Lala Koi ormahleechar nm,
Lala Koi omalicha nm,
although
i have in
past posts on this subject matter
.. here at this Blog
and
elsewhere
e.g
at posts/comments done at the pages of folks i follow on the internet ..
pulled my punches
on this issue,
it is my intention
in this particular post
to
hit the nail on the head
with better strikes
and to
lay to rest
.. if possible once and for all ..
the matter of
the discomfort of some affected website users
with the
worrisome
perennially recurring
and
horrid
spectre
of
some social media websites
arbitrarily
.. i.e without notifying the user of their intention to do so ..
taking down
the pages and/or posts of
some users at their websites
despite the reality that
such users have
neither flouted
nor defaulted
on any known user guidelines/ community guidelines
at such websites
perhaps
it is best for me to start by
saying that
VERY CLEARLY
and
WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST IOTA OF DOUBT
some of the POSITIVE THINGS
that
SOCIAL MEDIA has/have done
I.e
some of the GOOD THINGS
that
SOCIAL MEDIA has/have done
include that
SOCIAL MEDIA has :
■ [1] given the ordinary individual,
here in Nigeria
and
worldwide,
the ABILITY TO PUBLISH.
■ [2] given the ordinary individual,
the mechanism
i.e
a mechanism
whereby
the stuff she/he publishes
can reach
and
does reach
BOTH
an INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE
and
a LOCAL NATIONAL AUDIENCE.
by this i mean that
here in Nigeria
.. and i believe this is also true of many countries around the world ..
■ before the emergence of the use of Social Media Websites,
■ before the ease of access to the use of Social Media Websites
■ before the widespread use of Social Media Websites
the Social Media Websites
being referred to here
being Websites like for example :
(1) Facebook
(2) Twitter
(3) YouTube
(4) Instagram
(5) Whatsapp
(6) Etc, Etc, Etc
the publication of stuff
either
in a visual format
or
in an audio format
or
in an audio-visual format
and
the dissemination of such published stuff
was essentially
the solo activity
and
the preserve
of
■ Newspaper Houses,
■ Magazine Publishing Organisations,
■ Radio Houses and
■ TV ( Television ) Outfits.
what this translated to
IN REAL TERMS
was that
JOURNALISTS
and
THEIR EMPLOYERS
i.e
the OWNERS OF THE MEDIA HOUSES
THE JOURNALISTS WORKED FOR
published what they decided to publish.
a negative collateral of this reality
was that
and
is that
if
they decided not to publish
a particular story
or
a particular view-point
that story
or
view-point
NO MATTER HOW NEWS WORTHY
and
NO MATTER THE MERIT OF IT’S CONTENT
would not get aired.
■ [3] it has thus become possible
.. to THE CREDIT OF SOCIAL MEDIA
and
MANY KUDOS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
in this regards ..
for
an individual who has been unfairly treated
or
who believes she/he is being unfairly treated
to voice out
through social media
and
hope
that someone out there
may be able to help.
i will not dally unduly at this point.
however,
to drive home the point
i will reference 2 instances here,
viz :
█ (a) the instance of the lady
in Nigeria
who had an bank account with/at
Zenith Bank
and
who discovered suddenly that
funds had been withdrawn from her account
without her knowledge
and
without her authorisation.
[ the internet can sometimes be rather unreliable
as a veritable storehouse of information
and
i am not sure that this story is still up on the internet.
however,
i will search for it hereafter
and
if i see a relevant link or other material
i will screen-shot it and paste it
.. as may be relevant ..
in this post ].
█ (b) the instance of the popular
Nigeria NollyWood Movie Actress
SHAWN GEORGE
who
had her bank account hacked
and
who aired the circumstance via Social Media.
[ as we have noted earlier above,
the internet can sometimes be rather unreliable
as a veritable storehouse of information
and
i am not sure that this story is still up on the internet.
however,
i will search for it hereafter
and
if i see a relevant link or other material
i will screen-shot it and paste it
.. as may be relevant ..
in this post ].
■ [4] another one of the things that
Social Media has impacted POSITIVELY ON
is
the ability of folks to follow persons that they consider to be INTERESTING
even if
those persons are located in a DIFFERENT COUNTRY
or
in a DIFFERENT CONTINENT.
