The
emergence of social media fundamentally changes the way people read, discover
and create news. It has also transformed
communication and media strategies for business, non-profits and politicians. Those who succeed are the ones who can shape
the conversation, connect with people and build a coalition of supporters.
In other
words, the people who understand and adapt communication technologies have the
best chance at getting elected, advancing policy alternatives and driving
change.
While
the technology has changed, the principle remains the same. Take for example the story of Ben Franklin: In 1729 the people of Philadelphia
debated whether or not to increase the amount of paper money in the
colony. Ben Franklin recounts the story in his autobiography:
“Our debates possessed me so fully of the subject that I wrote and printed an anonymous pamphlet on it, entitled “The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency.” It was well received by the common people in general, but the rich men disliked it, for it increased and strengthened the clamor for more money; and they happening to have no writers among them that were able to answer it, their opposition slackened and the point was carried by a majority in the House. My friends there, who considered I had been of some service, thought fit to reward me by employing me in printing the money; a very profitable job and a great help to me. This was another advantage gained by my being able to write.”
Over the last three centuries, there have been monumental
changes in communication technology (obviously). But there is one thing
that hasn’t changed: The ability to write, to connect and to communicate
effects change. It matters for politics, it matters for business and it
matters for life.
This summer, I have been teaching Media and Politics at
UMass, Amherst. The class provides a
historical and theoretical overview of communication technology and how these
technologies have been used to govern and effect policy. But the class also challenges students to engage
the practical application of social media.
The class project asks students to monitor and analyze a
single issue across a six week period and record their analysis through blog posts
on Tumblr. The project entails three dimensions: 1) the
quality of analysis; 2) a strategy memo on how to build an engage an audience;
3) a reflection paper about what they learned about media and politics. It asks students to break out of the class,
build an audience and connect with the world.
The results so far have been astounding. The public component of the blog has motivated
the students to produce higher quality content and to be actively engaged in
the course. It also creates an opportunity
for the students to not just learn about the symbiotic relationship between
media and politics, but to experience and understand it.
Here are some examples of their work:
