What is Social Media? The fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.
Three years ago, this was part of the definition of Social Media given by Answers.com, as stolen from Wikipedia. I find the last part the most interesting: “readers into publishers” and I am sure there are industries besides journalism which continue to be shaken up.
Sociology, the study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society - connected to Technology, the scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective. Whether they occur at a grocery store or in a bar over a martini, connections matter, and more connections than ever are being made with the help of technology - the internet and social media.
In 1991, a man was pulled from his car and beaten by several police officers in Los Angeles. One year later, three police officers charged in this incident were acquitted and trouble broke out; riots in the streets of Los Angeles ensued. I clearly remember standing in a gas station, just outside of Los Angeles, the morning the riots began. I stood beside my car while a man on the other side of the pump stood beside his. Our eyes met and I could not look away from him, he could not look away from me. We just stared at each other and a moment of clarity occurred. I was not like that. He was not like that. Not all people were like those police officers, not all people were like the rioters. We were not like that. We never said a word, just nodded to each other and drove away. Thousands of arrests were made and over fifty people died during that week of rioting.
Sociology fails because people fail.
There are parts of the world today where you cannot check your friend’s status on Facebook. You are not allowed to connect to Twitter. I heard a story of how a woman’s home was forcefully entered and the satellite dish in her basement destroyed – you can not watch the news in Iran unless it is propaganda delivered by the Iranian government, the foreign press had been/has been banned. How many have been or will be arrested? How many have died or will die? We may never know.
Technology fails because people fail.
It doesn’t matter how many friends technology brings you.
It doesn’t matter how social media serves you.
If man cannot serve man, it just doesn’t matter.
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the US Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Rayanne. This kind of posts pulls more than a retweet. It get passed around in the cyber psychology/sociology of influence that organically stimulates thought, then stimulates the need to share thought. This jumps ship to conversation over lunch. Human behavior is fascinating. You will be talked about. Great post.
Lyn-
Wow. Thank you so much for your comment here. I appreciate you reading and sharing my post.
-Rayanne
Wow Rayanne! I have to agree with Lyn. Another great post!
Thank you so much, Monali!
-Rayanne
It’s posts like this that make me so proud to know Rayanne. Very profound, interesting, and absolutely relevant!
JMM
Awww, thanks JMM. One of my favorite things about writing is that I have YOU for a partner in crime. Thanks for the opp!
-Rayanne
I love both sociology and technology and hence fascinated with Social media. Great post and worth exploring in more detail.
{ 1 trackback }