@LATAM: Connected. Social Media in Latin America

When Pulsocial Community Manager, Lina Maria Ceballos, received a «tweet» at her home in Argentina from a friend in need of a type O+ blood donation in Colombia, she eagerly «retweeted” this message to as many of her contacts she could. Five minutes later, a donor had been found. While scores of others would have to patiently face the prospect of death, a life had been instantaneously secured in the course of a couple of «tweets.»

The high-speed nature of social media is not any different in Latin America than in any other part of the world. However, because the region is gradually pushing itself out of a vicious cycle of poverty and inequality, the impact of social media is being felt in remarkably different ways than in already developed regions. From new and strategic political campaigns to organizing aid for Haiti, social media is bringing dramatic change across the hemisphere and is showing no sign of abating. Before addressing the impact of social media, it is crucial to delineate its actual definition.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Andrea Cornejo