Share This Too: More Social Media Solutions for PR Professionals

Chapter 25

Working across Borders and Boundaries

Julio Romo

Social media has broken down international barriers and borders. Networks like Facebook, Twitter and Weibo enable us to reach out and listen to conversations overseas. But while these networks are the glue that connects the world today, it is the language, culture and content that shapes how reputations are built and destroyed.

Technology and globalization have brought countries and cultures closer to our front doors. They have made the world a smaller place. Distances that separated us 25 years ago no longer feel that great. And thanks to the internet and mobile phones, today we can connect to people, brands and causes wherever they might be.

Social media has broken down the barrier of distance and time. Have a look at your Facebook or Twitter account and you will see that your friends and those you follow are spread out across the globe. The world today is your marketplace.

According to Martin Albrow and Elizabeth King, globalization²²⁹ is the concept “by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single world society”. Social media has accelerated globalization.

Social media has empowered people around the world. It has enabled the sharing of comment and collateral in real time. It has fuelled the “Arab Spring”, outed corrupt government officials in China and given the world K-pop sensation Psy.

Each of these events has gained notoriety not so much because of the social networks themselves, but because ...