http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/tech-and-pooling-tunisians-disgustThe irony is that social media likely played a significant role in the events that have unfolded in the past month in Tunisia, and that the revolution appears far more likely to lead to lasting political change. Ben Ali's government tightly controlled all forms of media, on and offline. Reporters were prevented from traveling to cover protests in Sidi Bouzid, and the reports from official media characterized events as either vandalism or terrorism. Tunisians got an alternative picture from Facebook, which remained uncensored through the protests, and they communicated events to the rest of the world by posting videos to YouTube and Dailymotion. As unrest spread from Sidi Bouzid to Sfax, from Hammamet and ultimately to Tunis, Tunisians documented events on Facebook. As others followed their updates, it's likely that news of demonstrations in other parts of the country disseminated online helped others conclude that it was time to take to the streets. And the videos and accounts published to social media sites offered an ongoing picture of the protests to those around the world savvy enough to be paying attention.
http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/who-organized-tunisias-revolutionI've taken these quotes from Ethan Zuckerman and Elizabeth Dickinson's excellent posts on Foreign Policy's blog, and in fairness to them it needs to be said that they are both trying hard to carefully parse the role that online social media may be having in helping topple the Tunisian government. But even they are stuck using shorthand language that, alas, tells us little about how the protests of the last few weeks have actually been organized, and by whom.
It's not their fault that most Western media perennially fails to ask, let alone answer, those questions with any rigor or detail. (Why is that?) And a lot of today's bloggers seem to be falling into the same pattern. Everyone wants to name the next "Device Revolution," which will do wonders for their search results and media hits, but explains little. At best, we may get vague references to "trade unions" or "political parties." Jillian York is right to insist that Tunisia is not a Twitter or WikiLeaks revolution, it is a "human revolution." But even that statement, while it does clear some of the social media clutter out of the way, leaves me wanting more. Which humans? Which organizations? How?
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
