The title is hyperbole, but the author makes two good points:
1. A revolution is created by people, not by technology. Calling the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia the "Twitter" or "Facebook" revolutions doesn't reflect the reality on the ground.
2. The more centralised and widely used a networking service like Twitter or Facebook is, the easier it is for governments to control it or use it to track down dissidents.
I think the article contains a little hyperbole, too.
Leica were not the only manufacturer of cameras while there is only one Twitter.
Blogging, Facebook, YouTube (and no doubt good-old email) have played their part in this but Twitter has a special place in getting information out and to journalists.
There is no other technology that can spread grass roots information as widely or as quickly - especially to important recipients outside of the country. Important twitter messages travel amazing quickly and people seem to inherently pass them in the direction of high-follower and well-connected accounts.
The fact the Egyptian Government turned the internet off and banned Al-Jazeera shows the weight that they placed on these media.
And, while there is a mix of internet technologies being used in these revolutions, the term "internet Revolution" was already all used up.
Who is calling this the Twitter revolution, besides people like Robert Scoble and Michael Arrington? The tech bloggers of the world might be adept enough at covering the constant soap opera of startup culture (and the relatively very rare technological advances that it sometimes produces), but I think when one of the most important countries in one of the most important regions in the world is on the cusp of a total revolution, we their readers would do well to, well, completely ignore anything they have to say about events of global political importance. When the Howard Zinns of the world start describing the nature of social technology in the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, I'll listen. But one shouldn't imagine that somebody on BoingBoing—or even a deeply entertaining futurist like Clay Shirky—is going to be a voice of any substance in analyzing the events of the last couple weeks.
4 comments
[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 17.4 ms ] thread1. A revolution is created by people, not by technology. Calling the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia the "Twitter" or "Facebook" revolutions doesn't reflect the reality on the ground.
2. The more centralised and widely used a networking service like Twitter or Facebook is, the easier it is for governments to control it or use it to track down dissidents.
Very valid and interesting points.
Leica were not the only manufacturer of cameras while there is only one Twitter.
Blogging, Facebook, YouTube (and no doubt good-old email) have played their part in this but Twitter has a special place in getting information out and to journalists.
There is no other technology that can spread grass roots information as widely or as quickly - especially to important recipients outside of the country. Important twitter messages travel amazing quickly and people seem to inherently pass them in the direction of high-follower and well-connected accounts.
The fact the Egyptian Government turned the internet off and banned Al-Jazeera shows the weight that they placed on these media.
And, while there is a mix of internet technologies being used in these revolutions, the term "internet Revolution" was already all used up.
http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/31726988934778880
Every Egyptian I talked to on ground this week laughed when I told them some think tech was not a vital tool for organizing #jan25
http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/30662558541152257
People on ground in #egypt adamant about critical role tech playing in crowdsourcing logistics #jan25
http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/31836874016296960
Tech doesn't make activists, but creates space for unlikely leaders to emerge and redefine civil society as smthg more inclusive/expansive
http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/30665407077556224
One Egyptian says, "facebook used to set the date, twitter used to share logistics, youtube to show the world, all to connect people" #jan25