Impact of The Globalization of Social Media: The Role in Euromaidan

Impact of the Globalization of Social
Media
The Role in Euromaidan
Jessica Bieber
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Apr 30, 2014 · 8 min read
The twenty-first century is evolving into a time of technological

advancements. There is constant edit and addition to the available
technological resources. As it advances, it also spreads worldwide. The
worldwide spread of technology creates vast connections that create new
opportunities on a larger scale. The current focus of the globalization of
technology is the connections created by networks of social media.
Social media is a brilliant tool that can be easily used by those who have
access to it. As access is gained globally, it creates opportunities to those
who are first experiencing the use to outsource ideas. Currently, the use
of social media is being used to implement change. The effectiveness of
using social media as a dominate form of activism is discussed by many.
Malcolm Gladwell, who is a respected writer for The New Yorker and
the Washington Post, critiques the use of social media activism in his
essay “Small Change.” He believes that social media is an effective tool
to use for activism, but that it cannot make a revolutionary change, like
that of traditional activism. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of
Google and Jared Cohen, the director of Google, also discuss the use of
social media for activism in their book, The New Digital Age, specifically
chapter four: “The Future of Revolution.” Here they discuss the
opportunities and drawbacks that come with social media activism.
Social media activism may have many limitations, according to some,
but these drawbacks will not keep it from evolving. As technology
advances and becomes a resource worldwide, global connections will
expand and be used as a key tool for social media activism.
Present and future revolutions are and will be actively using social media
as a tool for protest. Social media is very effective at spreading
information rapidly to a broad audience. With the spread of technology
becoming available worldwide social media is becoming more abundant.
The availability to use social media creates global connections. These
global connections make it possible for countries to express new and old
concerns to all. Modern advancements in some countries are the source
of disturbance due to newfound accessibility to information. This
exposure to new sources of information provides reason for many
countries to protest. The desire to act is irresistible as Cohen and Schmidt
explain because,
“With new access to virtual space and to its

technologies, populations and groups all around the
world will seize their moment, addressing long-held
grievances or new concerns with tenacity and
conviction.”
Global networks provide unfathomable opportunities because of the ease

of use. As availability spreads worldwide, many people will use
technology to their advantage to start a social movement. Social media
makes activism easy to start as exemplified with Euromaidan.
Euromaidan is a social movement currently happening in Ukraine. The
protestors are actively fighting for their human rights, democracy, and
freedom because the Ukraine-EU association agreement, a treaty
between the European Union and Ukraine that establishes political
establishment between the two parties, was not signed (Hebblethwaite).
The forefront to their movement is expressed through social media,
mainly Twitter and Facebook. Previously in Ukraine, Twitter was not
widely used until the protests began. According to Olga Onuch, a writer
for The Washington Post, “Many reports have credited initial tweets by
journalists and activists as the key mechanism that brought hundreds of
thousands of Ukrainians out into the streets.” Twitter is essential for the
Ukraine protest because it provides the connection to further their protest
by spreading information and gaining participants. In the country, its
main use is to gather protesters and release events, but worldwide, it is
used as a source of information to outsiders. With the globalization of
technology providing vast and efficient spread of information people are
connected like never before.
The vast networks created by social media create many opportunities but
still have setbacks. Because the networks are worldwide it means that
everyone has access to it as long as their technology is advanced enough.
This can become a problem as Cohen says because, “Countries that have
not yet had their first big protest in the new digital age will experience it
on a global scale, with the world watching and potentially exaggerating
its significance.” Worldwide connections provide the access to all
information that is expressed. However, all the information expressed is
not always accurate resulting in the spread of false information. The
alteration of information is inevitable so it is important to separate the
truth from everything else. Noted about the Ukraine protest, by Carola
Frediani, in her article, “How Ukraine’s Euromaidan Played Out
Online” the spread of false information is impossible to stop. This false
information has great impact on people’s reactions, therefore, the
EuroMaidan News Team has a group of volunteers responsible to verify
the sources of information so incorrect information is not provided
(Frediani). Alteration of information cannot be stopped so it is necessary
to check the validity of the information that is received and not believe
everything that is spread through media networks. For example, more
English speaking people comment on the activism than Ukrainian people
(Hebblethwaite). This shows that with social media connections being
worldwide, anyone can comment and influence the information that
people are receiving, for better, or for worse. Despite falsification of
information it will not prevent the use of social media as a tool for
activism.
Social media itself is built on weak ties because the information is not
concrete, therefore, social media activism is built on weak ties. These
weak ties make it possible for information to be spread rapidly,
worldwide. Weak ties will not inhibit social media activism from being
successful. Gladwell admits that, “There is strength in weak ties…
[social media is] our greatest source of new ideas and information.” In
today’s era, social media use is inevitable because it is so efficient. The
weak-ties of social media are low-risk but the use of social media for
activism is not always low risk. Those who release or receive
information from social networks and are, or become active participants
of a social movement are putting themselves at a higher level of activism,
therefore, at risk. In the case of Euromaidan, all protestors became
involved in high-risk activism due to the brutality that was inflicted upon
them by the force of the government trying to stop the movement. A
writer for the World Affairs Journal, Nadia Diuk, reported on the
revolution that on:
January 22nd, the date usually celebrated in Ukraine as the Day of

