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Transcript of Caroline Sheedy
SocialMediaforSocialChange:ACaseStudyofSocialMediaUseinthe2011EgyptianRevolution
ByCarolineS.Sheedy
ACapstoneProject
PresentedtotheFacultyoftheSchoolofCommunication
InPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirements
FortheDegreeofMastersofArtsinPublicCommunication
Supervisor:ProfessorLaurenFeldman
April28,2011
ii
COPYRIGHT
CarolineS.Sheedy
2011
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IwouldliketothanktheCommunicationsandMarketingofficeofAmericanUniversityforgivingmetheopportunitytoworkmywaythroughgraduateschool.
IwouldalsoliketothanktheSchoolofCommunicationfaculty,especiallyprofessorLaurenFeldman.
Finally,thankstomyfriendsandfamilyfortheirconstantsupport.
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ABSTRACT
Thedebateoverwhetherornottheemergenceofsocialmediahaschangedtheway
peoplecommunicateforsocialchangehasreceivedheightenedattentionsince
MalcolmGladwelldeclared,“therevolutionwillnotbetweeted”inhis2010New
Yorkerarticle.Thiscapstoneprojectexaminestheuseofsocialmediainseveral
recentcasesthatreceivedworldwideattention(the2008attacksinMumbai,the
2009GreenRevolutioninIran,andthe2010earthquakeinHaiti),andpresentsa
casestudyoftheuseofsocialmediainthe2011Egyptianrevolution.Theuseof
socialmediabefore,during,andafterInternetaccesswasshutdowninEgyptis
examined.Severalkeyissuesrelatedtotheuseofsocialmediaforsocialchangeare
discussed:socialmediapolicy,culturaldifferencesinsocialmediause,theeffectsof
tiestrengthonmotivatingpoliticalaction,andthedigitaldivide.Thispaper
concludesthefollowingstatementsabouttheuseofsocialmediaforsocialchange:
1. Socialmediatoolsareoftenpersonified,butforsocialchangetooccurtheremustbepeoplebehindthetools.
2. Socialmediacanincreaseworldawarenessofanissue.3. Socialmediaallowspeopletohelpeachotherregardlessoflocation.4. Socialmediauseforsocialchangecanbedangerous.
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1Limitations .................................................................................................................................................... 3Structure ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Background..................................................................................................................5SocialMedia ................................................................................................................................................. 5Facebook........................................................................................................................................................ 5Twitter ............................................................................................................................................................ 6YouTube.......................................................................................................................................................... 7Flickr................................................................................................................................................................ 7
SocialMediaCommunicaiton:ThreeStudies................................................................82008AttacksinMumbai ....................................................................................................... 82009IranRevolution ...........................................................................................................102010HaitiEarthquake ........................................................................................................13
LiteratureReview.......................................................................................................17HowSocialMediaisusedforSocialChange .................................................................17OnlineCommunication ..........................................................................................................................17MotivatingPoliticalAction ..................................................................................................................19TheInfluenceoftheMedia...................................................................................................................20TheTheoryofTies....................................................................................................................................22
ExternalFactorsthatAffectSocialMediaUse..............................................................24CulturalDifferencesinSocialMediaUse .......................................................................................24LegitimacyofSocialMedia ..................................................................................................................25TheDigitalDivide ....................................................................................................................................26PolicyImplications ..................................................................................................................................27
CASEPROFILE.............................................................................................................322011EgyptianRevolution ..................................................................................................32SocialMediaMomentum.....................................................................................................33TunisianRoots...........................................................................................................................................33StateofAffairsinEgypt.........................................................................................................................35WeareAllKhaledSaid...........................................................................................................................36AasmaMahfouz ........................................................................................................................................38#Jan25...........................................................................................................................................................39
DuringProtests ......................................................................................................................39DuringBlackout .....................................................................................................................41
CASEANALYSIS ..........................................................................................................43GlobalTies ...................................................................................................................................................43CitizenJournalists ....................................................................................................................................44Dangers.........................................................................................................................................................44Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................45
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APPENDIXA ...............................................................................................................47
APPENDIXB ...............................................................................................................48
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................49
1
INTRODUCTION
Lessthan24hoursafterInternetaccesswasshutdowninEgyptduringthe
massive2011protests,GoogleandTwitterlaunchedSpeak2Tweet,aservicethat
allowsEgyptianstousetheirmobilephonestorecordmessagesthatareinstantly
translatedintotweetswith#egypt.Inlessthan24hourstheSpeak2Tweetfeedhad
8,660followerswhoposted897tweets—roughlyonetweeteverytwominutes
(Kawamoto,2011).Clearly,communicationviaTwitterwasdeemedimportant
enoughforthesecompanies,bothwestern‐based,toswiftlyprovideanalternative,
anactionthatisjustoneofmanymarkingasignificantchangeincommunication
methodsandexpectationsworldwide.
Thewayssocialmediaarechangingcommunicationhavereceivedalotof
mediaattentioninthepastfewyears.Notably,the2008attacksinMumbai,the
2009Iranelectionprotests,andthe2010Haitiearthquakeweresituationsinwhich
socialmediaplayedasignificantroleincommunication.Socialmediatoolsaresaid
togivepeopletheabilitytoconnectanduniteinacrisis,raiseawarenessofanissue
worldwide,andusurpauthoritariangovernments.Thesetoolscanbeusedto
quicklygetinformation,suchasthelocationofahospital,topeopleindanger.The
increasedawarenessbroughtonbysocialmediacanhelpraiseasignificantamount
ofmoneyforacause.Forthefirsttime,everyonecanbeajournalist.
However,misinformationorrumorscanquicklyspreadonsocialmedia,and
theoft‐laudedtransparentnaturecanbedangerous.Forexample,itmayallow
criminalstokeeptrackofpoliceactivity.Additionally,thoughawarenessofanissue
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maybeincreased,itishardtosaywhatrolesocialmediaplaysinactuallyputting
peopletoaction.
Otherissuesinvolvedintheuseofsocialmediaforsocialchangeincludethe
abilityandauthority,orlackthereof,ofsocialmediacompaniestohandlecrisis
situations.Forexample,Twitterearnedpraiseaftertheydelayedsitemaintenance
(afterarequestfromtheU.S.StateDepartment)toavoidinterrupting
communicationinIranduringthe2009election,butFacebookhascomeunderfire
becauseoftheirrealnamepolicy,whichputsactivistsindangerofhavingtheir
accountdeletediftheyarefoundtobeusingafakename(evenifitisfortheir
safety).
Manybelievethatthesenewwaysofcommunicatingcanhelptocreatesocial
change.Twitterco‐founderBizStonewentsofarastosaythatsocialmedialowers
thebarrierforactivism(Mainwaring,2011),Othersinsistthattheeffectsofsocial
mediaareminimal;socialchangecomesaboutthewayitalwayshas,frompeople
ontheground.Mostfamously,MalcolmGladwellclaimedinhis2010NewYorker
articlethatonlinesocialnetworkscreateonlyweakties,notthestrongtiesthatare
neededforactualaction.Hearguesthatthereisnothingspecialaboutusingsocial
mediatocommunicateforsocialchange,thatwearegivingtoomuchcredittothe
toolsbehindthecommunication:“Whereactivistswereoncedefinedbytheir
causes,theyarenowdefinedbytheirtools”(Gladwell,2010).Others,likeClay
Shirky,believethatthesea‐changeincommunicationhashadahugeeffectonthe
waypeoplecreatechange:“Groupactiongiveshumansocietyitsparticular
3
character,andanythingthatchangesthewaygroupsgetthingsdonewillaffect
societyasawhole”(Shirky,2009,p.23).Thereisnoquestionaboutwhetherpeople
areusingsocialmediatocommunicate,buthasthismadeadifferenceintheway
activistschangetheworld?
Thiscapstoneprojectwillexaminetheuseofsocialmediainthe2011
Egyptianrevolution.Itwilloutlinehowsocialmediawasusedtoplantheprotests,
howitwasusedduringtheprotests,andwhathappenedaftertheInternetwasshut
downinEgyptonJanuary27,2011.Itwillexaminehowtheuseofsocialmedia
duringtheprotestscomparestopastsocialmediauseandwhetherornottheuseof
socialmediainthiscaseinvokednotjustawareness,butaction.Finally,this
capstoneprojectwillexplorethefutureofsocialmediaasanagentforsocialchange.
Limitations
Asofthiswriting,theEgyptianrevolutionisongoing.Thiscapstoneproject
willcovertheeventsoftherevolutionfromafewdaysbeforetheproteststartedon
January25,2011throughFebruary11,2011,whenHosniMubaraksteppeddown
aspresident.
