If proof was needed that social media empowers people and fuels revolutions then you should look at the unfolding situations in #Tunisia, #Egypt and countries in the middle-east. Facebook, Twitter and Egypt’s own Masrawy have connected people and empowered them to share their thoughts and opinions on how their states are governed.
The adoption of social networking in Arabic-speaking states has gone relatively unnoticed. Yet according to web research firm Alexa the top sites in Tunisia and Egypt are Facebook, Twitter and search company Google.
Anger and resentment at their respective Governments has found a nerve on people online, which has spread to citizens in respective countries.
Tunisia’s Secretary of State for Communication Sami Zaoui admitted at this week’s 2011 World Economic Forum (#WEF) about the impact that social networking had in the overthrowing of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Speaking to YouTube’s Uncultured Project Shawn Ahmed, Secretary Zaoui said, “Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have had great contribution to that [the revolution], in addition to, of course, all the demonstrators that have been in the field.” Secretary Zaoui also highlighted the fact that 40 per cent of the population being connected online to the success of the ‘Jasmine Revolution.’
But the demands from the population for work, food and democracy has spread through the region with Egyptian citizens taking to streets to demand an end of President Moubarak’s regime. Using the same sites as well as mobiles, demonstrators gathered to protest. Twitter, which is now blocked in Egypt saw a serve in use with people communicating and sharing messages using the #jan25 hashtag.
The outcome from the revolution in Tunisa unnerved the Egyptian regime, which took unprecedented action and blocked Internet services and mobile networks in the hope of quashing the uprisings. Demonstrators though quickly bypassed the authority’s firewalls and accessed the web through alternative means including the old dial-up system. Such a crackdown on communication brought condemnation from the international community.
Authorities in Egypt also started to censor and block news output, with Qatar’s Al-Jazeera having to broadcasting through alternative satellite frequencies after they were taken of air.
What social media has done is empower people. It has taught them how to overcome barriers and it’s enabled people to find a base where they can share their view and opinions. Opaque regimes have come under greater scrutiny with citizens wanting transparency and accountability. It’s enabled them to take action.
I am not for one minute arguing for investigative journalism to be gagged. Nor am I condoning the culture of favour that exists within Fifa, an organisation that promotes Fair Play on the pitch, but ignores it in the boardroom. Let’s be honest, are these investigations really in the public interest, this being common well-being? Such a claim is more of a catch-all.
Facebook, Mobile And Convergence are subjects that dominate FT Digital Media Conference
Monday, March 14th, 2011BBC DG Mark Thompson
Convergence. This was one of the keywords that came of out of this year’s 2011 Financial Times Digital Media & Broadcast Conference. It’s taking me some time to pen this, but I wanted to share some of the key points that were discussed.
Last year the conference coincided with the BBC unveiling the results of it’s Strategy Review. This year gathering started on the same time as Apple unveiled its much-anticipated iPad 2, Facebook announced the rollout of its Comments plug-in and the all-important decision from the Department for Culture Media and Sport Minister Jeremy Hunt MP to allow News International’s full take-over of BSkyB.
Chief executives and senior board members gathered in London to outline their thoughts on an industry that is changing at breakneck speed. It’s an industry that is no longer operating by itself, but a sector that is being driven by the technology that their own consumers are engaging with. And the speed of adoption is forcing many boards to re-evaluate how they engage with their audiences.
Mobile and social networking are the two platforms, the two elephants in the room, that media and broadcast organisations are still struggling to grapple with. They are also the platforms that public relations professionals must fully grasp for themselves and their clients.
BBC Director General Mark Thompson highlighted this year how ‘new media’ and the consumer have shaped how it offers content. The corporation accepted that consumers want the BBC’s content on every platform. Its iPlayer is today available on the iPhone and iPad, with Thompson confirming that people even watch BBC content on their mobiles in bed.
Thompson understands simplicity and highlighted that the iPlayer works because it is straightforward. In January of this year 162 million downloads were made through the iPlayer, this in a country of 25 million households.
Thompson confirmed that 2011 is the year of convergence, stating that strength is with those that have a strong presence online and understand the value of simplicity.
One of the areas that the BBC Director General is looking at is the power and influence of social recommendations and how this will shape how we all watch television. Indeed Thompson confirmed that the BBC and Facebook are having conversations.
Speaking at the conference Facebook’s EMEA Managing Director Joanna Shield confirmed that the company now has 30 million active users in the UK, accounting for 1 in 2 of the population. Talking about how it ‘supports‘ UK media Shields highlighted that 10% of the Daily Mail’s web traffic now comes from Facebook and that the sites plugins have helped The Independent gain up to a 700% increase in traffic.
Talking of Facebook, Sales and Marketing Director for mobile provider 3 Marc Allera in a separate session said that a staggering 75% of their data traffic is directed to Facebook – an incredible statistic. Allera also said that 90% of 3’s sales are Smartphone’s.
Facebook is the platform of choice for the consumer. For business it is the ‘frenemy’, a business that delivers eyeballs to those with an online presence, but a business that can quickly cannibalise those that work with it. Take Groupon and Livingsocial for example. Both living in the hype, but both under the knife of Facebook, who a few days ago announced ‘a new service that will sell discounts deals to consumers.’ Sound familiar?
So, Facebook is becoming an entity in itself. The stats show it, but for the time being, it is a fact that business needs to learn to live with it. Equally, it needs to retain control of the data that makes it’s business a business.
I was going to ask, remember when clients used to ask about needing a Facebook Strategy? Something that made PRs and Strategists cringe? Well, there is a need to have a Facebook Strategy, but a strategy to manage them and avoid each business being cannibalised by this growing entity. The data that companies share with the social giant make the same businesses vulnerable.
Convergence and Facebook, and of course all the other offerings. The tables have turned and consumers are showing businesses how and where they want their content.
Tags: #ftmedia11, apple, bbc, facebook, ft, media, news, online, pr, public relations, social media, social networking, web2.0
Posted in comment, events, mobile, social media | No Comments »