Social Media on the Local Level

Typically when I think of news organizations I think of it on a national level such as CNN, Fox News, ABC News, etc... But what I have been realizing lately is that the local media and local government are just as active, if not more active than the national news organizations. The great thing about local government partaking in social media is that information can be distributed to a lot of people in an instant without each individual having to call or find this information somewhere on their website. The city of Kennesaw has joined Twitter and they tweet information such as when events are being held or just need to know information for local citizens. Here is a link to their Twitter: https://twitter.com/citykennesaw

Just as important, if not more important, local law enforcement are joining social networks. Kennesaw Police has joined Twitter, and they tweet crime information, what to look out for, traffic updates, and some general information. Here is a link to their twitter page: https://twitter.com/KennesawPolice

Most people have access to the internet, especially on their mobile devices, so getting an important update from the local government or law enforcement can play a crucial role in society. Also, it keeps local citizens involved in government. If you have a local issue that needs to be addressed, instead of having to make a phone call or go see the government official, all someone has to do now is tweet that local office. It has never been easier for citizens to be involved in local government. The link between social media and local government allows citizens to be up to date on important issues while being involved at the same time. 

Social Polling

I came across this article that talks about the intersection between social media and polling, a term called "social polling." http://techland.time.com/2012/02/20/polling-and-social-media-collide-with-social-polling/

Typically, polls are conducted based on a random sample of people. This has been fairly effective in the past but can be very costly and time consuming. Now, thanks to the internet and social media sites, it is easier than ever to conduct a poll. Social polling is not replacing the traditional way of polling anytime soon, rather, it is an extension to the way we conduct polling. Social media sites are primarily used by people aged in the early teens to those in their 50's. Although we are seeing a growing trend in people 65 and over using social media sites, the numbers are not there yet to represent an accurate number of that demographic group. One day, we will be there, but for now, we cannot just rely on social polling. John Zogby, an independent pollster, "believes the country will “absolutely” get there, just as people eventually accepted the major shift in the polling world in the 1970s: the change from knocking on people’s doors to calling landline phones––and later, cell phones—to gather public opinion." 

There are social polling companies popping up, such as Quipol and GoPollGo, who are hired by companies or campaign groups to conduct polls on social media sites. These companies work with Facebook to put these polls on certain individual's Facebook page depending on their demographics. For example, I saw a poll the other day on Facebook that asked me if I had heard about the new Xbox One that is coming out. Just like I play Xbox, someone who lists "cooking" in their interests might see polls about restaurants in their area. This is similar to commercials on TV that try to reach certain demographics. If you've ever stayed home sick or just watch the Price is Right, you'll notice that pretty much all of the commercials are aimed at people over 65 years old or an ad for an attorney if you've been injured in an accident. Social Polling has the potential to bring social media and politics to the next level. Politicians can instantly see how certain people polled on hot issues rather than waiting for a polling group to call or go out and poll individual people. Social media is becoming more than just a way of staying connected with friends, it is becoming an outlet for people to influence what decisions are being made in D.C. 

President Obama Encouraging the Use of Social Media

On September 10th, President Obama addressed the nation regarding the issue in Syria. In his address, he said that no one doubts the use of chemical weapons in Syria not only because of the scientific tests, but also because of the "thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack. (Here is a link to his full speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbIrm42zYTU ; the part on social media begins at about 2:27). In the past, POTUS has had to rely on journalists and the media to spread the message of what was going on in the world. During WWII, the attack of Pearl Harbor was announced via newspapers and a speech given by FDR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PW1Jhuu2Q . President Harry Truman announced to America/the world that we dropped atomic bombs on Japan over a live television report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PW1Jhuu2Q . During Vietnam, if people wanted to hear about what was going on in the war, they turned their TV to CBS and watched the Walter Cronkite special documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mfXnFtwQc . Now, we are less dependent on news organizations and lean more towards social media, as President Obama suggests (at 13:55 in the first video, Obama urges the American people to watch these videos from social media). One such video, of hundreds if not thousands, that Obama urges us to look at is from a Syrian who uploaded it on YouTube. Just a warning, this video is very graphic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5bM8kTOsOk . 

