Social Media

Everyone in this room has probably heard the song “It’s a Small World” that Disney has used many times and they even has a creepy ride in Disney World based on it. However being released in 1964 this song was a little before its time. Back then the world was anything but a small place for most people. Fifty years later our world is indeed a small place and its all because of something known as social media. Sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, all of them are revolutionizing how the world communicates with itself. For the first time a person living in another country doesn't seem so far away anymore; all you need is a Facebook. In a span of about ten years it has taken over our society and improved it in ways that were never thought possible. News can be spread across an entire nation in a matter of minutes, all it takes is one tweet. We are closer to, and know more about, our politicians, celebrities, and even our friends and families. And one person can make a difference or even save a life, with todays social media all it takes is initiative.

One of the most amazing aspects of Social Media is how quickly it can spread information or news. When the Tsunami hit Japan over the summer I knew about it in my third hour class of the same day. Within the span of a couple hours the news had traveled all the way across the globe. People were taking real time videos of the tsunami and posting them on Twitter and Facebook. We were getting a first hand view of the devastation all the way in America. The news spread like wild fire across all forms of social media and within a day donation site were set up to help raise money for the relief effort. All of this was possible because of social media and its capabilities. On a more local level social media has just as much of an impact. If we look at Lexington for example one place we see its impact is in the school system and how information is sent out. Last year when we had tons of snow that caused all kinds of problems in the city. However there was one common way of trying to get information to the people of Lexington and that was through Social Media. Snow days were announced through Facebook, and accidents and power outages were announced through Twitter. This news spreading ability has become irreplaceable and without it society would be left in the dark.

Politicians and celebrities have always had a type of aw around them. As if they don’t live on the same planet as us. Social media however has changed that. Politicians no longer have a curtain to hide behind. In society today if a politician wants to win an election that have to be as involved and open as possible with the public. And social media is the perfect outlet for this. Elections can be one and lost based on how a candidate handles this medium. Are they open and free with the public? Or do they refuse to use it and consider it detrimental? This single outlet can sway an election. During the campaign of Obama, for example, they created a website that allowed the public to be up to date on where he stands, and even gives them a medium to express their opinions.

Celebrities, like politicians, are now a lot closer and more accessible to the public. Never before could we know exactly what a celebrity was doing at ever hour of the day. Twitter has given us that. We can even talk to them if we get lucky. I, a 16 year old high schooler in Lexington, Ky, could have a conversation with Lebron James, or tell him I hate him and know that he saw it. Either way it has taken the bigger then life celebrity and shown us that they really aren’t much different.

Its not just politicians and celebrities that have been made more accessible, but our own friends and families. We all have that grandparent that friends you on Facebook and then proceeds to spam you with farmville requests. You can even reconnect with distant family members. That cousin that you haven’t seen since that one thanksgiving when you were a child is now only a click away. Social media is bringing friends and families back together and providing them with a means to reconnect.

The openness is not only one of its greatest strengths, but one of its biggest weaknesses. Theres an anonymity that comes with social media simply because it is from behind a computer. Everyone has the same abilities on these sites and everyone has access to anyone so cases such as cyber bullying can occur. However steps can be taken to prevent this such as the videos that we watch every year. Also we see the overall lack of privacy by people who choose to participate in these sites. People can be exposed and once a piece of information, or a picture hits one of these sites it spreads. The ability to spread information, that is so unique to social media, is suddenly the enemy, and anyone is free to give their opinion on the subject. This risk however is greatly outweighed by the reward that comes with it.

For the first time ever we know see that ordinary people have the ability to make a difference in the world, and that is exactly what some people have done. Social media provides everyone with a level playing field. Nobodies cause is greater then someone else's and this is one of the beauties of social media. The story of a Whale named Mr. Splashy Pants is the perfect example of this. There is a group called Greenpeace, an environmental group that wanted to stop the japanese government and their whaling expedition. They way they wanted to do this was by putting a tracker into one of the whales and then naming it to make it more people friendly. In order to get the public involved they set up an internet poll asking people to vote on their favorite name. Three of the names were symbolic meanings, while the fourth was Mr. Splashy Pants. The poll ended up getting promoted by Reddit, a social news site, and they proceeded to back the name Mr. Splashy Pants, even changing the logo for a day to be a whale. By the end of the day Mr. Splashy Pants went from having 5% of the votes, to having 70% of the votes. Other social sites then began really backing this idea and soon groups on Facebook were being created, and Mr. Splashy Pants was all over the internet. Greenpeace seized the opportunity and clothing lines were created, you could even send someone an animated splashy. Not only had Mr. Splashy Pants taken over social sites within a week, but the Japanese Government ended up calling off their whale hunting expedition. Perfectly exemplifying how powerful social media can be. It took something that a small environmental group had created and made it an internet sensation. Not only that but actually helped them to accomplish their goal and end the whaling expedition.

Social Media has proven that it can be considered one of the greatest inventions of our generation and I think that its only just beginning. It has already brought together all kinds of people, from celebrities to family members and has showed us the power that the internet can have. It is part of our life, whether we like or not. Ordinary people are changing the world and we are witnessing a revolution in how society relates with itself. It truly has become a small world that we live in, and people who once seemed so far away, are now impacting our lives, and I look forward to seeing whats next in the vast world of social media.