Speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate and along a wall that divided a nation, United States President Ronald Reagan challenged the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to remove the geopolitical barrier that divided the German people. The challenge came during a time of civil and political unrest in Eastern Europe, which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

On November 9th of 1989, after the government of East Germany declared that all of its citizens could visit West Germany, crowds of East Germans climbed onto the Berlin wall and crossed into West Germany as West Germans celebrated on the other side. This symbolic event led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall as a geopolitical barrier soon after. Less than one year later, on October 3rd of 1990, the Germans were reunified as one nation–state.^[1] The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany proved that unnatural, repressive geopolitical separation could not fragment the cultural bonds that are the foundations of a nation and the overall will of its people.

Like the Germans once did, most Cubans today cope with a similar political and social divide. What began as an armed revolt to overthrow a U.S.–backed dictatorship in Cuba during the late 1950s, the Cuban Revolution became an implementation of ongoing socialist directives that led to the social and economic isolation of Cuba.^[2]

Cubans also face a more difficult geographical challenge. The two largest constituent groups of Cubans, Cuban Americans exiles and native Cubans, are separated by at least 90 miles of treacherous water. They’re also separated by the well–known "United States embargo against Cuba," enacted by the U.S. in the early years of the Revolution.^[3] Additional Cuban populations are scattered throughout the world in cities like Montréal, Barcelona, and London. These geographical challenge, however, is starting to disappear due in part to the emergence of the World Wide Web as a new medium of mass communication.

In most developed nations, mass communications consisted of four established media until the mid–1990s: print, radio, telephone, and television. Then, the emergence of the personal computer as a popular consumer electronic device ushered a dramatic transformation for established media, by assimilating it into a new medium of mass communication, the World Wide Web.

The Web is a framework of Web sites that piggybacks on a worldwide "internet" connection of personal computers. The Internet is the worldwide network that has made it possible to bridge geographical distances. The development of online messaging and social networking has advanced the Web as a new medium for mass communications.

In Cuba, the transformation from old media to "new media" has also taken place, albeit a bit differently. The lack of modern communication infrastructure and government restrictions on electronic devices have kept old media well established, but have not curbed the fast adoption of new media. Likewise, mobile phones and other wireless devices have been quickly adopted since the government eased restrictions on consumer electronics.^[4] Mobile phone services such as Cubacel operate through telecommunications agreements with Canada and Mexico.^[5] What’s more, standards for building Web sites for mobile devices, and the push for better efficiency in downloading and compressing online media, has inadvertently provided a rich and interactive communication platform for Cubans with 1990s–grade telecommunications infrastructure.

One of the most noteworthy characteristics about interaction on the Web is the virtual, interpersonal communication and social relationships that exist in online communities. These relationships exist because the Web transforms old media into a subset of computer–mediated communication, a process by which humans communicate through computers, involving other people, and situated in particular contexts.^[6]

In addition, the Web blurs the distinction between interpersonal and mass communication, as well as public and private communication. It alters the sense of geographic distances, allows for an increase in the amount of communication, increases the speed of communication, provides a framework for interactive communication, and allows for separate traditional forms of media to overlap and interconnect.^[7]

Because of these characteristics, online communities have evolved from simple discussion forums to interactive, information–sharing Web sites, sometimes with no single or physical hosted location. In what we now refer to as Web 2.0, interactive information moves fast and without boundaries, allowing even politically dissident forums from inside Cuba to be broadcasted worldwide.

Despite the capability of the Web to enhance communication between people, how effective is virtual communication in disseminating the information needed to jumpstart geopolitical changes in Cuban society? Several media theorists, ideologies, and perspectives insist that virtual communication can be effective at having an impact on society.

Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian writer and thinker, became known in the 1960s for his phrase "the medium is the message," He argued that the characteristics of a particular medium, rather than the information it disseminates, influence and control society.^[8] McLuhan also emphasized the role of new technology in bringing people closer together by making them members of a "global village."

Like McLuhan’s argument, media richness theory is a framework that suggests communication on the Web is an instigator for change in the real world. The idea and expectation behind media richness is that the more personable or rich a medium’s characteristics are, the more profound of an impact it should have socially. A telephone call, for example, is not able to reproduce visual social cues, such as facial expressions. Online video chatting, on the other hand, is not only able to reproduce the visual social cues but also sound and tone. Because online communication can be a richer and more realistic form of communication, it’s more personable and more effective at instigating a real–world social reaction.

Another perspective for studying the Web and its social presence in the real world is to look at how interactive it is. In new media, interactivity exists in two levels of responsiveness: two–way, or reactive, and fully interactive.^[9]

Interactivity varies along a continuum. At one end is one–way communication with little or no interactivity, such as traditional media. In the middle is reactive communication, where one side responds to the other side. And on the other end is fully interactive communication, which requires that "later messages in any sequence take into account not just messages that preceded them, but also the manner in which previous messages were reactive."^[10] Full interaction forms a social reality that cuts across mass communication and interpersonal communication. The Web has the potential to be fully interactive and therefore should have a greater impact in society in the long–run.

