Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Social Network Era



I was thinking what makes these social networks (Facebook, Linkedin, etc) so popular. Many give examples, as people are "social animals" and need to relate and interact. I agree to that, but I think the main thing with all these social networks is that they gave people a voice.
Before the Internet era, the only way people could voice their needs and desires, were either by protesting on the streets or writing articles in newspapers or magazines (those who were lucky enough, could have their books published), that means, those were the channels we had to communicate.
The first way to voice our viewpoints that appeared on the Internet (I mean, a personal one, was the blog). I remember in the beginning of the 2000's, the main trend were the blogs, everybody had one (me, included!) so that was the starting point.
But we felt that something was missing. As blogs sometimes do not have the reach that a social network has. When you write something on a blog, the response may take a while, whereas when you write something on your personal page on a social network website, the response is almost immediate.
Everybody has something to say. That is a universal truth. Leaders, dictators, the lot, have tried throughout history to silence our voice. By no means, they have succeeded. As communicating is a universal need, like water that finds its way, through the most unlikely places.
In this social network era, we finally become "someone". We are our own paparazzis, our own interviewers. We become our own historians and biographers. Our history is there, through our pictures, posts, comments, events, etc.
We finally have a voice.

See ya,
Lucy Lovely