SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Analysis of Arab Spring

Introduction1

Discussion3

Political and Social impact of Social Media4

New and Traditional Media6

International impacts7

Social Media and Political Economy8

Infiltrating media elites8

Use of Technology8

Arab Spring and the role of Information Communication Technologies9

Social media and people10

Changed media landscape11

Conclusion11

References13

Social Media analysis of Arab Spring

Introduction

A cyberconflict perspective on the Arab Spring focuses in the first instance on the environment of cyberconflict. This includes situating the different countries swept by the Arab Spring in the world-systemic, geopolitical and international relations context, and the regional, and national socio-political and economic positions and relationships these countries have historically held. To put it simply then, this addresses the impact of the similarities and differences and identifies the common threads in the diffusion and spread of the uprisings across so many different settings. This is in addition to the obvious social media acceleration, diffusion and transnationalism hypothesis, which is offered relentlessly in the global mediascape: 'It was the era of the revolution down through the wires: time was collapsed and geography shrunk by the use of social networking (Lister et.al, 2008, p.13).

It had become pervasive and universal today hosts of web and mobile based devices continuously mediate our lives and practices. With the help of digital media, we are able to mix and merge images, texts, sounds and different other formats of data which enabled us to expand the boundaries that ruled traditional media before. Multi user multimedia applications have challenged the ideas of ownership, gatekeeping, authority and authorship. People can create and publish their own magazines on issu.com, learn through iTunesU, promote their visual graphics through different online websites, interact with each other on Facebook and Twitter. Digital and social media brought latest developments, which brought exceptional democratizing possibilities for different media producers, critics and consumers.

Social media are the new type of online digital media which involves participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. All of these elements are achieved through social networks, blogs, wikis, podcasts, forums, content communities and micro blogging (Mayfield, 2008, pp. 5-6). Social media are always open for feedback in the form of comments, votes and information sharing. Social media not only minimizes the distance between media and audience but also provides a platform for two way conversations and interactions. With the help of communities people can easily share their common interests like current affairs, photography, education etc. Individuals who are interlinked through social media, formed vast audiences, rallied masses and shook political establishments by exchanging messages through social networking websites (Benioff, 2012, p.1).

When the average American thinks about Brazil one of two images comes to mind, Carnival or soccer. But in May 2006 some very different images of life in South America's largest country were splashed across living rooms nationwide. A prison gang called the First Command of the Capital, known by its Portuguese acronym PCC, orchestrated a nationwide revolt, seizing hostages in several prisons and setting off bombs throughout Sao Paulo.

Not long ago I sat in on a briefing of foreign military ...