SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CULTURAL CONCEPT | New Concept: Social Media Culture ®

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CULTURAL CONCEPT New Concept: Social

Media Culture ®

“NOW, WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYTHING. EVERYWHERE, ANYTIME, WE ARE EXPOSED!” SINCE THE Greek democracy and the Roman Empire, to do a change in the social fiber of the society you have to be a leader, a general, a wellrespected teacher, a member of senate, a consul or an emperor. Later on the time-line, in the dark medieval period, changes were coming from military, clergy and/or kings and emperors. In the industrial era of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, changes in culture and the society fibers came from political leaders or the new very rich and powerful: the leaders (barons) of the boom industries like railways transportation, electricity generation, oil companies, banking and finances, ocean shipping, telex and telegraph, newspapers, etc. Now the changes in our societies, in the very fiber of our society, comes from each of us, the common and small people, but each armed with a smart phone connected to interne or a home computer, as well connected to Internet. Social Media had an unrestricted, unlimited and universal reach, due to multiplication and broadcast power: for the messages and the content generated by each individual. The old Western cultural model is under pressure. The “pop culture” is a new process now, under developments dictated by the Social Media and speed-changes than in previous historical period, with a special reality and an accelerated dynamics. The industrial changes, the free market, availability of access of each to each to each individual are the catalysts of this process. We all now participate, one way or other, willing or unwilling to the new Social Media Culture: at once by all, not in a sequence dictated by few. Internet offers no restrictions, to the good and to the bad ideas, the fight between good and evil -because the evil is connected to Internet as well-. There are few protections of the good against the bad, across the board. Safety and privacy measures are timid and few. But the focus is on new technologies and maybe in the way we interact with the “matrix”, the Social media Culture. Talking about interaction between the technology(s) and the human body | Just two decades ago, we had only a computer at home or at work. Later on 1|Page

came the smart phones, heralded by the Blackberry devices. In the last two years, we have wearable smart devices invading our body and mind. We have Google or Sony glasses, electronic wallets, portable documents, smart watches for Internet, phone conversations, walkie-talkie, GPS locations, and even micro devices, implants, administrating small doses of medicine, etc. the past danger of the hackers to access the home/work computer is passed. Now the hacker will attack the glasses, the watch, the electronic wallet, the very thinks we live with, we wear them. The data gathered by these wearable and the interactions with us reflect -on real time- on what we do in the public domain, on the public square. The creation process, the business we do in the public domain, due to technology and Social Media, changes the very “matrix” we live in, day by day. In every public space, restaurants, hotels, trains, airports, streets, schools, restaurants, you can see people, not discussing, interchanging verbal conversation, but digital tweets, Instagram, Facebook messages, whatsup phrases. The “new media” (us with a smart phone) is imposing new standards and demands on the “old media”. Millions of apps change our view about our families, friends, colleagues, distant people and enemies. While a teacher in the an university aula is debating ideas, students, in the same aula are posting messages in the Social Media -text, content, pictures- of all kinds of good, bad and ugly. As the Social Media creates new types of culture, with the same token, can tarnish reputations, defame individuals, harass and abuse people, like not before Internet. Many Social Media posts are with a message, with the aim at a change, about a new culture, but some are destructive, with intent to create harm. There is a small catch here: some “old media”, are very well known, their locations, addresses, phone numbers, fax, emails and the people are working there. You have an address! Some “new media”, the content we put on the web, is sometimes anonymous, and not always reliable and accountable. Example can be Yik Yak, Whisper, Secret apps, much like a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Skype account, but without an individual profile. The user remains “anonymous” We cannot negate the sense of democracy in the Social Media, where we all equal, but some have more followers than others. In some instances, even having few followers matter, make a difference. But many followers always matters, more. As there was a reaction against the “old media” by the new media, very-new media within new media, creates a rejectionist-culture (by the power of apps and sites) against the new culture and anchors like against “The Institution of Facebook”. After the wave of me, us, the full disclosure of each of us, pictures, content, locations, social status -share all wave- on the user profile of Facebook, comes the anonymous –share only what I want you to know- user like in Yik Yak, Secret, or other “completely*” anonymous apps and web sites. 2|Page

