The Power of Social Media in Developing Nations

The Power of Social Media in Developing Nations: New Tools for Closing the Global Digital Divide and Beyond. Ali, A 2011, ‘The Power of Social Media in Developing Nations: New Tools for Closing the Global Digital Divide and Beyond’, Harvard Human Rights Journal, 24, 1, pp. 185-219, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2013. The article explores the role of social media on the Internet in addressing the global digital divide and its capacity to empower individuals in developing nations. The discourse surrounding the digital divide is examined. The development of the Internet in Sri Lanka, Peru, and Egypt is discussed in light of their difficulty in integrating information and communication technologies (ICT). The implications for human rights are analyzed.

The Political Power of Social Media.
Shirky, C 2011, ‘The Political Power of Social Media’, Foreign Affairs, 90, 1, pp. 28-41, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2013. The article analyzes the political impact of social media. It argues that internet freedom helps to advance civil society in the long run, while helping to prevent abuses of power in the short term. Examples of text messaging and online social networks being used by political activists in the Philippines, Moldova, and Iran are cited, but it is noted that wireless internet coordination does not guarantee political success. An official statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, regarding the U.S. policy on internet access and freedom, is discussed in this context.

Social Media is Shifting Power from Advertisers to Consumers. Wiederhold, BK 2012, ‘Social Media is Shifting Power from Advertisers to Consumers’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 15, 11, pp. 577-578, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2013. The article focuses on social media and the relationship between advertisers and consumers. It mentions that the consideration on the convergence of social media and television (TV) is essential to advertisers. According to Bluefin Labs Inc. chief executive officer (CEO) Deb Roy, the advertiser-consumer relationship is undergoing a fundamental change, and that social media is effectively a shift in power.

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

It is virtually impossible to ignore the potential of social media for any business operation. The main reason for the excitement is the fact that social media is engulfing the population at phenomenal rates. While it took radio and television 38 years and 13 years, respectively, to reach 50 million users, it took Facebook less than 9 months to reach 100 million users. iPhone applications even hit 1 billion in 9 months. Although social media technologies have gathered widespread adoption, they are still gaining traction in the workplace relative to increases in personal usage. Business leaders need to determine the appropriate methods for leveraging the power of social media tools to maximize learning and drive performance.

This mandate is especially important when considering that in the next five years, more than half of the workforce is expected to be composed of the Millennial generation. ASTD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) recently partnered to explore the connection between social media and work-related learning. Findings from the study “The Rise of Social Media” reveal that although using social media technologies can boost productivity, most organizations have yet to fully integrate and formalize the use of social media in the workplace. Employers that fail to identify how to harness social media could fall behind both as employers of choice and as learning organizations.[ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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