The introduction of the Web back in 1989, brought new possibilities as consumers within the near future. With the arrival of social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube in the mid-2000s and then later Instagram and Snapchat in the early-2010s, more ways to share different forms of media were born. Whether it's music or a movie you just watched, you were able to share your experience and thoughts with friends, family, and even the world. And as a generation, we have utilized this technology to help make an impact in our world.
How we as consumers are also producers While I was watching Clay Shirky's TED Talk dubbed "How social media can make history" He brought up a very interesting point that I wanted to touch on here in this blog. He stated; "The really crazy change here: it's the fact that they are no longer disconnected from each other, the fact that former consumers are now producers, the fact that the audience can talk directly to one another." Consumers are now producers, that is what really stuck out to me. How social media is a way for us as individuals to communicate about different topics, express our likings, and provide entertainment for one another.
The many different forms of social media bring different ways for us to produce as consumers. As consumers, we are able to share our talents, likings, thoughts, and feelings with one another. All these different types of social media gives anyone with just a smart device the ability to become a producer. The video platform YouTube, for example, brings many forms of media, ranging from news stories, tutorials, music, entertainment, etc., all forms in which we have the ability to create and share with others on the web. We also use socials like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok to communicate with one another, talk about and voice our opinions on certain topics, or to just create content.
What we are able to do as a platform
We can also use social media to spread news, spread a message. One story Clay talked about during his TED Talk was the terrible incident that was the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. It was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that caused massive destruction. As the earthquake was happening, it was also being reported. This was because people were texting each other from their phones and talking about it all over Twitter. So because of that, it was reported by media outlets as it was happening rather than the previous China earthquake where according to Clay, took three months for China to admit the quake even happened. And because of all this, donation sites were going up all around the world.
That is just one of many examples of just how impactful social media is at spreading the word about different topics, all it takes is a check of the trending tab and you can see all these people across the world communicating with one another and talking about a specific topic. When it was announced on August 28th of this year that icon Chadwick Boseman sadly passed away, users all over Twitter expressed their feelings and sorrow for Boseman's passing. Within just less than 24 hours of users all across the world coming together, the tweet became the most liked tweet in the history of Twitter. With over 3 million people expressing their thoughts and prayers for Boseman.
It just goes to show just how impactful we are as a generation. Another example, of a platform getting together to make an impact, out of many other examples, is from the popular Twitch streamer "DrLupo" otherwise known as Ben Lupo. DrLupo will use his platform to raise awareness for Cancer Research. In 2019, DrLupo was able to raise $3.50 million dollars from fundraising through his twitch streams, where fans could donate during his 24 hour live streams and all the proceeds would go straight to St. Jude Children's Research. Using his platform and following he's able to raise awareness and this is just one of many other examples where popular social media creators will use their platform to spread awareness. DrLupo is doing yet another 24-hour live stream for St. Jude beginning on December 19th this year.
(PRNewsfoto/ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Resea)
Works Cited
DrLupo holding 1 million dollar check from Twitch. 23 Dec. 2019. Crison PR Newswire, Crison, 23 Dec. 2019, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/drlupo-raises-more-than-2-3-million-for-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital--during-24-hour-livestream-300978809.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
"DrLupo raises more than $2.3 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during 24-hour livestream." Crison PR Newswire, Crison, 23 Dec. 2019, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/drlupo-raises-more-than-2-3-million-for-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital--during-24-hour-livestream-300978809.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
"DrLupo's Build Against Cancer brings surprise guests, celebrities, heartfelt moments to viewer's screens to wrap up 2020 in 24-hour livestream supporting St. Jude." Crison PR Newswire, Crison, 16 Dec. 2020, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/drlupos-build-against-cancer-brings-surprise-guests-celebrities-heartfelt-moments-to-viewers-screens-to-wrap-up-2020-in-24-hour-livestream-supporting-st-jude-301193955.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
Pixelkult. Social Media Apps. 23 Oct. 2015. Pixabay, 23 Oct. 2015, pixabay.com/photos/media-social-media-apps-998990/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
Shirky, Clay. "How social media can make history." TED, TED Conferences, June 2020, www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_social_media_can_make_history/transcript?referrer=playlist-the_power_of_social_media#t-702321. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
Owen, nice job discussing the power of quickly sharing information. Did you find anything in your research about the downsides of this, such as false information spreading too quickly? Be a bit more careful with internal citations, so that it is clear where you used all of your sources.
ReplyDeleteAlong side people getting together through social media to make a change, there are also many ways that people will use social media in a negative way. Ranging from hateful and inappropriate content, harassment, and much more. So yes there are definitely negatives to the communication range social media brings.
DeleteI really like how you use examples that social media has effected real life events, what do you think pushed this to be a thing 2020? you think it was our generation or is it the reach that these platforms have?
ReplyDelete