Social Media: A factor for chaos or a means for freedom?

Anti-government protests in Tunisia have led the Egyptian government to cut-off Internet services including those used on mobile devices. Ben Wedeman for CNN said that" young people are very Internet savvy and have found ways to get around government blocks" (Social Media's Role in North Africa's Unrest). The Internet has given people a chance for their voice to be heard which is essential for our rights to freedom of speech and expression, but when people use social media to communicate their opposing viewpoints of government acts our rights are disrupted. Throughout the world, people have been using social media as a means for directly communicating important information. This form of communication has been a part of people's daily lives and gives citizens everywhere a chance to be a part of something and to really feel a sense of freedom and recognition.

Some people think of change as a positive transformation, others think of change as something you don't want to happen at all but it has anyway. Social media is the key to social change...and those within a higher position of authority often do not accept that as a means of development or innovation by way of ordinary citizens, rather it is seen as a way to displace order in an political organizational system. CNN News: Social Media @ the front line in Egypt

BlOG ROOKIE

Hello readers! Thanks for joining me for my very first blog post! As some of you may know (classmates) I have started this blog for my COM317 class. For those of you who just stumbled upon this site I have joined blogger for Media Convergence but I will (hopefully) continue blogging after the course is finished.

Brief history of Al's blog creation: The headline came to me as I was trying to think of short, snappy and fun word to put after "media." First I thought I could use "[media] buzz" but knew that was probably an overused blog phrase. Then I thought, "fizz!" It's not just the bubbles in tasty beverages or the cause of a foam overflow after shaking a soda... it's a droning sound-like a pop, murmur or hiss. Sometimes it sparkles and delights the senses but sometimes it's just a bunch of fluff.

The Media Fizz blog is dedicated to discussing various events and roles that mass media play in our daily lives. Although I am a Blog Rookie, I hope to send out some interesting or useful information and I look forward to hearing back from you with your own thoughts or ideas!