Summer Snows 100914

Change is in the air.  Deserts are flooding; the south freezes while the north bakes.  Volcanoes are blowing their tops while ice caps melt; rivers run dry as oceans rise.  Primitives panic over angry gods and search for the last virgin to toss into a volcano.  Scientist point to cyclic climate change.  Environmentalists blame evil industrialist and conservative politicians deny change and claim liberals are spreading the panic.

No climate change would be complete without lots of sunshine and ill winds.  It was only four years ago when all the techno-nerds and liberals were proclaiming social media as the sunshine that brought democracy in an "Arab Spring."  Springtime was quickly followed by the "Arab Winter." Turns out that social media was not technocracy nor was it restricted to sunshine and April showers but also March tornado like winds as Arab Spring democracies were replaced by coups and competing insurgencies on media waves

Spies love social media since they can tap into everyone's inter most secrets.  Cops and occupying armies however hate social media because camera phones post pictures of their failures.  In other words social media is not a sword of freedom, truth and justice but a bombshell where everyone has a hammer to explode it in all direction.  Once applauded for inciting mobs that overthrew unfriendly regimes, friendly governments now quake before media mobs.  From Washington to Tehran governments are attempting to censor and control social media, even imposing criminal penalties on its use. 

Efforts are domed for users are finding ways around government constraints; new apps and new links confound attempts to control the messages. The ISIS has begun using social media to get its words out and even recruit converts to its cause and army.

ISIS recruiters use soft sell on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and ask.fm encouraging the devout, adventurers or alienated to join a true cause in Syria. Major media claims that they do not allow people who promote violence and terror on their systems but with billions of messages daily the task is impossible.  If one messenger is shut out there are other electronic routes to carry the word. Information is even exchanged on web forums using advanced encryption software.

Without a virgin to toss into a raging volcano politicians are posting their own propaganda and disinformation in hopes of appeasing the gods of dissatisfaction, alienation and rising tides.  Messages and counter messaging serves to muddy the waters of freedom and truth. Many find support for what they already want to believe but is that the truth, does it serve peace, freedom even debate?

Social media provides personal communication and entertainment in a storm tossed muddy swamp of social interaction.  The virgins being tossed into the volcano are trust, integrity, and surety.  Does anyone really care about a minute by minute life account?   Is the sender really a sex-starved billionaire virgin, a cop seeking to entrap or a terrorist running a scam?  Ask for a selfie, but is even that really real?