What does the Kyrgyz revolution say about social-media engagement?
Does a Twitter topic need to trend to have an impact? Is a topic less important if it has a deep resonance for a smaller group of people — instead of the other way around? If those seem like silly questions to you, think about the way the role of social media in the Kyrgyz revolution is being portrayed by many media outlets.
In the lead story of today’s SmartBrief on Social Media, Evgeny Morozov compares the Kyrgyz revolution with the Iranian revolts of last summer. He argues that because Kyrgyzstan is less important on the world stage, Western media is less interested in the drama unfolding there. “In short: why is there no Twitter revolution in Kyrgyzstan? Because there is no one to hype it up.” He also notes that the platform is being used differently than it was in Iran — less a tool of organization and more a broadcasting mechanism.
Yet it would be a mistake to think that Twitter isn’t an important of this story just because it doesn’t neatly parallel the events in Iran, notes Sarah Kendzior. “The tweets, blog posts, and news articles written by people in Kyrgyzstan — often with great emotion and care — are dismissed because they were written for people in Kyrgyzstan. But for whom, may I ask, are people in Kyrgyzstan supposed to be writing?” In other words, it doesn’t matter whether the whole world is watching The conversation is important to its intended target: the Kyrgyz people.
Now think about your own social-media efforts. Are you obsessed with getting on Twitter’s trending topics? Making it onto the front page of Digg? Becoming a YouTube sensation? Those are all perfectly worthy goals. But they’re not the only goals. If you’re reaching the people you need to reach — and more importantly, if you’re really affecting them, then its not as important if someone outside your target demographic hears about you or not.
When you start your own revolution, ask yourself, who are you doing this for? Is it just for the attention of strangers? Or are you trying to make a difference in your community? The answer to that question may dictate your entire strategy — and determine whether you ultimately regard your campaign as successful.
Does a social-media campaign always need mass awareness to be successful? What are some examples of campaigns that triumphed by creating deep engagement with a small population? Should campaigns decide at the outset of a campaign if they’re aiming for mass exposure or fan engagement?
Image credit, Jesus Cervantes, via Shutterstock
Posted by @mikesgene on April 9th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
What a bizarre approach to a major social and political event. Figure out why it didn't trend on Twitter or what was the social media aspect? Talk about wrapped up in a single minded approach to the world. Maybe people were actually out doing something such as watching others being killed, trying to figure out which side to support, or ensuring they had odd things like food or heat.__Twitter simply isn't the be-all and end-all of communication and it simply isn't important to this story. Trying to analyze such an upheaval from a social media aspect verges on insulting to the people living in Kyrgyzstan.__Morozov's final line sums it up "For all the hype about "digital revolutions", "analog revolutions" are still the norm, not the exception." __I might also add , put up your analog hand to be counted and forget a 140 character tweet of support or protest. One means something, the other is well, just Twitter.__
Posted by jgraziani on April 9th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Thanks, Jesse, for this interesting post. I really don't have any first-hand knowledge of the situation, but from an outsider's point of view, it seems a little elitist to me to say that tweets about Kyrzyg events aren't important because they aren't "trending" on Twitter. What's important is that the people embroiled in the situation think it's important, and they are using Twitter to communicate with one another. I'm not sure how many of my followers are not in the US, but it's OK with me if they don't want to talk about US politics or mine explosions or what's happening in my town. We'll talk about something else. So the answer to your first question is no, it's not less important. But level of importance doesn't always determine placement in western media either.
That said though, it's not a level playing field to compare Iran and Kyrgyz either. Iran is more important in the west because of the presence of nuclear weapons, its proximity to two countries currently at war with western nations, and the dread many of us in the west have that Iran could be the site of yet another costly war in the Middle East. All of that makes Iran a headliner for the western media, regardless of what happens on Twitter.
My recent post Negative Thinking Creates Negative Talk
Posted by jstanchak on April 9th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
thanks for commenting. I wasn't arguing that the revolution wasn't important because it wasn't trending — quite the opposite actually. i think twitter focuses too heavily on reaching a mass audience, when it can be just as easily used to deliver important information and development engagement. my point is that you don't need everyone to pay attention, if you can get the right people involved in the discussion.
Posted by jstanchak on April 9th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Hey mike — sorry the social media angle troubles you. Morozov has some good points, but I'm Sarah Kendzior on this one. Twitter is important here — it's just important in a very different way than it was in Iran. I think discussions about digital communication (and social media especially) can get caught in an echo chamber, totally divorced from the way those technologies are really used. Looking at these technologies in a real world context isn't meant to be insulting or limiting — just practical.
Posted by Role of Twitter in Uprising in Kyrgyzstan (sources) « Communication Desideratum on April 13th, 2010 at 12:10 am
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