Of course, there are also arguments against the notion that mass communication can have an impact on society in the real world. Jean Baudrillaurd, a French sociologist and leading postmodern thinker, believed that the increasing amount of information in media causes the collapse of meaning.^[11] The Web increases the amount and the speed of information that humans react with so, according to Baudrillaurd, it would possible that the meaning behind a message would be lost and that it would fail to result in a social reaction.

A good example of Baudrillaurd perspective exists in the Cuban community. To this date, Radio Mambí and Radio Rebelde are still trying to outdo and out–signal their political propaganda on the radio dial. The stations are so busy fighting each other’s propaganda that the meaning behind their message is being lost to a new generation of listeners (Public Diplomacy Article, Radio Marti Boost Their Volume to Cuba). Both stations fail to make a huge impact on a younger Cuban generation because they uphold and broadcast the status quo, with increasing speed and information (propaganda). The stations are trapped with a dwindling number of elder listeners and it’s not because radio is dwindling as a medium – almost every automobile in the world has one.

Luckily, Baudrillaurd’s perspective is contentious. It seems to only apply to static situations such as the case with Mambí and Rebelde. If meaning was always lost by increasing the amount or speed of information, there wouldn’t be a need for censorship, recurring "viral" Web content, or an international social reaction to a disastrous hurricane in Cuba.

Mass media theory can help to explain the attributes of communication and interaction, but it can’t be easily explored in situations where interpersonal communication and mass media are rigorously controlled by the government. "Controlling information has always been a cornerstone of authoritarian rule, and leaders are naturally suspicious of the Web."^[13] Cuba is no exception. Censorship of the media and personal communication are well documented in Cuba. It’s led to numerous unfavorable reports from journalism organizations, such as Reporters without Borders, and even sanctions from other states, like the European Union.^[14]

Censorship of content is useful to gain an advantage in marketing political propaganda. For example, the United States has attempted to broadcast their own propaganda from their embassy in Havana by using a news ticker attached to the side of their building, only to have the Cuban government place scores of tall flag staffs around it in order to block its transmission. Private radio stations in South Florida, like Radio Mambí, use the long–distance AM modulation to broadcast to the island, while government stations in Havana, like Radio Rebelde, counteract those signals by broadcasting on the same frequency. Complemented by lack of media infrastructure, these tactics have been an effective strategy to limit exposure to any opposition to the government in Cuba.

In Cuba, the media is a servant of the state and not a watchdog of the government, whether it’s state centralized or decentralized. Centralized mass media are strictly government run and include radio, television, and sometimes print organizations. Decentralized – not sincerely decentralized – media include print and electronic media, or organizations where managers serve within the "censorship board" of the Cuban government.^[15][18]

Keeping infrastructure simple and centralized helps with censoring Internet content. The less data that can pass through a phone line, the easier it is to filter it. Reserving and regulating higher capacity Internet access, or broadband, for government institutions and select corporate networks helps the government know where and what to censor. Common methods of censoring or filtering Internet traffic include keyword filtering and Web address blocking (Web is Watching).^[16][17]

Technical filtering, however, is becoming more difficult for the Cuban government. The combination of more efficient Web standards, better compression technology, more complex encryption methods, virtual aliases/identities, and the vast reach of the Internet through a diverse broadcasting infrastructure is making it more difficult to censor free expression and the flow of information. In addition to technical aspects, the number of citizens questioning the government over its policies and the number becoming more knowledgeable about how the Internet operates are increasing.^[18]

Yoani Sánchez, author of the popular Cuban blog Generación Y, is one such person. Sánchez, a blogger and web programmer who frequently questions the censorship and intimidation of the Cuban government, launched Voces Cubanas, an online platform and education service where citizen journalists and bloggers from within Cuba can publish and express themselves.

According to Yoani, the most difficult obstacle to increasing the number of subscribers has been the lack of Internet access in Cuban homes.^[19] Another major obstacle has been censorship. For example, Yoani’s own blog address, DesdeCuba.com, is blocked from within Cuba by the government. Yoani blogs "blind."^[20] She relies on a network of "opinion leaders," other citizen journalists, and friends to post and distribute the content for her blog and for other services, such as Twitter and Facebook. Citizens from inside Cuba also rely on a network of bloggers, foreign Web services, aliases, and proxies to read her content and publish their own.

Although mostly blocked in Cuba, email, blogs, and social networks are the only forms of digital interaction (other than voice) where people from outside Cuba can communicate with those in Cuba. Within Cuba, most Internet access is filtered at the service level. Cuba has only one government–run Internet provider. Static "IP" addresses are assigned to each online device so that all intranet and Internet communication can be monitored. Internet access is expensive even by U.S. standards, costing about $40 (U.S.) for one hour of access. Many Cubans exploit satellite technology — which is illegal in Cuba — to circumvent the lack of Internet access.

