Outcry! Online and on the streets

The sheer power of social media was highlighted this week as thousands of students took to the streets for the #FeesMustFall protest.

It started with just one higher education institution. But within days, the protests spread to almost every university in the country. Think about it though, if it weren’t for social media, none of the other universities would have known about the protests and, as a result, would not have joined in.

And now other countries are getting involved and standing in solidarity with the students who are demanding free education. Again, the rest of the world would not have known about the unrest if it weren’t for social media.

The whole thing is a heavy topic. But what was absolutely heart-warming about it all is how social media was used this week to help those in need. Students are offering to help tutor others who might be struggling to study for the upcoming exams while the protests continue using the #ProtestandPass hashtag. Others are offering a safe-haven for targeted students or volunteering to deliver food to the protesters.

Whether you agree with the cause or not, the fact that social media has such a profound effect on our country is a huge wake-up call. Do we have another Arab Spring on our hands?

Cruelty-free cinema

The Media Update team were in stitches earlier this week as the #VeganMovies was doing the rounds again. It seems that the hashtag came to life in April 2014, but some new crackers went live on Wednesday.

Our favourites included ‘You’ve got kale’, ‘When Harry met Salad’, ‘Peach Perfect’, ‘Despicable Meat’ and ‘Much avo about nothing’. Hashtags like this prove tweeps have a good sense of humour, and a knack for punny posts.

It’s good to know that – despite the fact that they are probably starving – vegans can still have a good laugh.

Poll position

In a recent release Twitter states; “If you want the public’s opinion on anything — what to name your dog, who will win tonight’s game, which election issue people care most about — there’s no better place to get answers than on Twitter.”

We can see where Twitter’s coming from and although they’re not exactly breaking ground, it will be super useful, because, as we all know Twitter has much wider reach then some of our other favourite social platforms.

So instead of just chiming in with hashtags or tracking replies, the Twitteratti can now cast their votes, hopefully on subjects a bit more significant than dogs’ names. The two-choice polls can be created in your compose box and will stay live for 24 hours, anyone can vote on any poll and the way users vote will remain anonymous … how wonderfully democratic.

That’s it for this week, catch you again next Friday.