Role of Social Media in Egyptian Revolution

Role of companionable Media in Egyptian RevolutionT fitted of Contents (Jump to)IntroductionLiterature Review play down of RevolutionMobilization Theories exercise of Social Media in EgyptWe are all(a) Khaleed sayAsmaa MafhouzUse of Social Media during 25th of January determinationBibliographyIntroductionDuring the around juvenile years, the internet has intensified and disseminate in rapid abuse like no other phenomenon in the world today. Referring to ITU and land bank, from 20000 to 2014, the soma of individuals using internet rose, from 390 milion to 2,923 billion (ITU, 2014). This unmistakably demonstrates the impact of internet on our lives and how that much individuals of divergent age at this season utilize the mesh as a part of their regular life to be in touch and correspond with companions or associates, in order to purchase items, memo burn up films, read daily in the buffs, or even just look for data that is important to them. In the previous century, the initial stage of internet which was likewise known as WEB 1.0 was very limited and population could solo view the content that was already created for them. However, recently with the technological breachment at that keister is an increased interaction between internet user, which has lead to sack 2.0. Web 2.0, contrary to Web 1.0, allows race create and share its own content. Flew (2005) , in few words, compared the advancement of the web from 1.0 to Web 2.0 by describing as a move from personal websites to blogs and from publishing to participation (Flew, 2005). The advent of Web.2.0, new media and sites like Facebook or Twitter, has allowed people from different parts of the world are able to experience and witness what is happening all around the world. Hence, new media has dislodged our world. It has broadened our performer of communication and allowed us to connect with people across spaces and time in unprecedented ways.The emergence of technologies summarized as new media undoubtedly provides new office of activism for the worlds people. Referring to Castells (2007) the recent advantages in technology, and how the technology is being employ have created a new paradigm that is reconfiguring how power is negotiated in the earthly c formerlyrn sphere. Therefore, the new media has essential implication for political activists who under this new paradigm are able to as Castell points out build their autonomy, and face the institutions of society in their own terms projects(Castells, 2007).M each crucial diachronic events, protest and revolutions were feasible thanks to invention of new technologies through different periods of fib. The discovery of the print in Europe in mid fifteenth century helped the Reformation 1848 revolutions occurred thanks to the Telegraph System which allowed rapid dissemination of political news across the Europe. Therefore technology continues to have an colossal impact in our lives. Social media has had va st impact even in recent times of political crisis such was the Arab Spring that spread-out in Egypt resulting in what many an(prenominal) referred to as Twitter Revolution. harmonizely, I will inclination to explore the role and the impact of the cyber activism through platforms such Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs on mobilizing people for collective action. The chief(prenominal) research question lies on how has the affable media impact and effected the creation of societal movements and their mobilisation on overthrowing an authoritarian government activity as in Egypt during the Arab Spring of 2011.Literature ReviewIn recent years, new social media has been a very central topic which many scholars and academics explored.Professors Liervrouw and Livingstone in the Handbook of parvenu Media Student Edition (2002), which, according to Ellen Wartella, is a the first major review of interactive technologies and their cultural and social context of use defines social medi a information and communication technologies and their associated social contexts( Lievrouw and Livingstone, 2002). Not everyone agrees with powerfulness of Social media, B.J. Mendelson in his book Social Media is bullshit (2012) tries to expose the myths of social media. He illustrates how the conception of social media first came to importance, and why it has such a regular presence in the marketing field. Furthermore, he demonstrates why the Facebook friends and Twitter pursual doesnt non mean nonhing without old-fashioned real-world connections. He analyzes famous stories of social media achievements, and reveals some unsettling truths butt end the surface. Whats more he tells how to topper control the potential of the net incomewithout spending a fortune in the process (Mendelson, 2012).There is a debate among scholars whether how much the social media plays a role and has an impact on collective action and brining social change by toppling authoritarian regimes.Clay S hirky (2008) is one of the foremost researchers to develop on the effects of the internet and support the role of social media as a new social implement for mobilization. In his book Here Comes Everybody he argues in favor of Internet effects on organization. Shirky states that with the creation of social media, a group give the bounce be formed without the previous limitations of time and cost. According to him tools that provide simple ways of creating groups lead to new groups, and not just more groups but more kinds of groups (Shirky, 2008). On the other hand, not everyone agrees with Shirkys ideas. Malcom Galdwell, a Canadian journalist, in his 2010 journal is doubtful on the emancipation and empowers sayings of social networking in general. He is skeptical of revolutionary potential of it. Social media, according to him, creates only weak ties which are not respectable enough for powerful action in the terrain. As he puts once the activists were defined by their cause, wh ile now they are defined by their tool(Galdwell, 2010).Numerous people in the scholarly world, media and policy fashioning circles has attempted to comprehend and explain the reasons for the Egyptian Uprising in 2011. The mainstream hypotheses crop from poverty and suppression to years of aggravation from unfulfilled expectation of a new