ThispaperwillfocusontheuseofFacebook,Twitter,Flickr,andYouTube.
Thereareothersocialnetworkingplatformsthatmayhaveplayedaroleinthe
Egyptrevolutionandothercrisissituationsmentioned,butthesefourseemtobe
themostprominentplayers.
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BecausethispaperwaswrittenbyanEnglish‐speakingAmerican,itshould
benotedthatthispapermayhavealanguageandculturalbiasbecauseofthe
informationavailable.
Structure
Thispaperwillbeginbyprovidingsomebackgroundonsocialmedia.Itwill
examinethreecasesinwhichsocialmediauseaffectedcommunicationworldwide,
the2008attacksinMumbai,the2009Iranpresidentialelection,andthe2010
earthquakeinHaiti,andbrieflyexaminetheimplicationsofeachexample.Areview
ofliteraturewillfocusonthehowsocialmediacanbeusedforsocialchangeandthe
externalfactorsthataffectsocialmediause.AcaseprofileontherevolutionofEgypt
willbefollowedbyanalysisanddiscussionoftheuseofsocialmediaforsocial
change.
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BACKGROUND
SocialMedia
“SocialMedia”are“agroupofInternet‐basedapplicationsthatbuildonthe
ideologicalandtechnologicalfoundationsofWeb2.0,whichallowsthecreationand
exchangeofuser‐generatedcontent”(Kaplan&Haenlein,2010,p.60).AsofJune
2010,22%oftimespentonline(oroneineveryfourandahalfminutes)isspent
usingsocialmediaandblogsitesworldwide(“SocialNetworks/BlogsNowAccount
forOneinEveryFourandaHalfMinutesOnline,”2010).Theglobalaveragetime
spentperpersononsocialmediasitesisnownearlyfiveandahalfhourspermonth
(JenniferVanGrove,2010).PopularsocialmediaincludeFacebook,Twitter,
LinkedIn,YouTube,Flickr,andTumblr.
FacebookisasocialnetworkservicelaunchedinFebruary2004.Asof
January2011ithasmorethan600millionactiveusers(NicholasCarison,2011).
AccordingtoMashable.com:
Facebookisasocialutilitythathelpspeoplecommunicatemoreefficiently
withtheirfriends,familyandcoworkers.Thecompanydevelops
technologiesthatfacilitatethesharingofinformationthroughthesocial
graph,thedigitalmappingofpeople'sreal‐worldsocialconnections.Anyone
cansignupforFacebookandinteractwiththepeopletheyknowinatrusted
environment.Facebookisapartofmillionsofpeople’slivesandhalfofthe
usersreturndaily(retrieved2/26/2011).
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Twitterdescribesitselfas“areal‐timeinformationnetworkthatconnects
youtothelatestinformationaboutwhatyoufindinteresting.”Amicro‐blogging
site,Twitterallowsuserstosendoutmessagesinshortspurtsofupto140
charactersper“tweet.”Userscan“follow”otherusersorcommunicatebysearching
forhashtags(e.g.#egypt),user‐identifiedkeywordsthatcluereadersintowhat
othersthinkisimportant.TwitterisbasedinSanFrancisco,butit'susedbypeople
innearlyeverycountryintheworld,andisavailableinEnglish,French,German,
Italian,Japanese,andSpanish.AsofSeptember2010,thereare175million
registeredusersandanaverageof95milliontweetswritteneachday(retrieved
February25,2011).
Twitterisanextremelypersonalmethodofcommunication.Usersmust
chosewhomtheyfollow,andthuscreateauniqueexperiencethatisspecificto
them.
Likeemailorthetelephone,Twitterisanon‐prescriptivecommunication
platform.Eachuserexperiences"Twitter"differentlydependingonthetime
ofdayandfrequencyshechecksherfeed,theotherpeopleshefollows,and
theinterface(s)sheusestoaccessthenetwork.Becauseofthisflexibility,
normsemerge,mutate,collide,andfadeawayamongTwitteruserswitha
fluiditythatmaynotbeeasilyapprehendabletoanon‐user...(Driscoll,
2010).
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OneofthestrengthsofTwitteristhatitcanbeaccessedusingcomputersor
mobilephones,makingitalightweightmethodofcommunicatingduringcrisis.
YouTube
AccordingtoMashable.com,YouTube,foundedinFebruary2005,isthe
leaderinonlinevideo,andthepremierdestinationtowatchandshareoriginal
videosworldwidethroughaWebexperience.YouTubeallowspeopletoeasily
uploadandsharevideoclipsonwww.YouTube.comandacrosstheInternetthrough
websites,mobiledevices,blogs,andemail(retrievedFebruary25,2011).YouTube
changedthewaypeoplesharevideosbecauseitcreatedasimplewaytoshare
otherwisecumbersomeandlargevideofiles.BeforeYouTube,itwasdifficultto
sharevideowithalargenumberofpeople.
Flickr
Flickrisaphoto‐sharingsitethatallowsuserstosharephotoson
www.flickr.comorthroughembeddedappsonotherwebsites.Flickrallowsusersto
tagphotoswithkeywords,whichcreatescommunitiesaroundcommoninterestsor
events.
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SOCIALMEDIACOMMUNICAITON:THREESTUDIES
Therearemanyrecentexamplesofhowsocialmediaischanging
communication,butthreecasesstandout:the2008attacksinMumbai,the2009
Iranrevolution,andthe2010Haitiearthquake.Thissectionwillproviderealworld
examplesofhowsocialmediaarebeingusedforcommunication.
2008AttacksinMumbai
TheattacksinMumbai,IndiaoccurredonNovember26,2008.Pakistani
gunmantargetingAmericanandBritishcitizensforuseashostageskilledatleast
101peopleandwounded200inthetouristareasintheIndianfinancialcenterof
Mumbai(Magnier&Sharma,2008).Twohotels,thecity’slargesttrainstation,a
Jewishcenter,amovietheater,andahospitalwereattackedwithmachine‐gunsand
grenades(Sengupta,2008).
Immediatelyaftertheattacksbegan,firsthandaccountsbeganshowingupon
Twitter,Flickr,andothersocialmediasites.Peoplenearthesiteoftheattacks
sharedlocationswherebloodwasneededandgavereportsonthehealthoftheir
familyandfriendsandtheactivityofboththepoliceandtheterrorists(Leggio,
2008).
@mumbaiattack:Hospitalupdate.Shotsstillbeingfired.AlsoMetrocinemanextdoor
@aeropolowoman:BloodneededatJJhospital
Figure1Sampletweetsduring2008Mumbaiattack(Shachtman,2008).
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SocialmediauseduringtheMumbaiattackspromptedadebateoverthe
ethicsof“citizenjournalists”onsocialmedia.Socialmediausersareobviouslynot
heldtothestandardsthattraditionaljournalistsare,andthetweetsandposts
comingfromtheMumbaiattackswereproblematic.Rumorsbegantocirculatethat
theIndiangovernmentwasaskingpeopleatthesiteoftheattacksandelsewhere
nottopostthelocation/activityofpoliceforfearthattheterroristswouldutilize
thisinformation(Leggio,2008).Additionally,somewarnedthatbecausecitizen
journalistsoftenpostunconfirmedinformationthatcanquicklyberetweetedor
repostedbyhundredsofpeople,socialmediacanconsequentlycreatechaos.In
crisissituations,thiscanhappeneasilyandisnotaphenomenonlimitedtonew
media.
OnebloggerlikenedtheMumbaisocialmediachaostothechaosthatensued
duringhurricaneKatrina,beforesocialmediawassoubiquitous.“Frenziedmedia
recycledandamplifiedmanyoftheunverifiedreports.”Nationalmediareportedon
rumors“thataninfant'sbodyhadbeenfoundinatrashcan,thatsharksfromLake
Pontchartrainwereswimmingthroughthebusinessdistrict,thathundredsof
bodieshadbeenstackedintheSuperdomebasement,”whichgainedcredencewith
eachretelling(Rosenblatt&Rainey,2005).InMumbai,thoughsomeofthe
informationsharedthroughsocialmediawasundoubtedlyhelpfulandlegitimate,
cynicspointedoutthatmuchofitwasrepetitiveorvalueless,orsimplyrepeatedthe
reportsfrommainstreammedia(Caulfield&Karmali,2008).
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TheMumbaicaseshowsusthatwhilesocialmediauseinacrisissituation
maybehelpfultothoseonthegroundandthoseseekinginformationaboutthe
crisis,itisdangerousbecauseitcancauseorincreasethespreadofrumorsand
misinformation.
