is social media relevant to politics?

8/7/2019 Is Social Media Relevant to Politics?

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The University of Westminster

Regent CampusSchool of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages

Is Social Media Relevant toPolitics?

Total Words: 12,501

A dissertation submitted in partial fullment of the requirements for the Master of Artsdegree in International Relations and Contemporary Political Theory.

Ariel Ch ari King

6 September 2010


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Acknowledgements

I would like to dedicate this research to Neda Agha-Soltan. The Iranian Election, Twitterand Neda were my inspiration for this dissertation. In my own lifetime, which includes theend of Apartheid, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, this political movement in the so-called

democracy of Iran is the most memorable. There are many brave men and women whospeak up against what they feel is wrong, or willingly ght for their country. It is tragic,when an innocent bystander, be it a child living in a war zone, a young woman being rapedin a country where universal women s rights are not prevalent, or peaceful civilian protestsending in murder by military ofcials, becomes the victim of the times. I feel that thewretchedness of these stories are shared throughout human-kind, as at the end of the daywe are all human. I hope that this research and the ongoing efforts of the Iranian youthare able to offer Neda and the country of Iran the justice she deserves.

I would also like to thank Paulina Tambakaki for supervising my dissertation.


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Regent Campus

University of Westminster

Name: Ariel Ch ari King

Date: 26 August 2010

MA Dissertation Title:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I conrm that the above-submitted dissertation is my own work and that allreferences/sources are duly acknowledged.

Signature:________________________________________


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Table of Contents

I. Introduction " 1

II. From the Individual to the Community " 5

III. Response from Governments and Traditional Media " 18

IV. Social Media: Enhancing the U.S. Public Sphere " 27

V. Social Media: Fuelling a Protest in Iran " 30

VI. Social Media: Haiti Earthquake and Aid Relief " 34

VII. Social Media: Impacting the BP Oil Spill " 38

VIII.Conclusion"

42IX. Bibliography " 43


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I. Introduction" There was once a time where the information found on the Web would be very

unidirectional. That is, someone would create the content, post it online, and another

would read the content and perhaps pass it on to a friend or colleague via e-mail.However, our use of the Internet has changed since its original creation. Through this,

Web 2.0 or social media, which will be used interchangeably, was born providing a new

chapter to the history of the Internet. To start, social media websites attract users with the

possibility of networking and connecting to other users sharing similar platforms. But the

stronger captivating element of social media stems from the ability to create your own

identity in cyberspace. In other words, users are able to create a digital form of

themselves that may reect their real world selves. This shift between real world and

digital world events will be a focal point to my argument as I validate the importance of

social media in politics. Furthermore, the traditional idea of the Internet and its

unidirectional websites are erased with the arrival of social media. Users can now

contribute to the content that others have created and this has drastically transformed the

way we use the Internet.

" The Internet and politics, and more so social media and politics is a new and

developing eld of study. To the few critics that research this topic, like Matthew

Hindman 1 , this ow of information in a single direction continues to be the case. He fails to

acknowledge the importance of the interaction occurring between the content and theuser. Weblogs (blogs) that are self-produced, tend to be a major focus in the debate of

Internet and politics, yet they are not standalone sites and the participation amongst its

viewers is not assessed. Alternatively, online news agencies, which also provide a social

media aspect to its news articles, never enter the discussion. Viewers of these sites now

have the ability to create a prole, and comment or even contribute to the posted

King, 1

1 Hindman, M., (2009). The Myth of Digital Democracy . Princeton: Princeton University Press.


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information. Scholars researching media, politics and citizen participation must shift their

focus to this emerging power of the user rather than rely on data collected on the content

creators. We must focus on how social media is being used in politics and not who is

creating content on the Internet as this is limiting to the changing scope. The way that

users interact with this information is crucial to understanding the relevance of social

media in politics.

" Additionally, by understanding that we are expressing our real life beliefs as our

digital selves, I have proven that it is equally important to examine where we trust to

display this information. There are many versions of social media websites that exist on

the Web, however only a few have become major global platforms. As the users of each

site vary greatly, each online community will evolve differently in the use and creation of

their political platforms. These trusted sties in Web 2.0 reect the users that gather there,

making not only the how but there where an important element in my argument for social

media s political relevance. As the importance of where users are talking politics within

social media becomes more powerful, there is a bottom-up movement occurring in this

space. However, the response of governments and traditional media to Web 2.0

strengthen my argument, not only for social media s need for recognition, but also the shift

between real life, and digital life is exemplied.

" This dissertation will give political reason to social media by providing elements that

have made it prevalent in the political world. Social media captures not only the essence

of the content that is created online, but also the potential for interactivity with its users. I

have researched real world examples for when social media has had an impact in politics

to reinforce my argument for its relevance. Describing how each social website that I

mention is used will not fully develop my argument. Rather, I make the point that several

recent political events would not have occurred had social media not been involved. I will

use case studies on the U.S. Presidential Election of 2008, the Iranian Protests of 2009,

King, 2


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the Haiti Earthquake of 2010 and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010. By providing these

case studies, I can rmly position my argument that there has been a dramatic impact of

social media in the political world. This furthers my claim to social media s relevance as

these political movements were created in the digital world and then made a shift to real

life scenarios.

" Social media s role in politics begins with the U.S. Presidential elections. Howard

Dean made a strong case study for using the Internet to raise campaign funds during the

election in 2004. This is where both Hindman and Cass Sunstein 2 begin their argument

for the Internet s relevance in some politics such as political campaigning and fundraising,

but irrelevance in citizen participation after elections. They do not go further into the

Internet and consequently fall short and omit the concept of social media. I, however, will

begin where they chose to end, and argue not for the Internet but for social media.

" For Hindman and Sunstein, the focal actors are the creators of political information

in the digital domain. While Sunstein s work was published during the very early stages of

social media, Hindman s occurred in a more developed Web 2.0 world. However,

Hindman manages to neglect the social aspect of the current form of the Internet and

ignores the political power of the tools being created. His argument for the irrelevance of

the Internet in politics due to elites creating political blogs online may have held true in the

original implications of Internet usage. However this argument can not stand against

social media. As a result both critics are only able to argue for standalone websites with

no user interaction. Social media, however, focuses on the social , and interaction is its

driving force. Within this space, information can be transferred, created and shared more

freely. Because of Hindman and Sunstein s limiting views, I have chosen to counter their

arguments and prove that social media is a relevant tool in politics. This argument is not

currently being researched in detail as Internet and politics is inherently different than

King, 3

2 Sunstein, C. R., (2007). Republic.com 2.0 . Princeton: Princeton University Press.


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social media and politics. The Internet has provided the space for Web 2.0 websites to be

created, and this space is the focus of my research.

King, 4


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II. From the Individual to the Community" This chapter will examine the users that fuel social media. The attraction of

publishing your views on the Web loses its appeal when your readers do not provide

feedback to your work. Through this opportunity to participate in political discussion, Iargue that the focus needs to be placed on the commenter and not political elites that

create the online content. To prove this I gathered the statistical proles of social media

users as a whole to form a global prole. This prole then gives way to the point that there

are many users that do not create content but still participate in the discussion. This

strengthens the fact that the commenter, or online engagers have a strong role in political

discussions. Additionally, to participate in political discussion there must be an element of

trust. This trust translates to where we feel we can openly discuss political topics and be

heard. As a result, social media platforms have evolved to take shape in political

situations. To argue this point I will compare Facebook to the growing trend of Twitter

which has evolved to reect a space for political discussion. I will then argue that the even

newer social media tool of Location-Based Services has the potential to be used positively

in a political sense. Finally, as this dissertation is arguing for how we use social media, I

demonstrate that just as in real life, political discussions can go wrong. Particularly on the

Internet, social media provides an environment for echo chambers on one hand and ame

wars, which is particular to Internet usage, on the other.

