Each of us is embedded in and understands the world through networks. These networks, such as the social network, the knowledge network, the capabilities network constrain and enable behavior. This set of complex, evolving, multi-mode, multi-link networks form a complex socio-technical system that can be documented and analyzed using meta-networks. Meta-Networks are high dimensional interlinked multi-mode and multi-link networks that can vary by time and space. They can be rapidly extracted from media data such as on-line news and social media e.g., Twitter. When this is done, the resultant meta-networks can be assessed using network and visual analytics. These analyses provide key insights into the underlying complex socio-technical system, insight into the evolving cultures and enable a rapid ethnographic assessment of a region. Key advances in big data analytics and visualization coupled with modern text-analytics make such analyses possible. This process of data extraction and analysis is described. Then results are presented for two cases - the Benghazi Consulate Attack in September 2012 and the current state of Myanmar in 2013. These studies provide insight into the strengths and limitations of using media data to understand the underlying socio-cultural world from a dynamic network perspective.