Facebook Is Changing The World

 

A recent comment by a well-quoted University of Indonesia mass communication analyst that the theory that online media would cause print media to die is "pretty much refutable" goes against what has been happening in the media arena worldwide in the last decade or so.
While Indonesia may not have seen the full impact yet, the online media have unquestionably had an adverse impact on the livelihood of traditional media--including the print media--in much of the world. Newspapers and magazines in the US, Europe, and Japan have continued to suffer from falling circulation and advertising revenues, and the migration of readers to free online media.
The situation has, for example, forced the New York Times to plan to begin charging online readers (who do subscribe to its print issue) next year. It will give readers free access to a number of articles per month and start charging those who want to read more than the set number.
But evidence has shown that such a scheme will be an uphill, if not a losing, battle. Newsday is a case in point. The US Long Island newspaper's website reportedly has only been able to sign up 35 (thirty-five!) purely online subscribers. Its other subscribers are people who are granted access to its website because they already pay for the print and/or affiliated cable television. The bottom line is that people have become used to having the freedom to access information online.
What is even more striking today is how the online social media have changed the way many people obtain information. Let's take the case of Prita Mulyasari, a mother of two who was taken to court by Jakarta's upscale Omni Hospital on defamation charges for writing to friends about mistreatment by the hospital (her friends later posted the statement on the Internet, which in turn led to the Hospital's legal charges). She was jailed for three weeks awaiting trial. Started by people sympathetic to Prita, a Facebook page enlisted in a few weeks close to 150,000 members in support of her. The Facebook page was the main source of information for most of people following the case closely.
Even more so, the Facebook page put Prita's case in the national spotlight, rallying people around the country to express support for her. Thanks to a plea posted on the page, thousands of people donated money for her legal defense fees. She was cleared of all charges late last year.
The Economist this week reports that online social networks are changing the way people communicate, work, and play. The other great achievement of online networks, The Economist notes, has been "to turn themselves into superb tools for mass communication." People who have taken courses in journalism/mass communication schools must have known that mass communication essentially means mass media. In other words, the Economist suggests that online social networks are moving to take over the place that was once occupied by the traditional mass media--print, television, and radio.
There is little question that Facebook is the most dominant of all social media. The Economist described Facebook as "king of the social networking world." CNN declared that "Facebook Changed the World." Already, there are 375 million people who are members of millions of Facebook groups, making many billions of new connections.
I argue, therefore, that unless the traditional media invest significantly in online media and function closer to that of social media, they will be slowly but surely left behind by many. Indonesian media are no exception to the rule.
This week Facebook celebrates its sixth birthday. Let's tender it a very Happy Birthday.
Facts about Facebook:
Launched on February 4, 2004
Co-founders : Marck Zuckerberg and fellow classmates while attending Harvard.
Facebook paid $ 65 million in settlement in 2007 on complaint from other classmates that Zuckerberg stole their idea
Sold a 1.6% stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million (indicating a market value of $15 billion)
Available in more than 70 languages
Has more than 375 million active users worldwide.
Revenue: $280 Million in 2008 (2009 estimate: more than $500 million)