This censorship of Internet communication, impacts interactivity at the message/content level, not just in richness or grade of interactivity. There is a lack of openness in online communication within Cuba or coming from Cuba, and little to no explosions of "viral" content or messages. Instead, Cuban citizens rely on a mass, interpersonal system of word–of–mouth to spread news and information, especially news about political dissidents such as Yoani.^[21][22] Opinion leaders that have more access to online resources than the average citizen, collect and dissemenate online news and information which is then spread through word-of-mouth and hearsay.^[31][32]

In spite of the censorship and technical challenges, Generación Y was being visited about 14 million "hits" a month from within and outside Cuba as of January 2009 (Generación Y, Charts and Figures).^[23] These figures are not just important to justify that Generación Y is a popular, successful, and award–winning blog; it’s even more important because it exemplifies the underlying will of the Cuban people. The fact that Cuban citizens are going through measurable loopholes in order to publish content, exercise their free expression, and participate in a virtual dialogue with others around the world, justifies that there is demand building, not just a desire, for freedom of expression and transparency.

On Facebook alone, dozens of Cuban social networking sites exist with thousands of members each. Yoani’s Facebook page has over 3,600 fans (as of November 2009), many of which are Cuban Americans in Miami. Cubans in Facebook, has over 16,100 members from all over the world. The majority of their members, in accordance with the concentrations of the Cuban populace, are Cuban Americans and native Cubans. The administrators for the group are also located around the world — Florida, France, Spain, and Cuba. An important element and characteristic of the non–political social networking groups such as Cubans in Facebook, is that everyone is part of the same ongoing conversation.

The non–political discussion forums show us that the Web is not only providing a platform for the expression of intrinsic freedoms and common cultural values, but is also shortening the geographical distances between the Cuban people. Although virtual, it can be the "great equalizer" in social and political realities.^[24] Cuban bloggers are taking advantage of this far–reaching platform and spearheading the call for a restoration Cubans’ rights and freedoms. Cubans of all nationalities and regardless of their political orientation are communicating online and generally in support for the well–being of one another.^[22]

Actual social change won’t be happening as a direct consequence of social networking anytime soon. It may happen indirectly, through the mass word–of–mouth system that Cubans currently use to discuss social and political issues. One thing that’s obvious about the current state of social networking in the Cuban community is that it has helped the younger generation of Cubans put aside much of the political and social grudges of their parents, grandparents, and even their respective governments.^[21][22]

There has been some social change within the younger generation of Cubans because of the openness of online communication and because the younger generation is taking advantage of this new platform legally and illegally. These social changes are not happening simply a result of economic hardship, like some experts argue — Cuba has been in economic hardship since the embargo and even worse since the collapse of the Soviet Union.^[18][24] These changes are happening because Cuba’s younger generation is starting to proactively seek a day that "Cuba can open itself up to Cuba."^[25] They want to be able to communicate openly, travel freely, and better themselves socially and economically.^[22]

This generation is why we have virtual communities such as Cubans in Facebook and blogs such as Generación Y. These discussion and interaction groups include Cubans of all nationalities and create a connection around their cultural commonalities and their instinctive will to be united as a nation. Much of the older generation, and their participation in older media, have not had the same impact on their respective real–world society partly because traditional media has technical limits for providing a forum where ideas to circulate freely; it doesn’t provide a platform for personable, civil, and rich interaction to take place. Online communication and virtual identities, along with a system of word–of–mouth, have been crucial in providing a framework for intrinsic rights to be expressed regardless of the technical and infrastructure limitations in Cuba.

Online infrastructure and communication has yet to improve in Cuba and the potential of online interaction is only in its infancy worldwide. Consequently, social changes may also be in their infancy in Cuba as well. Much of the current generation of exiled Cubans, and even native Cubans, has yet to discover the Cuba their parents and grandparents left behind because of the geopolitical barriers and historical censorship that still exist.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits still face poor political decisions and socioeconomic differences to overcome in order to accomplish a united future. Like the Eastern Bloc, all Cubans must enforce their will on their respective governments; governments which continue concentrate their power and political choices on behalf of political elites, lobbyists, or financial gains. "Protest does not equal democratization."^[30] Embargoes, political differences, and grudges of the past must all be dismantled. After all, government exists not just to resolve conflict but also to serve its people.

In the meantime, social networking can continue to promote a national conversation and to shorten geographic distances as advances in communication technology continue to enhance the online framework that allows Cubans to circumvent the ideologies and restrictions in place. The big question to ask now is: Can the will of the Cuban people expressed in a virtual world, result in change in the real world?

Connecting con Cuba: An optimistic perspective of how new media are supporting social change in the Cuban community.
Gabriel L. Enriquez
University of South Florida St. Petersburg

For questions or comments, please email me.

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32. Devine, R. P. 2008. "Media Opinion Leadership: Revising the Two Step Flow of Influence." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Omni Parker House, Boston, MA. Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p276328_index.html