Many wonder what role social media is playing in the protests sweeping across the Middle East. Some Western commentators quickly stressed the role of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube in shaping the events, to the point of calling it a “twitter revolution.”
[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/katiecouric/status/30751936571514880"]
Others lament the lack of influence social media had on shaping news coverage. Mainstream media in the Western world didn’t pick up the Tunisian protests until weeks into them, shortly before the country’s president was ousted.
TechCruch writes on Jan 14th that “the most jarring thing about today’s revolution was the constant commentary about how the amount of Twitter and Facebook buzz didn’t seem to translate over to mainstream Anglophone media.”
So how important was social media?
Possibly the smartest piece I’ve read on the role of social media comes from Riyaad Minty, head of social media at Al Jazeera. He writes:
“There is a lot to say about the role Social Media played in this, I do think that a lot of people seem to be missing the point on what exactly Social Media can and does do in shaping events. … In Tunisia, it was not about mobilising people through Social Media, it was about broadcasting what was going on to those who chose to listen. Without the tweets, facebook posts or YouTube videos we would not have known about the initial protests… or would we? Only once mainstream media picks up on a story and decides what importance it should have, do people really notice what is going on.”
Meanwhile, demonstrators in Egypt are encountering additional challenges, as it appears many lines of communication have been shut down or significantly disrupted, including Twitter, Facebook and mobile phone services. (Update: Apparently general Internet access is down across Egypt.) Further demonstrations are planned for Friday.
[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/bencnn/status/30777173400879105"]
Some of the tweeters posting live accounts and pictures are @LaurenBohn, @SultanAlQassemi and @Arabist, as well as many more. Let’s hope we can keep following their eyewitness accounts tomorrow, and let’s hope they will be safe.
Update, Jan 29
Alfred Hermida, who was reporting from Cairo for the BBC in the early 1990s, has posted his take on the role of social media.
“In countries like Egypt, part of the government’s power comes from controlling the media. What social media does is allow citizens to get around controls on the media, by sharing information and connecting around a common cause,” he writes.
With the government crackdown on Twitter and Facebook, it seems the Egyptians might be going low-tech to communicate. According to this article, they may be using IRC and even HAM radio.
http://werebuild.eu/wiki/Egypt/Main_Page