Mobile media and politics
The political power of social media by Clay Shirky (www.foreignaffairs.com)
Mobile media is being used by the civil society to protest the running of governments and contribute in toppling of some of the governments, a good example being Egypt. The media has brought great changes which will be experience over years to come.
In Philippine, 17th January 2001 during the trial which was intended to impeach the president, but the congress tried to keep him in power by voting so that key evidence might not come to light, this resulted in a huge protest which has never been witness in Manila. The angry protest was arranged mainly by over seven million text messages which were kept being forward to everyone.
This protest prompts the legislature to revise its decision and allowed the evidence to be brought forward and used against the government. This led to removal of the president Estrada from the power. This marked a milestone in the power of mobile media by forcing a head of state out of power.
Over the decades, since the rise of internet from hundreds of users to now billions of users has kept many governments on their toes. Many are in dilemma on how to regulate its policy and the same time protects the rights of the citizens. The activist and civil society have gone viral in the use of mobile media to address their dissatisfactions.
This media has become more complex to administer since there is participation and the citizens have gained more interest in accessing information. More people nowadays feel free to exercise their freedom of speech.
Gerald Goggin, journalism and media research centre, university of new south Wales. (twelve.fibreculturejournal.org.)
This area of study has brought some fundamental questions due to its large culture and commercial importance. The emergence of telecommunications has transformed the lives of mankind across the world in the form of social, economic and political lives. This has forced many governments to make and classify mobile technology communication as a necessity to their citizens. However there still slow development of communication across the borders of the countries.
Mobile technology has brought great transformation from wired telephones to wireless communications (cellular) where text message dominate this area especially among the young generation since the mobile phones have made communication very affordable.
Mobile phones have enabled many to access the internet more easily than before. This has given new avenue for the government to collect more tax and to communicate with people more easily and also a platform where the politicians can do their campaign.
However the governments are yet to come up with regulations and policies which will govern the development of mobile media. The model has brought new culture in communication and given it a new value in that it can reach many people by the help of the internet. There is more exercise of the democracy rights and openness among citizens.
Mobilized by mobile media (www.tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00797157)
This article examines the use of social media in china. China is one of most populous country in the world and a leading economy. The citizens have gotten access to mobile phones since they are very affordable.
The government however has ban the use of media social sites like facebook. The government which is very conservative has taken to regulate how people engage on social sites. There are a number of firms in china which have tried to localize some social sites so that it can fit into government regulations and give the local citizens’ area to interact.
Talking politics: young South Africans (www.marionwalton.com)
There has been rapid use mobile communication recently in South Africa this is due to availability of affordable messaging services. The young use the mobile phones to access the news around the globe, get in touch with their friends and discuss politics of their country.
The mobile platform has provided an avenue to politicians to reach out to this young generation. The political organizations and parties have responded to the urge of youth on politics interest by organizing campaigns and a place where they can send their views on how they wish the country should be governed, and the issue of inequality should be address. The youth are facing a wide range of political and social challenges.
However, not many have embraced this mobile media due to high cost and some areas are not well covered by network services. Very few can access Smart phones where they can involve themselves in the use of Facebook or twitter on which lead in the use mobile media. They rely on the mobile media to get up to date news especially the political elections results.
Social media and political engagement (www.pewinternet.org)
This article has shown that there is an increasing number of Americans who use the social media to interact and also to follow on political matters. Over 60% of Americans have access to social sites like facebook or twitter where they can engage on political matters and share their thoughts freely. The politicians have also used this area to urge citizens to vote and follow the candidates on social media so that they can familiarize themselves with the policies and manifestos of the candidate.
Limitations
The article by Gerald Goggin has not shown the real transformation on the lives of people on economic, social and political spheres. It has not shown the real gains and benefits on the life of mankind.
The article by clay has not shown how the government of Philippine and other governments reacted to curb the freedom of the mobile media. The article has not shown the people who were the main leaders in the push to oust the president.
The article on South African youth has not shown the political challenges the youth are facing. It has not also brought the issue of the cost of mobile media comprehensively. Also, the article on china has not highlighted how the impact of the ban on international media has on social life of the people.
References
References
Dis-locative arts: mobile media and the politics of global positioning. (n.d.). Taylor and Francis. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10304312.2013.803303#.UoFGEydafzg
Founder of Mobile Wallet Media Launches New Site Focused on Innovation in Politics and Commerce. (n.d.). PRWeb. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/prweb11165188.htm
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. (n.d.). Social Media and Political Engagement. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Political-engagement.aspx
The Political Power of Social Media. (n.d.). Global. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67038/clay-shirky/the-political-power-of-social-media
One account. All of Google.. (n.d.). Google+. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marionwalton.com%2F2009%2F04%2F15%2Fresearching-mobile-media-in-sa%2F
