A SHIFT FROM “ME” TO “WE” IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Currently media power is distributed via the multi-media World Wide Web. Web 2.0 has transformed every prosumer into an individual, mini-organism – “Me the Media” (the concept coined by Bloem, van Doorn & Duivestein 2009). Recently a trend has started to emerge, which indicates that Web conversations are creating new power relationships. This is especially vivid in the current multi-media coverage of political events, supported by cross-cultural social activism. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the emerging new trends in current social media that embody the shift from “Me” to “We” in power relationships. The idea that everyone is inter-linked and inter-active on the Web, involving not only common citizens and politicians, but also companies or brands, supports the finding that “We the Media” is the next development in social media, which needs to be taken seriously and investigated on a wider scale.