Hold your horses. Can you really say it was social media that brought down the Tanzanian government? No, social media was simply a vessel steered with great effect by the Tanzanian people. While the future of Tunisia's governance is extremely uncertain at present, it seems we've witnessed the rarest of phenomena, a popular revolt toppling an Arab dictator. 
Although it cannot be said that twitter was the sole driving force of change it can be said 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. It was the people who were the voice; social media simply helped them conclude that it was time to hit the streets.
Hi Annie, nice post.
ReplyDeleteI think Youtube is one of the most useful social media tools in aiding social revolution because it brings the conflict right into people's homes. They may hear a report of violence and get angry but I think people are driven to action on a more passionate level when they see events unfold themselves.
The Social Times Ran an article earlier this year discussing Youtube's role in the Libyan revolution. To check it out cut and paste the link below:
http://socialtimes.com/youtube-libyan-revolution_b39678