Virtual Identication Card" The Internet is a large and unending space, with a countless amount of users

multiplying their identities across this region. Due to this immeasurable area, I have

limited my research to focus mainly on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and weblogs. While

this may appear restrictive, these social media platforms have provided the strongest

impact to political participation on the Internet. As of June 2010, Facebook was ranked as

King, 5


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the most visited social media website in the world. 3 This was then followed by YouTube,

Blogger and Twitter. The social-networking site, MySpace, has been omitted as the site is

not relevant to my research. Although MySpace was ranked as the sixth most visited

social media website at the time this data was collected, it appeared only as the twenty-

fth most visited website overall.

" Facebook, the largest social-networking site, is quickly approaching it s 500

millionth4 user mark. Of these users approximately 70% are located outside of the United

States and Facebook has been translated into over seventy languages. 5 This is both a

shocking and informative discovery. Facebook was created in a university residence room

on Harvard campus, thus one could expect the majority of users to be American. To the

contrary, these ndings show that social networking has spread across the globe and is

embraced by many cultures.

" In addition to Facebook, Twitter, the micro-blogging or short status update website,

has seen signicant international growth in the past year. During the rst quarter of 2010

the site s activity grew approximately 30% 6 in unique visitors. Twitter s growth is very

encouraging for its future as it is the youngest website I will be researching in my case

studies. While Twitter has a signicantly smaller active population than Facebook, it has

managed to become a popular global destination as it is the eleventh most visited website.

This shows that Twitter members and non-members are visiting th is site to gather

informat ion and makes it a prime platform for global political discussions.

King, 6

3 (2010). Alexa Top 500 Global Sites . [online] Alexa. Available from: [Accessed 22 June 2010].

4 Fletcher, D. and Ford, A., (2010). Friends Without Borders. Time, 175 ( 21), 32-38 [online]. EBSCO Host.Available from: [Accessed 22 June 2010].

5 Facebook Statistics . [online] Available from: [Accessed 03 August 2010].

6 (2010). Twitter Enjoys Major Growth and Excellent Stickines s . [online] Sysomos. Available from: [Accessed 22 Jun2010].


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" Moving from text updates, YouTube, the video sharing website and third most

visited website in the world as of June 2010, is the most popular way to share videos

amongst bloggers. Research conducted by Sysomos, a company that analyses social

media engagement, found that in 2009 the majority of users that link to YouTube videos on

their blogs are male with the largest age demographic consisting of 20 to 35-year-olds. 7

This is an important statistic when discussing political bloggers as this now provides two

social platforms with the potential for engagement from its readership. Knowing this

increased potential, it is difcult to follow Hindman s beliefs in digital politics and gives

more respect to my argument to focus on the participation and not the creators. Again, an

international presence is shown in this data with yet another Web 2.0 site. Outside of the

US - Brazil, Spain, the United Kingdom and Canada are the most engaged countries within

the video sharing community.

" Finally, an original social web platform, weblogs, with Google s Blogger and

WordPress ranking as the top two most popular blogging sites, have a similar distribution

in terms of age with YouTube. More research conducted by Sysomos, 8 shows the majority

of bloggers are aged 21 to 35-years-olds. Gender is equally distributed amongst bloggers,

but the country usage varies greatly. Approximately 70% of bloggers, just as with

Facebook, reside outside of the US, with the UK, Japan and Brazil as the top non-

American bloggers.

" This data further enforces the fact that social media is a growing and stable pillar of

the Internet which must be studied. Cultures are continuously making a shift to a digital

lifestyle composed of videos, thoughts and links. As this eld is relatively new in a n

academic sense, further studies particularly into mobile phone usage of these sites are

King, 7

7 (2009). A Look Inside Online Video Engagement - Part I . [online] Sysomos. Available from: [Accessed October 2009].

8 Ehrlich, B., (2010). Look Who's Blooging [STATS] . [online] Mashable. Available from: [Accessed 04 June 2010].


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omitted but would also provide useful data to this topic. With the rise of smart phones and

mobile applications or apps, a greater use of the app versions of these sites will occur

rather than the mobile websites for these services. However, the data that has been

collected, while lacking in mobile gures, still proves that a range of global users exist

within the digital world. When researching political participation on the Internet, each level

of user interaction must be considered. This interaction occurs thanks to social media

capabilities. I have further categorised these users into creators, engagers and watchers.

With this user prole data, I have taken the types of users into consideration and used this

to counter the belief that content creators or bloggers are the only political inuencers.

Creating, Engaging and Watching

" While the exact usage and even identities of members on most social media

websites can be difcult to gauge, one area that has been classied and analysed in

digital politics are the creators or bloggers. In the political eld, this has wrongly been

regarded by Hindman and Sunstein as the highest level of political engagement in digital

politics. They feel that the most important actors in this arena are the bloggers

themselves. Their research has shown that political bloggers are educated, white, middle-

class males who are already rather prominent in the political eld. 9 The argument

continues to demonstrate that political blogs and smaller news websites tend to provide

the least overall online trafc. Their view of elites is strengthened in this debate as the

larger news corporations and political elites websites tend to rank the highest in political

trafc, thus making them the major providers of political information. However, this should

not be frowned upon and I view this as a twofold benet. Firstly, these political sites with

higher trafc have a greater chance of readership involvement as the engagers are able to

share and comment with social media tools. In fact, the comment box on websites is an

equal rival to the blogger himself. The ability to instantly react to political information

King, 8

9 Hindman, Op. cit


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posted online, challenges the blogger as this information will be received, discussed and

debated within the same space. There is a vanity in blogging, (and social media as a

whole), where the user thrives off the anticipation of someone responding to what they

have posted. While I agre e w ith the data that describes the content creators, it is unclear

how Hindman, Sunstein and others have ignored what readers are saying and only

focused on what the elites are blogging.

" My second point is that highly ranked sites are also highly trusted sites. Users that

are not directly engaging with the content, but rather, are watching, still contribute to the

success of a site through frequent visits. To become a top ranking blog, the readership

must be high and the website must be found easily using a search engine. Where we trust

to post, retrieve and engage with political information must be accounted for in the Web

2.0 discussion. Trust is an important factor to our online lives and it should be expected

that users trust elite bloggers and high-prole news organisations for political information.

Furthermore, the communities created around these discussions make a strong case for

social media s relevance to politics. Politics can only be successful when information is

disseminated and discussed between various communities. Now that we are able to

measure who is posting the information, it is time that scholars interested in political

participation measure how and where we are commenting or linking to this trusted

information.

In Cyberspace We Trust" Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, has no problem embracing (or as others

would see it, exploiting) the increasing fact that we trust the Internet more and more to

post personal information. 10 From our birthdays, to our daily thoughts and even

ultrasounds, moments that were once considered private have been shifted to our digital

lives. This fact agrees with my argument that there is a relationship between our real life

King, 9

10 (2010). Privacy 2.0. Economist, 394 ( 8667), 18-19 [online]. EBSCHost. Available from: [Accessed 19 June2010].


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personas and our digital selves. Zuckerberg is right in his assumption, as we, the

contributors of these social media websites, have willingly placed our information there.

