The Power of the Global Village

In this modern world of text messages and social media people are talking more than ever before with people that are halfway across the world, down the street, or in another part of the country. Never before has the Earth’s population been able to communicate this quickly about what individuals believe is important.

One of these is politics, which people have been talking about since the world began, it is the era the world is living in in which one can be in California talking with someone in Italy about what is happening in Syria. The globalization of social media is a huge part in what comes into the political arena because groups can organize and rally so much easier on a blog forum, a Facebook page, or a text message.

In the online article “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change” published by the Council of Foreign Relations, the full article is linked in the title, author Clay Shirky addresses instances of the power of social media in politics and where the power leads or could lead.

The first example Clay Shirky’s article gave was from 2001 in the Philippines. The president, Joseph Estrada, was in the process of being impeached but the Philippine Congress was setting aside evidence that was a key part in the case against him. Less than two hours after the announcement of the trial citizens were starting to converge on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, angry that their corrupt leader would be free of charges.

In the next few days the city of Manila was deeply congested with over a million of protestors in the streets. Legislators were so alarmed that three days later Estrada was found guilty and impeached. Clay Shirky went on to say that this quick turnaround was affected by the mass forwarding text messages and social media messages saying ‘“Go 2 ESDA. Wear blk.”’

This article attests to the alarmingly quick way that the people can send and receive information. Furthermore, that one message can reach over a million people; and that is just the ones that responded, probably not all the people it reached went to Manila.

The term now in Integrated Marketing Communications about the paradox the “global village” rings true. Messages can bounce around from city to city until everyone hears about it even before the news can even cover a story about it.

            This is why instant communication is so important to monitor, and not only in politics. If over a million people can reach a city in the course of two days from a forwarded text message then imagine how many people can hear about a mistake a company has made, or that a new product is not working properly.

The company that made a mistake can have havoc spread without them even knowing if they do not keep their ear to the ground and monitor the chatter people are saying. On the flipside , integrating marketing and Public Relations into the media people read everyday should be a no-brainer. If done properly, a Twitter account, or a Facebook page is inexpensive compared to a million dollar commercial, and it interacts directly with the people you are trying to reach in a medium that people enjoy tuning into. Especially in the new smartphone era when most people have a handheld computer at their disposal.

This instant communication in the global village and a business’ way of keeping track of that instant communications can be the death of a company or the saving grace. In the global village it can literally pay to be Facebook friends with your publics.