According to research findings, it is expected that by 2018 there will be more than 2.4 million people who use social media daily. It was in 2004 when Tim O'Reilly coined the term of Web 2.0, and this marked the beginning of a revolution that few dared to describe its scope. Web 2.0 opened the channels of direct communication via email, web, forums, chat and virtual communities.

Sectors as lazy to change as health management have begun to implement online services aimed at arranging prior appointments for patients. In addition, the healthcare organizations are using digital platforms for the management of registered users and issuing cards. Every day there are more health awareness campaigns that are developed in social media.

In all sectors, the platforms have become an essential component of the business strategy. A recent addition has been the communication tool, Micromedia, a term coined by sociologist Miguel Del Fresno. Any user with a smartphone can use digital platforms as a means of communication.

Broader participation

Citizen participation has been transformed by the Internet. Movements like 15M for democracy and social rights or the Arab Spring have demonstrated the impact of social media.

Social networks have changed the habits of citizen participation, political parties have had to adapt and transform their way of campaigning to connect with citizens. Today, the assessment of citizen views in relation to the actions of politicians and their parties are measured in real-time. Surveys have remained a late tool of political polling.

Critical role

It has been perhaps, in terrible moments when the voice of the citizens needed a means to express disappointment, anger, and indignation. Examples of these behaviors include the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and his subsequent actions, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Terrorist attacks typically attract an avalanche of messages and photos as people vent their anger and outrage. Facebook activated an alert following an earthquake in Chile (as it does with other catastrophes), so that users who are close to the attacks notify their status to friends and family. This function allows the option to mark "I am fine" and automatically all friends receive a notification.

It is important to note that the networks are social and the causes that elicit participation could not find a better place. The same applies to the Change.org platform, which has more than 150 million people who participate. Geography is no longer a limit for people to connect, share interests and defend what they believe in. More than 100,000 organizations are promoting causes on a daily basis through social media.