Social media comes of age

This past weekend, two to three million, mostly women, gathered in our major cities around the country to protest the election of Donald Trump and to push for support of issues important to them and their families.    It was all arranged through social media.

Gathering at the same time, wearing the same hats, and carrying the same signs, these women demonstrated their power,  but also the power of social media.   This protest march was not started by a particular organization.   It wasn’t blasted through the mainstream media, it wasn’t organized by phone calls and letters.   This movement was organized through the use of social media.

Such a turnout of people would have taken months to pull off just a couple of decades ago.  But, the immediacy of social media and the interconnection of people allowed this march to be generated and coordinated in just a few short weeks.

However, the women’s march, wasn’t the only demonstration of social media’s power.   The election of Donald Trump also depended on the reach that his tweets could encompass.   Social media made Donald Trump and social media made the women’s protest possible.

Mainstream media is on the outside trying to figure out  how to tame this beast – or how to ride it.