2009IranRevolution
The2009Iranianpresidentialelectionprotests,alsocalledthe“Green
Revolution”andthe“PersianAwakening,”beganonJune13,2009.Protesters
disputedthevictoryofMahmoudAhmadinejadinsupportofMir‐HosseinMousavi,
contendingthatAhmadinejadhadwontheelectionfraudulently(Bower,Amanpour,
Desta,&Bozorgmehr,2009).
Tocountertheprotesters,theregimecensorednewspapers,blocked
websites,andjammedsatellitetransmissions.Thetelephonesystemusedfor
textingwastakendown(“EDITORIAL:Iran’sTwitterrevolution,”2009)Atone
point,allInternetconnectionsweretakendownforaperiodof20hours
(Moscaritolo,2009).
Despitetheeffortsoftheregimetoquietprotesters,socialmediawasusedto
broadcasttheprotestsandviolencesurroundingthemtotheworld.Iran“byone
estimate”hasmorebloggerspercapitathananyothercountryintheworld.“Any
Iranianwithamobilephonecouldfilmtheprotestsandtheresponseofthesecurity
forces.Hourbyhour,theseclipsfoundtheirwayontoYouTubeandcountless
bloggingsites”(Blair,2009).Theprotestswerequicklynicknamed“TheTwitter
Revolution”becauseoftheactivists’relianceonthesocialnetworkfor
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communication.Atitspeak,asearchfor"Iran"onTwittergeneratedover100,000
tweetsperdayandover8,000tweetsperhour(Boguta,2009).
ProtestersusedTwitterandothersocialmediatowarneachotherofdangers
andcommunicatebasicinformation.
[Iranians]used[Twitter]totelleachotherwhereNOTtogo.Theyuseditto
helpeachother.Thegovernmentdidwhatitcouldtobogdownthe
communicationnetworks(boththeInternetandSMS),butpeopleboth
insideandoutsideIranmadestridesincreatingwork‐aroundstotheblocks,
likesecureserverspaceoutsideofIranforuseinprotest‐organizingmessage
boards(Vafa,2010).
InIran,thereisonlyoneInternetprovider,thegovernment‐runcompany
DataCommunicationofIran(DCI).DCIcanprogramitsInternetrouterstoblock
accesstoparticularsites,likeYouTube.DCIcanalsothrottlebackthetotalamount
ofInternetdataenteringorleavingthecountry,oritcanshutofftheInternet
altogether(Bray,2009).However,Twittermessagescanbesentbymanywebsites,
makingitimpossibleforthegovernmenttofindandblockeachone.Thisiswhy
Twitterrosetothetopofcommunicationmethodsduringtheprimeoftheprotests.
Asthemessagesfromsocialmediabegantoreachtherestoftheworld,
peopleoutsideofIranturnedtheirhomecomputersintowhatisknownasa
“proxy,”avirtualhostthatsubstitutesforthehomeconnectionofusersinIran,
allowingthemtobypassthefiltersemployedbyIraniangovernmentcensors(Bray,
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2009).Takingitastepfurther,politicalactivistsusedTwitterandothersocial
mediasitestorecruithackerstohelpwiththeprotests,callingforDDoS
(Distributeddenial‐of‐service)attacksagainstIraniangovernmentwebsites,making
themunusableortakingthemdowncompletely(Moscaritolo,2009).
Thiscrisisalsomarkedanincreasedunderstandingoftheproblemssocial
media’stransparency(orfalsesenseoftransparency)canbring.Therewerea
numberofreportsthatTwitteraccounts,emailaddresses,andFacebookaccounts
werehackedbywhatappearstobetheIraniangovernment.“[Itisbelieved]that
sincesomeofthose[hackedaccountswere]usedtospreadmisinformationabout
thelocationofrallies,itwasanorganizedorsemi‐organizedeffortbytheIranian
governmenttospreadmisinformation”(Moscaritolo,2009).
ThecrisisinIranhighlightedthevalueofTwitterbysharingthestrugglesof
theIranianprotesterswiththeworld,seeminglyattheverymomentwhenTwitter’s
valuewasbeingquestioned(Bray,2009).“WhentheSovietUnionsuppressedthe
revoltsinHungaryin1956andPraguein1968,itdidsobehindaconvenientveilof
secrecy.Today'stechnologyensuresthatIran'sregimewillnotbesofortunate”
(Blair,2009).Ahmadinejadremainsinpowerasofthiswriting,butthesuccessof
theGreenRevolutionmaynotdependsolelyondeposingAhmadinejad.Asone
bloggerwrote:
Iranisarguablyoneofthemostenigmaticandisolatedcountriesinthe
world.Yetforthepastyear,MILLIONSofnon‐Iranianshavebeenmade
awareofthedemocraticaspirationsoftheIranianpeople.Isthisworthless?
After30+yearsofmischaracterizationandOrientalistrhetoricbeingthrown
13
againstamonolithicIranianidentity,peoplefromallovertheearthlearned
thatIraniansareyoung,intelligent,powerful,tech‐savvy,andhatetheir
crookedgovernmentasmuchastherestoftheworlddoes(Vafa,2010).
Theuseofsocialmediaduringthe2009Iranrevolutionhighlightsboththe
benefitsanddangersofusingsocialmediaforcommunication.Socialmediacanbe
usedtoprovideinformationtopeopleontheground,butitcanalsobeusedto
spreadmisinformationorinformtheoppositionofprotesters’locationorpersonal
information.Perhapsmostimportantly,socialmediacanbeusedtospread
awarenessofanissueworldwide.
2010HaitiEarthquake
OnJanuary12,2010thePort‐au‐PrinceregionofHaitiwasstruckbya
magnitude7.0earthquake(“U.S.GeologicalSurveyHomepage,”nd).Haitiisoneof
thepoorestcountriesintheworld,andwasill‐equippedtohandletheaftermathof
thequakewhichaffected3millionpeople(“RedCross:3MHaitiansAffectedby
Quake,”2010).
CharityeffortsonFacebookandTwitter“grewbyleapsandbounds”the
weekoftheearthquake(Valentino‐DeVries,2010).Adigitalcampaignthatallowed
peopletotextanumbertodonatemoneytotheRedCross(thedonationwould
appearontheirnextphonebill)raisedover3milliondollarsinjust48hours.
CelebritiespromotedthecampaignonTwitter,whichhelpedtoquicklybreak
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mobilegivingrecords.UserscouldchangetheirFacebookstatusestoreflecthow
muchmoneytheyhaddonated,anddonatetheydid.RedCrossspokesperson
JonathanAikendescribeditas"aphenomenalnumberthat'sneverbeenachieved
before"(Gross,2011).
TheRedCrosswasjustoneorganizationusingtheInternettoraisemoney
forthecause.Quicklyafterthequake,callsfordonationsonlinewereubiquitous
(Gross,2011).Evenvirtualworldshadcallsfordonations.Forexample,userscould
purchasevirtualgoodsinthepopularFacebookgameFarmvilletoraisefundsfor
theearthquakevictims(Mainwaring,2011).
Adesignblogger,JeanineHays,starteda“BloggersDayofAction,”anidea
thatstartedwithatweetandeventuallyunitedmanybloggersandraisedthousands
ofdollars.TheideawasthateachbloggerwouldcreateapostaboutHaitiandlinkto
asitewherereaderscoulddonatetothecause.Somebloggerstookthedayofaction
fartherbyauctioningartworktoraisemoneyforHaitiorvowingtodonatemoney
foreverycommentreceivedontheirblog.
15
TheDayofActionshowedjusthoweffectivesocialmediatoolscanbeinuniting
otherwiseunconnectedpeopleforacause.
Thismovementhighlightsthepowerofasingleaction‐aswellaspotential
directionsforthebloggingcommunitytoevolveintoleadersofchange,
echoingthesentimentsofanthropologistMargaretMead,‘Neverdoubtthata
smallgroupofthoughtful,committedcitizenscanchangetheworld.Indeed,
itistheonlythingthateverhas’(Rubenstein,2010).
TheflipsidetothegooddoneusingsocialmediaisthatFacebook,Twitter,
andsitespromotingdonationswereplaguedwithscamssoonafterthequake
(Valentino‐DeVries,2010).Thisbringstoattentionamajorproblemofsocial
media—justasitallowseveryonetobea“citizenjournalist”withnochecksor
balances,italsorequireseveryonetobeabletodiscernwhatisnews,whatis
nonsense,andwhatisascam.
Figure2.ImageusedtodesignatethatablogwasparticipatingintheBloggersDayofActionforHaiti.
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SocialmediausefortheHaitiearthquakereliefillustratesthepowerofsocial
mediatoquicklyraisemoneyforacauseandconnectotherwiseunaffiliatedpeople,
butalsoexposesthedangerofscams.
