"It couldn't have been done without Facebook & Twitter"
That's been the argument from many of the fearless and modest revolutionaries in Egypt over the past several weeks. According to a CNN report, many of the revolutionaries in Egypt give credit to facebook, stating that it was the "crucial element" for the success of the revolution. This has been the tone of most Egyptian revolutionaries and citizens. While they don't deny the power of people, they have seemingly named facebook as their sole reason for achieving action, justice, and the mass number of people who became involved in this cause.
After reading so much about these revolutionary events, I've noticed a pattern on the point of views on the situation. Those who were directly involved in the revolution in Egypt (the revolutionary leaders and the people of Egypt) seem to play the role of a martyr, not giving themselves much credit beyond showing up, while the brains behind the social tools they used, like facebook and twitter, argue that their platforms are not the reason for this uprising and that it was the bravery of the people that truly fueled the cause. So where do we see truth and what does this all mean? Is this a customary and polite argument to the tune of "thank you -- no, thank you -- no, please, thank YOU" or is there really a split between what is truly believed to be root of the success of this revolution?
Real-Time Networked Communication
"It seems clear that social media has played a key role in getting the word out, and in helping organizers plan their protests. In the end, it’s not about Twitter or Facebook: it’s about the power of real-time networked communication." -Matthew Ingram
Perhaps facebook and twitter did place extreme momentum in the revolutions we've seen in Egypt, however, what if we de-brand the situation and look at the root of the technolog? What the internet has done, and is still making in advancements in, is closing the gap between asynchronous and synchronous communication within the realm of new media technologies. We remember when email started; it was an asynchronous technology that allowed us for the first time ever to submit messages to each other (across the country) digitally. When this technology was first introduced, and for the first decade and a half or so of email's presence, it was primarily asynchronous and we didn't see any social stands enacted of timely replies until the introduction of smart phones, laptops, and other mobile communication devices. Moving past email -- social media, instantaneous messaging services like BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), which provides perhaps the most synchronous chat experience, letting the users know when each person has read the message, is currently typing the message, and has sent the message, twitter, and advancements in already established technologies (like the real-time search on Google), have changed the playing field dramatically and established a new standard for synchronous, real-time networked communication technology.
Text messages. Facebook wall posts. Tweets. Blog posts. Real-time search. The ability to communicate on a synchronous level while being mobile has given the ordinary person extraordinary power and the ability to assemble, disseminate information, and take action as if they were secret CIA agents. Like magazines, newspapers, billboards, and television news programs, social networking is essentially about spreading information and coordinating action (It’s Not Twitter or Facebook, It’s the Power of the Network). Take away the idea that "social networking" means a laptop and a facebook account and pretend it's 1950. Social networking takes on a whole other meaning, the authentic meaning. Social networking is merely the action of people talking, sharing information, and as Ingram states, assembling & coordinating action -- whether online or off. So then take away the idea of facebook when we say social networking, and insert the idea of real-time networked communication technology -- that, for many, is where the power lies in these revolutions we've seen over the past few months.
Social Media, the Government & Revolutionary Leaders
If the aforementioned is true, than the internet and real-time networking via the internet is a major, if not vital, element in the revolutions in the middle east. On January 27, 2011, the Egyptian government, namely Hosni Mubarak, responded by turning off the internet. An action that is seemingly as simple as flipping a switch turned the nation upside and fueled protest two-fold. Christopher Mims notes in his article in MIT's Technology Review that
"What makes communication and community building so powerful on the Internet is its public nature -- everyone who is similarly disaffected can find common cause. But for precisely the same reason, the Internet can make it apparent to authorities who should be locked up first; indeed, simple network analysis of the sort regularly conducted by academics could even grant oppressive regimes deep insight into who are the leaders, or the most influential communicators, for nascent movements."
The government knows that people are assembling and plotting via social tools (and the mere nature and ability of the internet) and sees them as an incredible threat. We now see, in the most recent revolutionary efforts in Libya, revolutionaries again pouring into the streets to fight for democracy. Libya, most likely taking cues from its neighbors, has shut down the internet for two full days as of today, in order to stop protestors from overthrowing the long time Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. It is interesting to note that governments in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and the other countries we've seen revolutionary efforts in, did not say that weapons are illegal, did not say that violence is now illegal, but they instead directly shut-down the internet, which has proven to be perhaps the most dangerous weapon of them all.
We must remember that facebook, twitter and real-time communication technologies are tools and like traditional tools, can be used in a number of different fashions, whether helpful or not, proactive or not, or used to assemble or not. It is clear that the inherent power of social media and the internet has truly been released and shown how effective they truly can be. The revolutionaries in Egypt will tell you that facebook caused Mubarak to step down and facebook c-level managers will tell you it was the bravery of the fearless leaders. We are witnessing the future of new media technologies and real-time communication right now and for the first time in history, we see the drastic and monumental effect they can have within a non-mediated cyberspace.
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