Social Media at War

Not really a large collection of new thoughts, but certainly some interesting reminders (and a few new perspectives). The CCW seminar by went through some of the obvious facts about the growth of Social Media and trends in its use by security forces and in a military context. Quite a few of the people attending were a little skeptical of whether social media would really change the way wars were fought on the ground.

The Bin-Laden raid live tweeted (from turnstyle)

I can’t say I know much in that respect, but one fo the more salient ideas was the ability for competing narratives and messages from both sides of the conflict to engage on a more immediate basis to seek to influence the conversation. I have doubts over whether this has an impact more broadly speaking, but in terms of shoring up existing supporters I can certainly see how it might work. Of course, the powerful thing about social media is the ability to instantly and continuously tailor the message depending on the feedback and sentiment that are gauged over the social network.

There was some discussion in the presentation about the psychological aspect of social media, and how social media engaged with the more emotive and spontaneous side of our minds than, say, the cognitive side of things. I would hope that doesn’t mean my ability to be rational is diminished, but I guess the point was more that social media could better influence and connect on an emotional level whereas traditional filtered media was more cognitive.

For me, perhaps the biggest point to take away was social media’s capacity to build groups and coalitions that are limited to intersections over unions. So while old forms of coalitions and groups had greater inertia, perhaps from how they are constructed, and thus are better conditioned to creating a union of interests amongst people, social media allows people to move around with greater flexibility, leading to the creation of coalitions or movements that can at times be stronger, but are also more likely to b based on the intersection of interests rather than a union of them. Which is better? I’m not sure.

5th February 2013

GEILI Youth Summit 2012

The Global Exchange in Leadership Initiatives (GEILI) held a two day Youth Summit at Li Po Chun UWC, Hong Kong, earlier last month. The summit was intended to be an avenue for GEILI fellows, leaders of various social projects around the world, to exchange and share their experiences with others. The event consisted mostly of workshops and presentations by some very interesting people. The other bits in-between were, in all honesty, a little disappointing, as was the rather chaotic organization. However, that shouldn’t detract too much from the fact that there were some very interesting people with some really cool stories. Here are a selection of those stories, ideas and presentations.

[VIDEO] KGV’s World Record Planking Attempt [UPDATED]

This has to be the strangest end of term event ever. An attempt by KGV to break the World Record for Simultaneous Planking and also say goodbye to it’s old chairs.

There was even a video and a report by Apple TV:

From SCMP (Students take record bid lying down by John Carney, Dec 17, 2011)

Taught to Tweet

Economics, History, Peace and Conflict Studies, Geography, Biology, Maths, English Literature, Greek, Spanish are all academic subjects taught at university level and often even at secondary schools. The latest addition: Twitter.

Australia’s Griffith University made Twitter education a mandatory course for Journalism students. Who knew! It is perhaps one of the most progressive academic courses that a university can offer. It’s an innovative move, but whether there really is that much to teach is up to debate.

The class aims to refine and sharpen young writers’ tweets, which, according to senior lecturer Jacqui Ewart, “are not as in depth as you might like.” University officials cited the growing journalistic role of Twitter in major world events like last summer’s Iranian protests as the motivation behind the new course.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/uni-adds-twitter-to-the-curriculum-20091016-gzut.html from http://mashable.com/2009/10/23/twitter-class/

Campaigns and Social Media

From Mashable :

Just as social media has opened a dialogue between businesses and consumers, its value is apparent to those in political office, whose work and very professional survival hinges on the needs and perceptions of their constituents.

But when was the last time a local politician garnered the same social media buzz as a hip startup, or a savvy online retailer?

As it stands, the social web is ripe with opportunities for candidates and office holders alike to connect with voters, foster transparency, and even spar with opponents in the same ways they have been in the traditional media for hundreds of years. We spoke with some innovators who have been tapping into the political power of social media. If their work is any indication, expect the future of elected government to be measured in fans and followers, as well as votes.

Viral Video Production

Adam Sadowsky and his team explain the process behind the massive Rube Goldberg machine of the band “OK Go”. Enjoy