Social Media: Making Protests Heard Around the World

Social media has been such an important part of all the protests that have taken place around the world. One of the first was all the protesting done during and after the Iran election. Since then, all the revolutionary movements that have taken place around the world have been caught on social media sites such as Twitter and Youtube for all to see.
The growth of social media has enabled anyone with a smart phone, digital camera, or just a computer and an internet connection to become a journalist. (for better or worse) Some of the footage that the amateurs have caught has then been picked up by mainstream media. Such footage picked up by bigger media outlets include a woman being shot at a protest in Iran and police brutality around the world.
Much mainstream media has given much attention to the protests in other countries. Yet, when it comes to the Occupy America protests, they are barely being acknowledged. CNN, for example, did not have any front page coverage on their website at the time of this writing. This is no problem for the amateur journalists, however, who are determined to get their word out.
Since before it was created, the Occupy movement has advertised and gained likes on Facebook. They also have their own Twitter streams with constant updates and retweets. Videos are always being uploaded on video sharing sites such as Youtube and pictures are being taken all over the place.
Looking at the impact of social media has shown a different perspective since the protests are more local than the overseas protests. Not only has social media been a media outlet for the people, it has also come into the rescue to keep the events going as intended. There have been tweets requesting food donations for the demonstrators, ponchos for when it began to pour rain all over them, and even external hard drives so they can keep live coverage of the Occupy Boston event going so the world can see. Apparently social media is doing the work those tweets were hoping for. There is still live streaming video, one man showed up today with a pickup truck full of bottled water, and restaurants answered the call for food by donating food.
Every time there is a huge event where social media is used to impact it, a new benefit of social media is seen. In the Occupy America protests as well as the revolutions in the Middle East, people are of different cultures and backgrounds. But one thing that everyone has in common is a need for the average person not to be taken advantage of by a select few. THe voice of individualism is speaking out. Thanks to social media, it is no longer being ignored.

20/20 Sept. 23, 2011

On Friday, 20/20 had a special on Youtube and how people are using it to make money. They did not upload it with intentions to make money though. It just so happened that the video went viral. In many cases, they got over a million views.
The money is not as impressive as the fact that the internet gives more people the chance to shine. Justin Bieber is a good example of this. I am not a teenage girl so Justin Bieber does not fascinate me so much. But the fact that he was noticed on Youtube does. There are many more like Justin Bieber that the 20/20 episode talked about on Friday.
It used to be that you had to wait to be noticed. NOw people can pretty much throw themselves out there by Youtube, blogging, and other social networking sites. It still takes time, but you can be viewed by several people at once instead of gawked at and rejected by one a day. (Now some people get gawked at by millions:)
I think that we should forget Hollywood. Look at the image that its actors have, and look at what corruption it promotes. Creativity by average people is better. Many people have taken their hobies online to share with whomever wants to se. Many times, as the spoof videos on 20/20 talked about, are better than the Hollywood version anyways!

Starbucks barista fired over parody song

Based on Chris's attitude, I think he did not care if people saw the video. He just did not expect it to go viral, and he certainly did not expect to get fired. But let this be a lesson for others.

Starbucks Management Side

Do not rely on managers at work to have a sense of humor. Managers are not the most common of people. The higher up people are in management, the worse it gets. Put yourself in the mind of a manager for a moment. The picture that should come to mind is Scrooge counting stacks of money not caring about the world. If he sees a video like this, he is going to think "Now my customers are going to think twice about coming to my store for fear my staff is thinking bad of them, the store will lose money, and I will not be able to take that extra vacation or buy that new car I've been working for!"

Chris' Side

Personally, I've never had a problem with Starbucks employees. They have always been nice and professional. However, I've also worked in the food industry before, and it is stressful dealing with the various personalities of customers in your face, coworkers, and maybe at times an angry manager. Whether he did it spur of the moment or it was premeditated, Chris just wanted to let off frustration. There are worse things he could have done.

Hindsight is 20/20

Anything uploaded to the internet can be shared. It is best not to upload anything that could haunt you online such as incriminating photos or videos. However, sometimes people just have to let go. And yes, the United States of America has a freedom of speech law that people like to tamper with sometimes. So let's compromise. In the case of work, people would likely not tell off a manager or customer. So don't do it online. Things can still be uploaded but the creator must edit the security settings so the content can only be viewed by certain people. If content is more private, there i a less of a chance for it to go viral and end up on the 11 o'clock news. And creators are less likely to lose their job.

But, yes, there is always a but. Even if a creator edits the security settings, the website is the one in charge of the security. What if the website breaks if a new snippet of code is put out? Suddenly the content may go public for people to see. So there is always a risk unless people just do not do crazy things. Perhaps it is better just to share possible questionable content with a few people who will not snitch. Aside from not doing this content at all, this might be the better-at least until someone once perceived as not a snitch thinks you have the ost awesome idea ever and decides to upload it himself or forward it to his buddies.

Why not just grab a few beers after work and let off steam like people did before they had Youtube? Geeesh!