Spurned on by Shel's comment on my last post about personal media vs. corporate media here are a few more thoughts about the impact of blogs on society (not just media). I put a version number on this post because I'm really not done with it yet, but I want to get feedback from others. Then perhaps we can get to v 0.9.
The Social Media Revolution v 0.8
During her keynote presentation at New Communications Forum in March, 2006, Rebecca Blood, discussed how the industrial revolution is remembered just as much if not more so for the social changes during that era than the mechanization of industry. Of course during that time in the early 1800's everyone was amazed at the 'new-fangled machines'. In the moment they couldn't see the far-reaching changes that the society was going thru. A hundred years removed it became easier to see.
Like Shel (and many others) I think that the current social media revolution and to some extent the 'blog bubble' we're in right now will be remembered more for the social changes than from a technological/tools aspect. When I speak to groups I always say that one of the higher goals of blogs and all citizen's media is for people and organizations to act more responsibly. Is that what this era will be remember for?
The Renaissance was characterized by the spread of knowledge that led Europe out of the dark ages. Today, the internet allows for an untold ability to share knowledge, but the new part of the equation in this social media revolution is voice. We can all contribute. In a hundred years will the the history books (or e-books) title a chapter: The Social Media Revolution?
They say history is made by those who write it, well the bloggers are the ones doing the majority of the writing now, 1.2 million posts per day at last count. To put things in perspective think about the Civil War for a moment. The letters written by soldiers and early photographs offer a glimpse into their lives as well as society in the mid-1800's. Historians told us what the major events were, and in most cases it was the winner of the war writing this 'history'. Those soldier's letters often let us know what 'real life' was like. Who the people were that participated in that history.
Now back to the present. Today, hundreds of thousands of people will blog about what happened to them and to others. They will upload thousands of photos and video to sites like Flickr and YouTube. The social lives of millions of teens will be chronicled on MySpace. Events, social issues, etc, can all be seen from different perspectives. We don't have to rely on one source for information.
Imagine what historians will be dealing with a century from now when they look to frame this era. Their job will be to sort through these millions of posts, photos, and videos to piece together not only what happened and why, but perhaps more importantly who we were and how the events we saw affected us.
Yes, the overwhelming majority of blogs posts are personal in nature and intended only for a small audience, but so were those soldier's letters.
Visitor Comments
You need to fix your Shel link. Great thoughts.
Posted by: Jim Turner | May 16, 2006 12:24 AM
Thanx Jim...the link is fixed. One of those late night oversights.
Posted by: Josh Hallett | May 16, 2006 5:47 AM
If I remember right we only have 10 or so copies of Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar (and we think we know a lot about them) - like you suggest, yes, imagine what historians will be working with when they interpret this era.
I like your historical perspective - it is a much needed context for our conversations in this emerging networked world.
Good posting - thanks for extending the conversation!
Posted by: Michael Wagner | May 16, 2006 11:24 PM
Josh, thank you for this incredibly thoughtful post! You really set me to thinking about history, social media and bloggers as primary sources. I do wonder how blogs and other social media will be used to reflect social trends or describe events in a historical context. You so inspired me that I blogged a tiny bit here: http://talkitup.typepad.com/weblog/2006/05/will_historians.html
Posted by: Heidi Miller | May 17, 2006 11:49 AM
Just looking back a decade or so, we can see the the real beginnings of home internet use. A little further back, lets say 1969, we can find the very origins of the internet. These are just two of countless milestones in a collection of waypoints that will compose the history of the web. Together, social media, citizen journalism, and the Web 2.0 Revolution, will stand as one single signifigant waypoint. However, you must note, they will stand as only a single "station"--where the conversational and personal overstep the traditional.
I look "Forward" to the day that I can pull up a Google Index and find PRblogs.org for use as historical reference as to the beginnings of PR education in the digital world.
Posted by: Justin Hunt | May 27, 2006 9:51 PM
Josh, very thoughtful comments. As a trained historian, I *could* go on for a while, but I'll keep it to two main thoughts:
1. Blogging could potentially have incredible impact on how historians write about this era-- assuming the blogs are still accessible via whatever technology they're using 100 or 500 or more years from now. Ironically, this is true in great part because of technology. The soldiers' letters that you speak of don't exist anymore, because everyone talks on the phone or deletes their e-mail, rather than tying up their handwritten notes in a ribbon and handing them down to their children. So, if blogs ARE still accessible, they will be a very significant resource on individuals' experiences and ideas.
2. Social history (the lives of ordinary people) is traditionally the hardest to study. Rich, influential people leave records behind, as do educated people. Poor, uneducated, powerless people don't. Blogs therefore have incredible potential for historians to see into the lives of ordinary people. For example, for a historian of PR, blogs would be a revelation. My research on Hill & Knowlton relied entirely on management's perspective from the agency side of the issues I studied (for the steel industry, I had letters written by union members/wives, but I had only a couple of sources from lower-level agency people). Although people don't blog about secret client strategy meetings and the like, they do talk about important issues and changes in the field, etc.
Glad you're thinking about blogging in this way.
Posted by: Karen | May 28, 2006 6:35 PM
josh your approach was a bit different and i was quite impressed.We need to make blogging a bit more responsible so that the future historians can see us in the right light.
Posted by: avijit | December 16, 2006 3:04 AM