17
LITERATUREREVIEW
HowSocialMediaisusedforSocialChange
OnlineCommunication
Tounderstandhowsocialmediacanbeusedforsocialchange,itisimportant
tounderstandthewaysthatonecancommunicateonline.Thissectionwilldiscuss
thewaysthatuserscancommunicateandinteractwithgroupsofpeople.Agroup
canbeaformallyorganizednumberofpeopleorsimplypeoplewhoidentifywith
similarvaluesorwhohaveacommoninterestorexperience.Forexample,Flickr
userswhotagtheirphotoswiththesameeventtagcouldbeconsideredagroup.
Userscan:
• Virtuallyjoinagroup• Getupdatesandmessagesaboutagroup• Read,post,orcommentonnewsandinformation• Receive/sendprivatemessageswithgroupleadersandmembers• Readandengageintransparentconversationsthatcanbeseenbyothers• “Lurk”inagroup—readinformationwithoutmakingoneselfknownasa
followerormemberofthegroup• Interactwithothersdespitesocialorlocationboundaries
Communicationonlineisdifferentfromtheone‐waycommunicationof
television,radio,andnewspapersbecauseonlineuserscanrespondtomessagesin
realtime,notjustreceivethem.However,muchlikelearningofanewsstoryfrom
television,receiversofthatinformationarenotnecessarilyproneforaction.Even
thosewhovirtually“join”agroupmaytakenofurtheraction.“Insteadofattending
meetings,workshopsandrallies,un‐committedindividualscanjoinaFacebook
18
grouporfollowaTwitterfeedathome,whichgivesthemsomemeasureof
anonymitybutdoesnotnecessarilymotivatethemtophysicallyhitthestreetsand
providefuelforarevolution”(Papic&Noonan,2011).
Therearesomeclearbenefitsofonlinecommunicationforsocialchange.
Onlinegroupsarelessexpensivefortraining,recruitment,andorganizationthan
traditionalmethods(Papic&Noonan,2011).Mostpeoplearealreadyusingthe
socialmediaplatformsthatactivistscanuseforcommunication,sothereisnoneed
toconvincerecruitstofindorjoinanothersite,orinthecaseoftraditionalmedia,
watchorsubscribetoanewprogramorpublication(Greeley,2011).Also,groupsof
peoplenaturallyformgroupsaroundsharedcausesorinterests,sofindingan
audienceiseasyonline(Mainwaring,2011).
Studieshaveshownthatpeoplewhoareactiveonlinearelikelytobeactivein
groupactivities.ThePewResearchCenterfoundthat80%ofInternetusers
participateingroups,comparedwith56%ofnon‐Internetusers.Socialmediausers
areevenmorelikelytobeactive:82%ofsocialnetworkusersand85%ofTwitter
usersaregroupparticipants(Rainie,Purcell,&Smith,2011,p.2).Additionally,if
usersfeelthattheycanactuallymakeadifference,theyaremorelikelytoengagein
agroup(Rainieetal.,2011,p.14).
Incrisissituations,liketheHaitiearthquakeorMumbaiattacks,therearemore
broadcast‐basedinformationsharingactivities,wheretheuserispushing
informationouttomanyusersandnotdirectingittowardonespecificuser(Hughes
&Palen,2009).Thisisdifferentfromthewaysocialmediaisnormallyused,but
19
thesekindsofcommunicationsindisastercontextscanserveimportanttactical,
communitybuilding,andemotionalfunctions(Palen&Liu,2007,p.728).Also,a
studybyHughesandPalen(2009)foundthatthosewhobeginusingsocialmedia
duringacrisisaremorelikelytobecomelong‐termusersofsocialmedia.
Activistswhousesocialmediaforsocialchangecanusethemtoplanin‐real‐life
andin‐virtual‐lifemeetings,keepfollowersinformedabouteventsandnews,and
gainfollowers.Socialmediausecanincreaseusers’self‐efficacytojoinacause
because,inpart,theirpeers’involvementandactionsaretransparent.Itcanalsobe
usefulbygivinganon‐the‐groundviewtopeoplenotculturallyorphysicallyclose
totheusers.
MotivatingPoliticalAction
Regardlessofthekindsoftoolsusedfororganizationandcommunication,
socialchangerequiresalotofwork.Revolutionstakeorganizing,funding,andmass
appeal(Papic&Noonan,2011).Evenawell‐organizedrevolutionmustgothrough
an“activistprocessofsocialtransformation—whichincludesinformation
acquisition,knowledgedevelopment,transferandsharing;ideationandthought
leadership;empathyandemotionalconnection;andthespreadofcredibleideas
thatinspirecognitivedissonance”(Leggio,2008).
Animportantaspectofmotivatingsocialchangeisconvincingpeoplethat
theirparticipationwillmakeadifference,especiallyiftheirparticipationwill
requirethemtoexperiencepersonaldiscomfortordanger.Thisisnosmalltask.
20
Inlargegroups,suchasthoseinvolvedinacollectivepoliticalprotest,the
contributiontotheactionofeachordinarymember(i.e.,onewhoisnota
leaderofthegroup)hasnodiscernibleimpactonthegroup’soverallsuccess;
therefore,therationalindividualwillnotabsorbthecostofparticipation
(suchastime,financialresources,orthethreatofphysicalinjury),sinceheor
shewillenjoythepublicgoodinanycaseifothersprovideit(Finkel,Muller,
&Opp,1989,p.886).
Gladwellpointsoutthattheworkbehindtosocialchangeisnowoften
associatedpurelywiththetoolspeopleusetocommunicate,insteadofthepeople
behindthework.Itshouldbenotedthatregardlessofthetoolsusedinplanningand
organizing,fromwordofmouthtoradiotoInternet,thesamebasicprinciplesof
motivationmustbeapplied.Socialmediamaymakethetaskofcommunicating
informationeasier,butthetaskofconvincingpeopletotakepersonalrisksisnot
lessened.
TheInfluenceoftheMedia
Socialmediatoolshavebeenpraisedfortheabilitytoreachmanypeople,but
thetransitionfromreachtoactionisdebated.Infact,theargumentoverwhetheror
notthemediainfluencessocialchangeisnotnew.Intheir1948study,Lazarfeldand
Mertonarguedthatthemassmediacancauseaudiencestobecomeknowledgeable
aboutasubject,buttakenoaction(Lazarfeld&Merton,1996,p.11).Thus,they
arguedthatmediacreatenosocialchange,butinsteadworkstoenforceexisting
socialvalues.Forexample,thoughtelevision,newspapers,andothermediareach
21
massiveamountsofpeople,itisimpossibletotellthe“socialandpsychological
impact”thatthiscauses(p.11).
Accordingtothestudy,inventionsthat“enlargetheradiusofmovementand
action”liketheautomobilehaveagreatereffectonsocietythaninventionsthat
“provideavenuesforideas–ideaswhichcanbeavoidedbywithdrawal,deflectedby
resistance,andtransformedbyassimilation”liketelevision,radio,orcomputers(p.
12).Thisisbecauseinventionsthatprovideavenuesforideascanlullpeopleintoa
falsesenseofcomplacency—theycanmistaketheirbeinginformedforbeing
engaged,andconsequentlydonothing.
Thisideamayeasilybeappliedtosocialmedia—onecanseehowtheover
abundanceofinformationstreamingonaTwitterfeed,forexample,couldbringa
personnottowardsaction,butover‐stimulationorafalsesenseofunderstanding.
Forexample,apersonmightlearnaboutthemassiveearthquakereliefeffortson
Twitter,butnotbecompelledtodonatebecauseofthefeelingthattheyarealready
involved.
Withsomuchinformationavailableinaninstant,itisdifficulttoknowwhat
topayattentiontointhefirstplace.KovasBoguta,aco‐founderofInfoharmoni,a
companythatanalyzesInternetdata,asks,“HowdoesanInternetjunkie,news
organization,orpoliticaloperativemonitorrapidlyevolvingreal‐timeevents,from
thecrucialdetailstothebiggerpicture?Moreimportantly,howcanadatastreambe
turnedintoreal‐timeaction,reachingthepeoplewhoneedit,whentheyneedit,and
inaformtheycaneasilydigest?”(Boguta,2009).Inthisway,socialmediais
differentfromtelevision,newspapers,orradiobecauseaneditordoesnotfilterthe
22
informationstreamedonsocialmedia.Thisgivesavoicetothosewhomaynot
otherwisehaveone,butthosevoicesmaybeconsideredunreliable.
TheTheoryofTies
Animportantpartofcommunicatingforsocialchangeinvolvesthetheoryof
ties.Insociology,weaktiesarelooseacquaintancesthatcanhelpafriendgenerate
creativeideas,findajob,andtransferknowledge,whilestrongtiesaretrusted
friendsandfamilywhocanaffectemotionalhealthandoftenjointogethertolead
organizationsthroughtimesofcrisis(Granovetter,1973,p.1365).Weaktiescan
helpjobseekers,whorelyonquantityofconnectionsforjobleadsandreferences.