Unity between east and west, will now go down in history as the day the
two-months-long Euromaidan movement saw its first fatalities as
violence escalated in Kyiv’s city center, with internal troops and special
forces pitted against the formerly peaceful protesters in a vicious, at
times almost medieval battle. One civic activist was found beaten to
death in the woods outside Kyiv, and others were shot as they took part
in the standoff.
Euromaidan is an example of the success of using social media as a tool
to gain participants but that activism, even social media, has risk. The
unexpected can always happen, as seen with the protesters of the
Euromaidan movement, who were initially peaceful until they were
forced to fight back for their rights and to take steps toward
accomplishing the goal of their movement.
Social media activism is successful in using social networks as a tool to

spread information efficiently and gain participants. It is not yet
successful at completing a revolutionary movement due to the lack of a
hierarchy. A hierarchy is necessary in order to have an organized plan of
action once the protesting has moved towards a takeover. As Gladwell
suggests for real change to occur it can only be done with traditional
activism because, “if you’re taking on a powerful and organized
establishment you have to be a hierarchy… networks are messy…
ceaseless patterns of correction and revision, amendment and debate…”
Social media activism is held back by its inability to fulfill a movement
because there is no organization in charge to implement the change
desired by the protestors. Once protestors gain control they do not have
successful plans of how to run things to satisfy the people. Cohen and
Schmidt agree that:
it’s the people who make or break revolutions, not the tools they use…
Technology can help find the people with leader-ship skills—thinkers,
intellectuals, and others—but it cannot create them… Building a
Facebook page does not constitute a plan; actual operational skills are
what will carry a revolution to a successful conclusion.
Without someone or a group in charge of a social movement, chaos will
arise not only during the protesting but thereafter, “without a clear next
phase, a movement is left to run on its own momentum, which inevitably
runs out.” The lack of a hierarchal system makes the success of social
media activism extremely difficult to implement real change.
Euromaidan exemplifies this struggle of social media activism because
the movement is not yet successful. It has been occurring for months and
the people have still received their desires or gained control of the
government. It is extremely difficult for larges masses of people to
actually make a change because they do not have to power to make the
change, only the freedom to rebel.
Overall, social media is an inevitable force that is being used for activism
presently and no doubt will be used in bigger and better ways in the
future. The advancement of technology has made it possible for social
media to be spread worldwide. As social media spreads to most countries
vast connections are made. With these great connections come great
opportunities. The main one is the use of social media as activism to run
a social movement. Social media activism is successful in exposing the
world to current events. However, with this exposure comes the
falsification of facts. But this does not prevent the use of social media for
activism. As can be seen currently with the social movement
Euromaidan, in Ukraine social media is the forefront of the movement.
The tool of social media for activism is successful at gaining participants,
but becomes high-risk once someone becomes an active protestor. Social
media activism is completely successful at starting a movement and
getting it spread worldwide, but because it is not consisted of an
organized hierarchy it fails at completing the movement in a way that
satisfies most. As the use of social media is used for activism it will
become possible for social media activism to be completely successful. It
is only a matter of time before the global resources will develop ideas
and solutions for the completion of social movements.

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Impact of the Globalization of Social

The twenty-first century is evolving into a time of technological

“With new access to virtual space and to its

Global networks provide unfathomable opportunities because of the ease

January 22nd, the date usually celebrated in Ukraine as the Day of

Social media activism is successful in using social networks as a tool to

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