Social Networks the New Revolution

Published by Graham Tomlin for Credit Union Solutions Ltd in Central Government and also in Education, Health, Housing, Local Government

What does the Arab Spring, Occupy Movement, Flash Mobs, London Riots and the Bank Transfer Initiative all have in common? They all seem to have been started or at least developed by social networks.

Once you would have needed to talk to people in person or by telephone and you may have been able to reach 10 or maybe 20 people now face book and twitter are putting people in contact with thousands of like minded individuals.

One tweet from an outraged bank customer in the USA caused 650,000 people to move their bank accounts to credit unions with 40,000 moving on 5^th November.

One tweet and stocks can tank, riots break out and democracy emerge from what was once thought to be a group of invulnerable dictatorships.

The anarchists used to say voting changed nothing they may well be proved right as ordinary people become mobilised by a mobile phone message.

The tweet is now mighty than the pen or the sword. Customers can boycott providers of goods and services that are wildly over priced or who massively over pay their Directors.

In Ireland I believe there is a movement developing that is determined to undermine mortgage providers by suggesting that everyone stops paying their mortgage in the same month. This is the suggested “punishment” for their sharp practice, over lending and ultimately mass foreclosures.

Me changing my Nat West bank account for a Smile account was nothing to worry about for Nat West but what if 10,000 of us did it in the same month?

Supposing we all got fed up with BT’s overcharging and moved our account to the Phone Coop would that be more likely to cause them to reflect on their charge for paper billing?

We now have the means in our hands to stop rip off Britain in its tracks by united action. We pay more than anyone in Europe for fuel and energy and motor cars partly this is due to taxation and part to overpaid Directors with massive pension pots and share options.

Now is the time to seek out ethical providers of goods and services and move our trade in their direction. If 100,000 people in London joined their local credit union think how that would improve their balance sheets and enable them to provide a wider range of services.

Now is the time to support politicians that do not cut pensions and benefits whilst funding banker’s bonuses and seek ethical solutions to growth and development and are prepared to move power from Westminster not concentrate it there.

The next elections will be very interesting and I predict mainstream parties may find themselves in significant problems unless they stop pandering to big business and start taking notice of the will of the people.