SOCIAL MEDIA to make a positive SOCIAL IMPACT!

by Ada Nworgu

After attending the first ‘Powerful Voices’ workshop I am very enthusiastic about the project, already bursting with ideas and keen to get started with the implementation. One question myself and the rest of the group are pondering on this week is- How to use social media to make our ideas come to life? The project is all about using social media to make a positive social impact, on a local or global level.  We have recently seen the influence of social media with the revolution in Egypt! Described by some as a ‘youth led social media revolution’- some articles I have come across report on the revolution like it was a 007 operation organised by the Egyptian youth via social networking sites; whilst others state that social media was a sideline tool, that may have heightened the impact of the protests but was definitely not at the centre of the revolution and others totally dismiss the involvement  of social media -hmmm ‘denial is not just a river in Egypt’ (sorry couldn’t resist) .  If you are interested and I do hope you are, here are a few links about the revolution, from different viewpoints:

social-media-youth-egypt-revolution?

the-twitter-cant-topple-dictators

exactly-what-role-did-social-media-play-in-the-egyptian-revolution

What are your conclusions? Did the ‘power’ of social media cause Mubarak to step down??

Whichever viewpoint you support, it cannot be denied that social media does make an impact whether minute or major. Even if somebody somewhere was to discover cold hard facts that proved social media had no impact on the Egyptian Revolution...it cannot be denied that as a result of the revolution the interest in social media has rocketed.  It is almost like the Egyptian Revolution rebranded social media!? The irony! -  Social media almost became an academic study; it has come under some deep analysis since the revolution. There was what seems like an excitable frenzy in the blogosphere as many were eager to communicate their opinions. – I’m not here to jump on that bandwagon, this blog is in support of the Powerful Voices’ project, I just wanted to offer a little food for thought. In fact, let’s go back to basics- social media is a free form of mass communication at the finger tips of any human being who has access to the internet and with the increase in ownership of smart phones, social media is even more accessible. It allows an individual the power and the freedom to share whatever information they choose with others. It is also platform for interaction so it creates an avenue for people to be influenced, as by nature human beings are usually in some way affected by what they take in. This is the reason to why marketers moved towards social media, like it was the new craze in the world of marketing and advertising. In fact, do you remember the Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’ advert? A little recap perhaps, why not!:                      Cadbury's 'Gorilla' advert 

So not too long after it was regularly viewed by millions on TV, Cadbury’s  put the advert on You Tube..why? ..No, they weren’t feeding their egos..they wanted to benefit from the real time interaction of social media and use it as a tool to measure the effectiveness of their campaign. It has been reported that the advert received 500,000 page views in the first week  and there was even Facebook pages set up in honour of the advert (some people do take it a bit too far!). As a result of this campaign Cadburys reported a rise in sales so anyway enough about chocolate, my food for thought is: what this ‘Powerful Voices’ project is essentially about. We are going to build on this re-branding of social media so to speak, putting aside social media as a commercialist tool, as a procrastination device and a way to generate gossip and spread idle rumours etc etc. and instead, using this pretty effective tool to make a positive social impact. Now if you’re thinking, - hmmm I like the sound of that, then don’t hesitate to follow ‘Powerful Voices’ on our journey. Look out for us on every social media site known to man and check out our blogs and see what we come up with! After all what we do may be able to help you!

Thanks for reading J  

First Round.

On a very expected 19th of February, a group of highly enthusiastic youngsters came together defying the rain on a Saturday at 9am. We were welcomed by the creator of such a grandiose idea, the mother of this project Jane Quinn.

Very little we knew about anyone else,  only that we were aged between 18-30, all acquainted with the benefits of social media and eager to make contributions about changing our own environment. Yet, what followed up after brief greetings, was a much more exiting exercise to found out as much as we could about each others, in accordance to our own speed dating skills. 

Gathering by the first round, we could grasp is going to be a DIY process, in which we are all prompting to share our part.

JZ.

All. Together. Now

by David Harding

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The inspiration for this blog article came mostly from another article, by Clay Shirky - see my Tumblr account here (reason being the link is not direct, is that you have to log in and I wanted to save you the drama). It's a long article (his not mine), but phenomenally good - I hope you enjoy it.

You may also enjoy this short and engaging documentary Us Now -A (UK) film project about the power of mass collaboration, government and the internet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a real danger when talking about the internet that you over-blow it's potential, it's a phenomenal resource - a resource being exactly what it is - a supply that can be used when needed. Hyperbole about it's potential? That depends on what you want to use it for.

Let's stop and think about what it is for one minute; the common assumption is that the internet is 'virtual', something that exists in the ether. I would argue this is wrong, it's very real, tangible, and the chances are your touching it right now. The internet is quite simply, like society itself, the sum of its parts - it's the keyboards, the screens, the wires, the people... the world over.

