Gathering Storm

3 www.digitaldaya.com Facebook: A Platform for 21st Century Politics Winning Hearts and Minds on the World Wide Web The world wide web (W3) is a tabula rasa – a blank slate upon which individuals,groups,cultures and nations engage. And because the web is available to anyone with on-line access,we’ve seen that this essential communications medium can be a very potent platform to engage and influence an increasingly interconnected public audience. A new widespread shift is underway towards online discourse and an increasing demand for direct communication between leaders and their people; in truth creating a challenge for political leaders and policy-makers that seek to shape public opinion. These leaders are finding it more difficult to promote their public image abroad with a highly informed global audience and equally at home to deal with the Internet as a growing medium for political activism and dissent. Some countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia have declared “open government” initiatives to promote transparency and foster more direct political representation with their citizenry by applying social networking and Web 2.0 technologies to the practice of government. The initiative, labeled as Government 2.0 programs, are geared to let people access government information online and collaborate more openly in the making of public policy. In many places however, web use is banned or controlled at the national level. Certain sites are “off-limits.” This type of government censorship led to the recent pullout of Google – the world’s most-used search engine – from China after China’s political leaders began censoring Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Whether this move was motivated by Google’s desire to force China to open access to the web, or a step backward for the Chinese people, remains to be seen. One thing of which we can be sure: governments recognize the power of the web as a tool for communication, information sharing, connectivity with the local populace and, sadly, the broadcast of propaganda and containment of political dissent – restricting Web access to government-sponsored messages that political leaders want constituents to access. The point? This new medium, the Internet and specifically the 100’s of millions who are connected online through social networks, is defining 21st Century politics. While this transformation will be felt worldwide,it’s impact will likely potentiate the political landscape in the Middle East and broader Muslim World. With approximately one-quarter of the world’s population (23%) adhering to the principles of Islam, and according to our most recent research a sizeable 225 million Muslims already online, this huge demographic has yet to fully embrace and leverage theWorldWideWeb. T Facebook: A Platform for 21st Century Politics Winning Hearts and Minds on the World Wide Web