USA Today - Social Media Keeps Cold War a Life - Case Study Example

Due REBUTTAL PAPER “USA Today” Social Media Keeps Cold War a Live The American owned national newspaper USA Today Newspaper published on 17th November 2014, claimed that social media stirs cold war in regards to a column authored by Louise Branson on 13th November 2014. The allegations behind cold war is a chain to link the columnist point of view and the reader understanding of how social media plays a major role in the world as a means of communication. According to Safko & David, (2009 p.59), social media refer to the interconnection of network applications used for interaction among people from different parts of the world. The main purpose of social media is interaction, sharing of ideas, videos in regards to bringing people together. The social media depend mostly on technological changes taking place all over the world. Most people are able o share and create a global world out of this media since it is cheaper and unmonitored to use as compare to other social media of the past. Social media platforms are the products of globalization that has improved the economy of most countries of the world. Besides easing the mode of communication, this social media have enabled easy and faster business transactions besides development. Examples of social media include; Facebook, twitter, Google, blogs and websites. The background of these applications as search engines has helped promote unity among different people in the world for a period of time in history. The major players are the social media users and business people who have interest in learning more about social media. These have promoted ways in which people share information, knowledge in addition to communication.The easy to use generated applications and content of the internet has helped promote the use of social media applications and sites. According to Qualman, (2009), friends, relatives and family members can comment and reply each other’s comments social with the use of internet depending on the location and distance where one is staying or using the applications. Social media is used to promote business online through search engines and other applications. It is due to improved technology that people can interact and do safe business online without traveling to the location where the good or service is located. Some of the postulates of the social media include; reliable, fast, flexible and private. Social media forms a reliable source that decimates information to students and researchers. Students can research on topics during their discussion in addition to doing classroom assignments. Some authors have made social media very user friendly in terms of reference materials that are available on the internet through these social media. The reliability of these social media is that it can be accessed anywhere depending on the strength of the internet connection in the surrounding. Technology has also improved further in that even where network connection is low; one can access and communicate with friends when in an emergency. It is private because personal messages and texts are sent and received by the intended persons only not unless the recipient wish to share with friends (Evans, 2008 p.456). The negative impact depends on how people use the internet; some individuals have personalized the social media in that they use it to defraud users besides doing other crimes. The negative impacts of social media depend with individual’s mind and intention. Some have turned its positive impact to negative for their benefit. Qualman, (2009 p.286) explains that social media has promoted worldwide rate of crime in the society. This is because many crimes are cyber related thus confirming that most qualified computer professionals are the ones responsible for cyber crimes all over the world. The opinion of the columnist is based on the negative impact of social media to the society where some individuals are using the social media to incite others. This is evident in the whole article since all is addressed is the issue of supremacy. The opinion is based on which country is stronger compared to weapon inventory and use. The opinion also addresses the issues of leadership between Asia and America. Besides, it involves minor countries to act as bait in the major big five countries. The article addresses the oppression of the American journalist by the countries. This is a clear indication of incitement from the writer’s opinion. The writer goes ahead and says that many people are fighting with each other through social media such as Facebook, and twitter (Evans, 2008 p.67). Mentioning of leaders in the article shows how members of the public fall into the trap of being cited to turn against each other in a society other than leaving in a peaceful environment. The opinion is centered to one side of events and happening so as people could dwell on the negative side of the other country and blame it for all the happenings within the country. The objective of the columnist was to let the world know how social media has been overtaken with dirty minded individuals so that the news of third world war could spread. This could also lead to inter-countries to start fighting for nothing. Furthermore, this can lead to discrimination of some races. The columnist tries inciting people through his or her opinion. The columnist has employed the use of various writing elements to catch the attention of his or her audience. Some of the elements used include; claims, tone of the language, support, warrant and logic. The fallacy in the column is that the readers are easily conviced with the way he or presents the point in regards to how social media stirs up cold war. The language tone used in the opinion column is harsh to help catch the attention of the reader and act immediately without seeking confirmation or relevancy of the same from other media platforms. First-time reader of this column might think the war has taken effect on some of the countries before realizing that it’s all about politics propaganda. When the publication of this article was made, the USA President Barrack Obama had visited China in regards to developmental issues and how technology can be improved to generate more foreign exchange into China. The tone is convincing to the audience hence makes the reader think deeply. The tonal variation also contributes to the critique of this article thus making it look like any other common work of literature. The tone is professional in away in that the use of titles has been employed to catch world attention. The tense used is presently continuing in that from the tone of the writer; it is as if the war is going on at the moment (Qualman, 2009 p.286). Leon, (2001), asserts that, another element of critique is supports; support is the use of reference to winning confidence and trust of an individual. From the opinion, the author or the writer has referred to James Bond, Barrack Obama, China, and other world known figures and countries to win the confidence of the audience. The column has numerous support that can convince an individual that social media has been destroyed in regards to how people have been the view it as a research tool besides communication. Support helps in giving solid evidence and winning of confidence of the reader in regards to what is addressed in the work. Besides using world known figures, the language used English phrases to support the words and ideas of the opinion. This opinion best depicts an individual who thinks of war. The individual can be said to have a personal vendetta with some countries or a particular group of people and thinks of the war as the only way