generation, etc.Mohamed El Bendary, an expert on Middle easterly Affairs, in his book The Egyptian Revolution Between Hope and Despair, Mubarak to Morsi (2013), close in an account and a chronology of the 2011 Egypts uprising and its outcomes. As an Egyptian-American, he in like manner analysis the US-Egypt relation and see if Egypt can became a democratic country without US economic assistance or intervention in the interior affairs. Furthermore, Tarek Osman a leading world expert in late history of Egypt, in his journal for Cairo Review, gives a depth analysis for the causes of Mubarak give back (Osman, 2011). Also, in his book Egypt on t he Brink From Nasser to Mubarak which received universal recognition, he unfolds the reader with the situation in Egypt by giving a prospective on the remarkable demonstrations of January and February of 2011 and the ousting from power of Mubarak. In the renewed way out of his book, he puts those events solely in the framework of Arab Spring movement that go along to distress the entire Southern hemisphere.Background of RevolutionThe 2011 was a key year in the history of Egypt. Suddenly, an unexpected revolution was taking place to begin with everyones eyes. On 25th January of 2011, which was also a universal holiday known as National Police Day, and 11 days after the president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled from power in Tunisa, Egyptian demonstrators stormed in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and began their struggle in order to bring down Egyptian chairperson Hosni Mubarak, dissolve assembly, and draft a novel constitution. To analyze the characteristics and th e causes of the Egyptian Revolution is important to get familiar with its diachronic background.In 1981, after the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian people continued alert under oppressive and authoritarian regime, hence with a different name. The alleged(a) Modern Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak became one of the longest leaders in power of the modern Egyptian history, ruling for dependablely 30 years. With coming to power, Hosni Mubarak, introduced the Emergency natural law, through which military officers and government were allowed to violate peoples privacy and detain them for any period of time, without any reason (Kanalley, 2011). As time went by, people began to quality discontent with his internal and external policy. The gradual worsening of socio economic condition, overpowering and wide-spread corruption, and gap between rich and poors fueled the discomfort and dissatisfaction of Egypts citizens towards his regime (Osman, 2012). A part of the problem was that Mubar ak was fully unthinking and lived isolated from its own people. Tarik Osman writes that people of Egypt knew very little about him in person and he was mostly associated with ceremonials and public events (Osman, 2012). Consequently, the resentment aimed and targeted him personally. During his 30 years in power, people of Egypt only knew him as someone who was responsible for their everyday ill fortune and troubles. This dissatisfaction towards Mubarak, stepwise began to caper into violent manifestion of hatred. From 2004, there were many small demonstration where people began tearing his bill-boards and pictures in the street (Osman, 2012). According to Osman, Mubarak in turn responded by relying on containment, irresistible impulse and confrontation. Through containment, he wanted to introduce investment plans in order to ease the demands and lessen the pressure specially from the middleclass (Osman, 2012). Coercion turn out to be apparent as a tool to maintain any possible challenge, such as crush of protest, restriction on civic organization, and the prevalent use of torture (Osman, 2012). On the other hand, confrontation was done in order to restrain any possible potential political force from challenging him in the near future (Osman, 2012).The pressure, determination, and spirit of youngusters2/3 were under age thirtyfive coerce the government to more and more depend on confrontation and coercion rather than containment. However the coercion utilise by the government gradually started to became unsustainable as the accessibility of Internet and international media gave to population a bump consciousness and the prospect to mobilize their dissatisfactionMobilization TheoriesThe impact of Social Media as a tool for collective action and mobilization can be examined through a set of theories. Clay Shirky (2011) is one of the early researchers to develop on social media as a new social tool for collective action. He asserts that throughout the ye ars, the world technology framework has gotten denser, more intricate, and more participatory. Individuals have picked up more noteworthy access to data, more chances to take part out in the open discourse, and hence, an upgraded capacity to cover up collective action (Shirky 2011). Thus, according to him these innovations such as, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter has become a reality of life and can help facilitate publics demand for change. People, activists, political and non governmental organizations, telecommunications firms are all actors that engage and participate in social media sites.Furthermore a key component of political participation can be explained through Manuel Castells network theory, where he believes that weak ties, anononymosity in internet and characteristics of online communication provide a solid ground for activism (Castells, 1996). According to him, Internet has shaped a space of autonomy for the trade of information and the scattering of feelings of collect ive indignation and hope. He points that the lnternet network has turn out to be the tangible supporter of an innovative kind of political activism, an activism that sustains on crosswise networks, on political autonomy, leaderless organization, and baseless solidarity (Castells, 2012).Resource mobilization theory is establish on the idea that a social movement success depends on the ability to mobilize people through resources such as time, capital, organisational skills, and several social/political event. By referring to this theory, lnternet offers communication bridges that helps a society build up and