Twitter/Face Book revolution in Egypt

With improvement in technology in the 21st century, social networks and digital media has overtaken any other form of communication in the world. Technology has speeded up globalization process and in turn witnessed cultural sharing around the globe (Castells 67). The digital media has become one of the most important tools in influencing political and economic affairs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Twitter/Face Book revolution in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People around the world have become more enlightened about world affairs and their rights. Social networks are free, easy and convenient for people of all lifestyles to open and own an account as long as internet is available. Face Book and Twitter are innovations of the 21st century, which have heavily affected the system of governance. In Egypt, through the social networks, people started staging mass demonstrations in protest against Hosni Mub arak regime pressurizing him to resign in what could be termed as Internet/Twitter Revolution. Overwhelmed by the uprisings, the Egyptian Government resulted in banning Twitter and other social networks, though not directly the government was using Chomsky’s propaganda model to justify themselves. The government argued that the social networks were only interested in tapping the large Egyptian population as a resource and not in providing the crucial information. The government further refuted its image as portrayed on Twitter arguing that the information was biased and not objective. The information, to the regime, was structured in a way it put the masses against their own government (Herman Chomsky 2). To them Twitter being a foreign owned corporation was only interested in advertising itself, and had no interest in the affairs of the Egyptian people. It was also argued that exiled personalities and anti government movements were using the site to fund the protesters crea ting chaos and anarchy. Technological advancement especially in the media industry has been the major factor in influencing and speeding the process of globalization. Globalization and the digital media have facilitated more knowledge sharing and collaborations. The social networks are entertaining and at times addictive. This guarantees these sites millions and millions of followers and in the process of socializing information is shared and dispersed. In the recent past, the sites have become more business and political oriented. People have started to question the system of government in their respective countries after comparing it with other models of governments elsewhere.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The use of social media had effectively started to influence on the government in 2009. This was witnessed in Iran after the disputed presidential elections. In what came to be referred to the Green Revolution, green symbolizing the opposition party’s campaign colors, protesters marched into the streets pressuring Ahmedinejad to resign. Mousavi the opposition leader who disputed the elections kept in touch with the masses via the social networks. Protesters to post videos of the cruelty inflicted by the government forces used You Tube, Twitter and Face Book. This was met by international condemnation of the atrocities, some countries even threatening to impose economic sanctions. Although the Iran Government did not give in, the rest of the world had been sensitized (Raatma 54). In Egypt, the then government had ruled for over thirty years. Egypt has remained a third world country, with high levels of unemployment yet it was among the first countries of the world to experience civilization. The government was accused of being dictatorial, corrupt, and infringement of press freedom. Most of the over eighty million population remains unemp loyed and the few employed have poor working conditions and poor salaries. The Egyptian problems are common problems facing the Middle East region of the Arab world. Most of the Middle East Arab countries have a similar pattern of government; either dictatorial or monarchical, democracy is never exercised. The political leaders have been in power for decades, dictatorial and oppressive. Economic developments are minimal and the masses languish in poverty. However, the leaders of these regions are the richest among the political class of the world raising an alarm among the people. Some are known to lead flamboyant lifestyles owning property in other parts of the world like Europe and America. There are also monarchical systems in this region. Monarchical systems of the region allow no democratic elections. Leaders in power are not competent since they are in power not because of their capability but because of their family lineage. Comparing their form of government with the West de mocrats like the US, the people of the region have sought to change the status quo. The Egyptian Revolution was inspired by the Tunisian Revolution, which had just ousted the then incumbent president, Ben Ali. The participants of the revolutions were ordinary people and not militias or guerrilla fighters, and thus were unarmed.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Twitter/Face Book revolution in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The effectiveness of the uprising primarily relied on the number of people protesting, thus a medium to communicate with the people, urging them to turn up in large numbers was very necessary. Twitter and Face Book thus become the perfect platform for mass interaction (Bergstorm 1). The Egyptian media corporations are mainly state owned or government friendly and thus could not show or portray any anti government sentiment. The influence of the government on media created suspicion from the people and hence these local media could not be trusted. People turned to internationally credible media corporations like CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera. The social networks also become very famous. Where television network had been cut, people could follow, CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC, and other television cables on Twitter. Twitter allows users to view the tweets and messages if they have an account. To follow the proceedings, people registered on Twitter in large numbers and further uniting the masses, this led to the government’s use of propaganda model to claim Twitter was using the chaos to reap hefty profits and thus was manufacturing and structuring news to suit what they felt would attract more viewers and followers instead of remaining objective. Leaders like the exiled El- Baradi a Nobel Prize winner was able to directly link with the people. The rise of use of Twitter, Face Book and online news channels led the Government of Egypt to block internet access especially Twitte r. This brought about international condemnations as it was against the rights of people to acquisition of information, against press freedom and freedom of association. The government did not own up rather blamed the internet failures on the demonstrators. The masses were already educated and sensitized enough, so demonstrations could not be deterred or stopped. International community was very vocal in condemning this act and the internet-oriented companies like Google tried to help in solving the situation by sending direct IP port for use by the people on their handsets. This Egyptian Revolution could also be analyzed from the smart mob perspective propagated by Rheingold. The notion hold that there is emergence of popular revolts by the masses once there is technological advancement. The masses in context (smart mob) are not related nor acquainted with one another (Rheingold 76).