Another great example of the impact that social networks can have on specific events is the London riots. We all saw reports or news bulletins with information regarding the riots and the part that social networks played but how much of an impact did social networks?
It was the shooting of Mark Duggan on the 4th of August that sparked a series of riots (which can be followed on this interactive timeline) The first form of social media recognised was the use of Blackberry messenger which was named as a "key tool in the organisation of activities" and it was later released that Police would be investigating and would be able to track down and arrest those whom had been organising and communicating via BBM. Like what happened in Egypt (but in relation to phone networks not the internet) the government shut off phone communication networks in order to stop/ prevent protests which only seemed to spark more!
After the phone networks were turned off the blame for the riots was next shifted to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.. The Guardian complied a unique database with over 2.5million tweets with relation to the riots which have been presented in a time line "Twitter traffic during the riots" (Definitely worth a look) which shows patterns with relation to events which occurred.
Although social networks and other forms of modern day technology had a lot to blame they also had a major affect on the clean up from the riots. What do you think about the affects of social networking and new media technology and the effect that it has on riots and events (mena, Cronulla riots etc)? Could more have been done to prevent this sort of affect?
I also found this interesting fact.. (Seems appropriate as my assignment is on e-retail and it also relates to this blog post...)
During the riots Amazon.co.uk's top sports and leisure sellers included police batons and baseball bats..
After the phone networks were turned off the blame for the riots was next shifted to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.. The Guardian complied a unique database with over 2.5million tweets with relation to the riots which have been presented in a time line "Twitter traffic during the riots" (Definitely worth a look) which shows patterns with relation to events which occurred.
Although social networks and other forms of modern day technology had a lot to blame they also had a major affect on the clean up from the riots. What do you think about the affects of social networking and new media technology and the effect that it has on riots and events (mena, Cronulla riots etc)? Could more have been done to prevent this sort of affect?
I also found this interesting fact.. (Seems appropriate as my assignment is on e-retail and it also relates to this blog post...)
During the riots Amazon.co.uk's top sports and leisure sellers included police batons and baseball bats..
I find this debate about technology driving us, technological determinism, interesting. Obviously, we make, use and reappropriate technology but why is it possible that we can plausibly persist with a rhetoric about technology causing us to act in a particular way, kind of when we know it isn't really true, or is there a part of us where this does hold true? Technology 'works' for us in a way that we either 'program' or tell it to. Like, my car drives and I don't know how, I don't have Flinstone feet running under the car, but I know that someone (Subaru) made my car, and my car isn't magic, but why do we think technology is like magic? Could I lift the hood of my car and work out mechanical engineering or career up the highway at 100 and work out physics, or check out my engine oil and understand chemistry? Perhaps, this is the potential that we believe in. Or perhaps we are aware that there is a subconscious part of us that is really easily impressed upon, like an uncritical part that just accepts information. Kind of like we are 'aware' that there is a part of us that is 'unaware'! How weird to be aware of our unawareness, gosh this isn't even logical! I guess this happens in culture and when we socialise, we pick up and reproduce subtle and subconscious ideas and traits, and we 'carry' them, and 'pass them on' through generations. We also have an inclination of this idea with history and archeology I guess, where we perceive that we read the 'truth' from the past, from civilisations long gone that can't speak for themselves. Technology is a tool, but it is also a object. Or is it an object, but also a tool?
ReplyDeleteSorry, just thinkin' aloud, this has really been bugging me, hope you don't mind, cheers, Jo
Its funny how the debate of the effectiveness and safety of social networks has evolved recently... How safe is the information you post? How susceptible are you to the content that ends up in the blogosphere? I think that it is not necessarily social networks that are to blame, just because they are the new mass medium of communication. The cronulla riots were reported on via the radio and mobile phone communications, and look how that turned out... I think that just because it is a newer form of communication technology that has such a far reach, it becomes morw effective to spread news and events... But this can be in both a positive and negative light.
ReplyDeleteWe have all seen and heard about both sides, the masses that contribute to activism and hacktivism online to disturb the peace of companies and political parties... But then we have the individuals who send their well wishes to natural disaster victims, and even do things like support charities via social networks.
