Social Media: What we want, and how we effect what we want

This post dedicated to the changemakers and citizen journalists tagged on my Facebook. Keep writing, keep fighting :)

If there is any sadness I feel, it’s a tiny core of profound sadness that, in our society, we seem not to understand the meaning of independence, the value of research, and the role of journalists. There is such a thing as heeding the call of our profession—to shed light on dark corners.
-- Marites Vitug, at the launch of her book on the Supreme Court, "Shadow of Doubt"

Last Friday, Nines Terol and I spoke briefly at a small forum on Social Media and Politics at the University of the Philippines' College of Mass Communication, on behalf of the Liberal Party's presidentiable and senatorial bets.

How is social media affecting this election?

This is the first presidential election in the Philippines that is heavily utilizing the online space, especially social media networks.

Online media is traditionally the domain of the "youth" which, for the first time, comprises a significant chunk of the voting population, at just over a third of total registered voters. It would be unwise, however, to chunk the youth into all one group, as class-lines in this country play a huge role.  

Surveys show that a young A-C class voter, for example, would probably not vote for "masa" candidates like Estrada or Villar (unless perhaps there were personal or business relationships involved). A young D-E class voter, on the other hand, is not likely to vote for Teodoro, who is seen as an "elite" choice, no matter how his ratings soar among students (this is apparently only true in the major urban areas like Manila and Cebu, and in online mock polls). Aquino seems to have a relatively equal foothold on all social classes, slightly weaker among the yuppies.

With about 24 million Filipinos online (roughly more than a quarter of the total population), and about 51% active on social networks, the online space definitely has a significant role to play in political campaigning. Granted, it cannot be determined how many of those are registered to vote or eligible to; however, each recipient of information on the online sphere can be an agent of change.


Why change? Because after 9 years of an illegitimate presidency, the rotting of institutions and the politics of Guns, Goons and Gold -- the Filipino people are crying out for change. As to which leader best represents this change is beyond the scope of this entry.

The representative of the Gordon-Bayani team... (I will not mention his name, but I give him this advice: when representing your candidates in public, do not make below-the-belt swipes at your rivals and naming them, as it does not cast a good light on your principals. It is an arrogance that reflects sourly on your bets; I have noticed this behavior among many of G-B's online supporters, most notably P.F.)... posed a very good question to the students, and the answers might shed light on how social media is affecting and could affect politics in this country.

"We know what we don't want. Corruption. But do we know what we do want?"

He didn't give his own response, and the audience seemed to mull it over. As a side note, here's what I want:

1.  a country where institutions work, where the rule of law prevails;
   
2. a country where those in power will stand (fair) trial for their crimes, and where government officials will be held accountable;
   
3. a country where the people are engaged in their democracy, where politicians will think twice about using and abusing their power for selfish ends;
   
4. a country where there is true democracy, a genuine "government of the people, for the people and by the people";
   
5. a country where success is not a matter of luck relative to the circumstances of your birth, but something every citizen has a right to pursue.

For the sake of argument, let's all agree on the above. That is what is yearned for, and the upcoming electoral exercise (its dubiousness and probable mockery of democracy aside) will determine the beginning of the outcome.

Now, back to the original question: how is social media affecting this election?

At the forum, this was the unanimous answer: provide information for those who seek it. Simple enough, and really quite boring.

Now expand that question into how is it changing the game? We can't really tell as there is no specific study on the internet's effect on registered voters, but what we see are new avenues of advertising for those who can afford it (see hilarious blog entry: "Manny Villar's stalking me!").

We are also seeing blogs sprouting like weeds all over the place whose aims range from supporting a bid, serving as a neutral watchdog, to subtly attacking candidates -- some even dedicated to ferociously attacking candidates and their supporters, which, in my opinion, is sickening given than 99% of them are exaggerations, quantum leaps of logic, and is nothing short of hate speech that would send Martin Luther King Jr and Mother Teresa writhing in their graves.

I wouldn't be surprised if all those vicious attacks are orchestrated. We'll find out soon enough.

The question is: are these rabid attacks on blogs and social networks really swaying people's minds?

In what I've seen, I don't think so. Hate speech only caters to those who are already haters. Ridiculous black propaganda turns off voters, inclining them to root for the "underdog" in the smear. So to those rabid bloggers, I suggest you back down, you're wasting your energies.

One thing it does affect are the undecideds, insofar as it raises issues such as the Villar land scams, or the Aquino-Luisita allegations.

Well-reasoned arguments get attention and can gain traction. In this country, most internet users who will spend time reading this are the educated classes and will not bother reading hateful words (unless they are, of course, already the "haters").

As for the millions of the less-educated lower classes, Facebook and ads reach them best. Images reach out to them more, and those images must summarize the argument in simple terms. The funnier, the better (for the propagandist).

With the above in mind, we must all ask ourselves: how do our activities online promote the change we wish to see?

Now let's expand the original question even more: How can social media affect politics, which the elections will determine?

In our little spiel, we talked about game-changing new candidates (yes, Spokesman Jimenez, they are game changing, whether you like it or not), who not only awoke a lethargic public that had given up to the same old politicians running the show. What change is there?

At around the same time Noynoy Aquino entered the fray on the public's behest (September 2009), two major catastrophes exploded that had the eyes of the world on our island republic: Ondoy and its aftermath (September/October) and the Maguindanao Massacre (November).

In September 2009, there were 4.5 million Filipinos on Facebook. By December, there were 8.4 million.

With the rise of Aquino came a new public consciousness, whether or not people agree he is the man to lead: The system is rotten, and the president (now that there is a no-holds-barred opposition candidate after her and with a clear shot at winning) has been pulling all the stops to keep the clutches on power.

The changing of the guard is fast approaching (supposedly anyway), at this time of uncertainty and impunity. Here is where cyber activism comes in. Calls for help, reporting anomalies, voicing concerns and opinions, gathering supporters, organizing protests and marches - all of this is happening on the online space.

Cyber activism comes hand in hand with citizen journalism. It is no joke that our media institutions are affected, at least in part, with the virus of corruption. Paid hacks and paid censorships abound (but we must not discount the media altogether).

Luckily, we are at an age where technology and the proper tools are available to us to counter whatever it is that is impeding our change for the better. Connect on Facebook, chirp on twitter, start a blog and say what you think. Speak out against the violations of the government and those who seek to be in power. All of these actions contribute to the growing body of public sentiment that will, soon enough, become so loud that the government, which chooses to ignore the people's will, cannot choose not to hear any longer. We saw it in Iran, in Burma. Make enough noise and someone will hear it. Change will happen.

It's like Operation Just Cause in Panama, 1989. The US forces played rock music so loud that Noriega was forced out of hiding at the embassy and surrendered.

This is People Power 2.0, and this is how social media will effect change. But it's up to you to start it.