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, they are faced with common problems like poverty and unemployment. The smart mobs use the technologically manufactured gadgets to relate with one another. They act intelligently and efficiently. As technology advances the cost of microprocessors, that link people, decrease. The technological advances highlighted by Rheingold include blogs, wireless gadgets like mobile phones, chats and computing technology. In Egypt and many other third world countries, wireless gadgets like mobile phones have become the most used tools for accessing the internet to the ordinary person. Prior to the 21st Century, mobile phones were not common in Africa. However, the past decades has witnessed radical changes in telecommunication industries around the world. Telecommunication industries have become the highest revenue generators all over Africa with the richest persons in African according to Forbes falling in the line of telecommunication industry. Of the Egyptians listed in the 2010 Forbes list of richest Africans the leading were in the telecommunication sector. Internet access through the phones and the development of smart phones is a new phenomenon in Africa and many other third world countries. Phone manufacturing companies like Nokia have spent much of their resources advertising their brand in the new markets of third world countries which in turn has seen massive buying of phones. During the revolution in Egypt, many people were using phones in the access of Twitter and Face Book. This enabled people to organize the venues and time of the demonstrations enabling them to counter the imposed curfews by the government. Most of these phones have a camera device, which enabled people to capture the events on the ground uploading the pictures on Face Book and Twitter for all to see. To counter this, the government blocked the internet (Inoljt 1). Through uploading pictures and videos of the events on the ground, there was no way the government could have been able to prevent the world from assessing the situation. This led to many nations sending airplanes for their people who could have been trapped in Egypt, which in turn led to Egypt losing millions of dollars in the tourism industry and other sectors. Leaders of the revolution were also able to communicate with other world leaders through webcam. Debates and negotiations could be initiated and held via the net something that has never been witnessed. The government was overwhelmed by the mass demonstration and all efforts to thwart the revolts became futile. Military deployment led to more condemnation. The US president, Obama, together with other world leaders pressurized the Egyptian administration to heed to the will of the people and institute reforms or just resign (Johnson 1). Without the international support, the president had no option but to resign. The successive Egyptian Revolution has inspired many more revolts in the world. The Arab nations of Middle East and North Africa ar e plugged into chaos. From Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen to Libya. Yemen has totally blocked Twitter site in an attempt to thwart the uprising. However, IP port and addresses from Twitter in collaboration with Google are being circulated in the television networks especially Al Jazeera in an attempt by the rest of the world to assist the oppressed mob agitating for their rights. Gadhafi, the Libyan dictator who has ruled for over forty-two years, has remained adamant. Libyan forces have been using excessive force in suppressing the demonstrators. Though Twitter and Face Book are partially blocked, pictures posted on those two sites show horrible scenes of human rights violation (Hudson 2). The international community led by the US has threatened military intervention on Libya (Baumont 1). There has been established a no-fly zone to deter Libyan fighter jets from further killing innocent civilians. No matter the efforts by these dictatorial regimes, the masses have the unifying bond in the internet, which they have enjoyed for a couple of years. The dictatorial regimes have a tendency of filtering the contents broadcast by local media. The powerful regimes control production, distribution and influence in the consumption of the information. The Middle East countries have remained relatively behind in the information dispensation sector and freedom of press (Hounshell 1). Globalization has changed the status quo by enabling connectivity and intermingling of people in different countries. Those countries that block the worldwide links and networks are heavily condemned. However, China one of the leading economies of the world, has continued with internet restriction and site like that of Google has been completely blocked. The internet is a valuable source of information in the modern world. The installation of fiber optic cables in third world countries has enabled global collaboration and sharing. You Tube has provided an alternative for storing chunks of informa tion. Marketing through You Tube has become easier and convenient. You Tube videos enable persons to assess a situation and make their investment choices wisely. Social networks have also become resourceful sites for job seekers and potential employers to interact. Global media has enabled users to access information first hand. A Person in Africa can follow the events of the latest Tsunami to hit Japan while another person in America can follow the events in Libya. Satellite television has enabled sports lovers to follow their respective sports and the icons of the games have become household names. Satellites are being used for many other reasons like scientific enquiry and media coverage (Castells 45). It is thus unethical and absurd to the rest of the world when dictatorial regimes opposed to the changing times are still opposed to the freedom of the media. However, the internet-engineered revolutions have had a major impact on global peace and economy. In Egypt, there were rowd y mobs whose aim was looting. Egypt has one of the richest cultural heritage and artifacts. Historical artifacts were targeted by the looters, of which some are thousands and thousands of years old. Economy of Egypt has been greatly destabilized and the country might never recover. It is not guaranteed that the next government will be better than the Mubarak regime (Gross 1). Instead of violent revolution, it would be better if people used the social networks and the general media to tackle their problems together. It would be better to engage in diplomatic negotiation and other non-violent forms like the way business is being successively conducted on the internet. However, oppressive governments must be removed from power to ensure human rights are not violated and development initiatives are encouraged and supported. Works Cited Bergstorm, Guy. â€Å"Egypt: The First Twitter Revolution?† About .com, 2011. Beaumont, Peter. Can Social Networking overthrow a government? Sydne y: The Sydney Morning Herald, 2011. Castells, Manuel. End of Millennium: The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Sussex: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Castells, Manuel. Communication Power. London: Oxford University Press. 2009. Gross, Karen. â€Å"After the Twitter Revolution: Democracy?† US Politics, 2011 Herman Edward Chomsky Noah. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books. Hounshell Blake. â€Å"Think again: Egypt.† FP Foreign Policy, 2011 Hudson, John. The ‘Twitter Revolution’ Debate: The Egyptian Test Case. The Atlantic Wire, Jan 2011. Inoljt. â€Å"The Great Twitter/Face book Revolution Fallacy.† Fri Feb18, 2011 Johnson, Bridget. â€Å"Washington Reacts to Egypt Protest.† About.com, 2011 Raatma, Lucia. Social Networks. New York: Cherry Lake Publishers, 2010. Rheingold Howard Raatma, Lucia. Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. New York: Basic Books, 2003. This essay on Twitter/Face Book revolution in Egypt was written and submitted by user Wyatt Gibson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.