...Did You Hear What Happened?

A maelstrom of sorts, the Internet has risen to dominate culture and society in less than a decade. Its power comes from being able to hold so much information and to provide that information in record-breaking time. Today, it seems all-powerful. It’s definitely a force to be reckoned with.

In my opinion, the Internet has become something that we NEED. We need it to stay connected not only to each other, but to vital information. So, who in this world could bring down this force that has been guiding our lives for years now? Bill Gates? Ben Cope? Ken Eudy? The Transformers? God?

Well, believe it or not...it was Michael Jackson. Yes, the King of Pop.

As Michael Jackson's living reign came to a close on June 25, he brought down some of the Internet with him. According to CNN.com, for almost two hours Google had trouble pulling up search results for Jackson-related queries. Blogs (such as TMZ and Perez Hilton, which first broke the news) had several outages and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was down for approximately 40 minutes. With an astounding 30% of tweets related to the incident, it’s not surprising the crash-prone Twitter-verse sputtered out.

Google Trends rated the Jackson story as "volcanic" as web teams tried frantically to overcome the unprecedented amount of traffic. Wikipedia had close to 500 edits to Michael Jackson's entry in less than 24 hours, causing a "temporary overload."

Not only was this social media/Internet overload unprecedented, it was a milestone for mobile Internet traffic. Because it was mid-afternoon on a Thursday, many used their cell phones to figure out what was going on. It was a news "feeding frenzy." Busy twitterers sent Michael Jackson-related terms to the top of the site’s Trending Topics list while news networks were clamoring to be the first to get any tidbit of information. People feel a need (or hunger) for such information. Many have recognized that being involved in social media is becoming more of a necessity than a personal preference.

So, when did you find out what happened? For those not connected to the social media world, the information may come much later. I realized this as I spoke with a family friend who was shocked when I broke the news to her that night. I was shocked, too. The world was a-buzz with the news but she had heard nothing about it. She revealed to me that she prided herself on not watching the news because she was tired of hearing "depressing crime stories." She refused to get on Facebook or any other social media site because she didn't want to make herself accessible in that way.

Now, this may be far-reaching but compare Michael Jackson to a natural phenomenon such as hurricane, tornado, flood, snowstorm, etc. (in my opinion he was just as big lol). Following a natural disaster, people who don't get the story in time could be in grave danger. Those who knew what was coming would quickly evacuate, leaving those "living under a rock" behind.

The digital divide is becoming wider and more polarizing everyday as the world becomes smaller and more connected. Social media has created a grade school-esque milieu. Those not connected are like the playground loners who wonder what everyone else is whispering about.

The digerati should focus on helping to connect people that are not able to be connected (those in remote areas and developing communities). The unconnected should help themselves and start listening in to what everyone is talking about.

Is Social Media Taking Your Job?

Do you really need a degree to report the news? According to the past week's coverage of the protest rallies in Iran...not really. For the past week and for the first time ever, CNN, The New York Times, BBC and other big news corporations have been reporting based on the updates of Twitterers and other social media users. Some broadcasters have deemed this phenomenon the "Twitter Revolution;" but personally, I'm seeing it as the "Social Media is Taking Your Job- Revolution."

This past week has been a week of unrest in Iran, following the presidential re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. With claims and accusations of election fraud, Iran's Supreme Leader ordered a halt to the protests and a ban on international media coverage. This ban led to international news networks depending on civilian eyewitness reports received through social media sites.

Because of the rapidness of status updates and tweets, many are relying on social media sites for news. However, the fact that some of the most influential news giants are turning to Twitter to find out the news is ground-breaking.

But what are the downfalls of this increasing dependency on social media for information? People are depending on social media sites for news increasingly, every day; yet these same people are taking the chance of being misled. This past semester, there was a shooting at my university. The shooting happened on a Sunday at around 12:30 am; however, in a public relations disaster, school officials did not notify students until hours later. The local news station did not broadcast the story until the next afternoon and still had little information to share with viewers. Their mistake.

Students and parents were enraged. The only way people could find out what was going on was through reading random status updates on Facebook. By the time the school sent out the "emergency" alert, everyone and their mama already knew the information...

Sort of.

One downfall to depending on social networking sites for breaking news is the authenticity of what is being reported. Because of Facebook, I was under the impression that the shooter was on a rampage around the campus, hiding in bushes and wreaking havoc on random dorms for hours. Locked in my room, my friends and I stayed on Facebook until the university's "emergency" alert finally went out. (Much) later, we found out that the incident was not as severe as we had thought.

Reporting credible information is the chance that reporters are taking by depending on social media. Because Iranian authorities wouldn't allow international journalists to report on the violent rallies, CNN depended on "iReports" all day. Almost all of CNN's staff was monitoring Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flikr, Blogger and other sites that were being used by Iranians to share the events with the world. While this allowed for thorough coverage of the events, the CNN news team was unable to authenticate its findings. With reports of hackings and deliberately misleading reports on social networking sites, no news network was able to confirm statements from twitterers.

So, what does this mean for Journalism, as we know it? The same way that CNN gained viewers by becoming the nation's first 24-hour news network, the Internet is taking over, and now social media is taking over. People want to know what's going on and they want they want the information quickly. But can 140-character tweets on social networking sites compete with relatively fast, detailed articles published online?

Well...I'm not even sure if it's a competition anymore. Social media is taking over, so I guess the real question could be: is your job next?

Meet me at the Back Door...

So, one thing that I've learned while being at this internship is that connections are EVERYTHING. While "what you know" is important once you get in the door, "who you know" is vital to even getting the door unlocked.

Even though I had to fight to get this internship, there are other interns here who got the position strictly based off of their parents' positions and connections. Some of them don't even want to work here!

It's crazy isn't it? Well...that's "business as usual."

While it is kind of messed up that other people who really wanted this job couldn't get somebody to unlock the door for them, but I've chosen to hate neither the playa' nor the game. As the saying goes: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Black people and other minorities have to work ten times as hard to keep up in the workplace. While that will probably hold true for awhile, we all need to adopt the practice of unlocking the door for each other. That's office politics and if we want to participate, we have to get political.

Who saw the premiere of this season's "Run's House?" Rev. Run's family is a prime example of what I'm talking about. Vanessa and Angela would not have been able to start their shoe line, "Pastry," without the entrepreneurial help of their dad and uncle. Russell Simmons, their uncle, gave JoJo a job working at his office. Last week, I read a magazine article about Will Smith and his family and he talked about helping his kids get roles in movies and shows through his position. While we all need to make sure that we're qualified for the jobs that we're offered, we need to take care of each other, especially in these hard economic times.

I can't wait until the day when I make it big and I can come back and help out my community. Until then, meet me at the back door and I'll do what I can to unlock it for you.

The Youth Voice is Stronger than Ever

As the current generation of students approaching adulthood, we have been given many issues to face as new voters and active community participants.

If you voted in the past election, you, like myself, should have recognized the power of your vote and voice in the world. Our generation brought a huge change to America and ultimately changed the face of American politics. Across the globe, other young adults are trying to do the same thing.

In the picture above, an Iranian college student was brutally beaten by Iran's police force for protesting the re-election of President Ahmadinejad, yesterday. The election, which is now being reviewed because of alleged irregularities and accusations of a rigged vote, is being protested mainly by college-aged students who are aiming for a change and a move toward democracy and a better relationship with the West. These protesters support the opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, a candidate that represents this progressive change.

Our generation, worldwide, is proving to be up to facing the challenges that have been presented to us. Many of us have recognized the power and volume of our voice as we grow older and this has sparked worldwide changes due to democracy. Many students in Iran have been using Twitter and other social networking sites to mobilize support and take action against the election results. They have been campaigning not only to citizens in Iran, but to a global audience of supporters. Though Iranian authorities have tried to suppress the coverage of the protests on television and other news media, the use of these social networking sites is notifying the world of what is going on.

Many of the protests are taking place near Tehran University, where students and other Moussavi supporters are holding a rally despite the brute force of police. According to the New York Times, protests are also being staged in London, Toronto and New York, as well.

Personally, I am extremely proud of our generation for spearheading the move for change and I am extremely optimistic because we all seem to be moving toward a common goal. With the election of an American-backed coalition in Lebanon last week and the current fight for change in Iran, I think that today's youth are more on the same page than ever before. If the youth in Iran succeed in recalling the election of Ahmadinejad, they, too, will be encouraged by the strength of their voice.

Check out how the youth protesters in Iran are using the social networking sites to fight: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/15/world/1194840918597/new-media-and-iran-s-election.html?hp

They're Watching!

Ever get the strange feeling that you're being watched?

Well...SURPRISE! You are.

Recall that time when you walked into work or class, minding your own business. Now, you didn't realize it, but someone was discreetly peeking at you thinking, "Oh...(s)he's here." Recall that time when you spoke up in a meeting or in class. That person was thinking, "Oh...(s)he's talking, let me pay attention." Recall that time when you were with a group of friends in a public area; yes, that person was still looking at you.

It sounds creepy doesn't it? As "stalkerish" as it sounds, the truth is that we often serve as the object of someone's attention, whether they know us personally, or not. Our life, as they see it, is on display for them to critique and analyze, (hopefully) out of innocent curiosity. It could be someone that you speak to in passing, or it could be that random janitor that comes in at the end of the day. Whether you realize it or not, someone is thinking about you at this very moment; and honestly, they're probably scanning your Facebook page for its latest update.

Social media has brought about a new age of accessibility for people to get to know others, without the inconvenience of having a face-to-face conversation. These people know what you like, who you associate with and they may even know about that strange obsession that you thought was personal. Their habit of keeping tabs on you has evolved from peeking around the corner and asking others about you, to spending time scanning your latest tweets.

Now, the anonymous attention may be flattering for some, but it can also be downright scary. Users of social media sites have often treated it as something more personal than it really is. We can be so candid in our status updates and random tweets, not realizing that someone is closely following every single one. Singer Erykah Badu recently twittered through the birth of her daughter; she told the world when she was finally in labor, then proceeded to inform followers about the timing of her contractions. Her husband finally took over (I guess she was busy) and proceeded to describe the baby's crowning. He said, “I see the head, full of hair.”

Can you say, "TMI?"

The truth is, you are being constantly being watched. Even though you've set your privacy settings and may only have close friends and colleagues on your list, these social networking sites are like small towns. Nobody (and I repeat, nobody) talks to every single person in town regularly.

I have tried to narrow my own friend lists down to the people that I would at least smile at or say "hello" to in passing. But does that mean that I'm comfortable with them following me so closely? I don't think so.

As social media grows and expands to include employers, co-workers, moms, dads, the little girl you used to babysit and even Grandma (yes, Grandma); we've got to be very cautious about how we present ourselves online. Someone very close to me came very close to losing a scholarship because of something he posted on his own Facebook page. So, remember that people are always looking, and taking special attention to you, in particular. Your online representation and presentation should be like a mirrored reflection of yourself...

but try to think of it as a "Funhouse Mirror" and makes sure that it's presenting you in the most positive light (without the hairy mole and unibrow).