Forexample,ajobseekerwhohasheldmanypreviousjobsmayhavemoreluck
findinganewpositionthanonewhoheldthesamejobformanyyears,becausethe
formerhasmanyconnections,howeverinformal,torelyon.
Gladwellsaysthatweaktiesdonothelppeoplecreatesocialchange.Hecites
StanfordsociologistDougMcAdamwhostudiedwhycertainpeopleparticipatedin
the1960civilrightslunchcountersitin.
Whatmatteredmorewasanapplicant’sdegreeofpersonalconnectiontothe
civil‐rightsmovement.Allthevolunteerswererequiredtoprovidealistof
personalcontacts—thepeopletheywantedkeptapprisedoftheir
activities—andparticipantswerefarmorelikelythandropoutstohaveclose
friends...High‐riskactivism...isa“strong‐tie”phenomenon(Gladwell,
2010).
Ifstrongtiesareessentialforsocialchange,andsocialmediadonotcreate
strongties,perhapsitisimportanttonotethatpeoplemayhavefewerstrongties
23
thantheydidwhenGranovettercoinedthetermin1973.AstudybyMcPhersonet.
alin2004foundthatthenumberofpeoplewhosaythereisnoonewithwhomthey
discussimportantmattershastripled.Thestudyrecreatedthe1985GeneralSocial
Survey,whichcollecteddateontheconfidantsofAmericans.Accordingtothe
study’sfindings,theubiquityofrecenttechnologysuchascomputersandmobile
phonesmayhaveaffectedpeople’srelationshipsandties:
“While[computer]technologiesallowanetworktospreadoutacross
geographicspaceandmightevenenhancecontactsoutsidethehome(e.g.,
arrangingameetingatarestaurantorbar),theyseem,however,tolowerthe
probabilityofhavingface‐to‐facevisitswithfamily,neighbors,orfriendsin
one’shome...Internetusagemayeveninterferewithcommunicationinthe
home,creatingapostfamilialfamilywherefamilymembersspendtime
interactingwithmultiplecomputersinthehome,ratherthanwitheach
other.[Thissuggests]thatcomputertechnologymayfosterawider,less‐
localizedarrayofweakties,ratherthanthestrong,tightlyinterconnected
confidanttiesconfidantties(McPhersonetal.,2006,p.373).
Still,maybetheInternetallowsweaktiestobeutilizedinadifferentway.For
example,asdecribedintheHaitiearthquakecase,manypeoplewithlittleorno
strongconnectionwiththecountrydonatedmoney.Peopleweremotivatedtodo
goodwhentheysawtheblogposts,tweets,andstatusupdatesoftheirpeers.In
thatcase,awarenesswasraisedviaanetworkofweakties.
24
...byspreadingawarenessviaweakties,othersocialrolescanbedefined
andfilled,perhapsbysomeindividualslessstronglycommittedthecausebut
importantintermsoftheirpositionswithinthenetwork(hitthe'donate
here'button!)(Srinivansan,2010).
The$10onepersondonateddidn’tmakeabigdifferenceinthereliefeffort,butby
sharingthedonationonsocialmediahundredsmore(weaklyconnectedpeople)
werecalledtoactiontodonateandshareaswell.
ExternalFactorsthatAffectSocialMediaUse
CulturalDifferencesinSocialMediaUse
SocialmediasiteslikeFacebookareusedbymanydifferentcountriesand
cultures,butnotnecessarilyinthesameway.Studieshaveshownthatcultural
differencesprofoundlyimpactthewaypeopleusesocialmedia.
Onestudyidentifiedfiveareasinwhichculturaldifferencesaffected
communication:design,language,languagesubtleties,Internetperformance,and
facesandavatars(McGrath,2009).Thistellsusthatthoughpopularsiteslike
FacebookandTwittermaybeusedbymanydifferentcultures,theymaybeutilizing
orunderstandingthefeaturesindifferentways.
AnotherstudyusedtheGeertHofstedeframeworktoexaminesocialmedia
useacrossdifferentcultures.Thisframework“definesnationalculturesusingfive
dimensions—PowerDistance(PDI),Individualism(IDV),Masculinity(MAS),
25
UncertaintyAvoidance(UAI),andLongTermOrientation(LTO).”Differentcultures
havedifferentlevelsofthesedimensions.Forexample:
Individualism(IDV)versusCollectivismdescribesthedegreetowhichindividuals
areintegratedintogroups.Inindividualistculturesthetiesbetweenindividuals
areloose:everyoneisexpectedtolookafterhim/herselfandhis/herimmediate
family.Incollectivistcultures,peoplefrombirthonwardsareintegratedinto
strong,cohesivein‐groups,oftenextendedfamilieswhichcontinueprotecting
theminexchangeforunquestioningloyalty(Mishra,2008).
Becauseofdifferencesincultures,peoplemayusesocialmediatoolsdifferently.For
example,Facebooktreatsall“friends”asthesame,butsomeculturesmayhave
differentexpectationsfordifferentrelationships.Thismayalsofactorintoavarietyof
aspectsofsocialmedia,suchasthewaytiestrengthisperceived,andthusaltertheway
differentculturesareabletousesocialmediaforsocialchange.Thisshouldbe
consideredwhenanalyzingtheuseofsocialmediaforsocialchangeinothercultures.
LegitimacyofSocialMedia
Onereasonwhysocialmediacoverageofcrisisorrevolutionmaybesucha
popularsourceofinformationisthattheremaybelittleornootherwaytogetthe
informationthatisbroadcastusingsocialmedia.Forexample,AlJazeeraEnglish,
whichofferscoverageoftheMiddleEast,oftenwhennoothermediawillorcan,is
notcarriedbyanymajorAmericancableorsatellitecompanies,andcanonlybe
foundonafewsmallcablesystemsinWashington,D.C.,Ohio,andVermont(Rich,
2011).
26
Foralltheattentionsocialmediahasgottenfromthemedia,government
officialsmayhavebeenignoringit.AfterthecrisiseruptedinEgypttheCIAwas
accusedofnotgivingPresidentObamaenoughwarningtimetoprepareforthe
seriousnessofthecrisis.SeniorU.S.lawmakersusedaSenatehearingtoaccusethe
CIAofbeingslowtograspthe“opensource”revolution(GregMiller,2011).(Greg
Miller,2011).Thismarksanimportantpartofthedebateovertheusefulnessof
socialmediainacrisis.Socialmediaisatransparentformofcommunicationthatis
changingthewaypeoplereceiveandinteractwithnewsandinformation,butone
thatisonlynowbeingseenaslegitimate.
TheDigitalDivide
Oneofthebiggestconcernswhenanalyzingtheeffectofsocialmediauseon
socialchangeisthequestionofwhohasaccesstotheInternet.The“digitaldivide”
describesthe“potentialforadividebetweenthoseconnectedtotheInternetand
thosenotconnected,sometimeswordedasthedividebetweentheinformation
have'sandhave'snot”(J.Steyaert,2002).Anillustrationofthisproblemcanbeseen
ina2010mapoftheworldasshownbyFacebookusers(seeAppendixA).
Figure3showsInternetusersintheworlddistributedbyworldregions.We
canseethatAfricaaccountsforonly5.6%oftheworld’sInternetusersandthe
MiddleEastonly3.2%.
27
Figure3Internetusersworldwide.(“WorldInternetUsageStatisticsNewsandWorldPopulationStats,”2010)
IfthemajorityofapopulationdoesnothaveaccesstotheInternet,thesuccessof
socialmediauseforsocialchangeeffortswillclearlybelimited.
PolicyImplications
Socialmediausehasclearlysurpassedthe“earlyadopter”stage.Withsomany
users,itishardtosaywhohascontroloveralloftheinformationsharedusingsites
likeFacebook,Twitter,andYouTube.Muchhasbeenmadeof“citizenjournalists,”
buttheycannotbeheldtotheethicalstandardsoftraditionaljournalists.Privacy
concernshavebeenapartofsocialmediaforyears,butassocialmediabecomes
moreintegratedintothewaypeoplecommunicate,complexissueshavearisen.The
rangeofproblemsisdiverse,rangingfromdebateoveraniPhoneappthatallows
userstoavoidDUIcheckpoints(“CheckpointerforiPhone,iPodtouch,andiPadon
theiTunesAppStore,”n.d.)togovernmentshackingintoactivists’profiles
(Madrigal,2011).
