Poking the Government: Social Media and The Revolution in Egypt
Jon Stewart followers may have already heard this quip on "The Daily Show" days ago: "If two speeches and a social media site is all we needed to spread democracy then why did we invade Iraq, why didn’t we just, I don’t know, poke them." It's a funny and cynical take on the power of social media to topple governments that had me laughing outloud. But with that said, I still wouldn't outright dismiss the utility of a Facebook post or tweet in the recent Egyptian revolution.
Egypt of course has been undergoing mass protests in recent days, leading most recently to the ouster of stubborn dictator Hosni Mubarak. Yes, Stewart is right that it was the fervor of the Egyptian people that ultimately pressured their president to not seek reelection come September, and not social media itself. Social media is merely a tool; the people who used these tools at their disposal are the ones who incited the revolution.Social media is not some animate being or magic wand that in and of itself can effect change; it needs the fingers of enough impassioned people typing those character-limited messages to the masses. It's the correct attribution; credit does deserve to go to the people.
But let's not downplay the huge role a catalyst plays in transformative events. In this particular situation, social media spread the news faster than any other, more old-fashioned means of communication could have. Social media serves to connect people, and here, a collective with a shared objective strategized better than it could have because of the tools at hand. Yes, I suppose telegrams and Pony Express-style snail mail have in the past incited their share of revolutions; but with Egypt, we're talking a matter of days to not just get it started but also actually effect change. Expediency, such as that afforded by social media, is definitely the greatest companion you can have when it comes to answering the call of the people.
What do you think? Is social media's role in not just Egypt's but also Tunisia's uprisings overrated? Or should we be heaping more praises on Facebook and Twitter and their phenomenal abilities to transform a nation?
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Tags: The Daily Show, egypt, facebook, hosni mubarak, jon stewart, revolution, social media, twitter
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Comment by Adnan Malik on February 11, 2011 at 4:54pm -
Mark! I agree to this guy. Just a little suggestion, "Against Every Tyrant" would have been a better translation to "Alaa Kulay Zalim" ): And yes its not just FB, not to forget the role of Twitter, YouTube and many others.
However, since we Pakistanis are now very much experienced in bringing down fall to dictators (and then raising up new ones). By watching his speech last day, I had no doubts in my mind that Mubarak had accepted the defeat and now just delaying it to bargain a safe exist and post exit gurantees with Gen. Hussein Tantawi, diplomatically inter-located by Washington. As soon as he got his grantees he surrender the powers to guaranters. I hope your Generals to remain honest with their people (though we have bad experiences).
I hail struggle of the peoples of Egypt, may Almighty bless them with a new lucky dawn and may their dreams come true!
Adnan Malik
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Comment by Mark Manalang on February 11, 2011 at 3:13pm -
Yeah, saw that earlier, Adnan. Quite a soap opera it's been with Mubarak, hasn't it? I didn't know what to expect anymore with that after yesterday's non-abdication, so today's resignation caught me by surprise. I thought this was an interesting article; Wael Ghonim thanking Facebook: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/11/egypt-facebook-revolution-....
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Comment by Adnan Malik on February 11, 2011 at 2:02pm
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Mark! so "Mubarak" lost at last, as did "Musharaf" and so does everyone dictator who by the power of tyranny tries to deprive people of their basic rights and censor the voices that are not music for him.
Thanks for your appreciations! though I am shocked to re-read my comments today, full of grammatical errors and typos. Looks like after working 12 hour that day I was not in my sense ):
Take good care of you
Adnan Malik
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Comment by Mark Manalang on February 11, 2011 at 1:37pm
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Thanks, Adnan! That's a great point about Pakistan and the Musharaf debacle in 2007. Social media's pervasiveness is definitely becoming an established fact now. I'd be interested to hear other examples of social media's prevalence from other members of the UCR Sloan network. (And thanks again for your comment, Adnan!).
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Comment by Adnan Malik on February 9, 2011 at 4:02pm
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Mark! good take mate!
Being a cyber hide park, I do not doubt the internet ability to create scams/hoaxes/fantesies too. But exception void, by and large it is a refection of whatever is happening around in the world after all. Social Media is not some alienated Island, its very much a part and parcel of the this real world and can not be kept isolated with whatever going around, be is looking for fun or raising your voice against suffocation, exploitation, censorship and dictatorship.As the Egyption Authroties did, we observed the same phenomenon in Pakistan back in November 03, 2007. When Army genral Pervaiz Musharaf, in a bid to get himself unconstituionaly re-elecetd, proclaimed amergency, scraping the whole higher judicoury (60 judges of highcourts and supreme court), shutting down the Internet and Private Radio and Television Channel and suspending the basic rights of the people. But the broadcast of TV channels were still available on the internet somehow and Musharaf himself was the ultimately loser at the end. So the important of Internet and Social Media is as new Socio Economic Political platform is an established fact now!
Adnan Malik
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