*“Completely anonymous” is not exactly a correct term for an Internet and Social Media user, because by a simple cyber forensic analysis, each user can be immediately located and id-ed. We have to note the power of Social Media and its popularity into mobilizing people, to the same goal or target. It is like the “swarm theory”, when one cell or individual leads many cells, or a group or a heard to one destination, good or bad. This mobilization is fast, in real time and with important consequences, good or bad. As almost 7 billion people have phones -many of them smart phones- , Internet access in many places is free and English is dominant as a language, this cultural phenomenon, an observable occurrence on a global scale. As a consonance is a sound pleasant to most people, Social Media is a cultural concept. Social Media is in consonance with us, with our egos, as we evolve to what we are, humans communicating with other humans. Social Media will re-define our traditions. Internet is not anymore just a dry university/military concept or an isolated phenomenon, a dry experience. Internet surrounds us. Like a public utility, Internet can get the things done, satisfy the needs for everyone, many and help advance knowledge, economies, health, finances and culture. What gives a straightforward concept to the Social Media, in the context of the actual technology, is life itself: modern, contemporary, simple, easy, global, affordable, fast and interchangeable. This is the simple task of this book. Social Media is half-God! A community is made of individuals. It is very good to be member of a community, but we have to bring our individualism to it. Social Media is a tool for an individual to be member of not only one community, but many, at the same time. The standards of learning (SOL) are being adapted to this new technologies and even Social Media. The students are leaning now with new techniques y new tools, many of them, electronic tools. The measurement bench marks and tests, our culture, is now judges with electronic tools. Teachers, student, schools, libraries are all on a revamping effort to adapt to electronic media, computers use, Internet access and Social Media: all is not based on new policies. Our culture evolved, is evolving to electronic media, many of them portable, mobile electronic media. Many of the technologies of the Internet and Social Media empower people and organizations, many companies, governments to post all sort of art and project culture. Communications of the cultural institutions is greatly made easier and they can reach far more people, a larger audience, due to technology and Social Media. Many museums are gone digital and virtual, for a very small fee or even for free. Robots as some museums will take on a virtual and private tour during the night hours. An Opera presentation at the NYC Met can be projected on many hundreds of cinema screens, at the same time, in 3|Page

digital format. Only for a cinema ticket price, spectators can watch the same presentation, all over the world, in real time. We have to be vigil that we get only the good side of this empowering and not the bad side: because to all the items & things humans invent, there is a good and a bad side, like the pirates of the culture. There is a special “bubble” of culture on the Internet and Social Media. Book, music and films and video are circulating for free, and the authors are not receiving any compensation. You will have to be in a system list (register as an author/artist, upload your books/videos/music and get the sales royalty into your bank account) at Amazon Kindle, Apple iTunes, Barnes and Noble and other electronic platforms, in order to receive any royalty. For example this book: a fragment of the book will be posted for free on www.academia.edu and the entire book will be on www.amazon.com, kindle store.

By Hedi Enghelberg Florida, USA, March 2014 Author and Commentator. This is excerpt of the larger work

HEDI ENGHELBERG

SOCIAL MEDIA

- IN TIMES OF PEACE AND WAR SOCIAL MEDIA IN TIMES OF PEACE AND WAR CYBER WARS, CYBER ESPIONAGE, CYBER FRAUD, CYBER CRIME. CYBER CONTROL OF INFORMATION FROM THE UNIVERSAL POINT-OF-VIEW OF THE PROCESS AND ITS USES IN TIMES OF PEACE AND WAR. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CULTURAL CONCEPT POLITICAL THEORY STUDY BRIEFING - WHITE PAPER VOLUME III THIRD VOLUME OF THE CYBER TERRORISM SERIES ELECTRONIC & DIGITAL EDITION | VERSION 1.0

ISBN 978-1-60585-126-6 MARCH 2015 | MMXV 118,995 Words | 279 A4-type Pages

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