...massive and rapid response -- close to seven million text messages were sent that week -- so alarmed the country's legislators that they reversed course and allowed the evidence to be presented. Estrada's fate was sealed; by January 20, he was gone. The event marked the first time that social media had helped force out a national leader. Estrada himself blamed "the text-messaging generation" for his downfall. Since the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, the world's networked population has grown from the low millions to the low billions. Over the same period, social media have become a fact of life for civil society worldwide, involving many actors -- regular citizens, activists, nongovernmental organizations, telecommunications firms, software providers, governments. This raises an obvious question for the U.S. government: How does the ubiquity of social media affect U.S. interests, and how should U.S. policy respond to it? As the communications landscape gets denser, more complex, and more participatory, the networked population is gaining greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action. In the political arena, as the protests in Manila...
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...International Conference on Communication, Media, Technology and Design ICCMTD 09-11 May 2012 Istanbul - Turkey “THE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PUBLIC SPHERE: THE RISE OF SOCIAL OPPOSITION” Asst. Prof. Dr. A. Fulya ŞEN Fırat Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi - Gazetecilik Bölümü - Elazığ Abstract In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas described the bourgeois public spheres of the 18th and 19th century in England, France, and Germany. These spheres arose as arenas of cultural critique often arising from reading societies that focused on novels and the like. Cultural critique became political critique as these groups turned to issues of public concern fighting policies of censorship and for freedom of opinion. The public sphere is in the work of Jürgen Habermas conceived as a neutral social space for critical debate among private persons who gather to discuss matters of common concern in a free and rational way. This public sphere is open and accessed for public. Habermas pointed out that media has contributed to the decay of the rational-critical discourse and causing the decline of the public sphere. Political public spheres include social movements, media that monitor and criticize the state, and groups that take political action. In recent times have seen an explosion of debate, blogging, theorising and hype around the role of the internet in today’s social movements. Social media -internet applications such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which facilitate...
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...period, social media has become a fact of life for civil society worldwide. Regular citizens, companies, activists, NGO’s, software providers and last but not least government and politics use social media as a new form of communication (Foreignaffairs, 2011). One of the most famous politicians who started to use the power of social media in his political campaigns was Barack Obama. The key differenc of Obama’s campaign strategy in contrast to his competitors was that Obama used social media to communicate and organize individuals by using social media. By using technologies such as computers, cell phones, web sites and many more he reached the goal of every politicians to connect his followers, delivered them with interesting news as well as to build up a strong community. Nevertheless not only Obama tooke advantage of the undeniable power of Social Media and its technologies. Over the past years our society realized it’s power, and there might only be few companies left in the western world that are not represented on at least one Social Media Platform (Obama Buch). But maybe one of the most important topics when we’re talking about Social Media is the reachability of Mass and therefore the political Mass Movements that keep emerging from Social Media Platforms. We might only think about the Occupy Movement, Arab Spring or the most recent example Kony 2012. Those Movements do have the ability to transform our society worldwide by it’s unwritten power. This power drives every...
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...Social Media and Political Revolution Project 3: Research Paper Steve Gubenia Professor: Robert Zornes CMST 301 Outline I. Introduction a. Rise of digital media in political upheaval II. Body b. Social Media i. Development 1. Facebook 2. Twitter 3. YouTube 4. Others but these are “big three” ii. Attraction to sites 5. Ease of use 6. Socio-economic barriers 7. Demographics of users c. Revolution before social media iii. Regime control of media iv. Medium used to get message out 8. Slow distribution took longer to organize v. Fall of Soviet Union d. History of social media in political revolution vi. 2001 Philippines vii. Ukraine 2004 to 2014 9. Original Orange Revolution 10. Oksana Makar incident 11. President Yanukovych being ousted viii. 2009 Moldova ix. 2009 Iran “Twitter Uprising” x. 2010 Tunisia xi. 2011 Egypt “Facebook Revolution” xii. Lebanon, Syria, Libya lack of internet e. Critics of social media revolution xiii. Arguments against social media making a difference 12. Social media platforms built around weak ties making ineffective 13. Twitter’s limitations xiv. Examples of activists failing 14. 2006 Belarus ...
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...In such situation the population is justified to mistrust the government and be skeptical about its actions. It is widely known that the key features of democracy (which underlies the basis of civil society), except guarantee of the rights and freedoms are also such as: the acceptance of political rights and freedoms of citizens in the volume, which allows not only government parties and organizations to act legally, but the opposition too; the presence of representative bodies of power, which are formed on the basis of universal, free and fair elections; the “separation of powers” principle, which means that the parliament is the sole legislative body; political pluralism and publicity of power. The civil society will not be able to exist without ensuring equality of rights and freedoms for all people; freedom of citizens in establishing of political parties and civil movements; freedom of establishing the mass media and ensuring their activities. In the modern Russian society the media, as declared, should ensure dialogue between the authorities and citizens, inform the latter about the government’s decisions, the home and international events. Domestic media today have broad spectrum of opportunities for satisfying information needs of citizens qualitatively, for coordination and harmonization of common interests of citizens, the society and the government. In addition, they can and must exercise effective...