28
InaJanuary2010address,HillaryClintonsaid,"Newtechnologiesdonot
takesidesinthestruggleforfreedomandprogressbuttheUnitedStatesdoes(York,
2010).ThisstatementreiteratestheproblemGladwellcomplainedof,thatwe
personifytoolsinsteadofactions,butalsoraisesanimportantquestion.Whomakes
therulesofsocialmedia:thegovernment,theplatform,ortheusers?“[Socialmedia
platforms]often[lack]eventhelanguageskillstomakemoralandpolitical
judgmentsinothercountries.Nor[dothey]offerbasicconstitutionalprotections
suchashabeascorpusortherighttofaceyouraccuser”(Greeley,2011).Ifactivists
inEgyptareusingsocialmediaplatformsdevelopedintheU.S.,whoserulesshould
theyfollow?
Anotherquestionthatpertainstothetopicofsocialmediaandsocialchange
isthequestionofwhohasarighttohaveasocialmediapresence.Certainlyone
wouldagreethatthosewhousesocialmediatobeabusiveorthreateningshould
notbeallowedtocontinue,butthenon‐transparentpoliciesthatsomeplatforms
haveontheissueofdeletingaccountsmakestheissuecomplicated.Forexample,
Facebook’spolicyondeletingprofilesisunclear(anissueinitself),butitseemsthat
itiseasyforuserstogetotherusers’accountsremoved.Anyusercan“report”
anotheruserformisconduct,andafteracertainnumberofreportstheoffending
accountistakendown.Thereisnocorrespondencewiththeremoveduser,justthe
optiontoemaildisabled@facebook.comtorequestthattheaccountbereinstated
(York,2010).OneexampleofabuseofFacebook’s“report”actioncanbeseenina
groupthatwascreatedonFacebook(inArabic)forthesolepurposeofreporting,
andthushavingremoved,FacebookprofilesofatheistArabs.Thegroup(nolonger
29
inexistence)wasentitled“Facebookpesticide”anditssolepurposewasto“identity
Atheists/Agnostic/anti‐religionintheArabworld.”Onceidentified,thegroup
memberswouldthenattempttoreportsuchusersuntiltheiraccountswere
deactivated(York,2010)
Itiseasytoseehowthiscanaffectactivistsusingsocialmediaforsocial
change.IfanactivistisusingFacebooktoorganizeeventsandrelaymessages,it
maybeeasyfortheopposingsidetohavehisorheraccountdeactivated,thereby
cuttingoffthesourceofinformationandforcingthegrouptofindanotherwayto
communicate.
Facebook’sreal‐namepolicyhasalsocausedastir.Recently,popularChinese
bloggerandactivistMichaelAnti’sFacebookaccountwasdisabledbecausehewas
notusinghislegalname,ZhaoJing.AntihadbeenusingthenameMichaelAntifor
morethanadecadeinhisactivistwork,andhasbeenpublishedsolelyunderthat
name.“Bylockinghimoutofhisaccount,Facebookhascuthimofffromanetwork
ofmorethan1,000academicandprofessionalcontactswhoknowhimasAnti”
(Tran,2011).
Therealnamepolicyposesaseriousthreattoactivistsorganizinga
revolutionbecausethetransparentnatureofsocialmediaallowsthegovernmentto
seetheiractionsandtakeactionagainstthemiftheydeemnecessary.
Furthermore,thereseemstobelittledocumentationonwhycertainprofiles
aredeletedforreal‐namepolicyviolationsandothersarenot.AquickFacebook
searchfortheuser“SantaClaus”willillustratethispoint.
30
TheoppositeofFacebook’sreal‐namepolicyisthelackofverificationfoundon
othersocialmediasites.Twitter,YouTube,andLinkedIndonothavestrictreal
namepolicies(LinkedInhasavaguerulethatonecannot“Createauserprofilefor
anyoneotherthananaturalperson”).Thiscreatesdifferentproblemsforactivists—
onecannotbesurethatpeoplearewhotheysaytheyare(asmentionedbrieflyin
rumorsofgovernmentimpersonatingactivistsinIranexampleabove).
Insomecases,socialmediaplatformsmaybeaskedbygovernmentsorlaw
enforcementtoturnoversomeuserinformationortohelpidentifycriminals.
AccordingtoFacebook'sChiefSecurityOfficerJoeSullivan:
Wegetrequestsallthetimeinafewdifferentcontextswherepeoplewould
liketoimpersonatesomeoneelse.Policewantingtogoundercoverorhuman
rightsactivists,say.Andwe,justbasedonourcoremissionandcore
product,don'twanttoallowthat.That'sjustnotwhatFacebookis.Facebook
isaplacewherepeopleconnectwithrealpeopleintheirlivesusingtheirreal
identities(Papic&Noonan,2011).
Twitterattemptstonotifyusersiftheyhavetoreleaseanyrecordsor
informationaboutthem.
Ourpositiononfreedomofexpressioncarrieswithitamandatetoprotect
ourusers'righttospeakfreelyandpreservetheirabilitytocontesthaving
theirprivateinformationrevealed.Whilewemayneedtorelease
informationasrequiredbylaw,wetrytonotifyTwitterusersbeforehanding
31
overtheirinformationwheneverwecansotheyhaveafairchancetofight
therequestiftheysochoose(Caulfield&Karmali,2008).
32
CASEPROFILE
TheuseofsocialmediaintheEgyptianrevolutionhasreceivedmuch
attention.Duringtheprotests,Twitter,Facebook,andYouTubewerekeyplayersin
communicationoftheactivists.WhentheInternetwasshutdownonJanuary27th,
theprotestsdidnotdwindle,whichbringsintoquestiontheextentofthevalueand
influencesocialmediaplayedintherevolution.Thiscaseprofilewilloutlineand
examinetheuseofsocialmediafromDecember2010untilFebruary11,2011,when
HosniMubaraksteppeddownaspresidentofEgypt.
2011EgyptianRevolution
The2011EgyptianRevolution,alsocalledtheEgyptianProtests,theLotus
Revolution,theDaysofRage,andthePapyrusRevolution,wasinspiredbyasimilar
revolutioninnearbyTunisia,whichsawtheoverthrowingofthelongtimeTunisian
president.ThousandstooktothestreetsinCairo,Alexandriaandothercitiesin
Egypttoprotestpoverty,unemployment,governmentcorruption,andtheautocratic
ruleof30‐yearpresidentHosniMubarak(CraigKanalley,2011).Theprimary
demandsfromprotestorganizersweretheendofHosniMubarak’sregime,theend
ofemergencylaw,andacallforfreedom,justice,aresponsivenon‐military
government,andmanagementofEgypt'sresources(AlexisMadrigal,2011).
Thefollowingdatesaresignificanttotherevolution:
January25,2011:ProtestsbeganJanuary27,2011:AllInternetaccessinEgyptissuspendedJanuary28,2011:PresidentHosniMubarakdeclaresanewgovernmentwillbeformed.January31,2011:AnewEgyptiangovernmentisswornin
33
February1,2011:Mubaraksaysthathewon’trunforreelectioninSeptemberFebruary2,2011:InternetservicereturnsinEgyptFebruary10,2011:Mubarakisexpectedtostepdown,butrefusesFebruary11,2011:MubarakresignsandleavesCairo
SocialMediaMomentum
TunisianRoots
TheprotestsinEgyptwereinspiredbythesuccessfulrevolutionin
neighboringTunisia,
whichsawtheoverthrow
ofdictatorZineElAbidine
BenAli.Theprotests
beganaftera26‐year‐old
fruitvendor,Mohamed
Bouazizi,sethimselfon
firetoprotestthe
injusticesoflifeunderBen
Ali.AFacebookpageinhishonormadehimanationalmartyrandledtomassive
protests(Yaffa,2011).Soon,Facebookplayedacontinuingmajorroleinthe
protests,asactivistsusedthesitetosharevideosandinformationwhenmanyother
siteswereblockedbytheTunisiangovernment.
Thevideos‐‐shotshakilywithcameraphones‐‐createdalinkbetweenwhat
washappeningonthestreetsinthepoorareasofthecountryandthe
broaderTunisianpopulation.Manyaregraphic.Inonevideo‐‐sincetaken
Figure4.AphotoshopedimageofFacebookfounderMarkZuckerbergholdingupasignthatreads"SayebSala7,ya3ammer,"thesloganofafreedomofexpressioncampaigninlate2010.
34
down,apparently‐‐ayoungmanislyingonagurneywithhisskullcracked
open.Brainoozesout.Criesareheardallaround.Thevideofocusesinonthe
man'sfaceandasthecamerapullsback,weseethattherearetwoother
peoplewithcameraphonesrecordingtheinjury.Videoaftervideoofthe
revolutionaryeventscapturesotherpeoplevideoingthesameevent.Those
videos,andtheactionstheyrecorded,becametherawmaterialforamuch
greateronlineapparatusthatcouldamplifyeachinjury,death,andprotest
(Madrigal,2011).
