How New Media Has Played Its Part in Supporter Mutinies

Obviously newspapers are an authority too but in a different sort of way. You expect newspapers to give you the facts, not original thinking about your club to go with the facts. Readers are more inclined to be inspired by somebody who cares about the things they do. That doesn’t mean they will always swallow what the blogger feeds them, but they will most of the time.

Twitter

Twitter’s speciality, as anyone who ever uses it will know, is that it is arguably the fastest way to spread news. Unlike Facebook and blogs, which are perhaps either more pre-emptive or analytical of news, Twitter is the one to break the news. Trending opinions and arguments consume fans and spread ideas to more people faster than any other form of media. And the power they exert is very real. Footballers such as Thierry Henry have been forced off Twitter in the past because of abuse they have suffered at the hands of the masses. Twitter is both the indication of and vent for public opinion on all matters and football is no different.

Nobody is denying the power that the media has in influencing the opinion of the football world. An article written may spark huge debate, but that debate is carried out on social media. Furthermore social media can be used to organise demonstrations from social to sporting reasons. The lack of online accountability takes the power of the media that step further. Fans on social media have nothing to lose and the most radical ideas are more likely to originate and be debated in these spheres. The mainstream media will always have power but it’s about time people stopped blaming the media for mutinying fans and started taking part in the debate.

The article was written by Hamish Mackay for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.

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