The Twitter race between Ashton Kutcher and CNN, and the overnight sensation of Susan Boyle are great examples of the power of social media and the power of the people.
Applications like Twitter, Facebook and websites like Huffington Post allow for large numbers of individuals to unite---giving back some of the power to the people.
I know Ashton Kutcher is a famous but he is one person! I'd love to see an individual win a contest with a TV network, even if it's a Twitter contest. I love the underdog, what can I say?
Susan Boyle's voice inspired millions over the last few days because people could watch her performance on You Tube. I found out about Boyle via Twitter.
Katie Couric doesn't think much about Twitter. I respect Katie Couric but think she's forgotten what it's like to be one of us, one of the little people. Katie has the power of a major TV network to make her voice heard--she's in a unique position.
Couric's sentiments about Twitter and blogging reflect the feelings of many people in the traditional media---that the opinions found online are less credible. There is an attitude among some people in power that the Internet is filled with people on the lunatic fringe, writing in their pajamas.
There are crazy people who blog and there is a lot of noise, since the floodgates of social media were opened. But Twitter, blogs and online communities level the playing field. The web allows everyone to have a voice, and give their opinion without a filter of a TV network or a newspaper. There are lunatics online but there is a lot of good too. Giving everyone a chance to contribute to the discussion--not just the powerful or wealthy people--is the foundation our country was built on.
Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr. were called were called lunatics. Einstein was patent clerk in Bern, a nobody.
You might think Ashton's challenge to CNN is silly.
Susan Boyle is a singer on a reality show.
But they are both examples of the power of the people to make something happen. In my opinion, that is never wrong.