Comments on: Social networking does not equal social conscience http://www.winextra.com/2007/10/08/social-networking-does-not-equal-social-conscience/ aka Steve Hodson - a cranky old fart wandering the internet causing mayhem as he goes Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:37:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Steven Hodson http://www.winextra.com/2007/10/08/social-networking-does-not-equal-social-conscience/#comment-25394 Steven Hodson Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:52:24 +0000 http://www.winextra.com/2007/10/08/social-networking-does-not-equal-social-conscience/#comment-25394 First off I wouldn't be totally trusting of any data coming out of a campaign office as being reliable Robert :) but maybe that's just my crankiness coming out. However I have long maintained; and don't see anything to change my mind, that the immense social pressure that could be brought to bear by the blogosphere as a whole is doing anything more than finding new ways to pat themselves on the back over things that have no real impact on on things that mean anything on a social level. If there was indeed a social conscience within the blogosphere beyond the ones of self interest would people still be living in FEMA trailer; or worse, in New Orleans, would only 3,000 people show up to protest the Burma disaster, would your Government be so easily usurping your privacy rights, would true poverty be an acceptable class of society to find people being shuffled into. This whole notion of social media, social network or any other social gratification of ego is becoming a mockery as long as we refuse to use the voice and the power that things like blogs give us. Getting 4,000 students to attend some stupid political rally that won't mean a damn thing after the election is not social change - it's just another way of gaming the system and making us techie types feel all justified in out twittering and blogging and networking. Social change .. I don't think so. First off I wouldn’t be totally trusting of any data coming out of a campaign office as being reliable Robert :) but maybe that’s just my crankiness coming out.

However I have long maintained; and don’t see anything to change my mind, that the immense social pressure that could be brought to bear by the blogosphere as a whole is doing anything more than finding new ways to pat themselves on the back over things that have no real impact on on things that mean anything on a social level.

If there was indeed a social conscience within the blogosphere beyond the ones of self interest would people still be living in FEMA trailer; or worse, in New Orleans, would only 3,000 people show up to protest the Burma disaster, would your Government be so easily usurping your privacy rights, would true poverty be an acceptable class of society to find people being shuffled into.

This whole notion of social media, social network or any other social gratification of ego is becoming a mockery as long as we refuse to use the voice and the power that things like blogs give us.

Getting 4,000 students to attend some stupid political rally that won’t mean a damn thing after the election is not social change - it’s just another way of gaming the system and making us techie types feel all justified in out twittering and blogging and networking.

Social change .. I don’t think so.

]]> By: Robert Scoble http://www.winextra.com/2007/10/08/social-networking-does-not-equal-social-conscience/#comment-25389 Robert Scoble Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:38:01 +0000 http://www.winextra.com/2007/10/08/social-networking-does-not-equal-social-conscience/#comment-25389 You might be right, but Barack Obama's campaign staff told me that a university got 4,000 people to attend a rally (and got Barack himself to come) simply on Facebook. Is that "social change?" I think it is. You might be right, but Barack Obama’s campaign staff told me that a university got 4,000 people to attend a rally (and got Barack himself to come) simply on Facebook. Is that “social change?” I think it is.

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