Without users that are providing their information in these virtual spaces, many social

websites would cease to exist as they would lose prots from advertising. 11 The fact is

that we have a certain amount of trust in these websites. This trust can form from

believing a site to maintain what we feel is private, to having a space where we can freely

and openly discuss our lives and other global events. The latter is important to accept

when focusing on the digital citizen in a political context. To participate in political

discussions we must have trust not only in being heard by others, but also in the location

to provide a space where our views can be expressed. The political websites, weblogs

and news articles that a user chooses to comment on or share with friends shows that they

have a trust in the information that was produced. This could be that it is a trusted and

legitimate article or a blogger that they felt they could trust but they do not agree with their

views. It is of no surprise that the leading news websites are also popular names outside

of the digital world, again contributing to the real life and digital life shift. We trust these

agencies and therefore also choose to read, comment or share information from their

websites. I must stress that the purpose of this research is not to observe how many

political blogs and websites exist, but rather how the user interacts with these sites made

possible through Web 2.0 tools.

Choosing a Community" To have effective political conversations, individuals need to come together to form

a community. In real life, these individuals come from different backgrounds, age groups

and traditions. The previous data proves that this concept also translat es to the digital

world. Furthermore, I have argued that these digital citizens need to trust the website

where they are gathering or posting information. The individual trusts the location to have

King, 10

11 Ibid.


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a community that will allow for free and open expressions to discuss their political views.

However no political discussion can be successful, neither online nor ofine, in a space

where only one individual talks or where the community continuously agrees.

Nevertheless, in a seemingly uninterested world, digital users have reinvigorated the

political discussion in an unsuspecting realm. The evolution of the various social media

platforms builds upon my argument for Web 2.0 as a political tool.

" Just as each user is different, each social media platform varies. Social media sites

evolve differently than a typical website on the Internet as the users can shape the

direction of these platforms. This can be best identied in the change of MySpace and

Facebook. The original creation of Facebook was only available to Harvard University

students. 12 When MySpace was created, it was open to everyone. Facebook continued

to focus on those in the university aged bracket opening its doors to more Ivy League

schools. Alternatively, MySpace focused on the personalisation of each user s page 13;

from the font style to even embedding your favourite music when someone visited t he

page. Facebook found a niche with university students across America, enabling them to

connect to other university students. While MySpace gained popularity with the average

American youth, personalising their page with glitter fonts and wallpaper backgrounds,

making each page as unique as the user, it did not expand in the same respect to

Facebook. In this sense, Facebook remained a fairly closed off circuit. It was a space

lled with elite and educated students, and they were the major players in this private club.

MySpace, on the other hand, gained a reputation of an uneducated community of users

and overly crammed pages of information that was open for anyone to see and post

information (which was sometimes crude) on your page. "

King, 11

12 Timeline Facebook . [online] Available from: [Accessed04 August 2010].

13 Keenan, A. and Shiri, A., (2009). Sociability and social interaction on social networking websites . [online]Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available from: [Accessed 22 June 2010].


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" Political communities have been built within the websites we trust the most to

receive and share information. While Hindman had the opportunity to discuss these

websites, he only focused on political blogs which limited any progression of his research.

My research shows that the way in which we are participating in politics through social

media is prevalent. Thus, two similar platforms evolved in two very different ways. The

evolution of Facebook is important to the creation of political discussions within this space

and it has proven to contain powerful political communities. For many users, myself

included, it was slowly accepted that Facebook was the better and perhaps more desirable

community to share personal information with friends and family over Myspace. However,

Facebook has been challenged by another Web 2.0 site where users have trusted to share

political information.

The Difference Between Facebook and Twitter

" In 2007, a new and mildly confusing website gained recognition the social media

world. This was Twitter, which focused on simple, 140 character tweets that could be

sent from either your mobile or the web. This was limited to 140 characters as it was the

standard limit of a text message. 14 At the same time Facebook was growing ever popular,

and already had most of the features that it has today including mobile usage, a share

feature which makes it easier to share links on your page, and the news feed, where you

could see your friends status updates on one page. For most, the idea of Twitter was no

different than a Facebook status where one could update a brief message describing what

they were doing or thinking. From the start, most Twitter users agreed with the critics, in

seeing it as a simpler form of Facebook. Despite that, Twitter gained popularity mostly due

to its simplicity.

" It was not long before Twitter began to evolve from a simple status update platform

to the real-time news breaking tool it has become. Slowly, veried accounts of celebrities

King, 12

14 Ibid.


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and brands began to appear tweeting information to those that signed up to their

accounts. You can follow the Twitter account for CNN, which appears as @CNN and

receive up-to-the-minute headlines without having to read a newspaper, listen to the radio

or click on a news website. This has drastically changed the way Twitter users, the

engagers have obtained political information. Likewise, popular topics now appear in

Google search results, offering non-members, or watchers the opportunity to obtain

political information from Twitter. They can receive not only updates from trusted news

sites via Twitter, but also see real-time information from citizens who may be involved.

These veried accounts are similar to the trusted or elite providers of information as

discussed with political blogging. However, with Twitter the user can interact with this

information and the content creator in real-time, which is important for stimulating political

debates. This is important to politics as again it shows a shift in how we are sharing

political information. These topics are being discussed in an open space with others

around the world and this is not achieved by any other means. "

" Facebook began to change as well with the direction of their groups and fan pages

(now listed as things one likes ). From topics such as animal cruelty, to supporters of gay

rights, to protesters of a law being passed in a government, Facebook users began to

create what was once revered as the utopian idea of democracy. Political communities

were thus formed on another major social networking site. These groups would appear on

your prole and your friends News Feed once liked . This contributes to the argument for

social media s relevance in the sense that it has the potential to capture the watchers or

otherwise immobile citizen interest. For every group you subscribe your prole to, each of

your Facebook friends will now become aware of these groups and can join them or argue

against them, all within the digital world. However unlike Twitter, these groups will only

appear within Facebook.

King, 13


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" Open spaces where others could discuss politics were forming as quickly as the

news happened, and this was a very important political foundation in the social media

arena. While Twitter s simplicity limits the idea of groups, the concept of a hashtag and a

Trending Topic, as will later be discussed, has shown to be important in obtaining political

information via the Internet. Rather than joining a group, a person on Twitter could see

what other users were mostly discussing based on an algorith m that collected data from

each tweet. For political events, this has proven to be a means of quickly spreading

information, not only to those who are interested but also to those that otherwise may not

have been impacted. Twitter s ability to show what is being discussed worldwide through

its Trending Topics offers all of its users the potential to participate with these topics. Many

events have garnered the hashtag as an important way to track current information. For

example any tweet relating to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during 2010 could include

#oilspill, offering a simple way to nd others discussing the catastrophe, which quickly

became a Trending Topic, or a most tweeted Topic on Twitter worldwide. This case study

will later be attributed in the analysis section. Another example of a Trending Topic making

an impact on politics occurred during the #ukElection of 2010, where Nick Clegg was

blamed for many things by the Conservative party. A user generated hashtag,

#NickCleggsFault was quickly formed and began poking fun at the Conservative s use of

blaming Clegg for things from the weather to their spouses being angry. While this may

not show an imminent change in politics, it did however place pressure on traditional

media platforms to stop reporting the Conservative accusations. 15 These details show that

both Facebook and Twitter have grown to be more than only social networking sites.

Rather, it further blends with our real life in politics. Status updates, tweets and hashtags

King, 14

15 Arthur, C., (2010). Twitter Says it's all Nick Clegg's faultin ironic swipe at newspapers . [online]guardian.co.uk. Available from: [Accessed 04 August 2010].


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are only the beginning of a long change to how we will obtain and absorb political

information.

