1. Social Media in a Changing World
BCOM 25
Module 4

2. Does Social Media really have the power to change the world?
Creating a Digital Global Village
Enabling Democracy and Mobilizing Activism
Increasing Access to information and Improving Education
Encouraging Transparency and Accountability
Influencing media coverage through Citizen Journalism
Does social media have the power to change the world?
26 % of the world’s population is on SM
Mxit – So Africa
Weibo -Chiina
Vkontakte - Russion
How is SM changing world?
Jamaica – HIV awareness
Mexico – Cartel updates
India – bribe reporting
Syria – fundraising
Ushahidi – locator
What do the countries with censorship have in common?
-3/5 of the population remain unconnected
-75 percent in Europe and only 16 percent in Africa (note where most of the revolutions took place)
Who controls the power of social media?

3. Swahili for "testimony" or witness“.
Website created in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed presidential election (see 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis).
Collected eyewitness reports of violence sent in by and text-message and placed them on a Google map.
Ushahidi reports help viewers steer away from problem areas.
For example, if there are soldiers arresting people who are going to vote for a certain party, voters can be notified before they show up to the polling area.
Peru/Chile/Ecuador’s Earthquakes: People are notifying each other through social media.
Periscope’s live updates and everyday people giving updates on regions affected (and to other parts of the world)
Facebook allowed people to “check in” to let loved one’s know they were okay.
What’sApp provided avenue for group updates and sharing of media
Instagram and Facebook provided information on aid efforts #PrayForEcuador

4. HASHTAG MOVEMENTS

5. What is a hashtag?
Used regularly by millions of social media users in posts
Created by online users to discuss specific events and relevant issues.
Categorically arranged so that other online users can easily search for the topic and participate in the conversation, no matter where they are in the world.
Information is updated and shared by social media users.
Hashtags bring together seemingly unrelated people with a topic of common interest.

6. HASHTAG history
Used in C Programming Languages in the 70’s for special keywords
Used in IRC Networks to label groups and topics
Other parts of the world have called the # sign hash before it was used as a hashtag on social media
Interlay Relay Chat Protocol Networks - Lists networks based on popularity, discussion subjects, and locality. Also includes server maps and connectivity help guides.

7. What is the purpose of hashtags?
Categorize posts by KEYWORD
Use the # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) to create a thread
Easier to find in platforms search feature
Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other posts marked with that keyword.
Hashtags bring unrelated people together and unite them under a common idea (hashtag).

8. The first hashtag
- Where did all these hashtags come from?
3/21/16 – Twitter turns 10 years old!
(described as being in awkward teen years)

9. Which platforms use hashtags?
Use of hashtags means that the search engine will categorize the same hashtags so that viewers can see all entries with that hashtag
Users can still “create” the hashtag, but some platforms will not report categorized findings (Facebook only allowed hashtag threads in June 2013)
For marketing purposes:

10. FAMOUS SOCIAL ACTIVISTS? ?
Define Social Activism –
How do movements start? (Issue  Social Awareness  Call to Action  Action / Change)
What were some of the things these successful social media campaigns had in common?
Increased social awareness
People from different backgrounds supported cause
Exposure was given by media
Change did not come about quickly, but awareness caused pressure on oppressors.
#IamMalala – Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban for reading secular books and educating herself.

11. Social Media and the Arab Spring
What do you know about it?
Started in Tunisia
Protests against unfair treatment
Captures on cell phones and broadcast
Led to the president of Tunisia fleeing
People in Egypt empathized with desperation
People were inspired to speak up against own govt.
How did Social Media enable that beginning of that revolution?
In 2011, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi was getting ready to sell fruits and vegetables in the rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia.
Bouazizi was the breadwinner for his widowed mother and six siblings, but he didn't have a permit to sell the goods. When the police asked Bouazizi to hand over his wooden cart, he refused and a policewoman allegedly slapped him.
Angered after being publicly humiliated, Bouazizi marched in front of a government building and set himself on fire.
His act of desperation resonated immediately with others in the town. Protests began that day in Sidi Bouzid, captured by cellphone cameras and shared on the Internet.
Within days, protests started popping up across the country, calling upon President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime to step down. About a month later, he fled. (The president fleeing was the impetus for the start of other revolutions!)
The momentum in Tunisia set off uprisings across the Middle East that became known as the Arab Spring.

12. SOCIAL MOVEMENT TODAY
What do the social movements of today have in common?
Social awareness 
People of different backgrounds

13. YOUR TURN TO CHIME IN – 15 MIN
What are the trending hashtag movements of now?
Get in groups of 3 or 4
Go online find three to four trending HASHTAG topics.
Describe the hashtag projects and why are they trending?
You will share your results with the class.

14. HASHTAG IN USE- HOMEWORK

15. HOMEWORK – DUE 4/12/16
Locate a Flyer or take a picture of social media hashtags in use. Bring to next class meeting (Canvas)
Complete the TedEd assignment Let's Design Social Media that Drive's Real Change
WATCH - Ted Video
THINK – Objective quiz
DISCUSS - Discussion Question

16. TED.ED TALK – HOMEWORK