#socjourn2013

            It was this year, in June, that the protests - in major Brazilian cities - began to take shape. Students went to the streets to try hard to change their country. Hashtags like #ogiganteacordou (the giant awoke) invaded timelines and paralyzed classes and streets. The young people who took to the streets had the approval of at least 84% of the population. And the government, in response, announced measures that would meet the demands of the protesters. It was the largest mobilization in the country since the one for the resignation of President Fernando Collor de Mello in 1992. In a country like Brazil, where problems are bigger than solutions, the protests became the target of pride. And also an example of doing journalism.           Recognized as one of the best Brazilian multimedia journalist, Rodrigo Lopes, who works in the newspaper Zero Hora, - one of the largest newspapers in Brazil, - covered the entire event on his Twitter (@RLopesReporter). In June, 17th at 11:17 AM, Rodrigo post it on his Twitter that he was on his way to the protest which would probably stop the city of São Paulo. After that, there were still five more tweets contextualizing the situation: The reporter told everything about the place, how he was feeling at that moment, etc. At 2:29 PM Rodrigo definitely begin to tell what was happening. Amid images, personal opinions of his own, and specific sentences of the protesters, Rodrigo made ​​a complete coverage. So complete that even the Twitter accounts of the others newspapers gave ” RT ” in his tweets. The website of the newspaper where he works is reputed to be complete - however, at the time of the protests, it was the Rodrigo’s account that people accessed.          The event (protests in Brazil) was already planned. Everyone was expecting it that day. The older people, who typically do not access the internet, preferred watching the protests on the television. However, everyone who knew even a little bit of technology, chosen Rodrigo’s account. The journalist covered the event in a humane way - different from news sites and even Twitters of other journalists. He post the difficulties he was facing and compared the event with other journalistic events he have passed. For a person who doesn’t have much interest in news, is easier to understand the fact on the way he presented. The reader, who usually sees the journalist as someone “bigger”, stands at the same level: The human. The reason is obvious: This type of covering an event makes the reader think that he/she could also be there, amid bombs and screams. Is not very different from films: When the story is about something that could happen in any one life, it becomes much more interesting.          The coverage of Rodrigo was unlike any other in the country. Was human. Through photographs and expressive phrases that protesters spoke screaming, the story was actually very close to reality. The journalist, who has 9,968 followers on Twitter, stole the attention of readers - not only from his newspaper but also from all the others of the country.

            Social networks perhaps are the most dangerous weapons of the human being. Anonymous people became celebrities/internet hits from one day to another. Or even from an hour to other. The YouTube videos channel, for example, is a huge opportunity for success. Anyone with a little talent and dedication can sign up and be recognized - worldwide - in a few hours. And this is not just about who wants to get out of anonymity - because even famous people, who already have a significant number of followers, can win millions of new followers in consequence of a special (good or bad) fact.            This is what happened with Nate Clark, actor and comedian who lives in Los Angels. The artist, who had 19,000 followers on YouTube, started in a fight (on YouTube) with Joeff Graceffa, which has more than 2,000,000 followers.  The reason was that Joeff parked his car in front of Nate’s garage, and, consequently, had his car towed. Joeff post ​a video on his videolog telling the story and saying that the home owner had overreacted. Nate answered with a video of pure irony, countering all the Graceffa’s arguments and making jokes with the numbers of the income tax of the young man - which was in the backseat of the car. Result: Nate, who had “only” 19,000 followers on YouTube (insignificant number compared to the young rival) won four thousand new subscriptions and more than two million clicks, in two days. Nate had its entrance blocked but never imagined that this it would be so good for his image.         The video, even if it is a trivial issue, confirms the power of social networks and also show the importance of listening both sides of the history. In Joeff’s version the car would not have completely blocked the driveway, but Nate has a picture that shows the car entirely in front of the garage. The News, with the web, went from being a finished product to become a product in constant construction - because it can be done through the reviews and also be produced by the users. In the digital field, the news earned a “new life” - and this was facilitated by search engines, like Google, that allows the news to be accessed and completed, with no expiration date.         Although the internet put in risk the veracity of the facts – because it is an open source where everyone can post freely-, the users condemn these attitudes and disclose the truth on the network. Which shows that, nowadays, not only the journalists are concern about the truth: People who use the internet are also valuing this. And the two sides of the story (which could be proven by the increase of subscriptions on Nate’s channel). This is the video made ​​by Nate, who received more than two million hits in two days and increased subscriptions to his channel.

     The Google Plus, also known as Google +, is the social network - launched by Google - to compete with Facebook. The service, when created in 2011, was only available to invited users. However, in the next day of this release, the few existing (invited) users were allowed to invite friends, above 18 years old, to also participate in the social network – which led to the suspension of services due the “insane” demand for new accounts. On July, 31 the network was open to the public - everyone above 18 years were welcome.      Google + has introduced innovative features to internet users, such as Circles (friendship groups), Sparks (content suggestions), Hangouts (video chat) and Huddles (group chat).  Facebook may have its days counted. It is the most popular social media, but, on the other hand, Google + is the son of the biggest search engine in the world. The content of Google+ influences topics in the search; is integrated into Google Maps and coupled to Google Calendar. Also, has no advertising or sponsored content. Basically, the social network is (casually?) composed of the best of Twitter and Facebook, the two most popular social networks nowadays.      The controversial issue of privacy on Facebook, a lot discussed in the academia field, was solved by Google. On Google Plus it’s possible to have circles of friendship, which enables many “feeds”, not only one, as the Facebook has. The user has the freedom to choose with which circle he/she want to share every single piece of his/her information – which makes the profile, in this special social media, more faithful to reality. In real life nobody talk the same things - in the same way - with their family members/friends/coworkers, for example. So, doesn’t make sense to be on a social network, like Facebook, where all these groups are thoroughly mixed. Because nobody wants to think about all the possible reactions of their friends/family/coworkers when they see a certain picture or text, right? In Google Plus is like real life: It is not necessary to measure the tone neither censoring. You could just be yourself.      Another good point of Google Plus it the possibility to have communities. We all know that people usually relate to those who have things in common - and not with random people who invite them to be a friend (as in Facebook). Google Plus communities, for example, gather people with common interests, which provides new friendships and relationships among members.      Many users do not migrate to Google Plus because they believe that none of their friends are there. However, the time to create an account on Google + is now, because people that still doesn’t have an account are already lagging behind. Twitter, when released in 2006, had a similar story: At the beginning, few people joined, but in the end, the beginners users were the ones which over time gained more followers.      Google Plus will be, at mininum, as popular as Facebook is. It’s a matter of time. May be useful for journalists that occasionally can not meet with the interviewed (why not?). May be the new twitcam. Or just another way of fun. Is signing up to see.