by this i mean
for example
that it is possible for
an ONITSHA NATIVE IN NIGERIA to
be located in NIGERIA
and
to follow
from her/his location in NIGERIA
█ SERENA WILLIAMS in USA
█ RIHANNA in USA
█ COCO AUSTIN in USA
█ MICHELLE OBAMA in USA
█ BEYONCE in USA
█ MADONNA in USA
( .. before the inteenet linked her to MALAWI, AFRICA .. )
█ LISA STANSFIELD in UK
█ MARIAH CAREY in USA
█ CHEROKEE D ASS in USA
█ NICKI MINAJ in USA
█ FOLKS in MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD
via
their Social Media Accounts
at
some Social Media Websites
e.g
at Facebook,
at Twitter,
at YouTube,
at Instagram,
etc
at a guess
before the advent of Social Media
someone in NIGERIA
who wanted to follow,
for example,
█ SERENA WILLIAMS
would spend a lot of money on SPORTS MAGAZINES
and
spend a lot of time scurrying for
PUBLICATIONS
that aired
FEMALE SPORTS and FEMALE LAWN TENNIS in particular
█ RIHANNA
would spend a lot of money on MUSIC MAGAZINES
and
spend a lot of time scurrying for
PUBLICATIONS
that aired
FEMALE MUSICIANS in particular
█ COCO AUSTIN
would spend a lot of money on MODELLING MAGAZINES
and
spend a lot of time scurrying for
PUBLICATIONS
that aired
FEMALE MODELS in particular
█ MICHELLE OBAMA
would spend a lot of money on POLITICS MAGAZINES
and
spend a lot of time scurrying for
PUBLICATIONS
that aired
FEMALE PUBLIC FIGURES in particular
█ BEYONCE
would spend a lot of money on MUSIC MAGAZINES
and
spend a lot of time scurrying for
PUBLICATIONS
that aired
FEMALE MUSICIANS in particular
■ [5] the FACTOR OF
THE STRESS LINKED TO PUBLISHING
HAS ALSO BEEN REMOVED BY SOCIAL MEDIA.
for example,
before the Social Media Era,
if
someone had money in a bank
like the ladies mentioned above
( see item ■ [3] above )
and
the money was moved without their authorisation,
it was not very easy to get the Newspapers,
the TV Stations and
the Radio Stations
to cover such stories
and
to give such stories widespread follow up
but with
the advent of Social Media
like Twitter
and
News Blogs
like Linda Ikeji Blog at Instagram,
it is possible for such stories to get wide spread coverage
and
to infact TREND
BOTH
IN NIGERIA
and
OUTSIDE NIGERIA.
■ [6] another POSITIVE of Social Media is
the INHERENT FACILITATION OF INTERACTIVITY.
by this i mean that
back in the day
e.g
in the 1970s
if
an ONITSHA NATIVE IN NIGERIA
wanted to
have some sort of personal interaction with say,
for the purposes of this blog,
MICHAEL JACKSON the musician,
the most direct option available was
probably to be a
PEN PAL
and
this depended on whether
MICHAEL JACKSON
or
the staff he employed and paid to respond to letters from
PEN PALS AROUND THE WORLD
decided to
acknowledge letters from that particular pen pal
and
to respond to any or some of the letters from that particular PEN PAL.
with the SOCIAL MEDIA,
such INTERACTIVITY is so much easier.
all the folk being followed needs to do is
like or comment
on the post / comment of a follower
and
the happenstance of INTERACTION is demonstrated.
■ [7] SOCIAL MEDIA has also
REMOVED the COST OF PUBLISHING
for the ORDINARY INDIVIDUAL.
prior to the SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
if one wanted,
for example, to :
█ [i] air news/information of an OBITUARY, for example,
one needed to
in the instance of the Newspapers
PAY FOR A PAGE
or
PAY HALF A PAGE
depending on
the size of the advertisement
and
also, additionally
PAY FOR
THE NUMBER OF DAYS
the Newspaper would carry it.
with SOCIAL MEDIA,
a post at the WHATSAPP GROUPS to which the user belongs
and
a post at Instagram or Twitter
would get the news around
and
up on air
until whenever the user decides to take down that post
i.e
if he or she later decides to take down the post.
the above applies accordingly to RADIO and TV.
or
█ [ii] air a particular story
with regards to airing a particular story,
the NEWS OUTFIT could tell the folk
that
that is not the SORT OF MATERIAL they carry
at their NEWS HOUSE
and
that rebuttal is the end of that effort.
with SOCIAL MEDIA
e.g
Whatsapp,
Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter,
YouTube,
Etc
all the folk needs to do
is
to go to her/his account
and
air the material
and
it is LIVE ON AIR
until whenever she/he pulls it down
( .. i.e if she/he decides to pulls it down at some later point .. ).
■ [8] one FALLOUT of all these
is that
FOLKS WHO COULD
PREVIOUSLY
CONTROL THE INFORMATION THAT CIRCULATED IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES
THROUGH THEIR INFLUENCE
ON THE MEDIA HOUSES IN THEIR COUNTRIES
NOW FIND THE CONTROL OF INFORMATION CIRCULATION
INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE
as
they cannot without being termed
DICTATORS
and
ANTI-FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION TYRANTS
stop folks from
responsible ( publishing and posting ) activity at
their personal
WhatsApp,
Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter,
YouTube,
etc
even though
they may not want folks to
comment, post or publish on
■ those issues
■ certain issues
or
■ those subjects
■ certain subjects.
perhaps i should illustrate this point with example.
back in the day
a popular musician in Nigeria
called
CHARLY BOY
released a song titled
1990
or so.
according to rumours,
the song was quite popular
among the ordinary citizens and residents of Nigeria.
however,
it seemed to contain a critique of the Nigeria Political Ruling Class
and
it seemed to contain criticism of the Nigeria Political Ruling Class
and so,
according to rumours,
a restriction? was placed on
the airing of
the MUSIC VIDEO
and
the AUDIO
at
MEDIA HOUSES in Nigeria.
this was BEFORE the advent of Social Media in Nigeria
and
according to rumours,
this restriction
affected the general airing of the song
even though it remained quite popular with the Nigeria residents and citizens.
this SCENARIO
CONTRASTS WITH THE SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
where for example
a popular musician
called
EEDREES ABDUL KAREEM
may release a song
that
may become classified as
NTBB i.e NOT SUITABLE TO BE BROADCAST
and
this classification may
take it off air
at the MEDIA HOUSES
but
individuals could still air the song
through their personal Social Media Accounts
e.g
via
their personal
WhatsApp,
Twitter,
Instagram
accounts
and
thus the song would continue to
get some amount of airing
even though it is not on air at the MEDIA HOUSES.