We live in a time where we (ordinary people) break news stories to the rest of the world via or computers or mobile phones. If a major event such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or any other crisis is going on, all we have to do is take out our cell phones and start recording. Once we record, the video or picture can be on the internet in a matter of seconds for the world to see. This is the new age of reporting news. Social Media is how we are finding out about what is going on in the rest of the world. During WWII before we became involved, Americans had the impression that we should stay out of the war because it did not affect us since it was happening across the Atlantic. Since people did not see or witness it first hand, it did not affect them. Although we are not witnessing it first hand, we feel as though what is going on in the rest of the world, for example the chemical weapons in Syria, is affecting us because we see the tweets and posts by people over there. When Egypt was having their revolution, social media erupted over there and people over here became greatly involved. Social media connects the world without having to physically be there. Although social media was just beginning when the terror attacks happened on 9/11, it is a big factor now and is a way to connect Americans on that day. We hear stories of heroism and of tragedy from that day via social networks. This is one of the most famous photos from that day, and it was one of the most shared pictures on this last anniversary 

No longer do we have to rely on news organizations to tell us what is going on in politics or the world. We can find any information we want to know from the internet, and specifically, social media sites. President Obama is setting the precedent for future President's (until whatever the next technological boom is) to urge Americans and Congressmen to use social media sites as a way of forming their own opinion on an issue and then deciding what the next course of action should be.

Social Media: A Digital Extension to the News

I came across this story of a company called "Storyful" who verifies that social media posts, pictures, and videos are real. Here is the story:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2013/09/05/storyful-verifying-video-on-social-media-from-syria/2771029/

This type of company is especially relevant today because there are so many editing software's that people could easily forge a picture or video and upload it to a social networking site and it could go viral. Some of their clients include: BBC, Yahoo News, and The Wall Street Journal. With everything going on in Syria right now, the use of social media is crucial because the government is only allowing a select few journalists to enter, and those who are there are limited to what they can report. Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are crucial in keeping the rest of the world informed as to what is actually going on over there. So a company like Storyful is important to news organizations because they can verify the validity or falsehood of a post.

This article discusses how social media sites are being used by Syrian citizens to speak out against the government and show what kind of corruption and violence is going on over there: http://www.mediameasurement.com/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-syrian-civil-war/

Social Media sites are the only way that Syrian citizens can speak out against the government without being harmed or killed. Most of the time people will post footage as an anonymous user, so again, it is important to verify this footage. Syria is considered the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Since the beginning of 2012, 52 journalists have died covering the war in Syria. Because of this danger, social media sites are now being used as an extension to news sites. This is a long YouTube video, but you can watch just a few minutes of it to see how important individual citizens' video footage is for news organizations. This video shows various videos compiled together that is shown on different news sites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vdkyJ0cjgo

News organizations track Twitter and Facebook to see the kind of traffic that is going on in a certain area. If traffic (posts) is high, then they know something is going on. For example, the news found out that chemical weapons were being used on Syrians from a YouTube video. This video showed chemical weapons being used on dozens of people. Often times a news story will break on social media sites before it even gets to the news stations. One of the biggest recent examples was the killing of Osama Bin Laden back in 2011. A man by the name of Sohaib Athar was living in Abbottabad, Pakistan at the time of the raid, and was tweeting at 1 A.M. about all of the helicopters and fire fighting that was going on. He did not know exactly what was going on, but he knew that it had to be big. Any news organization seeing this tweet would have had a good guess that it had to do with Bin Laden. Here is a timeline of events of the Bin Laden tweets: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/05/02/osama.twitter.reports/index.html

Social Media is no longer just being used for keeping friends connected, it is being used as a digital extension to the news and it provides information to the government to help them make a decision. When Congress votes next week on whether or not to intervene in Syria, I imagine that they will be viewing (except McCain who will be playing poker on his phone; poor joke, I know) tweets, YouTube videos, and pictures from all of these social media sites from people who are experiencing the effects of the Syrian war firsthand. Social Media sites are also being used by citizens and military men and women to voice their opinions about the war. You better believe that Congressmen will be seeing how their constituents feel. This is a picture of a Marine voicing his opinion over Twitter