to revenge. Little does the writer of the opinion know that most people in the world poses useful reason for using the social media unlike him or her who is a war oriented. Support is an element that is used to cling to known or unforeseen evident to win the trust of the audience. According to Evans, (2008 p.64), the third element of critique is warrant or demand. The opinion is of demand to people who have no idea the importance of social media to the community. This element of critique addresses finer details as to why the writer thought of writing something so sensitive and yet it is not true. These are kinds of columnists who spread propaganda to win fame from the readers besides recognition from the government. It is another form of marketing and from the evidence shown in the opinion, the author wanted to market the articles so that he or she could have as many audiences as possible. This form of the element is mostly used in spreading propaganda. It also helps the author sell out his or her work even though they contain no meaningful information for the members of the public just like an opinion. The major effect of this element is that, it can result to the diminishing of the opinion column since people will believe that it contains lies just as usual. The opinion has not employed a logical series of events. This is because as one reads through the opinion, ideas keep changing from one scene to another. Since it is individual’s point of view, it does not qualify to be considered world threat. The columnists wanted to catch readers’ attention and divert it immediately to another scene besides streams of events. This enables the writer present various ideas within a short while and without taking much space as far as writing is concerned. In my opinion, social media have never stirred up any negative form message to the people. It is people who use social media to sent and communicate the propaganda. People use social media to convey messages that are helpful in the community and society. It is the actions of few selected individuals who are trying to take over the social media for personal benefit by posting irrelevant messages and threats to the people. It is true that social media can also be used for other unwanted practices such as; setting meeting for war, strike, and riot or protesting. These are always done in the privacy and at times, they get exposed before the real event take place. But as for this case, sensitive information like this cannot be posted online unless it is propaganda. These are kinds of information that contributes to hatred among different societal groups in the world at no proper reason. This research paper aims at refuting the opinion that social media has a big stake keeping cold war alive in the world today. The objective is to find out solid facts in defense of social media platform which many people all over the world have misunderstood its intended purpose. According to the columnist opinion, different countries for example China, USA and Russia are creating a platform through social media to stir up war against other countries in the world. It is to claim the title of superpower. The columnist has further explained how these countries are relating to each other through weapon inventory besides publishing different kinds of photos of Protests in the streets in demand of democratically republic rights from countries such as USA. Hong Kong has been identified as the country that is ready for war with other states since the leaders, and the government believes they have most sophisticated weapon for the war against their rivals. The opinion on the column clearly shows how social media has been used negatively besides other useful information to incite the people globally. To my opinion, the columnist is winning the confidence of the readers since the world today people are dependant of social media to offer first hand information due to desperation for news Research Findings Mandiberg, (2012 p.178) stated that from the research study, it is evident that social media has been eroded with nasty things that have made it lose its meaning in the society and the world in general. It should be upon the government of each and particular state to organize ways on how culprits can be arrested and charged with a violation of communication terms and condition. The government should train qualified professionals in the Information and Communication sector to help in tapping and tracings cyber-related offenses in the country. This will help in finding of those people in the society who are there to spread propaganda and incite people. Government schools and private schools should encourage computer learning in that this will help improve diversified computer knowledge in the country besides job creation. According to the research findings, idlest, and jobless youths who are computer literates are the main suspects in regards to cyber crimes besides hacking. Social media, therefore, can be said to be a communication platform that is destroyed by human beings. Once the government can install measures and precautions in relations to controlling these threats, the social media will be a place everybody will want to be in all the time. It is from social media that conmen and women dupe people who are searching for a job where some even end up killing them. In summary, social media are a product of globalization that has enabled many people all over the world communicates, meet, exchange ideas, learning besides doing business. All these are due to improved technology that has improved the living standard of human beings. Now the same human beings are changing the positive impacts of social media to negative mainly for personal benefit. Social media have been used to threaten some people, warn them and even in some case leading to kidnapping before death. We as human beings should try and fight to change social media to be a platform mot would desire to spend their time when relaxing. It is true in the modern world that social media has kept the cold war alive. Social media should be protected from hackers who use it for their own business. For example, some countries have adopted the act of closing and barring off unwanted links from being accessed in their countries. This is due to regular killings and discreet meeting of mafias and criminals who relate to one another through Facebook, twitter or emails. It is, therefore, upon human beings and computer literates to teach people on how best they can utilize the internet for communal benefit besides doing business. Many applications have been introduced to enable people across the world interact in the business sector. Some of these social business applications include; eBay, Alibaba among other business platforms. Social media can, therefore, be said that has both negative and positive benefits to human beings. Social media is a positive means of communication in regards to how people use it to propagate information so as to win trust of audience. Draft Review http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/11/13/social-media-china-russia-information-cold-war-united-states-news-propaganda-column/18994059/ Work Cited Leon, Juana. Our Word Is Our Weapon: Selected Writings. A Seven Stories Press 1st ed. New York: Seven Stories, 2001. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Mandiberg, Michael. The Social Media Reader. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Evans, Dave. Social Media Marketing an Hour a Day. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley, 2008. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Safko, Lon, and David K. Brake. The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Read More