Who, would you say, holds the most power in your community?
Would you name the ward councillors, chairpersons of residents’ associations or community policing forums? Maybe you would say those with wealth have influence? Perhaps you would turn to the business sector and credit CEOs and managing directors as the most powerful community members.
When singer Taylor Swift published a blog post challenging Apple Music’s three-month free trial period for a new streaming service, it painted a picture of the influencing power that someone can have by using social media. We could easily brush off the impact of Swift’s actions, believing that it would only be someone with enough influence in the music industry, and thousands of followers on social media that would be able to make a social media post powerful enough to successfully challenge a corporate company – in this case to pay artists during the free-trial period for customers – but let’s bear in mind that Swift took to social media, not a media outlet or the stage to post her views. Now, let’s turn to our own Facebook news feeds.
Consider the social media posts that friends, family members and local organisations post on social media, and assess the response to those posts. Remember how a few weeks ago a resident took to Facebook to appeal to the cyber community to help a man who was begging on the streets of Sandton for a job. The result saw the social media post shared multiple times and the man received 1 000 job offers.
Read WATCH: 1000 job offers for homeless man
On a daily basis, animal charities post their pets for adoption, pleas for help with food or, as was seen on the Kitty and Puppy Haven Facebook page this week, attempts to highlight alleged animal cruelty incidents on their social media pages.
Read WATCH: Horrific conditions at Bunny Park (WARNING: Graphic images)
On Mandela Day, community members reached out to one another on social media platforms to ask their friends and followers to support their 67 minutes of goodwill. Online neighbourhood chat groups are filled with residents helping one another out, whether it is simply notifying one another of traffic lights which are not working or asking for help on a child’s school project or charity initiative – these pleas are usually answered.
Technology has enhanced our media landscape and given a voice to ordinary citizens that they can now put an appeal on their social media pages and network off their friends or followers to share a post, often many times, and invoke change.
Read People remember the late Nelson Mandela
What these examples show is that you may not be Taylor Swift, the chairperson of your ratepayers’ association or the station commander of the local police station, but social media gives you the power to make a change. Whether you merely put forth your opinion, ask for help or answer an appeal, the power to make a difference in our communities is a post away on social media; and who knows how big of a difference that click could make.
Share your views on how you use social media to make a change in your community? Tweet @MidrandReporter
