As an advocate of new technology, I find myself regularly having to justify and explain the point of social networking. We regularly hear the likes of Facebook described as futile, temporary fads that take online procrastination to a whole new level.
Yet there are examples all the time that challenge this rather cynically view. The campaign that saw US band Rage Against The Machine topple the X-Factor’s monopoly of Christmas number ones is a beautiful, expletive ridden, case in point. In a few weeks, with nothing but a laptop and a broadband connection, couple Jon and Tracy Morter caused one of the biggest chart upsets of all time.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself!” I hear you say. I won’t pretend that this particular story isn’t anything more than some rather hairy young people getting one over on a middle aged music tycoon. But apply the same scenario to something much more important, and the connotations cannot fail to excite. What could the same principles of social networking do for democracy in a suppressed nation, or for the voice of the minority in any society? The fallout from this year’s election in Iran showed a more powerful example of social networking challenging the status quo.
Simon Cowell will, I’m sure, get over this rather embarrassing incident. Rage fans will continue shouting, and homeless charity Shelter will raise a few extra smiles this Christmas. However, the internet will stay and continue to force us to think about the way we live. It will continue to give users the ability to shape the news and media they consume, to express the views they hold and to adapt their communication techniques as they see fit.
Internet users can say, if they are so inclined, “F*** Y**, I won't do what you tell me!” Which is, my lawyers have asked me to say, a Rage Against the Machine lyric!
This is interesting!
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