If you aren’t familiar with TEDTalks, I suggest you check out their site and catch up on some of the interesting conversations going on. I try to check back for new and interesting perspectives and came across this great presentation by Clay Shirky, “How social media can make history.”

Clay delves deep into this growth of media, pointing out that there have only been 4 times in the last 500 years where the change in media can be called a revolution – the printing press, conversation media (such as telephones), recorded media (photos, movies, videos) and the electromagnetic spectrum (radio). He goes on to say that the evolution of the Internet and social media has really allowed people to become producers of content.

We, once consumers, are NOW producing the content and leading the age of media. Wow.

You almost take that with a grain of salt, but when you take a look back at how Twitter and other social networking channels have allowed us to report news before the larger media channels, you see how powerful your voice can really be. This ability is your social capital.

In some countries, such as China, the outspokenness of citizens has become quite the problem. No longer able to filter through the content, citizens’ voices are being suppressed with the banning of such services.

Even in the United States, we have seen companies and publications try to suppress their employees’ social capital (i.e. The Associated Press). As you’ll see in Clay Shirky’s presentation, not even Obama – the President of the United States – suppressed people and their opinions on his network during the campaign. I completely agree with Clay when he points out that social media and networks should CONVENE individuals.

He leaves you hanging with the question, “How can we make best use of this media, even though it means changing the way we’ve always done it?” So, I ask you, are you embracing the change?