Share This! Deanna Zandt's Book

Share This! Deanna Zandt's book -- "Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking" -- is about how social networking gives us the power to change the world.

Social networking websites like Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and MySpace have become all the rage and Zandt believes that sharing information, finding community, and connecting and disconnecting with others will give us "unprecedented influence over our place in the world." A study in 2009 from the Pew Internet & American Life Project illustrated that people who have access to Internet and/or mobile phones have larger and more diverse discussion networks.

Zandt thinks that this sharing with one another can create trusting and empathic bonds with others, something that has been lacking in the past century. Social networking can create dialogue between people in different parts of the world who -- without social networking -- would not be likely to have a discussion on important topics. Social networking can be used for activism and give voices to people who are not able to be heard otherwise. Zandt believes therefore that social networking can be used to promote change in the world.

Zandt points out that never before in history have we had the opportunity that we have now. The global discussion created by social networking websites is unparalleled. Zandt tells us that with social networking we can now share information on social justice issues at an incredible speed. She claims that that speed combined with our biases and our own fears keeps us out of conversations that we should be a part of.

She warns against letting ourselves be marginalized because it keeps us from connecting with those we should be connecting. Women have a major opportunity, according to Zandt, to document and change history as well. The average Wikipedia "editor" is male. Zandt believes that women still, to a certain extent, think the web is a dangerous place. By not taking part in the web's opportunities, women are losing the chance to define history. The female voice can and must be represented in all conversations for social justice to occur.

Zandt discusses how the fact that we "friend" people has changed the way we interpret the information that is given to us. She notes that while not all web conversation is the most sophisticated, personalizing the web makes the discussion more empathic and, in some ways, more respectful. When information is given to us from people we have chosen to follow or "friend," we are immediately more open to what that person is saying.

When people post photos of themselves (with family and/or pets especially), we are able to see that there is a "real person" on the other end of the discussion. People will know that they are talking to someone "real" before they respond to something in the conversation or leave a comment. This personalization is one of the most unique aspects.