As you can see from the screenshot of the tweet from the Wikileaks Twitter profile below, recent rumors regarding the demise of Wikileaks appear to be false.
In case you are unaware, Wikileaks is an international organisation that publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of sensitive files from governments and other organisations. Amongst many other files, the whistleblower organisation was recently responsible for releasing the following shocking classified US military video footage showing the killing of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded. This video has now been seen by millions.
Frankly, in light of the ongoing Gulf oil spill, I’m surprised there aren’t even more negative comments like this appearing on BP station venues on Foursquare. Maybe there are in the US, especially around the Gulf Coast?
And as you’d expect, there are a LOT on Twitter. “Oil Spill” has been in and out of (mostly in) Trending Topics for over a month. This is what happens in social media when The Gulf Between Greenwashed Image and Reality becomes blatantly obvious.
In the context of talking about the importance of education and Thomas Jefferson’s recognition that people must attempt to stay informed to make democracy work effectively, Obama has asserted that information is becoming a diversion and a form or entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment and emancipation.
On the state of the current information rich digital environment, Obama said:
“You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter,”
“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.
Obama complained that “some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction,” in the clamor of certain blogs and talk radio outlets.
“All of this is not only putting new pressures on you, it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy.” Obama said.
I think Obama is correct in saying the fact that we are bombarded with all kinds of content is putting more pressure on us, and that it can be a distraction, but only if we let it. The flows of information have certainly increased, especially for those of use who use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, read blogs and use other forms of social media regularly.
Having said that, I now read fewer newspapers and magazines and watch less tv. My tv viewing has become much more selective, and I’m starting to be able to find the video content I want to watch on the web, rather than it being selected for me by tv stations. See my recent post 3 places to find inspiring and intelligent online video.
I am certainly not convinced that the increased flow of information puts pressure on our democracy. What is not stated, at least in this recent statement, and what is the really dramatic change in relation to democracy and the media, is that information is now flowing in multiple directions. It’s not just coming from big media organisations, it’s coming from citizens as well. This may put pressure on us in terms of managing and filtering the information, but surely this is healthy for democracy!
Like Obama, my childhood years were spent in a world without the internet, where information in the media generally flowed in one direction only, principally from large media organisations. Now we have the web and social media. Sure, this has increased the volume of information, and much of the information and arguments leave a lot to be desired, but surely this in NOT a bad thing for democracy?
There is now a plethora of opinions and information on any given subject (including the one I’m writing about now), flowing in multiple directions at any given time. Nobody said democracy was going to be easy, or tidy, did they? Surely those who learn to thrive in these new information rich environments will prosper, both financially and in terms of knowledge, education and empowerment. The digital divide between rich and poor is something that may become more and more apparent in this regard, as time goes by. This is certainly something that needs addressing by people such as Obama.
It is true that there are a lot of diversions on the web to distract our focus, but it’s up to us to filter the information available and do what we want with it. We now have the option to create our own as well.
I must say that one big downside that I can see in all this is the fact that there are now millions and millions of these new devices being produced quarterly around world. Electronic waste is a real and growing problem. The question of how we are going to live sustainably in a world with nine billion people is integral to the aims of education and empowerment that Obama speaks of. Does increased information flow have to mean increased, unsustainable consumption too? But perhaps that’s another post for another day.
There seems no doubt that there’s going to be a large amount of social media content in relation to the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill. If the impact of the ongoing spill turns out to be as bad as many are suggesting, there is sure to be a continuing deluge of images, video clips, blog posts and status updates hitting the social web.
The aftermath of the spill could go on for weeks or months and have a devastating impact on the Gulf Coast. In addition to mainstream media coverage, something tells me that as the oil spill reaches the coast, citizen journalism is going to go into overdrive. With all the clean-up volunteers and people living in the area, no doubt people will tell their own stories with cameras, blogs and via Twitter and Facebook accounts.
ReadWriteWeb reported that a multimedia website has now been set up by British Petroleum, Transocean, (the oil rig owners), the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Department. The site has a Social Media section which links to a Facebook Page, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
After the Bush administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina relief effort, the White House seems keen to communicate via all media that it will do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes to address this crisis”. Here are a couple of messages that have appeared on Twitter and YouTube in response to the crisis:
This video posted on YouTube was linked from Obama’s Twitter account with the message “From day one, we have launched & coordinated a relentless response to the Gulf Crisis.”
Let’s hope the Obama administration and the companies involved follow through with on their promises to put maximum effort into the clean up. Whatever the case, this is not going to be good.
Tens of millions of people watch and share YouTube videos regularly, but there are other places to search for good online video. Here are 3 of my current favs.
TED is also pretty well known. TED lives up to its own claims of hosting “riveting talks by remarkable people” and for finding “ideas worth spreading”. Almost every time I watch a TED Talk I come away feeling inspired, and sometimes just blown away by what people are thinking and doing around the world.
The embedded video is just one that I found in my inbox this week, from the regular email updates I receive from TED. It’s brilliant, and only 3 minutes long: How to start a movement, by Derek Sivers.
Lesser known is FORA.tv, which contains longer, more in depth talks, lectures and interviews on issues related to economics, environment, politics, science, technology and culture. So often these days we only seem to have time for very short, shallow and trivial video content online. This site certainly offers something different and impressive.
On a local level (to me), we have SlowTV, in association with The Monthly magazine here in Australia. @stuarthorrex on Twitter recently reminded me of this content, and after watching James Hansen’s Looking for real solutions after Copenhagen video over the Easter break, I’ve been ranting about it on Twitter ever since. It’s a must watch if you’ve ever wanted to know more about the science of climate change.
So many people seem to have an opinion without actually knowing what top scientists are saying right now. James Hansen is known as the ‘grandfather of climate change’ and is perhaps the world’s leading authority on the science of climate change. This video contains his latest thoughts and findings.
I don’t know about you, but I find that I NEED to make time to find and watch intelligent online video on a regular basis. Funny YouTube video only satisfies a certain part of my mind.
Do you know of any other places to find great online video? Please do share.
