As Leggereit mentioned the world is now connected.  Where once the fight for rights, beliefs and our lives, may have been isolated to our corner of the world, the development of communication devices and into that of New Media, has given those connected, a window and a voice into all corners of the world.

Information production and distribution has changed since the invention of the Gutenberg Press from a many to one, to New Media’s many to many (Leong 2011). It not only enables us to have insight into political affairs of the world, but also to expose them and develop political transparency, like in the case of Wikileaks, where anonymous uses can contribute leaked confidential information (Wikileaks 2011). This ability opens up the debate of social ethics in new media, and keeps it ever changing. Social ethics can be seen as the reflection of moral choices which shape the way in which societies organise themselves (Hamelink 2006).

There is argument that social media makes us less effective as activists in the political arena. While this may be true for some, it does not mean that committed activists cannot use social media effectively, and as seen in recent protest movements in India and China, it was not used as a replacement, but as a way to co-ordinate it (Shirky 2011). 

References

Hamelink, C. (2006). “The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net?” In Ideologies of the Internet, K. Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Leong, Susan. “KWB206 New Media: Internet, Self and Beyond: Week 4 Lecture Slides”. Accessed March 28, 2011. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/

Shirky, C. (2011). “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change” in Foreign Affairs. Volume 90, Issue 1;  pg. 28, 15 pgs.

Wikileaks. 2011 “Wikileaks” Last accessed March 28, 2011. http://213.251.145.96/