The Political Power of Social Media Revisited

This paper revisits an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine titled “The Political Power of Social Media” (Shirky, 2011) in light of the explosion in the use of social media for political purposes subsequent to its publication. It examines how social media have exerted and will continue to exert power to effect political and social change, focusing on five specific functions – raising community awareness, framing issues, engaging with mass media, stimulating and organizing protest, and obtaining resources