Facebook Nation: The Politics and Culture of Social Media in Indonesia

The phenomenon of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is not only taking place in the US and Europe.  Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and India are among the world’s top 10 users of social media. But it astonishes many to realize that Indonesia has the world’s second highest number of Facebook users, after the US.  The robust emergence of social media in Indonesia has enabled a more open and diverse political and popular culture to develop. Dr. Merlyna Lim, a faculty member of the Consortium of Science, Policy and Outcomes and the School of Social Transformation – Justice and Social Inquiry Program at Arizona State University, will discuss the politics and culture of social media in Indonesia.   She will examine several prominent examples of the collective political use of social media and will show that while it doesn’t generate an ideal public sphere, social media does enable multiple and diverse political networks to emerge.  Finally, she’ll address the challenges that Indonesia has to face as a Facebook Nation. For anyone seeking to learn more about the emergence of social media as a form of popular culture and its influence on democracy in Indonesia, this event is one you will not want to miss. Please join us on March 7th, 2011 at 10.30 am for this Open Forum, to be held at USINDO’s Washington Office.