How can social media be bad for the world?
Without one form of social media or another, how would the world know about Justin Flit… I mean Bieber.Social Media is truly global.  It creates relationships without borders or passports. 

Social Media is good for the world because Social Media gives us a greater understanding of the world.

Social Media brings the world into our living rooms, our offices, our cars, our corner of the couch.

We no longer wait on a news agency or documentary agency to deliver us the news and information we want for, we go and get it ourselves.
We ask for news and information and those around us, in our friends/followers/subscribers lists deliver it.
It is not that we are trying to replace journalism or become journalists ourselves – we are creating conversation around events as they happen.
Social Media is quickly becoming a combination of technology and humanity and as Max Gladwell wrote, we can launch a social movement from our laptops. 

Along with launching a social movement, we have the opportunity to debate topics with those who we disagree with, or those in a different situations and have differing opinions from us.

The most famous uses of Social Media informing the world, in the last couple of years, have been where cellphones and Facebook and Twitter were used to share information in a highly censored country which existed under an oppressive regime.

Clay Shirky in his Ted Talk “How Social Media can Make History” :

• The internet gives us the many to many pattern.
• The internet becomes the carrier for all medias and they become neighbours.
• Any time a consumer joins, basically a new producer joins as well.

In 2008 when China suffered its 7.9 earthquake, citizens were tweeting and posting videos even before the US Geological Survey had any maps or charts regarding the disaster available.
The previous earthquake that China had of that magnitude took the Chinese government 3 months to admit that it had even happened.
This time, they had no choice.  Their citizens gave them no choice.

It is also the way in which we can debate and object to practices that we do not believe to be right.
Or that we do not like.  Even if it is the way in which one of our childhood products now tastes.

• Belinda was a part of the online petition to halt Cadbury’s move to palm oil, through Facebook and Twitter, and seeing Cadbury change its recipe back

Some of those topics that we discuss and debate are quite close to home.

As a Scuba Instructor and guide, I see first hand the effects that New Zealand’s Marine Reserves have on our fish stocks and marine life in general.
We measure soft corals, sketch new vegetation and watch out for toxic sea slugs and other nasties so that we might assist in limiting the decline of our environment.
I also share this information through dive logs and trip reports shared through forums as well photographs and videos shared on Flickr, YouTube and Facebook.

I have some amount of influence – even if just delivering information – and I have a greater reach.
Social Media has given me an audience which I can use for good.

Sure – I can ReTweet, Share, Like – but I do not have to actually believe in the subject.  These are the actions of the Social Media tools I am using for understanding.
I dont like the Faroese killing whales but I understand their culture.  I dont believe the Japanese were right in ramming the Ady Gil but I have seen how it happened.

But its not just the stories of good – of abundance, that are recorded and shared – its the devastation we see, the amount rubbish we collect just off our shoreline through days like the Project AWARE International Cleanup Day.

Social Media is good for the world as it brings people together – both virtually and physically.

While a greater knowledge ad understanding and sharing of information is important to me, I cannot deny that I am in business.
And I am in business to make a profit – both for myself and for those that I consult to.Varying forms of Social Media have helped me send my divers places all over the world. 

I have been able to sit with them and discuss the what’s and where’s of the type of diving that they would like to and then immediately start investigating what is available via LinkedIn profiles and groups, YouTube channels and Facebook pages.

This has worked really well for me in the same manner.  I have something that I would like to share with you ….
I received a notification message to my email the other night ….

You have received a Facebook message from – well lets call him The Russian
“Greetings Tara, I found your videos of the Poor Knights on YouTube. My family and friends want to visit New Zealand and I want to do diving again.

I find your Facebook page. I see photos of us. You can make me album of photographs? I tell you which ones and you give me price.
I would like you to take us diving for two weeks. is this possible? I find you on Twitter and we can arrange. From E”Russia is certainly the further-est that I have had enquiries about for either dive training or trips. 

More and more often, I am sent messages from Wellington or Australia or from a DOD Contractor about coming to dive in New Zealand.  All via my different Social Media channels.
And I encourage them to continue to use those.  To send me – or tag me – in their photos and videos and to write of their impressions.  Either good or bad.
So I have more content for the next person.

Once we realise that we cannot control Social Media, we will be able to use Social Media.

It is about collation, collaboration, participation.
I, for one, am definitely sick of the statement “its all about the conversation” … whatever.
Even more sick of the statements made about owning conversations on subjects.
OWNING conversations doesn’t work if people aren’t listening – Neil Forster

Social Media is good for the world as no one owns “The World” but we all participate in being a part of it.
We get out of it what we put in to it.

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