How Kony 2012 Is Changing the Internet

  I try to stay clear of serious topics on this blog. 'Serious' just doesn't quite mix well with 'fun'. But sometimes, it's very beneficial to break that rule. Say hello to Kony 2012. Say hello to what might be the face of a new Internet.
  Considering the pandemic speed with which Kony 2012 is spreading, it's a safe bet you might already know who and what it is. But if you don't, everything that you'll need to know as far as introductions go is in a 30-minute video. This video attained viral status within hours of its appearance, and I strongly recommend watching it. Videos of this sort are rarely so skillfully and powerfully written. And the production is brilliantly simple. Again, 30-minutes well spent whether you side with the cause or choose to debate against it. The video is at the bottom of this post.
  The main cause of this post is not to defend or condemn the video and its underlying concepts, but rather to look at exactly how scarily (and dangerously) powerful Kony 2012 has become, and what it means for the future of the Internet.
  The Internet is a diverse place. Everything from extensive collections of human knowledge to incredibly disturbing images of humanoid animals has a place on the huge landscape that is the net. One of the relatively young concepts on the Internet is social networking. It's easy to assume that when the first 'true' social networks were being thought out and created, their creators probably never expected events like Kony 2012 to play out quite like they did. They probably expected that these new networks would be used to share minor bits of information and other things that people do when they casually socialize in real life. Stuff like "Yeah, just had a great time in Gondwanaland. Going back next summer" or like "Look at these photos of a totally hot chick I have no relation to, but who took a photo with me out of pity". Stuff like that.
  And that's exactly what happened in the beginning - a casual place to talk, share, and make yourself look cool. But things began to change. People started to realize the principles behind the networks could be used to share so much more than incriminating photos of incredibly drunk friends. They realized that articles, knowledge, and important information could be spread to hundreds of people within seconds. This is clearly noticeable with apps like Facebook social readers, which automatically spread the articles you read on certain sites to your entire friends list. Suddenly, people who would never normally search a certain topic are now reading up on exactly that topic, absorbing information, and educating themselves about almost anything - inadvertently. They don't log on to Facebook to learn about something that's making news or is happening in the world, but they log off having been bombarded by various sources: statuses, social readers, likes, shares.
  In other words, we are still experiencing the same massive downpour of information that's been hitting us for years, but the nature of that information is changing. We're still getting text messages and endless notifications, but those inputs are being interlaced with 'substantial' information, stuff that sticks in your brain.
  Arguably, the first time social networks, the media, and the people truly combined to form an immense information machine was the Arab Spring. People tweeted the locations of conflict zones, posted photos no reporter had yet obtained, and coordinated their efforts to plot their next moves. This new type of communication was born into a world of violence, and that scared those at the top of the food chain. Anyone could suddenly say anything they wanted, and no matter what those in control tried to do, their efforts were circumvented. The world began to realize that the Internet may be as much a human right as talking to your neighbour.
  The Arab Spring method of information sharing and communication smoothly flowed into a new entity that year: the Occupy Movement. Whatever your opinion on that matter may be, it's a fact that the way news was spread in the camps, and beyond, was revolutionary. Thousands of protesters would congregate, around the world, within hours of a march being announced. Photos and videos of both hope and violence began to appear. The news started using Youtube videos as valid replacements for reporter footage. Social readers began to appear, publishing corporations realizing that social networks had truly become the most effective way of spreading information.
  The growing idea that the Internet was quickly turning into more than just a medium for the exchange of information was finally solidified into proper existence in January, when the battle against the US piracy bills SOPA and PIPA was at its peak. When the bills were stopped, the world examined all the prior evidence: the Arab Spring, Occupy, the Piracy Acts, and concluded that the Internet is the most powerful non-violent weapon in existence, and scarier still, that it is the peoples' weapon.
  And now here we are, watching as Kony 2012 unfolds before our eyes. We've seen what the Internet can do, and this is the biggest display of its power yet. Within days of the Kony 2012 video being released, Kony, the man, has already become an icon. Today, my fellow classmates would spontaneously break out into shouts of "KONY!", rhyming it with "PHONY!" and "CRONY!". Everyone who still didn't know who Joseph Kony is was treated as an outsider, someone outside the absolutely huge 'club' that is Kony 2012.
  The world has declared a total hatred towards one single man in less that 48 hours. Imagine that.
  This is the grand spectacle of our new interconnected world. This is a display of power, a sign that says "the little man has found his army." This is the new face of communication, of human relationships. We have gained the power to channel each others' ideas into a single intention, and direct it at whatever we want. And for the first time, the beam of our ideals is focused.
  I think it's amazing. And incredibly scary.

Feo.


Share what you think of Kony 2012, it's impact on how we use the Internet, and the controversy currently surrounding it in the comments sections (you probably already have one of the accounts necessary to comment).
I will admit that I am standing in support of the Kony 2012 Campaign right now. But I am open to all thoughts and information, and will definitely consider any facts you have to give.

Official Kony 2012 video on Vimeo

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.