Does social media really help us understand the protests?

Whilst I agree that social media has had a major impact on what has been reported I am concerned that there is no accountability. I am in New Zealand and have been following comments on the earthquake in Christchurch and there have been several items posted that have been incorrect. These could have had significant impact on those waiting for news of missing loved ones.

It is a delicate balance of passing on information, but requiring some sense of responsibility or perhaps sensitivity.

Traditional media is generally untrustworthy and agenda-driven. All media stations report almost identical stories flavoured by their preferred bias. People do not get the news of the world, they get specific selections chosen by someone else. Who chooses which stories the mainstream media runs with?
Social media has the independence, variety and "on-the-spotness" and isn't dictated to by a greater interest. Sure they lack the professionalism and will give their own perspective and may get it wrong many times, but if we've been uncritically accepting everything our favourite mass media tells us, then we are already misinformed.

As a U.S. citizen, where freedom of speech is the number right enshrined in the Bill of Rights, I think this social media revolution is absolutely glorious. No longer can the state sanctioned media outlets of the World, excepting the BBC which I think is quite open an fair, control the message without being accountable for the content of the message that they espouse. Sometimes speaking the truth to power is an absolute necessity no matter the consequence. many people will just go along to get along but they miss what I think is an essential precept of life. Try to leave the World better than you found and therefore speak the truth without fear. All humans are mortals and death, or pain, will not be borne by one alone but by all in what is just a matter of timing. Social media gives voice, and therefore identity, to the voiceless.

Even though we don't totally disagree with the concept of Facebook we do feel it is changing the culture of the youngest generation.

School students who are growing up with Facebook are coming up with their own way to use Facebook. Not all of them are positive.

Bullying and organize bullying is on the rise. As parents we are concerned of the misuse that is taking place.

For all of us who are concerned about Facebook issues we have created the website called Avoid Facebook @ http://www.AvoidFacebook.com

As an additional resource for the news I listen to here or view, it's very impressive. The more up to date my info the connected I feel to the world.

Saying that, I also take great joy in watching people walk into things as they update Facebook, Twitte and Txt constantly!

"While it's plain that these things were part of the process, I think the mindset of the online world creates a risk of overstating their importance, and elevating something useful, even powerful, to the status of essential."

Two observations:
One - Are there any current technologies that ARE essential that did NOT follow this pattern?
Two - While it may be possible for those on the outside of these situations to overstate the importance of a technology for OUR benefit it's an irrelevant point. What matters is how useful it is for those on the inside, where even if it's tactical value is limited it's psychological benefit may be a game-changer. People behave differently when they know the world is watching - they can be emboldened to go farther than they otherwise would - and governments who fail to calculate that impact are doomed when they try their business-as-usual methods of repression thinking that the world doesn't see.

Gene Sharp ...Dictatorship to Democracy ........says it all. Burma, Tibet, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe etc should be next. Of the 193 nations on the planet only 89 are free, 62 are partly free and 42 not free. These figures are of 2009 ...now Egypt and Tunisia are becoming free....let us get rid of the dictators. It is up to us ordinary people to rid the world of dictatorships once and for all.

Social media help in raising awareness, only useful in areas which are relatively with better standard of life and good education. Like in my country where the level of poverty is at stake, it is very difficult for young people to heve access to ineternet and share ideas. I am so amazed with some media like the BBC which are at times very influential in proganda machinery. I cite the recent example from the recent elections in Uganda, where bbc right from the openning of the polling centers reported that ...." election where incumbent president Yoweri Museveni is widely expected to to win" this type of report is full of propaganda and is aimed at paralyzing the effoert confidents from the beginning

Re: So has social media been a crucial part of the success of these protests? Is it more important for those of us following what is happening than for the people involved in the protests? What about the dangers of misinformation and manipulation? Is social media a help or a hindrance?

Outlets like Facebook and Twitter have had an impact on the protests but I wouldn't say that they have made them a "success". One of the main issues I have with social media outlets being used as primary news sources is that they are open to misinformation and manipulation. People have started to place a value on using social media to distribute news which lets people feel connected to the world around them. This can be true in a sense, however it is more of a benefit for the individual posting the information than for others. Social media outlets also hype of giving us the "real" story but it is the "real" story according to one person. We shouldn't confuse information provided by social media outlets with quality journalism.