Week 8 Question (Part 2)

The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change (Safranek)

1) The article states that the attraction from the big three social media services is that “the average person with little or no advanced computer skills can have good success using them.”  In my experience, my parents, aunts, uncles who have at least proficient computer skills, still struggle or do not fully understand social media platforms and how to utilize them to their full potential.  This also makes sense because the article claims one reason social media use has gotten so big in the Middle East and Northern Africa is due in large part to their young population.  So in conclusion, do you think age or factors or computer proficiency influence social media use more?

2) How do social media services change the presentation of a biased view of an issue, when it is no longer the media/news deciding what stories to air, but instead people posting undisputable footage of real events? Seeing as social media increases in areas where there is political or social turmoil, how does the amount of social media usage in the US increase when it is an election year? 

3) Now that we have the ability to film a situation at any moment using our cell phone, how has the role of the journalist changed? Have citizens now become the top journalists, catching the biggest stories on film, because from use of a cell phone and being in the right place at the right time.  Now do journalists and media stations just have to look to social media websites to find the top stories?

4) How were supporters in Egypt able to subvert the censorship of the government? How much of an effect does not having the infrastructure of only the smart phone decrease the effectiveness of social media?