Thevideos,pictures,andinformationaboutprotestsspreadlikewildfire,and
TunisiahadseveralhundredthousandnewFacebookusersinafewdays,with
averagetimespentonthesitedoubling.However,thiswasnotwithoutthe
government’snotice,andonlineactivistsbegantohaverun‐inswithAmmar,the
nameTunisianshavegiventotheauthoritiesthatcensortheInternet.Thousandsof
passwordswerecapturedbythegovernmentusingthecountry’sInternetService
Providerstologinformationanddeleteprofiles(Madrigal,2011).
Inthiscase,Facebooktookaction.TheyroutedallTunisianrequestsfor
Facebooktoanhttpsserver,whichencryptsinformationsothatit’snotsusceptible
tothekeyloggingstrategytheTunisiangovernmentwasusing.Theyalsoemployed
asystemthatrequireduserstoidentifytheirfriendsinphotosinordertologback
intotheiraccount(Madrigal,2011).
NeighboringEgyptwatchedtheYouTubevideos,readthetweets,joinedthe
Facebookgroups,andwatchedinaweasBenAliwasoverthrown.“Theriveting
35
imagesbeamedintomillionsofEgyptianhomesoftheTunisianuprisingappearto
haveledtoashiftinthepublicconsciousness”(Murphy,2011).ButEgyptismuch
largerthanTunisia,andmanydoubtedthatcitizenswouldbeunitedinthewaythey
wereinTunisia.
StateofAffairsinEgypt
EgyptisthelargestArabcountry(morepeopleliveinCairothaninallof
Tunisia).TheU.S.hastoleratedtheregime’s“anti‐democraticexcessesinthe
interestofstability,”andEgypthasbeenalongtimeally(Murphy,2011).Itis
currentlythesecondhighestrecipientofU.S.foreignaid(afterIsrael)(Craig
Kanalley,2011).EgyptisoneofonlytwoArabstatestohaveapeaceagreement
withIsrael.ItstraddlesthevitalSuezCanalandisconsideredahugeinfluencerof
theArabworld.
“Withitsstrategicsituation,itsculturalinfluenceandapopulationdouble
thatofanyotherArabcountry,Egypthasforthreedecadesnowbeenthe
linchpinofaprecariousbutenduringregionalPaxAmericana.IfEgyptwere
tofallintochaos,notonlythenation,butalsotheregion,wouldbedeeply
affected”(“AspecialreportonEgypt:America’slieutenant,”2010).
HosniMubarakhadbeenpresidentofEgyptsince1981,afterhis
predecessor,AnwarSadatwasassassinated.Whenhetookofficeheextendedthe
country’s“EmergencyLaw,”whichgivesthegovernmenttherightto“imprison
individualsforanyperiodoftime,andforvirtuallynoreason,thuskeepingthemin
prisonswithouttrialsforanyperiod”(CraigKanalley,2011).
36
Theongoing2011revolutionisthelargestpopularrevolutionin30years.
Manybelievethattheuseofsocialmediaforcommunicationandplanninghasmade
therevolutionpossibleforthelongunhappypeople.Oneactivisttweeted,“Weuse
Facebooktoscheduletheprotests,Twittertocoordinate,andYouTubetotellthe
world”(Howard,2011).
WithanInternetpenetrationrateof15.4percent,Egyptisaheadofmostof
Africa,thoughitlagsbehindmanyMiddleEasterncountries.Forcontrast,Iranhas
anInternetpenetrationrateof31percent,theUnitedKingdomhasarateof83.6
percent,andAfghanistanhasarateof3.6percent(“InternetFilteringinEgypt,”
2009).
Centraltothemomentumoftheprotestsweretwoviralsocialmediaefforts,
aFacebookpagecalled“WeareAllKhaledSaid”andviralvideosbyayoungwoman,
AasmaMahfouz.
WeareAllKhaledSaid
KhaledSaidwasa28‐year‐oldmanfromAlexandriawhowasbeatentodeathby
policeafterallegedlypostingavideoshowingpolicesharingdrugsfromadrugbust.
AFacebookpage,“WeareallKhaledSaid,”servedasamemorialandhad473,000
users(asofFebruary6,2011).ThebiggestdissidentFacebookpageinEgypt,the
pageunitedEgyptiansinrageaboutSaid’sdeathwithpostsofcellphonephotosof
Said’sbatteredbodyinthemorgueandYouTubevideoscontrastingpicturesofa
healthySaidwiththemorgueimages(Preston,2011).
37
InDecember2010Facebookdisabledthegroupbecauseitsadministratorswere
usingpseudonyms.Thegroupwasreinstatedwhenanadministrator,WaelGhonim,
offeredhisrealname(Greeley,2011).“Thepagequicklybecameaforceful
campaignagainstpolicebrutalityinEgypt,withaconstantstreamofphotos,videos,
andnews.Ghonim’sinteractivestyle,combinedwiththepage’scarefullycalibrated
posts—emotional,apolitical,andbroadintheirappeal—quicklyturneditintoone
ofEgypt’slargestactivistsites”(Giglio,2011).
OnJan.14theTunisiandictatorfelland“WeareAllKhaledSaid”announceda
revolutionofEgypt’sown.“Eachofthepage’s350,000‐plusfanswascordially
invitedtoaprotestonJan.25.Theycouldclick“yes,”“no,”or“maybe”tosignal
whetherthey’dliketoattend”(Giglio,2011).
Asdiscussedabove,vowingtoattendaneventorjoiningagrouponlineisnot
necessarilyatrueindicatorofthenumberofpeoplewhowillattendorbecome
involved.Thesuccessoftheprotestwasyettobeseen,andGhonimandotherswere
unsureaboutthefollow‐throughoftheirsocialmediafollowers.
Ghonim,theheadofMarketingforGoogleMiddleEastandNorthAfrica,has
littletimetodebatethemeritsofsocialmediaforsocialchange:
Thebottomlineis:Ihavenoidea...Whilesomecommentatorshyped“that
theInternetismakingarevolution,”othersproclaimedthatthe“revolution
can’tbetweeted”...Idon’tknow,andIdon’tgiveas‐‐t.I’mdoingwhatit
takestomakemycountrybetter(Giglio,2011).
38
TwodaysaftertheJanuary25protestsGhonimwasarrestedandheldfor12
days,Uponhisrelease,hewashailedastheonlineheroofthemovement,atitlehe
refutedinatweet:“Revolution2.0:Noonewasaherobecauseeveryonewasa
hero”(Porter&Beinner,2011).
AasmaMahfouz
AasmaMahfouzisa26year‐oldEgyptianwomanwhowasoneofthefoundersof
the2008April6YouthMovement(aFacebookgroupstartedinSpring2008to
supporttheworkersinanEgyptianindustrialtownwhowereplanningtostrikeon
April6).OnJanuary18thsheuploadedavideotoFacebookthatcalledforEgyptians
tojoinherinprotestatTahrirSquareonJanuary25th.Thevideowasuploadedto
YouTubeandwentviral.Themessageofthegirlwhowasunafraidtoshowherface
spreadacrossEgypt:
I’mmakingthisvideotogiveyouonesimplemessage:wewanttogodownto
TahrirSquareonJanuary25th.Ifwestillhavehonorandwanttolivein
dignityonthisland,wehavetogodownonJanuary25th.We’llgodownand
demandourrights,ourfundamentalhumanrights(Goodman,2011).
PartofthesuccessofMahfouz’svideowasthatshedidnothidebehindacomputer
screentosharehermessage.“AsmaaMahfouzspeaksdirectlytothecameraand
identifiesherself.Theboldnessofthisact,speakingoutsoforcefullyasawoman,
inspiredmanyotherstostartpostingtheirimagesonline”(Goodman,2011).
39
#Jan25
January25thwasapublicholidayinEgypt,NationalPoliceDay.Thecallstoaction
sparkedby“WeareAllKhaledSaid”andAsmaaMahfouzwererepeatedinthe
hashtag#Jan25.Activistsusedthistomarkalltweetsrelatedtotheprotests.
Figure5.Exampleofcalltouse#Jan25onTwitter.
DuringProtests
Thereisoftenadisconnectbetweenwhathappensonlineandwhat
happenedattheprotests.ButthereisnodoubtthattheprotestsinTahrirSquare
wereveryreal.
Thiswasnomovie—nostudentsit‐ineither.Some500diedintheclashes.