Location-Based Services

"

Another phenomenon that is appearing in social media, is the growth of location-

based services (LBS). This is mostly due to the rise of smart phones and applications that

allow you to connect to websites while tracking your current location. There are a few

websites that currently base their platform around this trend, such as FourSquare.

FourSquare allows users to check-in at parks, restaurants, events or any other location

within a nearby radius and gives a user the option to broadcast their location to other

FourSquare friends, post to your Facebook page and/or even update as a tweet including

a map of your current location. While checking-in to your university library may prove to

be unnecessary information, combined with a message, for examples, stating that a

protest against higher education budget cuts was in progress could encourage other

members of the community to join the protest. In this case, watchers can be converted

into real life engagers. For instance, because of FourSquare s ability to integrate with

Facebook and Twitter, non-FourSquare members could be alerted of these events as well.

Twitter also includes a built in location service to your tweets, if the service is enabled.

However FourSquare manages to attract over one millions check-ins a day. 16 The

importance of this rapidly growing trend, is that as our interaction with social media

becomes more mobile, we will be able to instantly see where those around us are

congregating. For future citizen activism, LBS have the potential to be an important tool

for organising large gatherings such as protests in a limited timeframe. Having said that,

this platform has yet to take on an evolution due to its recent development. While these

examples have shown the positive effects of users shaping the platforms, there are also

negatives.

King, 15

16 Warren, C., (2010). Foursquare Reaches 100 Million Checkins . [online] Mashable. Available from:[Accessed 04 August 2010].


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User Error

" Unfortunately, one does need to be cautious when examining the freedom of

speech a virtual prole allows. A member can create fake names, and monikers on as

many websites and as many times as they please. For some, the idea of instigating

arguments in a world where no one can see them, is desirable. Flame wars, and aming

are nothing new to the online world. Chat rooms and forums have been tormented by

users who stray far from the discussion topic and argue mundane points for the sole

purpose of offending or irritating users since the introduction of the Internet. There are two

different settings where this hostile form of conversation can occur. The rst will happen in

any form of chat room, blog, Facebook group etc. There is the off-chance that a member

will come and post to this page neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the topic being

discussed and rather will cont inuously post the same irrelevant information, or links to

scam websites.

The second form of ame wars, and perhaps the most prevalent, occur in what can be

described as echo chambers. 17 These are online spaces, where like-minded people

come to discuss topics and more-often-than-not share the same opinions and views.

While having these spaces can be expected, it is also vulnerable to improper use by

outsiders. For example, these ame wars can occur in controversial areas such as a pro-

choice Facebook group. Many people in this group would discuss their feelings of

agreement for pro-choice. However, the amer, a person wishing to provoke a ame war,

joins the group, but they are a devout Christian. Their sole purpose is to argue with

everyone in the group through rants and insults. This is not to say that controversial

groups should go without opposition, but this style of discussion is not productive as there

is not a healthy argument but a one-sided rant that occurs. The real life example could be

religious protesters damning supporters at a gay parade. While both sides may have

King, 16

17 Sunstein, Op. cit.


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important topics to debate, no real discussion is occurring and therefore there is a lack of

healthy conversation. However, when examining the way that users interact with the

social media tools available, it is necessary to note that for every positive interaction, there

will be ten

amers

bringing negative interaction. This is not arguing that opposition is not

warranted in political discussion, quite the opposite, in fact I welcome the opposition.

Rather, I am merely pointing out that some users have incorrectly used the Internet and

are providing examples for arguments of the Internet and social media as an irrelevant tool

where true political discussion does not occur. The fact is, social media is a very new and

intriguing eld, but human social interactions will still prevail. This is why I argue that many

occurrences in our everyday life, including politics can be and are being shifted to an

Internet affair. That is to say, social media in politics is relevant, as it provides a digital

realm for what occurs in real life, yet at a wide-spread and rapidly moving speed.

King, 17


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III. Response from Governments and Traditional Media" The rapid speed of information fuelled by social media, impacts many real-life

scenarios. While this research shall mainly focus on the citizens and a bottom-up

approach to democracy within Web 2.0, this chapter will examine the government andtraditional media s responses to this phenomenon. To continue my argument of the real-

life and digital relationship, I will demonstrate how other political actors have replied to

social media s presence. To begin, I will compare the responses of two very different

government styles to prove that politicians are aware of and shaping this governmental

social space. Then I will provide examples of how traditional media has merged with

social media and thereby changed our interaction with the news. This is attributed to the

social tools Facebook Connect, Twitter Authorization and subsequently Facebook Open

Graph which has made it easier to share information. I will also focus on Current TV, a

news agency that has fully embraced the concept of social media and news. Lastly I will

revisit mobile phones and indicate how they are providing a stronger link between the

audience and the media.

" It has previously been discussed that social media has given a route to engagement

for citizens allowing them to participate in politics more freely and in real-time. This is

achieved through user comments or posting additional content online. Participation can

also occur while political topics are being discussed ofine or online. With multiple

avenues for gathering and sharing information, there is a notion of transparency that risesin this realm. For example, when a politician makes a faulty claim that is broadcasted on

the local news, the video or transcript may move online and interested citizens can then

post sourced articles and videos with facts arguing against the politician. The Internet has

given citizens the ability to be their own fact checkers, and this has transferred into politics

and traditional media.

King, 18


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" Many citizens are now participating in a phase of democracy that has been coined

as monitory democracy. 18 This embodies the concept that a democracy is no longer only

a representative government, but it is also being monitored and held accountable by its

citizens. The media has been a key player in dening the truth within politics, but with the

emergence of the Internet, citizens too can now monitor their elected ofcials. Because of

this increased ability of c he cks and balances, governments have responded to the new

Internet tools. In some cases it has been a positive response, as will be discussed with

the Obama administration s version of WhiteHouse.gov. In other governments, such as

China, the response to social media has not been as open.

WhiteHouse.gov

" It is of no surprise, that when President Barack Obama was inaugurated on 20

January 2009, the governmental website WhiteHouse.gov also brought a signicant

change to the Internet. As will later be analysed, Obama reigned in social media politics

during the 2008 presidential election, where he gathered most of his support. The new

version of the website dedicated to the current president in ofce, resembled the user-

friendly interface seen on Obama For America (OFA), now named Organizing For America

at barackobama.com. WhiteHouse.gov not only brought a new look, but also came with a

new feature - a blog. Moments after the inauguration the rst post to this blog arrived

stating that this website would focus on three points:

Communication with Americans Transparency of the government Increased citizen participation and knowledge in the decisions of the

administration. 19

These elements were never before seen in American politics and showed that this

government wanted to make an attempt at involving its citizens.

King, 19

18 Keane, J., (2009). The Life an d Death of Democracy . London: Pocket Books.

19 Phillips, M., (2009). Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov . [online] Available from: [Accessed 13 July 2010].


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" The White House website not only includes a blog but also features a weekly

brieng video from the President, podcasts and more. This offers an innovative and

interactive ow of information from the government to the citizens. WhiteHouse.gov is a

positive response to social media as it vows to provide transparency, yet it is still

unidirectional, which means it lacks in the social aspect of social media. These videos and

multiple blog topics do not allow the ability to comment on the post. There is the possibility

to contact the administration with a generic Contact Us form, but posting directly to a

particular topic is not a present option. This could be to prevent ame wars, or even

hackings (as observed during the YouTube Justin Bieber hackings through comment

boxes 20) on what should be an informative governmental website. As this is the ofcial

government website, by not allowing user content, they are protecting the security of the

site. It is important to note, that this website does offer a sense of transparency. The

previous administration was criticised for not involving the public enough, in particular

during the events and decisions that led to the Iraq war. With WhiteHouse.gov, citizens

can read legislation before it is signed, review executive orders and track the government s

response to pressing issues. Although this website lacks the social media presence that

was o ffered through OFA, this was not the administration s only response to social media.

