Communication Via The Internet vs. Traditional Media

dotcomet — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:25:15 +0000

Technology has brought about new ways to communicate on a global level. In the last four decades, the postal system went from a highly profitable method of communication to the costliest form, losing $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012. In the last five years, the post office posted a net loss of $25 billion ¹.

In contrast, Skype posted a quarterly revenue of $185 million in 2009 ², Facebook.com’s annual revenue is $3.7 billion³, and Internet advertising revenue is a whooping $31 billion ⁴. What does all this mean? The Internet has change the scope of global communication, where primitive methods of communication are quickly dropping from profitability to massive losses.

Whether individuals crave more content or faster communication, it is apparent that technology has advanced more in the last decade and the public has willingly utilized this new form of communication.

But what makes technology more enticing to use? I believe it is interactivity with the consumer. As revenue from snail mail drop and newspaper publishers are cutting cost because of lower subscription rates, online video providers have increased viewership with over 40 million videos viewed in September 2011 ⁵, online news providers have increase visitors ⁶, and 45 percent of the global Internet users visit facebook.com daily ⁷.

The commonalities of these indicators are the interactivity and dynamics of online media versus the static nature of mail and print media. It is difficult to discern, however, by observation, one can establish that the more interactive the medium, the more likely they will succeed as a medium.

There are a few answers that need to be established as well. Is the need for interactivity a generational norm? Will social media providers overtake traditional media sources for major news and information? Will traditional revenue models work in the Internet media model where the consumer expects news and information to be paid for with their monthly Internet Payment?

The future will answers these questions and more.

The Arab Spring

dotcomet — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:15:59 +0000

Introduction

Social networking sites have become everyday tools used to share information casually and professionally. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have inundated the Internet, personal websites, and commercial sites. No one is immune from the share tab, which allows the average user to pass on information at lightning speed. When it comes to sharing information where free speech is the norm, there is rarely any backlash from such sharing of information, but in countries where there is tight governmental control and limits to free speech, sharing information considered to be subversive to normal governmental policies, and one could also face serious jail time.

The Arab Spring Movement

Observing the actions of citizens and leaders of speech-limiting countries expose the weaknesses some governments possess and the strengths some citizens seize. Movements such as the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Arab Spring show the tenacity and willingness of individuals as they navigate the labyrinth of governmental tyranny. What these movements have that many of their predecessors didn’t have was the Internet, which allows for free-flowing, rapid dissemination of information without barriers, unless subversive governments, such as Egypt utilize their Internet Kill Switch (Hassanpour, 2011) (Alix Dunn, 2011).

What led the Egyptian regime to drastic lengths was the planned protest organized protest and fall of the Tunisian government. Inspired by the overthrow of a dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Egyptian protesters planned similar actions to overthrow Hosni Mubarak (Baumann & Mahanta, 2011). With the tens of thousands of protesters exposing the regime’s autocratic rule, the government was forced to limit the amount of information spreading rapidly around the world. The government decided to limit or shut of Internet access and Short Message Service (SMS) messaging throughout the country (Hassanpour, 2011). This is not the first time a Middle Eastern country blocked communications to prevent protestors from communicating. In 2009, the Iranian government blocked cell phone and Internet-based communications during Tehran’s post-election protest (Hassanpour, 2011). However, to circumvent the virtual blockade, protestors turned to Twitter, satellite phones, and satellite television (Alix Dunn, 2011).

Social Media

In the past, social media was nothing more than a means to share information without the amenities mainstream media dutifully possessed, but with the advent of the multitude of social media sites, it is now mainstream media rushing to those micro blogs for their primary source of information. And given that much can be disseminated throughout the social networks, rapid turnover of news and information overload are the desirables of today’s media consumer. The end result was an Arab Spring with inside information regardless of the Internet blockade, worldwide media and public support, and the toppling of the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, and the potential demise of the Syrian government just to name a few. This overshadowed how information spread during the second Balkan war of 1913, which paled in comparison (Metzl, 1996).

The Government’s Response

The main tool of the Egyptian government’s arsenal was a 30-year-old emergency law, which allowed the government to limit the content of messages and prevent the dissemination of information through various sources. By invoking the emergency law, the government was able to utilize various tactics to prevent social communication; first by attacking the information that was disseminated through the mainstream media; then by limiting communication through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook; and while shutting down the communication infrastructure to include Internet and telephone service. The government then utilized the very tools they prevented the general public to use. (Alexandra Dunn, 2011).

The Protestor’s Response

However, even the repressive laws invoked by the government were unable to prevent the local activist from prevailing. By utilizing the established satellite transmission service, the protesters were able to post to the social media networks using tools such as Speak2Tweet (Alix Dunn, 2011). These tweets were then picked up my international news organizations and the protesters received worldwide support from various political arenas including the United Nations and radio transmissions of the street level reports were simultaneous broadcast to the Egyptians, which they in turn spread the reports to pedestrians near them.

Hosni Mubarek decision to disconnect the Internet created chaos in the form of revolution. His motive was to cut the flow of communication between the protestors and the world (Ali, 2011), however, his decision had an unprecedented affect. First, unplugging the Internet drew strong criticism from the international community and second, the resolve of the Egyptians to circumvent the blockade. In the end, his actions cost an estimated $90 million (Ali, 2011).

Media Framing

Another tool the government used against the protestors was the media itself. By framing articles against the protestors, the media dehumanized the movement and humanized the state (Hamdy & Gomaa, 2012). By framing the protestors as miscreants, the government intended to gain credibility for their response against the protestors. The government also wanted to portray an image that the protests were not successful and that the protestors were incompetent and misguided in their actions (Hamdy & Gomaa, 2012). And even though media framing can be a useful tool to distract or convince an audience, the Egyptian government failed in properly executing their campaign against the youth-led protest.

Conclusion

There is evidence to support the theory that the Internet is making the world a smaller place, and even with governments using technology to limit communication, individuals can circumvent controls to communicate with the outside world. Hosni Mubarek and his Egyptian regime maintained control of their government for almost 34 years, and in the process perfected methods to keep control of the media and Internet. However, it was a fairly new Internet-based technology, in combination with public ingenuity, which led to the downfall of a long-standing dictatorship. And while the Arab Spring brought many changes in the Middle East, it was the use of technology that facilitated these changes, and it is safe to assume that many other oppressive governments will fall to the same technologies used in the Arab Spring.

Reference List

Ali, A. H. (2011). The Power of Social Media in Developing Nations: New Tools for Closing the Global Digital Divide and Beyond. [Article]. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 24(1), 185-219.

Baumann, N., & Mahanta, S. (2011, February 23, 2012). What’s Happening in Egypt Explained, 2012, from http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/01/whats-happening-egypt-explained

Dunn, A. (2011, February 2011). How the Internet Kill Switch Didn’t Kill Egypt’s Protests, 2012, from http://www.meta-activism.org/2011/02/how-the-internet-kill-switch-didnt-kill-egypts-protests/

Dunn, A. (2011). Unplugging a Nation: State Media Strategy During Egypt’s January 25 Uprising. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 35(2), 15-24.

Hamdy, N., & Gomaa, E. H. (2012). Framing the Egyptian Uprising in Arabic Language Newspapers and Social Media. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 195-211. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01637.x

Hassanpour, N. (2011). Media Disruption Exacerbates Revolutionary Unrest: Evidence from Mubarak’s Natural Experiment. American Polictical Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting.

Metzl, J. F. (1996). Information Technology and Human Rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 18(4), 705-746.

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Communication Via The Internet vs. Traditional Media

The Arab Spring