boiling minds by Diana Assennato

I am a Brazilian journalist and after 6 years of brain hibernation and a frustrating list of jobs I decided to get a master degree in Digital Media to find what is my real passion in life. That means I am back to the university; a place where ideas flow and creativity blossoms each day in a dangerous rhythm. I say dangerous because creativity can be a threaten when not used, and it becomes a burden when its existence is only proved by imagined and never-put-in-practice amazing projects that can change the world. But sometimes (and in my case there were very few in my life) opportunities knock on your door and shakes your world like a wake-up call. Since I heard about the project, Powerful Voices have been being my "move-your-ass" call (pardon my french) and it has already changed me in many ways.

At this point it's redundant to say I didn't know what to expect from this project. I think we all came with different ideas and not many certainties about what could happen during and after our meetings, and I think I speak for all. I got involved because the premise was very interesting, although a bit generic. Social change through social media? Well yes, but... hmmm, let's see what they are REALLY talking about. To be very honest I never really thought about the subject before, although I was always interested in the social power of change. I just kept complaining about how hard it is to get involved in social projects when you are one and alone. 

But since our first meeting I realized this is how many people of my generation feel nowadays. It's hard to put things in practice and convince other people to be part of projects when there's no monetary feed back involved. The easiest way to fight this disappointment is to get used to it and leave that frustration asleep in a dark drawer inside the conscience. But, hey! Why? Under that frustration there is a gigantic world of dangerously creative minds that are just waiting for a chance to get involved in something bigger, and Powerful Voices brought this chance to many of us.

Since the beginning of the workshops I've been involved in three of the projects and I can't really tell which one excites me the most. Specially after our third meeting, last saturday, my mind is boiling with ideas and I keep thinking that there are so many opportunities to change peoples life, even in the smallest aspects. 

Social media, for example, is a subject of interest that is growing in my life. Not only because it is constantly brought to the debate about digital media and media theory during my classes, but also because I find myself trying to understand the logic of the passion it keeps raising in all generations. It is big and will get even bigger, and I can't really imagine what it will became in the world my children will live in. I keep asking myself if it's a bad sign of the digital evolution, that will take all our spare time and make ourselves more and more alienated, or if will be a powerful tool of connection between people. How can we educate future generations to understand the power of it if we are still incapable of dealing with it in a healthy way? How can we teach time management, ethical issues and privacy notions on the internet if we still don't know what this concepts really mean this days? 

In this sense I believe Powerful Voices showed me a way. A concrete example of how we can move beyond the shallow use of social media and interact to take the most out of it. Social changes are closer than we think. And this is only the beginning.

Can't wait for the future :)

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  

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.