What was the event?
The event that was selected for this report is the financial crisis occurring between 2008 and 2009, which is otherwise described as the global financial crisis attributed to its underlying impacts on different countries around the world. Despite the efforts that were put in place by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department, the financial crisis resulted in a 31.8% drop in price margins for real estate (Al-Kandari, Caldwell, & Alduwaila, 2013). The crisis was viewed as being much more severe when compared to the Great Depression that occurred in the 1930s, taking into account that it created a significant shift in economic positioning for different countries. The challenge in dealing with the event was that a majority of the investors experienced notable losses as a result of the crisis; thus, paving the way for a full-blown international banking crisis.
What Internet “tools” - social media, specific websites - were used to effect change?
The leading internet 'tool' that was used in a bid to effecting change during the financial collapse in 2008/2009 was social media. Although the demand for social media was not as significant as it is today, it is clear that use of this tool was considered as one of the viable options in ensuring that the United States would be able to deal with the ripple effects of the financial crisis (Becerra & Mastrini, 2010). The focus was on trying to create a shift in information within the market as a way of gaining a better advantage in dealing with the underlying effects. The United States federal government made significant use of social media with the sole focus being towards boosting investor confidence, as well as, creating a shift in general expectations regardless of the underlying effects of the crisis.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
What happened?
The use of social media was mainly focused on promoting confidence in the economy, taking into account that a majority of the investors, especially those in real estate, had lost faith in the economic structure. The financial crisis resulted from a collapse of some of the large financial institutions, which forced the government to use its federal reserves to bail out the troubled banks to help mitigate further impacts. The use of social media was explicitly targeted at highlighting the effects that the government is taking as part of its approach towards revamping the economic structure (De Bruycker & Walgrave, 2013). Additionally, the use of social media was considered as an effort by the government targeted at establishing a clear framework through which to ensure that the market would be in a position to gain the confidence that had been eroded.
How many people were involved?
Based on the government's approach to using social media as a way of re-shaping the financial crisis, it is clear that it did not focus on the people. Instead, the government's approach focused on financial institutions and technology firms that would be of value towards ensuring that the government can get a clear message to investors. Some of the notable financial institutions that the government focused on included Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JPMorganChase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and AIG. On the other hand, some of the technology companies that the United States government considered as part of its strategic plan to use social media included Facebook and Twitter, which were the leading social media platforms during that time.
Was the change, in general opinion, positive or negative?
The change, resulting from the use of social media, was significantly positive considering that the federal government found itself in a much better position through which to promote confidence among individual investors (Bonsón & Flores, 2011). The main expectation by the government in its approach towards engaging the use of social media was that this would help create a standard platform through which to change the perceptions held by individual investors. The outcome of this was that a majority of the investors that were pulling out of the United States due to fear of losses began to reinvest in the economy. The outcome of this is that the economy was revamped significantly taking into account that it became much easier for the government to advance the expected levels of confidence among its investors.
What are the long-term effects of this change?
The long-term effects of the change can be seen from the fact that although the country may have faced a key challenge concerning the financial crisis, it was able to overcome the difficulties arising from the disaster. That can be seen from the fact that a significant number of companies today are moving towards maximizing their investments in the United States attributed to the expected outcomes. Additionally, the long-term effects can be seen from the fact that the United States has been able to create a well-structured financial market that is tailored towards not only protecting Americans but also cushioning investors. Based on the approaches that were undertaken by the federal government, what is clear is that the financial crisis and the subsequent use of social media can be described as an approach that helped in the establishment of policy changes in the United States financial market.
References
Al-Kandari, A. A., Caldwell, L. G., & Alduwaila, N. (2013). The use and impact of media during the 2008 global financial crisis: a media-user perspective. International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management , 4 (3), 246-265.
Becerra, M. A., & Mastrini, G. (2010). Crisis. What Crisis? Argentine Media because of the 2008 International Financial Crisis. International Journal of Communication (19328036) , 4 .
Bonsón, E., & Flores, F. (2011). Social media and corporate dialogue: the response of global financial institutions. Online Information Review , 35 (1), 34-49.
De Bruycker, I., & Walgrave, S. (2013). How a new issue becomes an owned issue. Media coverage and the financial crisis in Belgium (2008–2009). International Journal of Public Opinion Research , 26 (1), 86-97.