The internet is a network; the etymology of the word internet is a shortened version of "inter" + "network", inter meaning "reciprocal, between, amongst" and network meaning "a collection of systems or people". It is the latter term in the definition of network that will be the focus of this blog - people.

My thoughts this week have been orientating around two things - firstly, collaborative consumption and secondly, micro-volunteering and micro-donations - both with a view to achieving some measure of social change.

There are many examples of both - collaborative consumption can be illustrated by sites such as ecomodo, micro-volunteering by sites like wikipedia and micro-donations by sites like pennies.

All of these are examples of collective action.

Together, we can achieve more - the internet as a network (or technology if you prefer) - is two things. It combines the mass media element of radio and television with the interactive element of the telephone, which itself creates a whole new mass medium of interaction. The internet, and more specifically social media, represent a historical zenith in the communicative power of individuals.

Take your mobile phone as an example - hold it in your hand for a minute and think of all the ways you can contact people, your network - assuming you have a smart phone it could be any number of the following ways, probably more: Facebook, Twitter, SMS, Skype, Email... or an actual phone call (how about that?)

Now, imagine that same conversation ten years ago... get your phone out of your pocket (if you have one) you could call someone, maybe even text them? New vehicles of communication have emerged as the internet has accelerated in its capacity, speed and availability (or access) - and in turn, has increased the potential of people to communicate and collaborate.

With those last three attributes in mind (increased capacity, speed and availability - access) this is where the local has the capacity -and potential - to become the global. The personal the public.

The way the internet is developing it is essential to understand that communication is paramount to unlocking its collaborative power. The emerging political economy of cyberspace (the medium through which online communication takes place) is one deeply rooted in sharing - with an adherent belief in transparency. The internet makes conversation, causes and lives visible.

It is here therefore, that the potential of social media lies, in making conversation, causes and lives visible and its resultant potential for supporting civil society and the public sphere. Ultimately, it is in the public sphere that social change occurs.

This is not to say that the use of social media has a predetermined outcome, but it is to say that it can be used to coordinate and mobilize ideas and people. It is not simply access to social media that changes lives, governments and association - it is access to the conversations that they create - a shared awareness. Public secrets become open truths.

Social media is not a replacement for real life action, it is a means of coordinating it. The access, the speed and the increasingly ubiquitous nature of the technology that facilitate sharing via social networking mediums has had an egalitarian effect, unparalleled in human history. Something happening 10,000 miles away can be beamed, literally, into your living room, as it happens. This might sound like a dystopian nightmare but it's driving the (increasingly global) desire for transparency and accountability. 

The internet has made it possible for people to tell others about anything and everything - instantly! The consequences are unfolding all around us. And therein lies the story - we should harness this potential to share ideas and make things visible to develop responsible and appropriate social changes; to communicate and collaborate towards any number of selective ends.

Sounds obvious, right?

Well, sometimes you need to be told... sometimes you need to tell other people.

Powerful Voices Day 1

What could be better than getting together with people who also enjoy using social media for change? I don't know either! Hence why I got involved with Powerful Voices. Our first session was on Saturday & it was a long but good day.

I first heard about the opportunity through my tutors at school. Berta & I trekked down the interview a few weeks back & breathed a sigh of relief when we made the cut. We're both art students & we're hoping to incorporate social media into our work. I come from a mostly art background, so I'm hoping to bring my creative side to the project.

On a blustery Saturday morning we gathered in SoHo. I didn't know what to expect & the morning started off with an activity I wouldn't have thought I'd be doing - speed dating! Well, not actually. More like speed get-to-know-you. It was a long morning of talking, even if it was only spending 5 minutes with each person! It was really interesting to learn what people are passionate about, & their backgrounds. I think we have a good mix of people on the team of 14.

At the end, we picked a name out of a hat & had to do a short 'news feature' on the person. My broadcast journalist dreams had finally come true, even if it was only in front of one camera. But I did get a good audience reaction!

After a quick lunch break it was back to work.

The afternoon session was about picking an issue that we're passionate about & how to go about it. Why this issue? How will we tackle it? How will we research it? What can we do about it? I think what's interesting is how everyone comes from a different background so we're all passionate about different things. As the Canadian on the team I feel a bit out of touch with issues in the United Kingdom but I can give an interesting perspective. We broke off into groups to brainstorm our interests. My group discussed bringing arts to families, helping students who are unemployed, the closing of libraries, & waste management just to name a few things. 

This week is all research, research, research before we pitch our project next week. There's lots of work to be done but I think I speak for the team when I say we're all excited!

Carly