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...the libertarian theory, 3. the communist theory and 4 the social responsibility theory. Very briefly, here are the main characterstics of each of these theories. Authoritarian: The state, as the highest expression of institutionalized structure, supersedes the individual and makes it possible for the individual to acquire and develop a stable and harmonious life Mass communication, then, supports the state and the government in power so that total society may advance and the state may be viable and attain its objectives. The State (the elite that runs the state) directs the citizenry, which is not considered competent and interested enough to make critical political decisions. One man or an elite group is placed in a leadership role. As the group or person controls society generally it (or he or she) also controls the mass media since they are recognized as vital instruments of social control. The mass media, under authoritarianism, are educators and propagandists by which the power elite exercise social control. Generally the media are privately owned, although the leader or his elite group may own units in the total communication system. A basic: assumption a person engaged in journalism is so engaged as a special privilege granted by the national leadership. He, therefore, owes an obligation to the leadership. This press concept has formed and now forms, the basis for many media systems of the world. The mass media, under authoritarianism, have only as much freedom as the...
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...this regard, social media seems to fulfill this requirement – it easily facilitates discussions between individuals, even when they are geographically separated (Edosomwan, Prakasan, Kouame, Watson & Seymour, 2011). While user experiences differ (i.e. the Twitter interface is different from the Facebook interface), every social media platform makes it relatively easy for users to exchange thoughts and opinions (usually with just a few taps on the keyboard and a click of a button) with hundreds or even thousands of other individuals. The ease of sharing personal opinions and exchanging ideas has encouraged the world of social media to become a participatory...
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...Introduction: The use of IT and social media was the differentiating factor in the US politics, which catapulted Barack Obama ahead of Mitt Romney and has secured Obama’s second term as the President of the United States. For a long time, traditional social media has been the medium of communication of ideas in politics. Dating back to the 1950s, shrewdly assembled team of social media experts would have designed and crafted political campaigns that appealed and rallied the emotional side of supporters. Most of the occasions, contesting candidates would have carefully selected controversial policies that the majority were against, to garner support by invoking them to think that dethroning the current office would be “changing for the better”. Social Media experts would then exaggerate these feelings of unrest and protest in the undecided voters by publishing contents that citizens feel that are controversial. The reigning party would also, with the help of traditional social media, attempt to strengthen their foothold in the office by reinforcing the pathetic few policies that they have implemented during their term. Traditional social media has indeed played a pivotal role in all political elections all around the globe. However, with the ubiquity of smartphones and personal computers, coupled with a massive surge of online social platforms, the pivotal change of politics seem to lie in the hands of the party who knows how to play the game of IT. There have been numerous...
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...Conceptualizing Self-Governance in Post-Modernity: In the modern world, power is increasingly exercised by individuals upon themselves, that is, through forms of self-governance. The authority of major institutions such as the government, church, and economy, is critical to understanding the relation of personal lives and societal development. These associations shape the development of individual identities. Self-governance is demonstrated by one’s identity dovetailed with the role one might take in society. Irrespective of major institutions or other outside influence, individuals will govern their lives autonomously to some degree. In post-modernity no outside force can completely control every thought an individual has, due to the desire for independence and convenience of social networking. According to Severyn Bruyn, an individual’s sense of ‘duty, obligation, privilege, conscience, and beliefs’ is formed in society’s associations (p. 34, 2011). Therefore the history of such major associations as the family, government, the corporation, and the church, show much about one’s identity. This essay will critically examine the idea that power is increasingly being exercised by individuals upon themselves, through forms of self-governance in the modern world. The roles of self-governance in relation to political and religious orders will be explored to demonstrate sociological theory and modern world societal development with focus on Western culture. Regardless of outside...
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...Influence in Everyday Politics The Chinese political realm differs vastly from liberal democracies that people in the west are familiar with. The statement “in China today, the general public have no political influence” is complicated by a focus on everyday politics. Chinese citizens do participate in everyday politics, although not in the direct way found in democratic nations. The power of social media in China is allowing internet users to express dissatisfaction with the government, even in the face of censorship. The power of social media and its political influence is illustrated through the 2011 Wenzhou train collision case, which ignited outrage from online communities and led to the exposure of corruption amongst government officials. Typically, when a person thinks about the western concept of political influence, voting in a democratic election comes to mind. For the average citizen, their vote represents their voice in politics. If a person is not satisfied with the government or want to voice their concerns, they are able to freely criticize the state or engage in peaceful protests. They may also participate in politics by joining a political party or even forming a new party. The western concept of political influence centers on free speech and acting directly to affect politics. The concept of political influence by the general public in China is vastly different from western norms. The political system in China is not a liberal democracy, thus many foreigners...