provide resources that can be used to coordinate protest where government mistrust is huge and civil activism is steady suppressed.Use of Social Media in EgyptSocial networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube were main actors in providing communitication between protestors and activists. The role and utilization of social media in the Egyptian uprising in 2011 has gathered a co nsiderate amount of elicit in the world.We are all Khaleed Said One of the major motives that sparked the hugest disgrace in Egypt during that time was the police brutality that resulted in the death of Khaled Said . Khalid Said who was only twenty eight years and a calculating machine engeenigering student, when two police offers entered in the internet caffe and beat him to death, supposedly for uploading a video in the internet, where police officers are seen sharing the drugs theyve just seized (Bbc.co.uk, 2011). A picture of his corpse in the morgue snapped by his brother with a cellphone, went viral in the internet and caused a major outcry in the public opinion. The image published in the inteternet, according to HRW, showed a fractured skull, detached jaw, broken nose, and numerous other signs of trauma (Wedeman, 2010).The shock and outrage on his brutal death lead to the creation of the Facebook page We Are solely Khaled Said which later became influential in future o rganization of demonstrations of 2011.The Facebook page promptly gathered over 460,000 users who spread around the internet the vivid image of Khaleds disfigured body and YouTube videos contrasting those images with a ruddy Said. The day president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled from power in Tunisa, We are totally Khalid Said created an event in Facebook and declared an uprising in Egypt aswell. Approximatly 500.000 process were invited only in Facebook, to the demonstration of 25th of January, where they could signal whether theyd would search by clicking Yes, Maybe, or No.Asmaa MafhouzSeven days before the 25th of January protest, a women named Asma, posted a video on Facebbok, where she asked the people to take part in the demonstration of 25th. Her video went viral and the strongest aspect of this video was that she was not afraid to show her face and identify herself. According to Good man (2011), the courage of this act, speaking out so forcefully as a women, inspire d many others to start posting their images online. numerous argue that those affecting calls inspired many to join the uprisingUse of Social Media during 25th of JanuaryOn 25th January of 2011, which day also acquiesce with National Police Day, huge demonstrations erupted in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez. The main reason behind the protest was the excessive abuse of police forces, especially in the baptismal font of Khalid Said. Among the requests of protesters were the resignation of Police Minister, the re-establishment of a fair minimum wage, abolishing the emergency law, and order restrictions for the president.The protestors plan for the first protest of 25th of January was held though online communication, via different Facebook pages (mainly We are all Khaled) and twitter accounts. Their goal was to increase the number of protests in as much cities as possible, especially mobilize those on poorer regions (deprived from PC and internet), and close out the police cordons (Nuns, 2011). The police was alert about the protests, but, according to EI Bendary, they were expecting only a few number of demonstrators as happened in protests held six years earlier, even they were stunned when they saw the enormous number of activists gathered in Tahiri substantial (Bendary 2012, pg 20). According to El Bendary, police must have not been aware of the lnternet use in Egypt, which had resulted in a massive digital connectivity.ConclusionThe thesis has analyzed the role and impact of social media in the Egyptian Revolution. Throughout the paper the thesis has expanded and examined the role of The lnternet as a vital instrument that was used during the Arab Spring, especially in Egypt, and how it facilitated the revolution. Consequently, the ideas and beliefs that were diffused all the way through social-network sites, lead to a greater organization and mobilization for collective political action. Therefore, social media can be very effective in deliv ering the message and coordinating the activism, however its influence should not be overhyped. There are also many other factors that foster the change.BibliographyBbc.co.uk, (2011).BBC World Service Programmes Egypt We are all Khaled Said. online Available at http//www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/02/110217_outlook_egypt_protests_khaled_said.shtml Accessed 27 Feb. 2015.Castells, M. (1996).The rise of the network society. Malden, Mass. Blackwell Publishers.Castells, M. (2009).Communication power. Oxford, UK Oxford University Press.El-Bendary, M. (2013).The Egyptian Revolution.Flew, T. (2005).New media. South Melbourne, Vic. Oxford University Press.Gladwell, M. (2010). Small Change.New Yorker. online Available at http//www.newyorker.com/ cartridge/2010/10/04/small-change-3 Accessed 27 Feb. 2015.Goodman, A. (2011).http//www.democracynow.org/2011/2/8/asmaa_mahfouz_the_youtube_video_that.ITU, (2014).Statistics. online Available at http//www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages /stat/default.aspx Accessed 27 Feb. 2015.Lievrouw, L. and Livingstone, S. (2005).Handbook of New Media. London SAGE Publications.Mendelson, B. (2012).Social media is bullshit. New York, N.Y. St. Martins Press.Nunns, A., Idle, N. and Soueif, A. (2011).Tweets from Tahrir. New York OR Books.Osman, T. (2012).The Fall of Hosni Mubarak. online Aucegypt.edu. Available at http//www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cairoreview/pages/articleDetails.aspx?aid=233 Accessed 27 Feb. 2015.Osman, T. (2013).from Nasser to the Muslim Brotherhood. New Haven, Connecticut Yale University Press.Shirky, C. (2008).Here comes everybody. New York Penguin Press.Wedemen, B. (2010).Demonstrators in Egypt rail against brutality, mans death CNN.com. online Edition.cnn.com. Available at http//edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/25/egypt.police.beating/ Accessed 27 Feb. 2015.