Blog de Alfonso Baella

Analog politicians are annoyed by social media.

No matter if it doesn´t costs, if it´s available and open to all social levels, , if allow citizens actually speak up freely and without filters, if helps rally the population, if  facilitates the structuring of ideas or approaches, if enriches the debate, if promotes the creation of ideas, in short, if social networks provide democracy a sense of real and tangible participation.

This singularly remarkable not seems to draw the attention of many politicians. The networks and social media are not an “environment” preferred by analog politicians.

The reason seems simple, is that these new technology platforms promote, at least, three situations that “uncomfortable.”

The first is that communication is one to one sender-receiver, voter-elected, political citizen, i.e. there are no middlemen, and confrontation or exchange of ideas is horizontal. The scheme under which the authority would see the citizen vertically doesn’t exist anymore.

The second is that this communication is public and “marking”. Blogs, forums or 2.0 technology allows any “record” or “add” leaving public comments exposed to the eyes of all. The virality also multiplies their power and irradiation.

A third situation is a practical message. This method involves substance proposals, clarity and accuracy. That is, the social network does not replace the unidirectional fax of yesteryear, through which press releases were sent to editors of media mass communication where “informed” that the politician towards this or that, but always requires a position or proposition to the public.  The authority has that “talk” or “communicate” but on a level of “I tell you to tell me”, ie open to the citizens think and enrich the debate. The network promotes intelligence collectively adding value with each new participant.

These three conditions are not pleasing to analog politicians sometimes lie behind of office, become the “little dead ones” and talk but say nothing. Uncomfortable because require policy making in a scenario of ideas, where everyone can participate without condition, and where authority has to be audited not by courts or commissions, which do little or nothing-but by the common man who has all the  right and that now is not taking into account and feel   have  minimal importance when elections come.

Social networks are important despite who gets upset and are shaping  a new escenario still virgin.  Citizens must learn to use to change things soon.

Author: Alfonso Baella

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