May 4, 2011 7:00 AM

This recent TED talks video, featuring Wadah Khanfar, the Director General of Al Jazeera, entitled, “A Historic Moment in the Arab World,” discusses the ways in which a young tech-empowered generation have inspired a democratic revolution and offers and optimistic view on the way that media, especially social media, has helped this group create a new reality where they can walk out their fronts doors and affect change.

The video analyzes the way that events in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya have been influenced by social media and how these channels connect and globally engage an entire generation.



In the past this type of change often hinged upon foreign interventions which lead to a feel of inferiority among the people who felt that they were unable to affect change on their own. This foreign intervention often lead other leaders in different countries to threaten their people with increased foreign influence, and encouraged them to ask the question, is it better to have your country over-run with foreigners or continue to submit to the current regime?

Now, with the connectivity that social media allows, people who may have felt powerless in the past are more educated and connected to a spirit of global understanding allowing them to create a new reality in which they have the power to affect change from their own doorsteps.

Even after Al Jazeera was banished from these countries, they were able to keep up their broadcasts which informed the world about the events in these countries thanks to the people living there who shared the information on the web. As Khanfar says, this was the first resolution where rather than relying solely on his journalists and reporters they were able to keep the rest of the world up to date on events based on the enormous amount of information supplied by regular people.

I think in this case it's obvious that social media can play a role in helping change, but the real importance that it has is its ability to connect a global generation and inspire them to work towards change themselves. The way that social media spreads information and allows people to interact with each other all over the world in real-time can help to ensure that people are empowered to use technology to help improve their lives and create a brighter future.

Originally posted on Marqui's Web Marketing Blog

Blogger Profile: Marqui Web Marketing Blog
Marqui's Web Marketing Blog is brought to you by their marketing and consulting team to share ideas, best practices and trends from the world of web marketing. The blog aims to cover a broad array of topics relating to web marketing including content management, conversion optimization, SEO, email marketing and lead nurturing.

Posted by Sue Ansell at May 4, 2011 7:00 AM

Categories: Social media Trends

Comments

TrackBack Link