Honest question: How do you view social media?

Is Facebook just a place to share good news articles? Is YouTube really just for watching silly videos? Everyone uses Instagram for sharing photos of their margaritas, right?

It’s a common perception – social media is just for fun.

Is this really true?

I’ve been hearing more and more about political figures and groups using Facebook as a platform for political statements and social change. The other day, while crawling through Phoenix traffic, I listened in amazement to an NPR story about Egypt and social media.

How Egypt Used Social Media for Political Change

Both the Egyptian Armed forces and the Egyptian government are using Facebook to deliver statements to one another (like the “last chance” ultimatum to President Mohammed Morsi) and make clear their party’s position.

The Office of the Assistant to the President of Egypt on Foreign Relations Facebook page issued a post with the party’s position, stating that this is in fact, to them, a military coup and they gave this bold warning:

“Today only one thing matters. In this day and age no military coup can succeed in the face of sizeable popular force without considerable bloodshed. Who among you is ready to shoulder that blame?”

The post has been shared over 2,000 times since it was posted earlier this month and has received almost 700 comments.

This isn’t the first time Facebook was used in Egypt to influence political parties.

Back in 2010, Wael Ghonim helped lead an Egyptian revolution in part by his Facebook group, Kullena Khaled Said. Within a couple of months, the group had 250,000 Facebook members.

Ghonim attempted to remain anonymous but was identified and arrested. Once news got out of his arrest, people used Twitter and Facebook to organize their efforts in finding him. Social media was an important means of communicating what was happening in this tumultuous time in Egypt.

Time after time, social media is being used as a highly effective tool for political parties, countries, and social groups to communicate their stance and take a stand.

And as social networks continue to evolve and offer even more profound ways for us to connect with one another (for better, or for worse), we as digital marketers should be aware of the opportunity they allow us to use social media as a platform for change.

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