Social Media Is Becoming Social

In some parts of the world, social media is strongly resisted for its ability for free speech. As we progress into this technological era, more and more political figureheads that used to be against social media are now starting back it. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has realized what the benefits social media can have and decided to speak up about it. Today, Mr. Modi sat down with Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and had an hour-long question and answer session. There were more than 1,100 who attended the event.

At the event, Mr. Modi brought up the concept that social media is no longer just for traditional use; rather it is shaping politics. Mr. Modi said, “We used to have elections every five years but now we have them every five minutes.” If you actually think about his statement though, he is absolutely right. On any social media platform, we constantly are exposed to new polls being conducted, some form of voting needing to be done, or being pushed into a new forum to discuss some type of election. What used to take years to determine who has the upper-hand in an election now takes only one good days work of researching on social media.   

Not only does he back social media use, but he also provides some advice to governments around the world. He states that the governments should embrace the use of social media, that “you’re not going to gain by running from social media, you must join it.” I do not know about you, but to me that sounds a heck of a lot like the "if you cannot beat them, join them" type advice. Being that social media is prominent force with our society; I think Mr. Modi is on the right page.

While Mr. Modi was in the area, he also paid a visit to Google Inc. to speak with one of its executive, Sundar Pichai. During the meeting, Mr. Modi spoke about his plans to provide internet access to more than 400 Indian railway stations by the end of the next year. If you would like to read more on Mr. Modi and his visits to Facebook and Google, please read Deepa Seetharaman's online article that was published on the Wall Street Journal.

Until next time,

Matt