For centuries, access to information – and the ability to communicate it – has been controlled by the wealthy and the well-educated. The Internet changed all that. It has broken down the barriers that exist between people and information – effectively democratizing access to human knowledge.
This has made us all much more powerful as individuals. We no longer have to take what business, the media or indeed politicians say at face value. By typing just a few key words into a computer it’s possible to find out about almost any subject – comparing prices, products and policies within seconds.
Not surprisingly people are using that power to buy better value goods and services, to hold others to account and above all to express themselves. It’s the first rule of the Internet – people have a lot to say.
This has brought unprecedented freedoms to millions of people worldwide: the freedom to create and communicate, to organize and influence, to speak and to be heard.
Video sharing sites, blogs, social networks – all have offered platforms on which individuals, politicians, non-profit groups, and others can make themselves heard by a worldwide audience. From on-the-ground footage of the turmoil in Kenya, to a sophisticated, multi-party Australian politics channel on YouTube, the Internet is providing greater transparency into what is happening in the world, and in the process widening our perspective. Nigeria too has had its own share. One that comes to mind now is the video of the widowed market woman that attained national fame through the words: “Go and die!”. Although the drama occurred in a ‘remote’ location in Edo state, the web made it a global story.
The opportunities the Internet presents to Nigerians are huge. Today, the percentage of Nigerian content available on the web is still small relative to the demand by the large population of Nigerians online. But with easy access to communication tools like setting up blogs, YouTube, forming groups on Google Groups, and creating layers on Google Earth, Nigerian users can not only connect with friends and family, but with a global audience. And thanks to modern translation tools, Nigerian user-generated content can even spread to foreign-language speakers.
Even top leaders and policy makers are taking notice of the trend and the need for user-created content. In the 2015 general elections, the top candidates in the federal and state elections leveraged the power of web tools like YouTube to reach the large population of Nigerians online. In many cases, the videos generated went viral. In 2007, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan launched her presence on YouTube with a message to the world’s young people asking them to join in a global dialogue to recognize commonalities and to dismantle stereotypes of Muslims and the Arab World. Today, videos on that channel have been watched almost 8 million times.
If you are still not convinced, ponder on this – the combined views on Davido’s hit tracks ‘Gobe’ and ‘Aye’ on YouTube is about a hundred and fifty percent of the population of Ghana. More than what any TV station can deliver. And these are just 2 videos! Now imagine the combined videos from other top artists like PSquare, Olamide, Wizkid etc. One of the most watched user-generated YouTube videos in Nigeria in 2014 was the Arik Air video recorded with a mobile phone by one of the passengers. And the examples are endless.
Becoming a part of this global dialogue is easier than many may think. Upload a photo, share videos on YouTube, share your opinions on a blog or website – or start one yourself on free tools like Blogger. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and the benefits are immediate: are you passionate about travel, or knowledgeable about a local specialty dish? Sharing your passions, hobbies, thoughts, and tips with people around the globe isn’t just about widening your community; it’s also about widening your perspective and helping to introduce people to the world around you.
User created content is the new face of the internet and will shape the way we think and behave as individuals – when used positively it means more choice, more freedom and ultimately more power for the individual.
Here’s to making the web more Nigerian!