In my opinion, it is not solely social networks to blame, it is the users who are exploiting the systems & software of their own accord. Activism has been going on for many more years than we all have had facebook and twitter accounts. Great post!
I don't think the social networks have done anything but increase the speed and spread of information. As Olivia has said Activism has been going on long before Faebook and Twitter, they are just now simply being used as a tool because they provide numerous benefits over old school ways of communication. Would the protests in the Middle East have occurred without Facebook/Twitter? I think so...Given enough time they definitely would have. It's clear that people wanted to voice their opinion and have their say, the social networks merely allowed them to do this much quicker and to mobilise large amounts of people for the protests. They certain had a large influence, but I don't think they were the defining factor.
ReplyDeleteSweet post, i also agree with the comments above. The social media has just made it that much easier to get everyone on the same page and spread ideas, even if they are not worth spreading such as the Cronulla riots. If u see your mates going to the riot on facebook and a few other of your mates are going, you most likely want in and this snowballs into everyone with a smart phone, maybe not everyone cause my 80yr old grandma just got a iphone but you see what i mean.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the situation in the middle east would have occurred no matter what due to the poor circumstances they where living under, what is questionable is the size and strength of the resistance movements to oppose the government. I think people hype up the blame that is given towards social media like facebook and twitter but just by having a quick look at those graphs, its really goes to show how much the rioters did utilize the social media as a tool to help get the word out.
It's remarkable how many different forms of social media and networking that are available for us to use to voice information, thoughts and opinions among many other things. Like you have mentioned in this post, after the phone networks were shut down, further communication moved to Facebook and Twitter, which can be viewed all over the world, and if trending, will most definitely spark mass debate. Like I said, It's remarkable.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with the flame metaphor, I think that it was the unstable and unfair environment in these countries that provided the collection of dry kindling and leaves ready to light at the first hint of fire and the localised events (such as the shooting of Duggan)which provided the spark while social media moved the trees closer together so that the fire would jump to locations it wouldn't have reached otherwise.
ReplyDeleteRevolutions are, of course, very complex events with an enormous amount of factors involved. It is silly, perhaps, to suggest that Twitter or Facebook led a revolution, but if we were to look back retrospectivally on the revolution in Egypt, for example, it would be just as silly to ignore their involvement. Social media is just one set of many threads woven together to form a revolution.
With these resources that are available to us now, Facebook and Twitter, as we have seen it it has allowed everyday people to develop a voice over time through a network and this allows the creation of attention to a matter that has become important. But on the other side, with taking the Cronulla riots into mind especially, monitoring networks would have prepared authorities for the coming events. Ultimately we are persistent in communication. We will find ways to communicate just like protesters did in the London riots by using BBM and then Facebook and Twitter. Communication is the root of the extent of these protests. Without communication we wouldn't have a flow of information, information that has no gatekeepers! Great post Elise :)
ReplyDeleteI thought the authorities were too quick to blame social networking tools as the cause for the mass scale and speed of the London riots. Reading into it, I thought they just wanted an excuse as to why they weren't able to control the situation. Sure, Blackberry messenger did make organising the riots much easier, but these aren't the first riots in history to get our of control. Following this, San Francisco wanted to shut down cell networks to stop protests.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/08/brainchild-subway-cellphone-shutdown/
This is an inconvenient and unnecessary course of action, as protestors will always find a way.
I think it is interesting to see how we interpret these events and the tools they use. As pointed out by Morozov, we tend to overlook the people and focus on the tools at these times.
ReplyDeleteIf you really think about it, how else would a protest spread? People communicate via Facebook, Twitter and mobile phones now, so of course they are what people will use to organise such events. Much like those who argue violent video games make violent children, it is important to keep in mind the nature of people and where there is a will there is a way. After all, there were riots and political movements well before any kind of electronics were invented, I wonder how they got the word out? I think the biggest change is that now you only need a weeks notice to get enough people for a million man march.
In regards to the London riots, I feel social networking played their part by fuelling the fire. Social networking allows participants to coordinate action and to see themselves as part of a larger movement. After the riots broke out everyone seemed to be looking for a culprit, with some blaming Twitter and Facebook, and others pinning the violence on BlackBerry (RIMM) and its instant messaging abilities.
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