Democracy and Internet

Recently, talking with Gabriel Adame (@Gabo_Adame on Twitter, who invited me to his last radio program in Plaza Network -@plazanetwork-) we were discussing how Internet could help democracy in various countries, including Mexico.

One of the tools that have helped people looking to improve democracy in their countries is Twitter. This social network has helped people to know what is happening in the world before the mainstream media even reports it and it has been used to events that traditional media considers unimportant or because there are controlled by the government and dissidence is punished with jail or even death.

Recently this happened in Iran and its election, called fraudulent by opponents to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and in China, where a conflict with Uighur, an ethnic group that was violently repressed. Both events were known in the world thanks to dissidents who managed tospread images and videos about what happened in both countries on Twitter.

What @Gabo_Adame said was that he considered possible that Internet improves democracy in our country in the same way other countries has done this: improving the information about government's abuses.

My question is how long is possible to do this? How can you influence through Internet so people reacts and starts to defend their rights?

To begin with, I think more access to the technology of Internet is necessary, so people can learn to use this tool and all his possibilities. This would be possible in Mexico when almost all schools, public or private, teach to use and give access to Internet.

Besides, people has to be able to use it easily outside schools and universities, in places like libraries, public square and places where people spends time with others.

In Mexico nearly 27 persons have access to Internet and it isn't clear if they use it in all its potential (for example, they use it mostly to check their e-mail and chat on instant messengers) and there are a lot of ways to get benefits from them if they know how to use it and spend some time understanding the Web.

But there are obstacles too: people who want to improve our democracy, if they don't know the internal operation of government and bureaucracy, at least as I see it, have a difficult task: make people participate and move so they can find a legal way to improve things. This is a difficult task not everyone would try.

It's a difficult matter and, nevertheless, I can help but feel that there's a little hope that, as soon Internet is widely used in our country and people begins to use it more for other things than studies, work or entertainment, all will begin to move.

My rules on Twitter

Image via CrunchBase

For those reading this, yes, I also think it's a little strange having to say what are my rules on Twitter, but more people is following me (I'm not sure why are they following me, but thank you) and I think it's necessary to say how I'm going to behave on Twitter so you know what to expect.

• My first rule is: I follow everyone (except spam or bots) who wants to exchange data, news, conversation and who wants to dialogue (I don't like one way communication; I look for the possibility to talk to them and be answered). This means: I follow everyone, except those who want to flood my timeline with ads or personal content every 2 seconds. I don't mind at all if people doesn't think like I do, I just want them to be open to discuss and listen to me, and not to be angry or dismiss me if I don't think the same (and I offer to do the same). Sometimes I follow companies or people who doesn't dialogue but that I believe can give me interesting information. The rest are people I want to be able to talk with, exchange information, data or just get to know them. I think everyone has something interesting to say.
  
• If after trying to talk or exchange information I believe I'm annoying you with my tweets (particularly if you say it directly), I unfollow and I expect you to do the same. Why would I want to annoy you with my chat or content? Unfollowing someone is not 'hating' or 'loathing' that person or entity, I can't hate or loath someone I don't know (how could I know someone only by following them on Twitter?). I just think Twitter is a party where you should behave with civility, so if my conversation doesn't interest someone, I just move and find someone who feels interest about it.
• Same principle, if someone unfollows me, I try not to take it personal. For me, it only means he/she didn't find value in what I'm saying and it's ok. I think we can't expect our tweets to be loved or liked by everyone. I think that getting angry for something that happens every day (that someone doesn't want to listen to you or read you) simply because on Twitter you can tell that it happened (because you can see who unfollowed you) it's not logical. In 'real life' people just dismiss you or stops reading your content (your blog, your tumblr, etc.) if they don't like it and you just don't notice it. Why take it personal?
  
• I will try to respond every reply or DM that you send, but sometimes they just don't reach. TweetDeck isn't working right for me lately (some tweets are lost in limbo) and sometimes your tweets are so many they just delete themselves in my timeline before I can read it. So, if I don't answer, I'm not ignoring you, I want to engage, but sometimes this is difficult.
  
• What I say, RT or comment on Twitter is just my opinion. I don't want to impose anything to anybody. Sometimes I strongly express my feelings or beliefs, but this doesn't mean I expect anybody to think or do the same that I do. I don't think anybody (even famous or known people) can expect that those who follow them do what they say or think what they think, even if people like them.
  
• If someone insults me without any reason at all or insults someone I follow, I will block you. I just think there's no need to use foul language if I'm not insulting you and something annoys you. Also, if you mistreat someone I know, what can expect you to do if you follow me?
  

Well, these are my rules on Twitter. As I said in the beginning, my idea is letting you know what I want to obtain in this social network. I believe there's a lot to obtain in this social network, but also, there's the possibility of hurting feelings.

So, if I say exactly how I will use Twitter and why I do some things, I hope that you will understand that I want to use it the best way I can, without creating uncomfortable situations.

For me it is not true that Twitter makes you insensitive, it's just that you don't see a face in front of you, but you see other things: emotions, tastes, feelings, ideas. So, I think I'm going to behave with certain rules because I want to treat right those people behind a computer. With this I want to conclude: I respect you all, even if you disagree with me, and I really appreciate the possibility of talking with you.

Living in a Global Village, with a local attitude?

Image via Wikipedia

Since Internet became an accessible way to communicate with people all over the world and somehow understand cultures, ideas and traditions from other countries we have the possibility to reach knowledge that probably we wouldn't possibly know about in other way.


But in this so called global village, sometimes I think many of us have been limited by the way we were educated, by the country we live in, by the political views we have learn from our parents, for our socio economical circumstances. And I think that when we do this, when we see the world through these lenses it is very possible we lose a lot about the reality we are trying to understand.

Image via CrunchBase

I say this because I have been participating in Twitter, a micro-blogging plataform where you can interact with people you consider interesting or from whom you can learn something, but sometimes I find people who deny themselves the opportunity of at least trying to understand other cultures and how things are done in different parts of the world.

I have seen people who even think certain religion or culture is less than their culture. I don't think this is true. I believe it is different. Of course there are exceptions, I do not think some cultures claiming that killing (either people or any other living being) is justifiable, but other than that, I try not to judge a culture for one or two aspects I get to know about it. Instead, I try to read as much as I can to try to understand a country.

So, I think that the best way to act, the best attitude we can have in this global village is one of openness, where we do not exclude or condemn someone just because if 'from' somewhere, where we don't judge a culture for one or two of their members or their ideas. If we do not try to be open, then there is no sense in being involved in a media where interaction is one of its biggest aspects.