Social Media as a constituency

Re-Imagining Social Media as a constituencyPolitical, social and Economic .What is constituency Merriam Webster defines a constituency as a group or body that patronizes, supports, or offers representation. Or a body of customers or supporters.A company can think of those that follow it on Twitter as customers.A politician can think of his followers as supporters We can all think of ourselves as supporters of a particular cause it could be political, social or economic in nature.The biggest constituency Vs social media Wakiso is one of the biggest districts in Uganda with a population of (2,007,700). Let us say Wakiso has two constituencies each constituency has a million people.Uganda had 8,531,081 internet users as of June 30, 2014 according to UCC. 23.0% of the population.1.6M Facebook subscribers out of the 1.23 billion active users worldwide. There are some 25,000 active Twitter here too.But the nature of social media (no geographical boundaries) means that the 25k twitteratis and the 1.6 face book followers are constantly exchanging information with millions more out there or that any one in any part of the world can instantly pick what they are talking about by just searching hashtagUG

Opportunities I would like to categorise the opportunities in this constituency as follows; The Political Economic And social Economic aspects Today, countless business in Uganda have sent out tweets. On Face book, a house broker has reached several clients. Another has sold several cars.Hello food, the online food delivery service to your door step has supplied several clients.OLX the online platform where you can sell what you no longer need and buy what you need What is clear is that social media presents us with immense business opportunity. And allows customers to instantly reach their suppliers.5Political Aspects Through @kagutamuseveni, we are able to keep up with the presidents activities. We can ask a question or two accountability.@AmamaMbabazi allows us the same opportunity. And you can add instittutions BoU, NEMA, NWSC, etcAs examples elsewhere (Ushahidi, Arab Spring, Chile Winter, Occupy Movement, Anti Corruption) have taught us, we can use social media for bigger political causes.Political..continuedAs a political scientist, activist, researcher, journalist, name it, you have a responsibility to shape debate in this constituency. You can also think of it as an opportunity to be part of a conversation that shapes the change you want/desire.As a legislator, you have an opportunity to keep in touch with your voters.As voters, we have an opportunity to be heard whenever there are big debates about policies, laws, etc.

Citizens Role The beauty with social media, is that its one platform that accommodates all career paths , its an idea logged market.We have medical doctors, professors, Journalists, lawyers engineers, writers all one space. This presents us with a diversity of views & voices.Social aspectsSocial responsibility also translates to the numerous campaigns that have moved to a good cause i.e #Etoffali , #HelpRosemary, not only do the campaigns move towards positive causes that also spread the awareness bug Social aspectsWe have crowd sourcing through social media, that has had a direct impact on society i.e 40/40 smiles foundation, dedicated to help children through construction of dormitories, to helping children with cancer We have Parliament Watch Uganda, using online tools to disseminate information about Parliament. Continuation If we re-imagine social media as a constituency, you find its a community that is doing more than it is credited for. Through its interactive tools, social media also accommodates those that don't use it. Through projects like #MPsEngage, Parliament Watch uses live stream to hold conversations with grass root voters through live streaming .How the online audience would contribute Online contribution to debates in Parliament, when it comes to passing laws, polices, we have experts and organization sharing and willing to contribute.Parliament could have direct input from social users if they can add a social media aspect to the plenary sessions.Awesome bit about our constituency Contribution is with in the comfort of your bed, your office desk, our constituency is a moving one, we are not limited by boundaries and we do not have to battle land grabbers. Online courses for Education Any constituency should have schools, more like online education, we have websites offering different subjects. i.eYaka a Makerere University site that offers courses mainly journalism related Muwele site How Government can contribute towards the growth of this constituencyProper laws & regulations UCC had established an online watchdog There need to be laws governing any constituency to prevent crime. Cyber bulling has no clear laws addressing it .

Who would head or be a leader Influence would be considered. We have thought leaders, political leaders all in one space but playing different roles and contributing to the social media constituency.

Way fowardDespite this potential , social media has been continuously been water downed to a ranting space, for the idle minded or a hook up place I am not saying that none of these things happen, I am saying its more .Fortunately for us, we are not starting from scratch, we already have examples of people already using and taking part of the constituency

What remains is the formal recognition from the Government. I mean the president recently talked about adding more districts, social media is one!