From Alex Mann's interview with Philalawyer:
I'm referring to solving actual, human problems using available communication tools, regardless if it's called "social media" or not. The tools will never replace humans, but they can help.
Look at the reaction to the Iranian election online. A lightweight Internet application, Twitter, has created a sense of healthy transparency in a geographic arena that has been traditionally stubborn by design in the past. The conversation has always existed, but now it's being funneled and aggregated online. The tools haven't created the conversation; they just created an outlet. That's more democracy than Iran has ever felt.
The whole article is great. Read it here.