely loyal communities that will go beyond commitment to nation states and form around ideals.”
However, despite its massive reach and power, the new sphere of influence under social media forewarns its origins lie in marketing. The ideas of organised groups on the web are presented like clockwork, strategies and efforts to sometimes brainwash people push pre-determined ideas and thoughts. Politicians can paint a glorified story with little fact check. Views of a few can be projected as ‘public opinion’. The rush for instant consumption can compromise credibility of the news received.
While India runs the litmus test on social media through a colourful and wide net of politics during elections, there are some who speculate still if social media is only a temporary phase. Malcolm Gladwell, renowned author, doesn’t quite see it as a tipping point. He says, “While social networks may be useful for some communication they do not promote the passionate collective engagement that causes individuals to make commitments that result in social change.” But then there are those who disagree with Gladwell.
Social media will alter our world, and the signs are visible already. If this change takes place in the world’s largest democracy with one of the youngest demographics, it truly sets the stage for a massive explosion better known as social media revolution.
(Excerpts from Shaili Chopra’s The Big Connect with permission from Random House)
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