Social Media finds its new meaning

Social media which began as a thing for entertainment and for simply having some fun has now found a new meaning. It is no longer a platform just to greet your friends. Organizations, professionals, individuals, political parties and politicians have taken on to social media as a platform to communicate with people.

I didn’t even in my wildest of dreams think that politicians would take on to social media. But they did. Today, a 140-character tweet has a power to reach-out to millions of people in a matter of a few seconds. So why not use this powerful platform. And to sum it up with Mr. Bill Clinton's tweet, "Where else can you hear from @BillGates @PaulPierce34 @SenJohnMcCain @TheEllenShow @Usher in one day?"

Look at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who has effectively used Twitter to communicate with people across the globe. The people of Iran may not be allowed to access social media sites but that has not stopped the nation's president from tweeting almost every hour. The world has been suspicious of Iran's nuclear ambitions. For over decades, the United Nation has imposed sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear enrichment ambitions. But President Rouhani seems to have managed to convert these sanctions to diplomatic talks.
Social media has played an important role in making this happen for President Rouhani. Twitter made Rouhani look like a moderate politician who was serious about talking with the rest of the world. Unlike his predecessor President Ahmadnejad who was a non-negotiator, President Rouhani comes out like this warm and friendly negotiator. And Rouhani certainly needs to thank social media for playing an important role in building his brand.

Social media has the power to make politicians win electronic campaigns. Social media has a key role in President Obama's 2012 presidential win. President Obama spend $47million in the digital campaign spending in the 2012 presidential run vis-a-vis Mitt Romney who spend only $4.7 million in digital campaign spending (Rutledge, P. 2013).

Social media gives opportunities to people to get involved and participate in a discussion. It is not a one-way-communication. Everyone has already started to talk about the 2016 presidential election which is less than two-years ahead. And the most talked about presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has recently joined Twitter. In her bio Clinton has signaled that she is a “glass ceiling cracker.” 

Reference list
Rutledge, P. 2013. The Media Psychology Blog. How Obama Won the Social Media Battle in the 2012 Presidential Campaign.