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USA – A Content Nation
By Tom Masters | February 22, 2009
We are the members of a revolution. It has happened so gradually, and so easily slipped into our everyday lives, that we may not even notice the changes. Over the past two decades, the internet has been transformed from a tool used mainly by research institutes, universities, and government agencies into a global communications network, used by over 1 trillion people worldwide. The future has arrived and we’ve got a lot to say about it.
John Blossom’s new book, Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives, and Our Future, addresses the opportunities and challenges that come with this new global community, and how our participation in this new venture is changing the world we live in, in nearly every facet of our lives. Blossom’s basic premise is that we are all publishers. If you’ve ever written an email, left a voice message, posted photos to Flickr, shared your thoughts on a weblog, or written a book review on Amazon.com – this means you. The growth of social media has given us a voice, one that can speak to – and influence – others around the globe with the click of a mouse.
And Blossom is not just talking the talk. The book was developed through Blossom’s own Content Nation website, actively seeking member’s feedback and contributions in the development of the book. The result is a fascinating “Live Book”, one that is meant to evolve and adapt as we move further into this new age. This is social media as its finest – using audience participation to create compelling and intriguing dialogues, a mash-up between midnight showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and your high school’s AP Humanities class. A good time, but with some smarts too.
Wikipedia defines social media as “primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.” Which, to me, sounds like a pretty bland description of something that is really, really exciting. Using new technology, we are able to engage, respond, and comment about the world around us in amazing and innovative ways. And we are able to collaborate and interact with others who share our interests – whether they are in the neighboring town or a country on the other side of the globe.
Social media’s influence continues to expand, and is now altering the ways in which we view news, access information, and the influence of commercial interests. During the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, Newsvine contributor Chris Thomas was able to post up-to-the-minute updates throughout the ordeal, relying on messages and phone calls from his wife and friends on the campus. We no longer have to wait for the evening news to keep informed about events that have national and global ramifications, we just have to wait for the next post.
Social Media Addiction Rap
Blossom uses the above Newsvine example, and many others throughout the book, to deftly illustrate just how widespread the use of social media has become. He has written a book that is understandable to John Q. User, but that will also hold the interest of someone with a tech background. My only problem with the book – and it is a small one, considering the nature of the “Live Book” concept – is the lack of proper editing. So if you’re a stickler for grammar, please consider yourself warned. However, if you should choose to read the book in its paperback format, I’m sure that will have been addressed.
As the executives at Facebook (FB) were reminded last week, Content Nation is not a passive community. When the FB legal team revamped the “Terms of Use” to include ambiguous language regarding their ownership of users’ content, site members rallied, inciting a firestorm of controversy that was reported by every major media outlet in America. Through blog postings, forums, and newly created FB groups, users argued against the new terms, threatening to delete their accounts. Within five days, Facebook recanted.
Such a widespread and instantaneous response would have been impossible just a decade ago. Facebook, a popular social-networking site with over 175 million active users worldwide, is a significant player in this new global community, and one that – after this week, has a new appreciation for the power of the people.
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