This case study which I will later argue, will prove that this administration has fully

engaged with social media in existing platforms where citizens are already present. While

the social media aspect is missing from the government site, the response to citizens

interests through online politics has shaped the direction of WhiteHouse.gov for the years

to come.

King, 20

20 Barnett, E., (2010). YouTube hacked with pop singer Justin Bieber as a target . [online] Telegraph.co.uk.Available from: [Accessed 06 August 2010].


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The Great Firewall of China

" The U.S. government has offered an open response to social media, but not every

country has joined the growing trend. China s governmental system is completely different

than a democratised Western one, but in a digital world everyone is included in the mostly

boundary-free space. There are no true barriers or regulations for what happens on the

Internet. However, some governments have found ways to enforce a digital law. In the

case of China, their regulations are perhaps the most noticed and most discussed of

countries that are digitally connected. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and

even the Google search engine rank as the top most used websites of its kind in the world.

In spite of this, not all countries embrace these sites. This is not to say that a form of

social media or search engines do not exist in countries like China. Rather, they have

formed their own websites, using algorithms that cater to their own audiences and

regulations. The recent controversy of Google s closure by the government in China 21 has

led to a criticism of free speech, and their handling of politics. Although, ma ny are

unaware that China has their own search engine giant, baidu.com. While the content and

available information of these sites may be limited by the rewall, which is government

controlled and restricts information that comes in and out of China, it should still be praised

that social media sites exist. Not every culture will embrace the use of social media in the

same manner, as previously noted users have the ability to evolve these platforms into

their desired form. Therefore, the content block should not be blamed on the government

for their regulations of information, for in social media the users, not the government,

generate, ignite and direct the content that is viewed.

" I have examined two very different scenarios where social media exists within

politics. On one hand, as seen with the United States, some governments can embrace

King, 21

21 Helft, M. and Barboza, D., (2010). Google Shuts China Site in Dispute Over Censorship . [online] The NewYork Times. Available from: [Accessed 23 March 2010].


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these new tools to connect with their public within reasonable means from a government

website. On the other hand, we saw much more control over the content of the Internet

rather than a utilisation and implementation of the tools. There can be no guideline or

global rules for governments wishing to include social media elements to their online

presence. This furthers my point that societies will evolve their using habits differently.

Social media can be involved in politics, but it should not be expected to act in the same

manner across governmental systems.

" This leaves one to wonder what the future of social media will hold for politics.

There has been some speculation that one day we will be able to vote via the Internet and

Facebook. While this could be seen as a valid concern, I feel that this is moving in the

wrong direction for the purpose of Web 2.0 politics. Social media is there to network

communities and provide a faster means of information dissemination. The odds of a

voting system being secure enough to contain the results of the future leader of a country

is not very likely. As demonstrated with the lack of social interaction on the

WhiteHouse.gov site, there is a concern for negative or abusive users and online security.

However, we may see governments following the Obama model and providing weekly

updates on current governmental discussions through web, video blogs and/or podcasts.

While this information does not provide a real-time interaction, it does show a more social

side to the government of the day which will have a higher chance of gaining the citizens

interests." Before these interactive versions of news and information became a part of the

Internet, we relied mostly on broadcast or print media. In a recent Journalism conference

a panel of political journalists argued that the rise of online media will show a decline in

traditional media bringing less viewers and requiring higher subscription fees. I pose this

concern as untrue, and agree with chief political correspondent at BBC News, and

King, 22


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panelist, Laura Kuenssberg, that social media is an additional tool. 22 Never before has it

been possible for a news agency to gather real-time information about a breaking topic

with just the click of a mouse and a hashtag on Twitter. The transition of interviewing

eyewitnesses hours after an event occurred, to having users send mobile videos and

pictures as iWittinesses directly to the agency moments after the event occurred, should

be seen as a positive expansion for news media.

The Convenience of Social Media

" When Facebook began, it resembled a quiet, gated community. As the popularity of

Web 2.0 grew, so did this gated community, so much so that it began to overspill into other

communities. In 2008 Facebook introduced F acebook Connect. 23 With this came a

partnership between Facebook and other companies in which they shared user

information. Namely, news agencies used this platform as a way to respond to the

growing trend of social media. One of my rst experiences with Facebook Connect came

with NewYorkTimes.com. While I already had an account with this site, I could now link

my Facebook, and eventually my Twitter account with Twitter Authorization, directly without

having to remember any new passwords. This capability has seen so much growth, that in

2010 Facebook developers created Open Graph 24 . As previously m entioned, the ability to

share information through Facebook meant engagers could inuence other friends that

were watchers and Twitter engagers could share with all Internet watchers. Open Graph

brings the capabilities of Facebook to every page that subscribes. Now not only are you

able to login to news sites through Facebook Connect, but you can also share or like

photos, articles, or videos posted on external sites. These will then be broadcasted on

your personal Facebook page for all of your friends to see, click and engage with as well.

King, 23

22 Kuenssberg, L. (2010). Debate: Reporting Politics and Government. The Value of Journalism Conference.London.

23 Op. cit. Timeline Facebook

24 McCarthy, C., (2010). Facebook F8: One graph to rule them all . [online] cnet. A vailable from: [Accessed 02 June 2010].


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This provides a seamless method of disseminating political information through social

media.

" The valuable aspec t of Facebook Connect and Open Graph is that it provides a

simple manner of navigating the Internet. Users were becoming a member of so many

communities it made it difcult to decide where to go. Having these connection features

on news sites meant that not only could they receive and track trafc from their regular

users, but the added ability to share through social tools would gain them extra trafc for

those who would not have otherwise visited. From a business standpoint, in a world

where the media uses Pay-Per-Click styled advertisements to remain free to its viewers,

this partnership was advantageous. To counter the arguments of the political journalist

panel and show my agreement with Kuenssberg, I believe these social connecting tools

show that traditional media can stand the test of time with social media at its side.

Current TV

" One news agency has had such a positive response to the rise of social media, that

it has become the focal point of their platform. It was only a matter of time before social

media created the news agency. Rather than focusing on journalists building the news

story, some forms of media are relying on the users to provide stories. Having this feature

is a very effective method when shared with the traditional skills of a journalist. On one

hand the trained journalist can nd and develop stories, but at the same time a viewer can

give the rst look into a new story that may have otherwise been missed. Current TV has

taken full advantage of User Generated Content (UGC) and social media interaction for

the news, and they may prove to be a model for future news agencies.

" In 2005, Current TV began as the rst peer-to-peer network that collaborated with

its audience for its content. 25 This does not only occur in the information that is used, but

there is also viewer created advertisements that are aired to the public. It is the only

King, 24

25 Frequently Asked Questions . [online] Current.com. Available from: [Accessed 06 August 2010].


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network of its kind, and with Al Gore as the chairman, it is funded in a means that allows

the network to specialise in this eld. Current TV is a 24/7 news network currently

broadcasting in U.S.A., U.K. and Ireland, and Italy. There is a dedicated website for each

of the respective regions which allows viewers to comment, share and post new content all

of which can be used for broadcast. The programming ranges from entertainment news,

to hard-hitting documentaries educating viewers on parts of the world that are not often

discussed. With the advent of Open Graph, Current TV has simplied the need to create

or remember new accounts and seamlessly collaborates with Facebook for creating a user

prole. Again this connection with social tools provides a way for engagers to inuence

watchers. The more users can connect with news sites, the more popular the site will

become and furthermore the more users will trust this site for information. While other

news channels have shown interest with involving their audience via social media, Current

TV has created a guideline for making a successful partnership between viewer content

and journalist skills.

