Social Policy meets Social Media

Most of us associate social media as the medium through which we connect with our own community and circles of friends, or 140 character news feeds from celebrities and industry movers-and-shakers. But, the potential of these technologies has leapt outside traditional perspectives of their purpose.

Get a load of this! Economic Policy makers around the world are now marrying social media with social innovation movements to effect positive change in our world. A specific example, Speed Geeking.

We can all agree that social media has transformed the ways we communicate and connect due to its transcension of every border and boundary. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that policy makers and open source activists have taken an interest in leveraging these tools to help visualize and solve problems, such as coral reef destruction, mining activities near chimpanzee habitats, and the defense of our own personal information despite the complexities of the modern information space.

Consider Morocco's Director of Social Transformation, Sidi Maelainin.  He interwove his vision for social and government policy changes with the groundswell of social media communities. The conference allowed for a quick overview of how technology can support the work he's trying to do.

A few feet away, a company touted new mobile technologies designed to help farmers in specific emerging markets.  Other tech solutions allowed users to learn about, interact and participate in events leading up to Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June.

Presenters, like Nathan Freitas of The Guardian Project, were excited to share innovative, yet simple apps used to protect mobile communications from "unjust intrusion and monitoring."  Remember in some countries, mobile devices are tied to the real-life identities of their users.  Imagine the implications in such environments where access to information is so tightly controlled by the government or identity theft runs rampant!

Perhaps my perception of the social media trend has been confined by my definition of "social."  What an inspiring wake up call to discover that not only politicians, marketing mavens and international business leaders have embraced social media, but so, too, have leaders in emerging markets and public policy!

These individuals labor to improve accessibility and quality of life.  They have continually and tirelessly explored the power of social media in the pursuit of positive change, and they have now spurred me to consider the future, and previously unimaginable, implications of social media.

So, what is next?  What innovative social media solutions can we, will we, uncover that will allow us to navigate the interconnectedness of both business climates and global public policy?  What do you see as the future of social media?