As it has been noted, time and again, social media was a major force behind the so-called Arab Spring, after communities organised and overthrew tyrannical dictators, as well the more recent riots across the Muslim world, after the trailer for The Innocence of Muslims circulated on the Internet.
Like most technologies, social media can promote the good or accentuate the bad. But does the technology itself have its own bias for better or worse? What is the nature of technology? Is the new social media- Facebook, Twitter, and the rest-simply a toolbox that people pick up for their own purposes, good or bad? Or is the new social media inherently progressive in its ability to promote a greater meta-nexus between humans near and far? Are we homo faber, man the maker, or homo factus, man the made?These questions served as the backdrop to the three-day Social Good Summit recently held in New York City, which brought together leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs interested in pursuing technology that promotes human betterment. The event featured successful models for addressing Big Problems through new media and provided a platform for speakers to conceptualize the impact of social media today—namely, how it can help us craft a better world.
Here you can read an account of this summit by Peter Lewek, the programme associate at Metanexus, whom had attended the forum:
Social Media and Social Good
http://metanexus.net/print/10513
See more:
Can the Media be for the Common Good?
http://gcgi.info/kamrans-blog/180-can-the-media-be-for-the-common-good