Power to the People?

A Washington Post article challenges five myths about social media. First, author Ramesh Srinivasan questions the idea that social media give power to the people. Oddly enough, he begins by giving examples in which social media have given power to the people: "bloggers using social media to document human rights abuses, activists communicating via social media during the Arab spring, and indigenous people in Mexico using online news groups to promote their struggle for sovereignty." However, he argues that in order to take advantage of technology such as social media, people need "dependable physical infrastructure and human capital - including electricity, education and media literacy. Of course, he's right. Social media aren't much use to people without electricity, let alone wi-fi access. Are they?

Yes, there is a lot of hype out there about social media. It is true that social media alone will not empower people if they don't have access to it, but I don't know anyone out there who is claiming otherwise. Srinivasan's argument naturally leads into a discussion about the digital divide. A recent post in ICTs for Development suggests the digital divide may not be as wide as previously thought. There is not a clear dichotomy between haves and have-nots when it comes to ICTs. In the blog, Richard Heeks of the University of Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics notes that there are four categories in the digital divide:

1. non-users who have no access to ICTs
2. indirect users, who don't have access to ICTs themselves but obtain information from those who do.
3. shared users, who use ICTs owned by someone else such as a friend, co-worker or community group.
4. users, who have direct access to ICTs.

Of course, there must be infrastructure. At the very least, people must have access to a cell phone signal. Armed with cell phones and other new technology, Tanzanian farmers have been able to obtain market information on prices and increase the price they receive per tonne of rice to $600 from $100 (Communication Initiative, FAO, World Bank, 2007, p. XXXII). Srinivasan himself points out that new technology has enabled farmers in Kenya and India to do the same, cutting out corrupt middlement. I would imagine that the extra income in Tanzanian, Kenyan and Indian the farmers' neighbours as well.

Of course, he's right about the need for infrastructure, but it's sort of like saying that cars don't empower people without roads. It's obvious but hair-splitting. Social media have the potential to connect people in ways that are still being discovered. The power is latent, waiting for the right circumstances, but it is there nonetheless.

What has been your experience? Have social media empowered you or your cause?

Communication Initiative, FAO, World Bank. (2007). World congress on communication for development: Lessons, challenges, and the way forward. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Retrieved from ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ai143e/ai143e00.pdf