By 3 News online staff
Digital communication are a vital tool, from how we work and play to the way we learn and share information.
To study the impacts of digital innovation and the rise of social media, AUT University is bringing together speakers for the Project Revolution conference which gets underway today in Auckland.
One of the key names is Alec Ross - the senior innovation advisor to Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.
His job is to maximise the potential of technology to help achieve America's diplomatic goals, but he says the internet is not the be all and end all of the politics game.
“I think it’s important to not make a difference between what happens online and what happens offline. If people are just pecking away on their computer I don’t think it actually does much, but if you can help organise people on the internet to then get up off their couches and go organise and go knock on doors, then it can be really powerful,” he told Firstline this morning.
Mr Ross says the rising prevalence of social media makes it harder for high-profile people to hide their flaws.
“It’s really hard to sweep anything under the carpet anymore. We see more of what each other is doing and it’s more widely known,” he says.
Despite the rise of blogs and social media as a news source, Mr Ross says traditional news media still have a very important role to play.
“It’s important to not take a utopian view of the internet, not take a utopian view of social media, it can amplify negative voices… If you really sort of punch hard on social media that tends to get more intention, and this is one of the negative aspects of it,” he says.
3 News