Do you remember learning about the coup de etat in France or the days of the American Revolution? These were the ideal, historic models for revolutions. Now, when people look back in history, they will see a new ideal for spurring revolutions. Social media, such as Twitter has redefined politics. In an academic feature, “The Arab Spring”, authors Lotan, Graeff, Ananny, Gaffney, Pearce, boyd discuss the on-set of the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions spurred by Twitter. These authors analyzed information flow from Twitter in order to see how the revolution actually worked.
The advance of technology has come so far in the last few years that many fields are being redefined and reshaped. We are redefining education, politics, science, the realm of work, and of course, ourselves. Social media first brought out a new way in how individuals showcase themselves in the online world. You can be defined by what your online identity is. In many cases, when people first meet you they probably “google” you to find out about you. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter not only have revolutionized how we view ourselves, but have moved beyond the individual movement to a more enhanced global trend.This is no longer the age of remotely “browsing” on these sites. Rather, they have become a medium to spur people to action.
I agree the advance of technology has come so far. I liked how you started your post about how we used to learn about history and events. I don’t know what it was like to live during World War II, but when I learned about it in school I thought that everyone in the world knew it was happening and they all chipped in to help. I feel like perhaps with the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the world had been more displaced from it. Maybe when it felt that way because our troops aren’t allowed to post things about what goes on (Source: my husband who served in 2000-2005).
You are right when you say that “In many cases, when people first meet you they probably ‘google’ you to find out about you”. One of my friends will “do online research” (read: online stalk) someone she is interested in dating before she will go out with them.