The Virtual Revolution, "The Enemy of the State"

I have just finished watching the ‘Virtual Revolution’, episode 2. In this episode, it describes how the Internet is shaping our lives, and charts how the web is forging a new, young brand of politics involving direct action.

For example, it was interesting to see how Twitter was used by Iranian people to describe and report the political unrest developing in their country in late 2008 to people all over the world. Social network websites like Twitter and user-generated content websites such as YouTube gave Iranian people the ability to connect with a global audience and build a political consciousness.

Likewise,the episode revealed how the website WikiLeaks allows people to anonymously blow secret details on governments and organisations all over the world. For example, WikiLeaks informed the world that Guantanamo Bay prisoners were tortured unfairly. Consequently, this demonstrates how the Internet hands tremendous power to individuals.

Another fascinating point raised in this episode described how China, a communist state, censors the web and blocks western websites who are critical of  Chinese Government policies. This is known as the ‘Great Firewall of China’ and is intended to protect Chinese citizens from finding out information about their Government and its policies which they may not agree with and turn them against them.

In addition, I have recently read Chapter 1 from Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. This chapter introduced the Internet and described how it has transformed marketing and business. To succeed in the future, organisations will need marketers, strategists and agencies with up-to-date knowledge of how to apply digital media such as the web, e-mail, mobile and interactive TV.

This chapter highlighted traditional marketing models and concepts and how they can be applied to help develop marketing strategies and models. Internet marketing is certainly an exciting area to be involved with, since it poses many new opportunities and challenges yearly, monthly, and even daily.

As a last point, I am starting to begin my search for an online brand to help with my online audit. At present I have thought of Ford Econo Check, a brand which has recently only gone online and for whom I worked with over the summer of 2010. Furthermore, The Floor Gallery is an online brand which I have looked at. This website and business is run by a family friend and is in need of a new strategy online.