You know it’s an amazing time when just about everyone can carry around some pissed off birds, an illegal record store, and can access every thought from friends and strangers with the tap or swipe of a handheld screen.
While that may be a miracle to some, we forget that in our hands we have the ability to #savetheworld.
A 7.8 #earthquake in China was not first announced on its local news, or even international news. The users of the social media giant @twitter first reported it.
The same went for the terrorist attacks in #Mumbai. People used @twitter to inform the world about the actions of the gunmen.
Protests were organized last March on @facebook against the College of Mary and William (@WMNews) in Williamsburg, Va., for its discriminatory policies.
Most recently, the #Egyptian revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak was attributed to social media – from @youtube to @twitter.
Videos were posted on @youtube and @twitvid showing scenes that some news outlets did not or could not get themselves, including video of a police vehicle running over civilians.
With every 140 characters or less, people organized and rallied to free themselves from the 30 years of oppression the country faced. With every subsequent reposting from Egypt, it reached the point where outlets such as @CNN, @MSNBC and @Foxnews could no longer afford to ignore the situation. These media giants then reported on the protests and posted updates on their own @twitter accounts.
The people now have the power to control the news.
During the #egyptianblackout where all ties to the Internet were shut down, the tech-savvy citizens of the world united to find alternate means of sending information.
The #socialrevolution is something that cannot be taken lightly.
While many people dismiss the usage of @twitter and its ilk as superficial especially with people posting irrelevant photos of #kittensthatwantcheeseburgers, there are a good number of users who post relevant and informative pieces that have the potential to #startarevolution.
@Twitter, @facebook, @youtube and even @myspace are now built around the framework of #reachingmorewhiledoingless. While that model may sound ridiculous, it’s no different than the model set forth by print, radio or television.
However, rather than an elite few being able to inform the masses, anyone can step on a digital #soapbox and start discussions on any random thought that may pop into his or her head.
The people who can effect change to world policy are not just #politicians, #dictators or #peoplewithmoney anymore – they are the people who can organize and reach the most people by any means available.
That is the #power that we all hold in the palm of our hands. It is time for those who are afraid of these technological and social advances, but at the same time #wanttheworldtochange, to dive in and improve the system that they believe to be #irrelevant.
As for myself, @gilphotography from @xpressnews, when a cause arises that affects or speaks to me, @you can count on me being one of the people who will #speakupforwhatibelievein in order to #changetheworld.