■ [9] another POSITIVE THING about Social Media
is that
it has REMOVED THE BARRIER TO ENTRY.
by this i mean that
ordinarily
if, for example,
a folk wanted to :
(a) appear on TV regarding an issue
or
(b) voice out on RADIO regarding an issue
or
(c) publish an article in a newspaper regarding an issue,
the NEWS HOUSE may say to the folk :
” we have a particular PROFILE that folks we air out their stuff must meet
e.g
we expect them to be graduates
with a minimum qualification not less than a Masters Degree
and
we expect them to have been Heads of Departments in Corporate Organisations
.. if not MDs and CEOs ..
by the age of 35 years “.
the result of
this sort of
PROFILING
by
any MEDIA HOUSE(S)
that practise(s) it
is that
a whole lot of folks are
AUTOMATICALLY ELIMINATED
FROM SOUNDING OUT ON AIR
VIA THE MEDIA HOUSES.
with the SOCIAL MEDIA
this SORT OF BARRIER IS COMPLETELY REMOVED
and ANY FOLK
whether for example
■ she/he is
a PROFESSOR of ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka
or
■ a SEMI-LITERATE TRADER
at Main Market, Onitsha
or
■ a MOTOR CAR TYRE VULCANISER
at Bridge Head / Head Bridge Onitsha
or
■ an ACCOUNTING MAJOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus
or
■ whatever else
can just simply
get on to
Facebook,
Twitter,
YouTube,
Instagram,
WhatsApp,
etc
and
air out her/his views and stuff.
■ [10] linked to the above
is
the REMOVAL OF UNDUE EDITING INTERFERENCE ON ONE’S STUFF.
by this i mean that
the MEDIA HOUSES could say to a folk :
“we are going to put you on air.
but
you have remove this and that portion of your presentation
and
modify this and that portion of your stuff”.
with the SOCIAL MEDIA
this sort of
EDITING INTERFERENCE BY OTHER FOLKS
is
essentially REMOVED
and
the user can
and
often airs out
her/his stuff
as
she/he deems appropriate.
■ [11] another BIG PLUS
for SOCIAL MEDIA
over MAIN STREAM MEDIA OUTLETS
is that
THE COSTS and FEES FOR
■ APPEARING ON AIR (TV)
■ SOUNDING OUT ON AIR ( RADIO )
■ BEING PUBLISHED ( NEWSPAPERS )
ARE REMOVED
and
all the user has to do is
■ get to a phone or laptop or simillar device,
■ buy some data or WiFi credit
.. which he/she would do ordinarily anyway if,
for example,
she/he wanted to check
her/his g-mail,
■ register or log in at Facebook or Twitter or YouTube or Instagram, for example,
and
■ proceed with the material.
with all of the above reasons
it is easy to see why
SOCIAL MEDIA is very popular
with all age groups
that can navigate a device dashboard
whether for example
■ the 5 years to 10 years old folks,
■ the 10 years old to 12 years old folks,
■ the 13 years old to 19 years old folks
i.e the TEEN-AGE-RS ( Teenagers ),
■ the 20 years to 29 years old folks,
■ the 30 years to 39 years old folks,
■ the 40 years to 49 years old folks,
■ the 50 years to 59 years old folks,
■ the 60 years to 69 years old folks,
■ the 70 years old to 79 years old folks,
■ the 80 years to 89 years old folks,
■ the 90 years old to 99 years old folks,
■ the folks specially blessed by GOD and Nature to be 100 years old and above.
i am not sure that
there is value for us to note here that
like every other thing in life
SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE MISUSED
by
■ A MALEVOLENT PERSON
or
■ A WICKED PERSON
or
■ A MISCHIEVOUS PERSON
or
■ A VILE CHARACTER.
by this i mean
for example
that
FIRE or HEAT or ELECTRICITY
can be used to
COOK FOOD
but
if
that quantum of
FIRE or HEAT or ELECTRICITY
is
UNLEASHED DIRECTLY ON THE BODY OF A HUMAN BEING
that folk is
probably going to be SEVERELY INJURED
if not
OUTRIGHTLY KILLED DEAD.
so
perhaps
we should just move to
the ARBITRARY CLOSING DOWN OF A PAGE / ACCOUNT
BY THE WEBSITE OWNERS
WHEN THE USER HAS NOT FLOUTED
ANY OPERATING GUIDELINES.
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[ TO BE CONTINUED ]
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