The Politicization of Social Media

You've been there before. You are seated in a taxi and suddenly the
person next to you receives a message. You can tell it is from social media because a familiar sound pierces the silence and your neighbor begins mercilessly clicking away. Its fine until you enter paranoia mode and begin to think that you are being stalked.

We've written about a topic similar to the one above in a previous blog. We were concerned and rightly so because we observed the appearance of the Usual Suspects at a normally technology heavy event. Well dressed young men with a lot of 'bling' but suspiciously watching the crowd as if to monitor the activity of the participants for political or opposition connections. You were saddened that an innovation space so full of potential had been infiltrated by 'eyes' and 'ears' and any sign of true innovation was going to be stifled.   

You were angered because you are very aware that one of the hallmarks of democracy is the existence of political free zones where business, trade and a healthy interchange of idea can take place.
We fight for these free zones because in the absence of these spaces there can only be conflict.

And so the image we chose today is designed to illustrate the idea behind an invasion of a media tool by a political movement and the difficulty faced by citizens in expressing themselves in a politically charged atmosphere.
You and I have to think twice before we adorn ourselves with a T-Shirt of a particular color especially in those tense feverish politically charged moments such as the season in which we have entered.

Ok. We can see that the two bulls in the Kraal have began to appear together and their respective owners are itching for a fight between the two. Naturally as many would have expected, these two distinct groups have drawn in their respective tribes in a battle that we shall refer to as the 'Western Front Assault'.

There are some who have called for a rotation of leadership ala Nigeria where the Mainly Muslim North gets a chance to drive the train for a certain distance as does the Mainly Christian South. This has proved to be successful. Ideas have also emerged that have pushed for the creation if similar moves in ethno-centric areas. This is naturally controversial but in countries that thrive on culture it is a question that we must bring to the surface.     

So the need to monitor media in the shadow of your past fears is necessary but more important than this is to deal with the challenges as presented by your citizenry and to trust them enough not to repeat their mistakes.