Smart phones and Citizen Journalism

" Although not all forms of news media have fully embraced the prospects of social

media, more are noticing the benets of mobile phones and furthermore smart phones.

Smart phones, are gaining more recognition in the media as a tool for gathering

information. Not only is this valuable for a journalist who may see a breaking story while

on their commute home, but now the average citizen on their commute home can also

contribute to breaking stories. These multi-use phones have the potential to give citizens

a personal connection with developing stories, and offers the news agency a few free

journalists. CNN.com has a section dedicated to their viewers to upload videos or pictures

from current events. YouTube has a section strictly for users called Citizen Tube, which

offers news videos created by citizens. Some agencies have gone a step further, and

King, 25


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worked with developers of smart phone applications to create an even simpler way to

obtain stories from their viewers.

" As the most popular smart phone, and creator of the current understanding of

mobile applications, or apps, iPhone has seen well over 500 million apps downloaded

since the release of the iPhone. 26 Of those, Sky News is offered as a free app in the U.K.

and encourages UGC. Not only can you watch Sky TV live from your iPhone, read the

latest news, and use the Sky forums all through this app, but you can also submit your

own story. This can all be done without needing wi- capabilities, meaning as long as the

user has service on their mobile, they will be able to interact with this app and contribute

content with news agencies. With only a few taps, and minimal personal information, a

viewer can send a photo or video with their own comments for the story through their

mobile and have it in the Sky newsroom in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately,

measurement has yet to be researched for the uses of these applications as it must be

tracked not from the Internet, but rather internally developed programmes. I feel that as

smart phones begin to grow in popularity and more developers create these apps, more

news agencies will offer the opportunity for a viewer to become an iReporter .

Nonetheless, traditional media has shown a strong response to social media tools and

continue to be an inuential source of information. I will now combine the users,

communities, government responses and traditional media responses within four case

studies. These studies will provide more evidence proving that social media is a relevant

tool in politics.

King, 26

26 Ostrow, A., (2009). Apple: 500 Million iPhone Apps Downloaded . [online] Masable. Available from: [Accessed 06 August 2010].


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IV.Social Media: Enhancing the U.S. Public Sphere" Where WhiteHouse.gov lacks in involvement from its users, the Obama

administration brings a greater interactive strength by having a rm presence within social

media. Until early July 2010, President Obama had the most Facebook fans of any high-prole gure. Bringing in over 12 million supporters 27, the U.S. President found a

signicant way to connect with many users. The strong interactive presence that the

Obama administration has enforced through social media, takes advantage of recreating a

dying forum for discussing politics amongst citizens. " Having 12 million fans worldwide

meant that the Obama administration could post information they found relevant and have

this spread throughout the Internet without having to hold a press conference, or a

televised address to the world. By becoming a fan of Barack Obama s page, which is

maintained by OFA, fans can receive periodical updates on the administration. This

ranges from links to the updated blogs on WhiteHouse.gov, to photos of the First Family in

the community. This involvement with social media means that reaching the population

does not have to stop at websites that are deemed political as Hindman or Sunstein

would argue. Rather a community that is viewed as networking between friends has

become a platform for spreading political information from the government.

Obama s Social Media Connection

" Creating an interactive and more transparent government policy was a strong

accomplishment for the Obama administration. The model triumphs in recreating andemphasising the need for informative political discussion. Democracy requires that the

government and the public have a multi-directional line of communication, and that the

public communicate amongst each other. The ideal fo rm of this democracy was best

exemplied in the 17th century during The Enlightenment. At this time, political thinkers

took to public venues to discuss daily affairs with others, rather than only having political

King, 27

27 Facebook - Barack Obama . [online] Facebook. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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conversation with their households. By doing this, an atmosphere that created debate

between different views and opinions formed and caused a sense of political awareness

amongst the governed people. While a representative democracy calls for the elected

ofcials to represent the concerns of the people, if there is no debate or communicative

activity from within, the population's concerns may never be voiced. Keane s explanation

of a monitory democracy comes to light when the public debates the actions of their

representatives.

" The benets of social media within politics are much like those of The

Enlightenment. Social media provides a space for political debate, yet these benets have

been overlooked or not researched at all. There is much more focus on the content that is

created, and the creators of that content on the Internet than measuring the use of this

content amongst its readers through social media. There is still a great concern over only

elites creating the information, and only those privileged enough with Internet access

receiving this information. While this reservation is valid, and the number of digital citizens

is greatly outweighed by the number of those who are not a member of this community, it

is still a growing number. 28 However the number of those that are subscribed to the

eLifestyle are just as important as their counterparts, and their online interactions should

be seen as a triumph for democracy.

" In contrast to WhiteHouse.gov, examples such as OFA s Barack Obama Facebook

page, groups created by President Obama supporters and opposers, and other political

interest pages created on Facebook due to Obama s use of this space during the 2008

Election, have thrived in offering a space for debate. This does not only end where the

content is created on Facebook but continues when the content is shared on Facebook. If

a user sees a post or article from these pages, they have the ability to share it on their own

personal page. This post is then viewed by their friends and often creates debate in an

King, 28

28 World Internet Usage Statistic News and World Population Stats . [online] Internet World Stats. Availablefrom: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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area that is mostly viewed as a personal space for networking. Those who study social

media within politics need to move away from the perception that Facebook users only

interact with personal photos and quick updates about their day. President Obama s

engagement with social media before and after his election has shown that politics have a

place in this realm. The Obama election was fuelled in part by the large student

population on Facebook sharing this information with other Facebook friends. Facebook

proles have on average over 130 friends. 29 The more friends a user has on their page,

the more likely it will be for information to show on their newsfeed from friends who have

friends in other networks and other countries with views that may be different from their

own. Furthermore, information and news that a user may have otherwise never

encountered has a greater chance of being viewed due to the size of their friend

population. What should be taken from this example, is that the increased use of social

media has given the potential for engagers to energised otherwise inactive citizens or

watchers in the political realm. For this reason, it is necessary to argue the positive effects

social platforms outside of Facebook have had on politics.

King, 29

29 Facebook Statistics . [online] Available from: [Accessed 03 August 2010].


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V. Social Media: Fuelling a Protest in Iran" The dominating players in the beginning of social media encompassed sites such

as Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, MySpace and Facebook. There seemed to be a toppling effect

which decided what website would be the ringleader. With each platform that wasintroduced and became popular, the others would fall. Twitter came into the equation

rather unannounced and for the rst time did not directly threat the major platform of the

time, Facebook. Twitter s short status updates that could be sent via mobile text, or

through the web, caught the attention of a few Internet savvy, yet still confused, users.

Twitter seemed doomed to fall into the toppling effect and be eliminated in the same

manner of Bebo or Friendster. It was dismissed as lacking in quality, decreased

connecti vity with other users and it was viewed to be a loud room for one to digitally shout

a 140-character message to whomever would listen, deemed as your F ollowers. The

entire thought of Twitter, appeared to be a platform that would feed into the ego of a user s

need to be heard by someone and know that they had followers listening. However,

Twitter has proved to be more than a mere ash in the pan.

