Social Media

social media

Word Origin

noun, ( usually used with a plural verb) Digital Technology

websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts:


Origin 2000-2005

　

This is what I am doing now. But my first encounter with social media was way back in the mid 90s. Back then it was call BBS then Usenet and then there was IRC too. Today it is Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Social media differs from static webpages in that it offers interaction with the audience.

There is an old saying, "It is okay to hire one Indian, but the minute you employ another, they will form a union."

Plain and simple interactive communication is when two person talks. One person may have a point of view which the other may or may not agree. Add another to become three and more, and you will have a group politics in play. Add tens or thousands and it becomes national politics. [Ok, in the Indian example above, you only need two to create national politics.]

A real example then: While writing this piece I was interrupted by a call asking me whether I knew anything about several bombings in KL, Bukit Bintang, area that happened early this morning. He heard some rumors about the bombings being associated with the Islamic State. He requested that I check with my friends with the authorities. I had not heard or read about any bombings in KL so far so I reassured the caller that any bombing of that scale would have been reported in the news.

After finishing the conversation, googling revealed news of the bombing by Malaysian Chronicle, Malaysian Insider and Asia News Network (Singapore.) A quick read of Malaysian Insider's report [choice of read is important as news publishers nowadays tend to skew their reporting] affirm an explosion outside a Bukit Bintang karaoke outlet (Cherry Blossom) from a hand grenade. At the same time, one of my Whatsapp group chat room came alive seeking verification of the bombing and again associating it with the Islamic State. Could it be that the Malaysian Chronicle news article on it was skewed to associate the bombings with terrorist activities?

My response was straight to the point, "Why must people associate acts of violence with Islam?"

While we can blame human nature to overreact in this type of situation, we also have to wonder why it took over 10 hours to publish news like that. As at 1 pm, Oct 9, 2014 none of the mainstream news publishers ran the story. However, what we do know is that owners of these vehicles;
a Toyota Vellfire (WVL 168), Toyota Camry (WTT 8999), Mazda 2 (WXJ 3333) and a BMW (WTV 36) were busy patronizing the karaoke at the time.

Why did The Malaysian Insider publish registration numbers and make of the vehicles damaged by the explosion? It puzzled me for awhile until one of my Whatsapp friend responded over a chat, "Hahaha gang fight la, terrorists and angry wives."

Social media, news website and mobile phones. Those are the ingredients of the another well known saying, "Information at your finger tips." What we make out of it, reflects our views of the world.