Twitter has fueled many protests and revolutions in recent years. The Arab Spring in 2011 and Egyptian and Tunisian revolts have all been fueled by Twitter. Simply put, Twitter is a way for people to convene on, discuss, and organize revolts against authoritarian governments.
Recently, the Associated Press brought to light a simpler version of Twitter, ZunZuneo, which the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) developed for Cubans. Ostensibly, the program was to allow Cubans to undermine their government, which is invasive and dictatorial. The United States, however, denies having implemented it for such reasons.
This story confirms the powerful role that social media is assuming in our culture. The fact that USAID is creating such software with the idea that it will act as an impetus for the development of technologically-crippled countries really points towards the power and efficacy of social media. To give an indication of how effective ZunZuneo was in Cuba, by 2011, it had grown to 40,000 users. The growth was modest, but the idea of implementing social media to incite growth and democracy amongst a group of people is what really makes this story relevant.
We have seen Twitter act as a forum for discussion, debate, news, politics, and now development. It seems that Twitter’s power is second to none. In the near future, we will see social media become a staple in everyday life (if it hasn't already).
By Jose Pagliery and Elwyn Lopez
April 3
Regardless of our government's intentions for this social media site, I think it's a great idea to bring to Cubans. Countries such as Cuba don't get the opportunity to have and use social media - mainly because their government knows that if the people become educated about the outside world, they'll begin to demand better qualities of life. No doubt social media could (and probably would) bring protests to Cuba, but it is because they learn that freedom is an obtainable thing. However, at the same time, I can see how this would mess up relations with the United States and Cuba even further than they've already been messed up.
ReplyDeleteI also heard about this the other day and I was really surprised. It was definitely a very sketchy thing to do behind the backs of, well, everyone. But this is just another thing that social media has brought to the attention of the world, and it will be interesting to see where this story goes from here.
ReplyDelete