" Twitter is currently one of the fastest growing social platforms 30 and search

engines. 31 While there are many unique users to this site, there is still a large Internet

crowd that does not embrace Twitter. Having said that, there are many businesses,

actors, government ofcials and leaders within communities that do see the benets of this

service. For example, in the U.K., the user @TweetMinster combines and shares all of theTwitter accounts for the elected MP ofcials, providing a real-time link between citizen and

government. Slowly, Twitter users have realised that there is a direct link between

themselves and the higher proled Twitter user. Nearly three years after its birth, the

King, 30

30 (2010). Twitter Enjoys Major Growth and Excellent Stickiness . [online] Sysomos. Available from: [Accessed 22 Jun2010].

31 Barnett, E., (2010). Biz Stone: Twitter is the world's fastest growing search engine . [online]Telegraphy.co.uk. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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media and journalists began to realise that news is happening in this space as well, and at

times faster than the newswire.

Twitter Gets Its Wings

"

In 2009, Twitte r made a name for itself not only as a growing social website, but as

a powerful political tool. The summer of 2009, six months after President Obama s

inauguration, another leader was scheduled for re-election. Unlike Barack Obama,

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, was not widely accepted neither in Iran nor

across the globe. While the details of the election are of great concern on its own, that will

not be the focus of this section. The purpose of this research is prove how social media

has impacted citizens participation in politics. While Ahmadinejad, remarkably made his

way back to the presidential seat, the Iranian youth, students and supporters of the

Independent Reformist party are the true leaders of this story.

" Upon the announcement of the news that Ahmadinejad had won against t he

Independent Reformist leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, protesters ocked to the streets 32 .

There were signs of the protest in all traditional forms of media, but Twitter became a

member of this as well. The concept of Twitter hashtags followed with the protesters and

soon #IranElections was a Trending Topic. Journalists and reporters were using searches

for the hashtag during their reporting and using it as a valuable and trusted source. The

Iranian government did not sit idle on this and attempted to block and track Iranian Twitter

users. Twitter was also due to have an update to its systems but this would shut down the

site preventing protesters and supporters from around the world in participating in the

discussion. The U.S. government requested that the update be delayed so as not to affect

the Iranian protesters. 33

King, 31

32 Dahl, H. K. a. F., (2009). Tens of thousands protest in Iran . [online] National Post. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].

33 Grossman, L., (2009). Iran Protests: Twitter, the Medium of the Movement . [online] Time. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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The Tweet Heard Round the World

" On 20 June, 2009 an unexpected turn occurred in the protests. 34 For those that

were following the elections, be it on the news or through Twitter hashtags, it was widely

known that violence was present during these protests. Pictures posted to Twitter showed

the scale of these demonstrations. These photos and videos were taken by citizens and

some were used by the media internationally. It was very similar to Americans watching

the Vietnam War on their television during the 60s as it engaged viewers with a reality far

from their own. However on this day a new hashtag appeared: #Neda. With this hashtag,

came many users changing their avatar, the photo that is attached to their user name.

These photos were mostly green, to represent the colour of the opposition party. Some

users chose to change a photo of themselves to have a green hue. Others posted the

Iranian ag but with a green colour scheme. Many users already had a green background

that asked Where s my Vote? in white letterings. But on this day, many of these photos

changed slightly, and a single gunshot wound was splattered in red over the avatar. 35 This

avatar changing, which became almost as synonymous with wearing a badge in support of

the troops, were for Twitter users to show their support of the Iranian protest and mourn

over the killing of Neda.

" The Twitter inuence did not stop with hashtags, and avatar photos. Soon, perhaps

what is one of the most inuential videos of this example, if not of recent politics, was

being spread through Twitterverse. This video went viral in a matter of minutes. For me,

writing this is especially hard due to the nature of this video which has left a permanent

image in my mind. Not only had users tweeted that Neda had been shot, several people

with a camera phone lmed her death. This video was tweeted, retweeted, discussed,

King, 32

34 Tabatabai, M., (2009). Neda Soltan, Young Woman Hailed as Martyr in Iran, Becomes Face of Protests .[online] FoxNews.com. Available from: [Accessed08 August 2010].

35 [online] Available from: [Accessed Ibid.


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edited, shared, commented on, and all before the major media channels began reporting

on the death. In addition to the single bloodshot avatars, some even changed their photos

to Neda. Here she appears in her last moments, lain on the ground, lifeless eyes staring

helplessly into the distance, yet at you into the camera, while her blood oods the

pavement. By taking a still-frame from the video and adding the green tint, this image was

captured and spread throughout Twitter users and supporters throughout the world.

" For me, I feel that asking Where were you the day Neda was killed? is tantamount

to Where were you on 9/11 or 7/7? This is because Twitter allowed myself and many

other users, to feel a part of an event that was happening in a country with which we had

no true connection. The information, real-time tweets, photos, videos and sentiments from

those involved made users around the world feel as if they were connected to the protests.

Although most of the participation came in the form of uploading an avatar that showed

support or using the #IranElection or #Neda hashtags, this movement through an

unsuspecting medium has proven the capability of social media, and Twitter in particular,

to assist in amplifying citizen s voices by digital engagers inuencing watchers.

King, 33


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VI.Social Media: Haiti Earthquake and Aid Relief" A point that I have stressed in this dissertation, is that social media has the ability to

shift and impact various aspects of our everyday lives. Elections have been seen as a

focal point for this change. Most evidence for a political position with the Internet is foundwithin research of elections and digital activism. The Obama administration and Iranian

election both show very different aspects of Web 2.0 s potential. On one hand it caused

the U.S. population to feel empowered and support a leader, while on the other hand it

also created citizen empowerment through Iranian youths and activated them to protest

and oppose a leader. However, there has not been much research into other areas, and

furthermore not many instances as of yet, where social media has assisted a political

situation. Recently, I have found that more political sectors are in fact being inuenced by

social media and I will present them through the relief efforts for the earthquake in Haiti.

" On January 12, 2010, Haiti s capital city, Port-au-Prince was rocked by the

devastating earthquake. 36 North America had not seen a natural disaster to this capacity

since Hurricane Katrina. As was famously documented, relief for Katrina victims came at a

very slow pace while vandalism and disorganisation prevailed, namely in New Orleans.

Haiti however had more luck in terms of response. Within moments help numbers,

websites and texting services were created to aid the earthquake victims. There was also

a rapid media response to help provide live images of the dismantled Haitian peoples.

This response time, while still not as fast as a humanitarian would hope, was fuelled in partby social media.

" The integral point of the Haiti experience is not measured in the time in which aid

reached the Haitian population. What needs to be acknowledged is the ability to spread

information in real-time. The efforts of Haiti relief aid is strongly attributed to the

King, 34

36 Padgett, T., (2010). In a Moment of Hope, Haiti Is Plunged Again into Despair . [online] Time. Availablefrom: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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dissemination of information on the night of the earthquake. Within moments, tweets,

mobile phone videos and pictures, Facebook groups and dedicated hashtags were

spreading across the Internet. Not long after, traditional media found its way to the

grounds to report the news that had already been spread through many channels. If

having the option to comment or post new information was important, the ability to share it

brought a new momentum.

" This was not as simple as taking a URL and sending an e-mail, while this was once

seen as a fast way of spreading information. In this case, multiple channels were sharing

information. The broadcasters were relying on iReporters and the audience relied on their

trusted source to become engaged in the tragedy. This is not to say that other events do

not cause this same reaction; this is precisely the point that I am making. Future

researches in this eld should nd an added strength to the use of social media in its

capability of sending multiple forms of information on various platforms. If your smart

phone alerts you of a trending location, such as with Foursquare, that near you people are

gathering near Tiananmen Square, or your desktop provides instant updates to current

Trending Tweets such as Neda, the power of information being spread through social tools

is observed. This was such the case for the acknowledgement of the Haiti earthquake

victims and subsequently, their relief efforts.

