Impact of social media

 

“Social media tools have facilitated silent Singaporeans to voice their opinions without risk. This could be a beginning of a new era for Singapore” – NWCTY

This case can set a trend for the future. Singaporeans now have an outlet to make change. Through social media such as Facebook, people’s social networks are unlimited. Before the social media explosion, it would have been highly unlikely to trust strangers over the Internet. However this blog has illustrated what can happen when thousands of strangers are brought together by a common goal.

According to self-proclaimed media futurist, Gerd Leonhard, the World Wide Web is less about information and more about conversation. This certainly rings true in this case study. John Chua believed there were more like-minded Singaporeans and Facebook was the most effective tool to reach these 29,000 (and counting) people.

It is impossible to quantify how SingTel and Starhub have been affected by social media at this point.

For one, it is not known whether they will break even or even make a profit. SingTel and Starhub have not lowered their subscription fees in a bid to break even but it is unlikely they will recover the costs through advertising and sponsors.

There will still be many football fanatics who will choose to subscribe despite the seven-fold increase in price. But the damage to the SingTel and Starhub’s brand is priceless. This has been a hot topic in Singapore for months now and has even been covered by international media. From now on SingTel and Starhub will be forced to carefully consider about bidding for future sporting events. It’s time to think about the consumer as well as profits.

Perhaps the 2014 World Cup broadcasting rights announcement will be a strong indication of whether social media has made a difference…

Future

For Singapore’s sake, hopefully the telecommunications companies get the message. Author of the football-based Singapore blog, BoLASEPaKO.com, Po Hui Ko, says the FIFA World Cup is an event that should have universal free television coverage. It’s hard to disagree with that considering the magnitude of the World Cup and especially when most countries have free coverage.

It is vital that the telecommunications companies learn from the public outcry. If the 28,220 (plus others who don’t have Facebook) people keep their commitment to boycott the World Cup, it’s difficult to see SingTel and Starhub getting anywhere near break even. Social media has the capacity to amplify support and make a statement by weight of numbers. SingTel and Starhub can’t compete with that.

Whether or not social media will play a dominant role in Singapore society remains to be seen but Singapore has taken a step in the right direction at the very least.