This document discusses the political influence of social media. It defines social media as new information networks that allow for interactive and user-generated content through communication forms like blogs, social networking sites, and online communities. Social media enables more democratic participation through opportunities for public commentary and organization, but it can also lead to "flame wars" and spread of misinformation. It influences politics by allowing politicians to engage more directly with citizens, but it also risks encroaching on personal privacy as political leaders have less separation between their public and private lives. Moving forward, both greater use of social media by governments and new technologies threaten to further damage concepts of privacy.

1. The political influence
of social media
26th, February 2014

2. Page 2
What is social media and its influence ?
Social media are :
• New information network and information technology using a form of
communication
• Utilizing interactive and user-produced content, and interpersonal
relationships
• Typical social media network services could be content sharing, web
communities, and Internet forums.
The definition and forms of social media
Example of social media
Collaborative projects
Blogs and micro blogs
Social news networking
Content communities
Social networking sites
Virtual game worlds
Virtual social worlds

3. Page 3
Social media and societal communications :
eight central changes ?
• Opportunity to comment on delicate
issues
• Can lead to “flame wars” and avoiding
responsibility
Diversity
Omniprese
nce
Speed
Implication
Subjectivity
Flexibility
No
regulation
• Users are no longer dependent on a
single source
• Remediation, where media use, modify
and reorganize contents gathered from
other media
• Multiplication of possible recording
device
• Confusion between public and private
spheres (ex : politics and private life)
• Over connected era and automation
• Impossibility to process all these new
information adequately ?
• Stock exchange : „fickle monster‟
• Multitude of roles that users assume
different roles
• Absence of hierarchy / flatness
• Wikipedia
• Change from objectivity to subjectivity
• Rumor and prejudices
• Over 20% of American still believe
Obama is a Muslim
• Ability to combine different kinds of
recorded information in very flexible ways
• Social media => text + pictures + audio
+ video + animation etc.
• Absence of traditional methods of
regulation
• But, some countries such as China and
Saudi Arabia just still tightly control their
citizen use of the internet
Anonymity

4. Page 4
What influence of social media in politics (pros
and cons) ?
Enable democratic participation
(demonstrations)
Enable politics to get closer with
common citizens
Encroachment onto politics
private lives ?
Place Tahrir Egypt, 2011 (Arab spring) Demonstrations in Manila in 2001
In 2007, the centre-right UMP party‟s Nicolas
Sarkozy scored a decisive victory over the
opposing socialist candidate Ségolène Royal for
the French presidency. Social media had a
strong influence on the outcome of the election:
over 40% of Internet users reported that
conversations and other activities on the
Internet had an effect on their voting decisions
my.barackobama.com
“Closer, a celebrity magazine,
published photos alleging a
romantic link just four days
before he was due, on
January 14th, to hold one of
his twice-yearly press
conferences at the Elysée
Palace, this one to showcase
his new economic policy”

5. Page 5
Next steps: definitely, the major issue is private life
for both politicians and common citizens
Use of social media by
government for
security related issues
PRISM data mining program
Next technological
breakthroughs will
damage the concept
of “private life”
Google glasses