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...Themes in the Course 2 Week 2- Theoretical Approaches to Media, Culture and Chinese Society 3 Outline of Class 3 State and Market Framework 4 Negotiable State market Framework 4 Political Economy Approach 5 Presentation 5 WEEK 3- Media Systems and the Party State (Mao-Reform Era) 6 Anti-capitalistic and anti-imperialistic revolution (1921-1949) 6 Legitimacy 7 Maoist Socialist Practice (1949-1976) 7 Deng (1978-1992) 8 Jiang Zemin’s era- 1992-2002 10 Market Economy and Scientific Outlook on Development (2002-2012) 11 The 5th Generation 2012-2022 11 WEEK 4 11 The Shifting Role of the media: Between the party line and the bottom line 11 Focus on the Bottom line 12 State Control 12 “Popular Culture” in the context of China in post-Mao market reform era 13 The Chinese state (The Party-state) 14 The media-government/state relationship 14 The Media System and Media-State Relationship 15 Maoism/Mao Zedong Thoughts 16 Week 4- Commercial Media and Reconfigured Power Relations 16 The Party/State Structures 16 Different Party Committees 17 Ministries (under the state council) 17 Media System: 18 Central Media Outlets 18 Provincial Media Outlets 18 Universal Values: Two views 18 Week 5- Popular Culture and Cultural Industry 19 Mass Media and Popular Culture in Mao Era 19 Popular Culture 20 Popular Culture in the Mao Era 20 Broadcasting/Radio in Mao Era 20 Week 7- Media Culture in China’s Global Reintegration 21 Shifting...
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...The videos that I believe were most effective in arguing how social media is used to encourage protests, revolution, and social change were in Clay Shirky’s speech How social media can make history, How the Internet will (one day) transform government, and Alexis Ohanian How to make a splash in social media. In Alexis Ohanian speech I found that an issue, in this case humpback killing, can be so troubling that the public can change that with social media popularity. Social media has the power to transform an issue with popularity and I learned that it can be something as little as a meme. In this example, Reddit had a majority vote to what trend their main logo should be and the highest vote was 119,367 votes with 78% of the entire poll being...
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...Chapter 6 The media, government accountability, and citizen engagement Katrin Voltmer The past two decades or so have seen an unprecedented spread of democracy around the globe. With the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the ‘third wave’ of democratization, which started in the early seventies, now encompasses countries in Asia and Africa.1 And even in states whose governments continue to resist a more open and participatory form of governance, such as North Korea, Burma or Zimbabwe, the idea of democracy is a powerful force that inspires people to take on a more active role in public life. However, many of the newly emerging democracies seem to fall short of some, often many, of the basic standards that define democratic rule, with irregular voting procedures, corruption, inefficiency and autocratic styles of government being but a few of the maladies. In addition, as many of the newly emerging democracies belong to the developing world, inequality and poverty remain severe obstacles to full self‐determination of the people. The experiences of the past decades have shown that democracy is not a one‐way road and that a viable democracy requires more than the implementation of the key institutions of government. Rather, an accountable and efficient government is embedded in a complex web of interdependent conditions that ...
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...of information, the U.S. media plays an intricate role in shaping and controlling political opinions. Media is extremely powerful in the sense that without an adequately functioning media, it is virtually impossible for a sophisticated social structure like the U.S. Government to exist. All known sophisticated social structures have always been dependent upon the media’s ability to socialize. The U.S. government generally will exploit the media, often times manipulating the enormous power of the printed word. This exploitation ultimately empowers the U.S. government by strengthening it with the ability to determine and control the popular perception of reality. One way in which government achieves this objective is by misusing the media’s ability to set the agenda. Contrary to popular belief, the media is in fact an enormous power in society. Separate independent news organizations do not exist for the most part. Rather than creating an independent structured agenda of their own, smaller news organizations adapt to a prepared agenda, previously constructed by a higher medium. Based upon this information alone, it is quite apparent that media has the characteristics of a hierarchical rule. In order for the U.S. government to control and determine the public’s popular perception of reality, the government must shape and oversee the information that the media reports to the people. This particular process of democracy is known and referred to by political scientists as cognitive...
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...constructed and the ways in which it evolves and changes over time (Study.com 2003 – 2017). Cultural analysis focus on the political dynamics of contemporary culture, its historical foundations, defining traits, conflicts, and contingencies. Researchers in this field investigate how cultural practices relate to wider systems of power associated with or operating through social phenomena, such as ideology and class structures. For Stephen Loosley, who was a New South Wales Senator in the 1990s, culture is ‘a complex of social customs,...
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