Us Now (Gormley, 2009) in this week’s flip lecture paints social media as inspiration to what is described by one of its experts as the “unbundling and reconstituting of what is a government.” The idea the film focuses upon is that a part of human nature is the urge to socialise
and connect; key concepts in the development not only of society, but social media. Sites such as Mumsnet, Couchsurfing and thepeoplespeak emulate a ‘community spirit’ that was once available freely to human beings before we became attached to technology. The idea is for people who share similar characteristics and needs to be given a forum to speak to one another and share answers. Mumsnet in particular, allows mums from all over the world to communicate with one another on matters related to maternity and childcare, some leaning towards trust on fellow mothers more than their general practitioners. Not only is the site accessible and mostly quick in response, one would have access to a variety of people who have experienced or have knowledge of their predicament.
Couchsurfing, unlike Mumsnet, draws on Week Two’s Understanding Social Media‘s proposal that media networks on the Internet are grounded in the real world. Although there might be doubt with the form’s authenticity, the author claims no reduction despite the virtual distance between its users. Couchsurfing’s purpose of drawing travellers and potential ‘couch hosts’ leads one to seeing a devaluation of privacy, but builds a stronger relationship based on trust. This idea of having social media draw people together for at least a night of ‘couch surfing’ or ultimately, sleeping at a stranger’s house, brings a tangible economy between them by relying on people’s natural collaborative nature.