Helping Haiti

" Photos, videos and live updates from those near the earthquake were quickly

uploaded to the Internet and spread to many social media users. Haiti earthquake,

YELE and #haiti were quickly trending topics found on Twitter. With the help of these

topics, users around the world were able to relate to the events happening at that very

moment. Wyclef Jean, a performing artist and Haitian native, became the spokesperson

for relief aid to victims of the earthquake. He setup the YELE service which allowed users

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to either send a mobile message or go online and donate money to help the victims. 37 He

was also very adamant in making sure that the community knew the real story ; and did

not rely only on what the media was saying. In particular, he made sure that the number of

victims was reported as a higher number than what the estimated death toll was being told

to the world. His pleas for help were sent over traditional media forms, which then were

put on to YouTube services and shared through users across the globe. 38 His efforts

brought an energised activism to the Internet and increased the speed in which relief

reached H aiti.

" Because of the online exposure, monetary donations and awareness about the

earthquake were accepted widely. Within the rst week more than $1.9 million USD was

raised from YELE donations. 39 This involvement also transferred to increased donations

made from churches and non-prot organisations. The awareness of the earthquake put

the event into tangible terms that the public could see, hear and read about. The speed at

which users around their world were receiving real-time information was further fuelled by

famous personalities. Quickly, new and seasoned Internet users were engaging with

updates on the earthquake a nd sharing this information amongst themselves.

" Unfortunately, months later, Haiti is still devastated by the events. There has not

been much progress in rebuilding the community or offering shelter for the homeless and

displaced. 40 Not every Internet story has a happy ending. This is not to say that there was

not a successful outcome from this example, but there is still much aid and effort that can

go into helping the victims of this earthquake. What should be taken from this case study,

King, 36

37 Boadle, A. and Kearney, C., (2010). Hollywood stars lead Haitian quake chairty drive . [online] ReutersIndia. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].

38 (2010). Wyclef Jean on Ground in Haiti - State of Emergency - Help :: Act Now . [online] YouTube. Availablefrom: [Accessed 08 August 2010].

39 Op. cit. Boadle

40 Miller, M., (2010). Evening Buzz: Haiti Six Months Later . [online] CNN.com. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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is that a rapid amount of money was collected in a short time frame through the efforts of

social media. On Twitter, users were able to tweet about their donations and encourage

their friends to participate as well. On Facebook, you could become a fan of YELE and

repost the number where you could make a $5USD donation from a mobile message. Not

only was the information of the earthquake being spread rapidly, but information on how to

help was being spread at the same time. Furthermore, a rendition of We Are the World

which went viral on the Internet, was reinvented for its 25th anniversary. 41 This brought

more awareness to the victims and provided further means for donations through its

iTunes downloads.

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41 Ofcial Site of We Are The World 25 for Haiti . [online] Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].


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VII.Social Media: Impacting the BP Oil Spill" Thus far this dissertation has argued for the success of social media within politics

in different ways. It was rst brought into the arena with the Obama election in 2008 and I

argued that this gave a great possibility for digital citizens that were watchers to becomeengagers in politics. For the Iranian protests of 2009, I argue for the success of another

social media event, which took the form in engaging citizens but in the direction of forming

protests. I have also argued that social media could aid in humanitarian efforts, as

demonstrated with the Haiti earthquake and the fundraising and relief aid that was boosted

through social media campaigns. These are only a few examples of how social media has

made an inuence on our political lives, and it will only continue to expand as more

technologies are formed. In most of these scenarios, it was the act of a mass collective

group that made the change from digital revolution to real life impact. On occasion, one

voice can change the direction of an entire world.

" Twitter has been seen as the platform where most users prefer to get their news

and information. When surng between websites, a user will choose their Twitter account

over their Facebook account as an option to log-in through a news website. This shows

that if there are engaged political users in the social world, they can be found in the

Twittosphere. Twitter has been seen as a revolutionising tool in the news by its ability to

rapidly spread information between users and platforms. Perhaps the tale of Neda gave

Twitter the accreditation it deserved to be seen as a justied area for news. The exampleof the BP oil spill and its issues with @BPGlobalPR will prove that not only is Twitter

justied for news and creating an impact through the masses, but it can also be used to

pressurise companies.

" Perhaps the biggest controversy during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, aside from the

reality of the devastation that it was causing, was that no government ofcial nor business

would take the accountability for the event. While the American government used this

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incident to show that there should be accountability in big businesses 42 , the companies

involved began to blame each other. There was much confusion not only among the

representatives but the American people and particularly those that lived in the Gulf and

were affected by the spill. While the government and the companies involved debated for

weeks on who should pay for the damages, Gulf residents were left to prepare a strategy

to continue their lifestyle on their own. There was no agency that spoke on their behalf nor

any real answers or solutions to the damaged that had been done.

" Not only were those that lived in the area forgotten, but the eleven workers that died

when the oil rig exploded 43 were not shown with much respect. The families only had the

various spins from the media to inform them on who was currently being blamed for the

explosion and had to deal with the turmoil as well as their loss. When all ngers had been

pointed and the Obama administration placed British Petroleum as the company

responsible for paying to repair the oil rig 44, the world saw an immediate shift in the

conversation. Now BP was at the front of the line for criticism and this was widely

discussed on Twitter.

Unwanted PR

" As the discussion began to develop more, and it was clear that BP was responsible

not only for the payment but for the initial failure of the oil rig, the social media community

began to ght back. #oilspill is a common hashtag found on Twitter, that is linked to

many tweets on the event. This ranges not only from government ofcials, traditional

pressure groups and celebrities but every day conversation amongst users. A search for

this hashtag in Google will bring real time discussions of the topic in the search results.

King, 39

42 Staff, C. W., (2010). Rig survivors urge Congress to hold companies accountablew . [online] CNN.com.Available from: [Accessed 08 August2010].

43 (2010). Deepwater Horizon oil rig re leaves 11 missing . [online] guardian.co.uk. Available from: [Accessed 08 August 2010].

44 (2010). BP Will Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, CEO Says . [online] NPR. Available fr om: [Accessed 08 Augu st 2010].


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BP, on a global scale, was not being seen in a very receptive light and were not having

much help from their PR team to rectify their credibility.

" Mysteriously, approximately three weeks after the spill , and during BP s PR failure,

a Twitter user under the moniker of BPGlobalPR began producing tweets to show BP in a

more favourable view. However, this account was not an actual PR account for the

comp any. Rather @BPGlobalPR was created by a user, whose true identity is still

unknown, that wanted to make a joke of the global company. The tweets ranged in short

140-character messages that made satirical yet amusing observations of the situation.

The rst tweet, from 19 May 2010 states We regretfully admit that something has

happened off of the Gulf Coast. More to come. 45 Not only does this demonstrate BP s

lack of connection to the spill, but it also shows that the general public wanted more than

an empty ended answer from those responsible.

" As I have discussed earlier, social media platforms have a tendency to develop and

evolve. This was true for the phenomenon of @BPGlobalPR, where a single Twitter user

impacted the direction of BP s PR strategy. As more followers began to subscribe,

@BPGlobalPR developed two hashtags. One, was directed at driving sales for t-shirts

where the proceeds would be donated to healthy gulf.org. The hashtag #IWantMyBPtshirt

was not as successful as what was posted on the shirt #BPcares. This hashtag quickly

became the sign-off for all of @BPGlobalPR s messages as noted in this tweet from 25

May 2010: The ocean looks just a bit slimmer today. Dressing it in black really did the

trick! 46

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45 @BPGlobalPR, (2010). We regretfully admit that something has happened off o

is social media relevant to politics?

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