The new political force

The power of the information age was starkly illustrated this week, when SMS, blogging and flashmobs were used extremely effectively in changing the outcome of the Spanish general elections.

Political scientists, sociologists and those interested in the applied effects of technology will probably be studying the influence these three concepts had on changing the face of a democratically elected government.

In a nutshell, 10 bombs exploded on a Madrid train, killing about 200 people and seriously injuring another 1 500. At first the government blamed the Basque separatist movement ETA, but it has since transpired that the Islamic fundamentalist movement Al Quaida was behind the blast.

The Spanish conservative government headed by Jose Maria Anzar was pro the US government`s "War on Terror" and supported its policies in Iraq by sending troops there. However, this seemed to be in the face of popular Spanish opinion, which generally opposed the Iraq invasion.

It was widely expected that the ruling Popular Party would return to power after the elections, although with a reduced majority in the Spanish Parliament. However, the Socialist Party gained the majority and the new prime minister has termed the Iraqi invasion "an error" and committed himself to pulling the Spanish troops out of the US-led coalition.

The actual mechanics of how this electoral upset happened are still being studied, but it seems SMS and flashmobs were key in motivating people to cast their votes in what was expected to be a low turnout election.

The SMSs asked people to publicly express their anger and, as they say, the rest is now history.

Paul Vecchiatto, Cape Town correspondent, ITWeb

Flashmobs are a phenomenon that surfaced about a year ago and initially started as a group of people, usually unknown to each other, gathering at a certain place at a specific time to carry out some kind of meaningless and arbitrary act, such as standing on one leg and staring at passing motorists, and then dispersing. "Flashmobbing" sessions were announced via SMS.

At first flashmobbing was seen as being an entirely useless act. There was no real reason for the actions and apart from some amusing media reports, it was at best seen as a practical joke with no real use. That has since changed.

Literally within seconds of the terror attack on the trains, people around Madrid and the rest of the country knew about it. Official announcements about what happened and who was probably behind the attack lagged the "informal" news announcements by critical seconds if not minutes as SMSs clogged cellular lines.

The SMSs asked people to publicly express their anger and, as they say, the rest is now history.

Blogging, also seen as a "fringe type" of activity, actually gave the flashmobs their intellectual capital. The blogs wrote about what they and others saw and felt. One blog accurately predicted the outcome of the elections based upon who was behind the blasts.

The Spanish elections certainly show that blogging and flashmobs have come of age. Both are spin-offs of the information age, the first facilitated by the Internet and the second by portable telephony.

For politicians and governments, these are almost frightening developments as it illustrates that dissent can grow and manifest extremely quickly.

Could it be that flashmobs and blogging are giving a face and voice to the masses?

Sites to look at: http://www.boingboing.net/2004/03/13/flashmobs_with_a_pur.html
http://www.reengage.org/go/Article_227.html, www.textually.org.