Thereweremanycasualtieswhenunarmedyoungmenrashlystormedthe
MinistryofInteriorbuildingandweremoweddown.Countlessmorewere
injuredwhenMubaraksupporterstriedtotakethesquare.Thosehurt
refusedtogotothehospitalforfearofbeingarrested(Porter&Beinner,
2011).
A22‐year‐oldInternetactivistnamedAhmedAbdRaboarrangedforprotestersto
sleepundertankstopreventthemfrommoving.Shereportedterrifyingdetailsof
theprotestsalongwithupliftingmomentsofhope:
40
”Whensniperswereshootingthey[theprotesters]wouldchant,‘Keepon
going.Thereare80millionofus.’”Shesawtwopeopleshotdeadandwas
herselfsavedwhenastrangercoveredinblooddraggedheroutofthewayof
achargingvehicle.Andyetshesays,“ThiswasamomentofUtopia,whenit
didnotmatterwhatyourreligionwas,howyoudressed,orwhereyoucame
from”(Porter&Beinner,2011).
Thesegraphicnarratives,images,andvideosweresenttoEgyptandtheworldby
thosewhohadaccesstothesocialmedia,butasdiscussedabove,notallofEgyptor
evenmostofEgypthasaccesstotheInternet(Internetpenetrationrateof15.4%).
Theactivists’strategyforthe#Jan25protest,plannedthroughonline
communication,wasfor“multiplefast‐movingdemonstrationsintwentylocations
aroundthecity,designedtotrytomobilizethepeopleinpoorerareas(whocould
notaffordtheluxuryofcomputersandtheInternet)andavoidtheusualpolice
tacticofcordoningoffprotestersandpreventingthemfromrallying”(Nunns&Idle,
41
2011,p.31).
Figure6.Tweetsduringtheprotests(Nunns&Idle,2011).
ThosewithInternetaccessreportedtotheworldinrealtime.Tweetsfrom
theprotestsrangedfromrallyingcriestorequestsforhelptojournalisticnote
taking.
DuringBlackout
TheInternetwasblockedinEgyptforfivedays.Manyseethisasaclear
indicatorthatactivists’useofsocialmediatoolswasahugethreattothe
government.“ThefactthatHosniMubarak’sregimetookthestepofblockingthe
Internet,despitethemillionsofdollarslosttotheeconomy,isatestamenttothe
fearitprovokedamongtherulers”(Nunns&Idle,2011,p.21).
TheInternetblockwastoolate.BythetimetheylostInternetaccessthe
protestshadalreadybeenplannedandtheactivistswerealreadytogether.Social
mediahadgonefromtoolsusedtoplanandorganizetoreal‐timereportingtools,
42
andEgypthadalreadygottentheattentionoftheworldbythetimeaccesswascut.
LiketherevolutioninIran,therestoftheworldwastunedinandwillingtohelp
activistsgetonlineorspreadnews.
[Theactivists]wenttogreatlengthstogetonlineduringthefive‐dayInternet
blackout,whentheirtweetscouldnoteasilybereadbyotherEgyptians.By
telephoningfriendsabroadtouploadtheirtweets,poolingtheirresourcesto
getontotheoneremainingInternetserviceproviderinEgypt(theoneused
bythestockexchange),orofferinginterviewstonewsorganizationsin
returnforaccesstotheirsatelliteInternetconnections,activistsmanagedto
ensurethattheregimecouldnotcutthemofffromtheworld(Nunns&Idle,
2011,p.20).
Thishighlightsanimportantaspectofusingsocialmediaforsocialchange.
Communicationforplanningandinformationsharingbetweenrevolutionariesis
importantandcrucialtoapoint,butoneofthemostimportantaspectsistheraised
worldawarenesssocialmediacanbringtoacause.Theprotestswereplanned
online,butmanyofthepeoplewhoattendedthe#Jan25protestslearnedabout
themthroughwordofmouth.Therestoftheworldbecameinvolvedthroughthe
Internet.
CASEANALYSIS
GlobalTies
Fromthecasestudyabovewecanseesocialmediatoolsinaction,rather
thanintheabstract.Theideathatclicking“like”onaFacebookpageforacausewill
translateintoactionisabsurd,butwhenthatFacebookpageisatestamentto
problemspeoplefaceintheirdailylives,thereismuchhigherlikelihoodthatthey
willtakeaction.
Weaktieshavebeensaidtobehelpfulinsituationswhereitdoesn’tcost
someonemuchtimeorefforttohelp.Forexample,someonemightasktheirTwitter
followersiftheyknowanyonewhoishiringforparttimeworkandreceivemany
replies.Gladwellsaysthatthiskindofresponsewon’thappenifasocialmediauser
asksforsomethingbig,liketimeormoney.Thismaybetrue,butwhatGladwell
doesn’tconsideristhatinarevolutionlikethatinEgypt,peopleareaskingtheir
weaktiesforhelpforaproblemthatisuniversal.Thoughtheactivistsmaynot
knowthepeopletheyrecruittoprotest,thepeopletheyarerecruitingarevery
similartothemandtheproblemstheydescribeareuniversal.
KovasBogutacreatedaninfographicthatvisualizestheEgyptianInfluence
NetworkonTwitter(seeAppendixB).Themapshowsindividualsnearthosethey
influence(thosewhoarelikelytoreadandsharetheirtweets)aswellasthe
languagetheyusetotweet(ArabicandEnglish).Thesizeofthenoderepresenting
eachindividualrepresentshowmanyotherstheyinfluence.WaelGhonimcanbe
44
seenasaninfluencerforboththeArabandWesternworlds,forexample.Boguta
notesthatmanyoftheprominentnodesontheinfographicwereatonepoint
arrested,but“theirdeepconnectivityhelpensuretheywerenot
"disappeared"(Boguta,2011).
CitizenJournalists
TheEgyptrevolutionraisesquestionsaboutwhethercitizenjournalismis
activismandwhetherparticipantscanbejournalists.Asdiscussedearlier,thefact
thatsocialmediausersdonothavetobevettedorheldtoethicalstandardsisbotha
problemandablessing.Perhapsthe“rules”ofsocialmediawillbecomecleareras
theyareembracedbythenextgenerationofsocialmediausers,bothincrisis
situationsandmorepeacefultimes.Inthiscase,citizenjournalistsinEgypthave
shownusthattheyareaforcetobereckonedwith.Socialmediacreatesan
unprecedentedoutletforthevoiceofanoppressedpeopleagainstadictatorship.
Dangers
Themassiveorganizingandactionthathappenedthroughtheuseofsocial
mediaintheEgyptrevolutionmaymakeitseemasthoughusingtheInternetasa
toolforsocialchangeisnotdangerous.EvenpostMubarak,itstillisextremely
dangerousinEgypt.OnApril11,2011TheNewYorkTimesreportedthata25year
oldblogger,Maikel Nabi, was sentenced to three years in jail for speaking out
against the Egyptian army’s abuse of female detainees. The evidence against Nabi
was a compact disc of screen shots of his personal Facebook page and blog
(Bronner, 2011).
45
Itmaybeevenworseinothercountries.AccordingtoFacebook’sChiefof
SecurityJoeSullivan,"WhenyoustepbackandthinkabouthowInternettrafficis
routedaroundtheworld,anastonishingamountissusceptibletogovernment
access”(Madrigal,2011).
Conclusion
Fromthisbriefcasestudyafewconclusionsaboutthecurrentuseofsocial
mediaforsocialchangecanbemade.
• Therearepeoplebehindthesocialmediatoolsthatareusedforsocialchange.
Acommontrendhasbeentogivecredit,atleastinname,tothetoolsusedforsocial
changeandnotthepeoplebehindthem—Iran’s“TwitterRevolution,”forexample.
Socialmediacanbeusedasatooltoraiseawareness,raisemoney,andjoinpeople
together,buttopersonifythesetoolsistounderestimatethetime,resources,and
risksthatactivistsandcitizenssacrifice.
• Socialmediatoolscanraiseworldawarenessofanissue
InEgypt,wesawthatthoughnotallorevenmostofthecountryhadInternetaccess,
peoplewereunitedatthe#Jan25protest.Butperhapsthebiggesteffectthatthe
onlineaspectoftheprotestshadwastogivetherestoftheworldaviewfromthe
ground.ThiswasalsoapparentinthemoneyraisedfortheHaitiearthquakerelief
andintheworldawarenessofIran’srevolution.
• Socialmediatoolsallowuserstohelpeachother,regardlessoflocation
46
SocialmediauseduringtheMumbaiattackshelpedpeoplegethelptothoseinneed
andgetinformationtofamilymembers.InEgypt,protestersusedsocialmediato
shareinformationaboutdangersandhelpeachothergetsuppliesandmedical
attention.Buttheabilitytogethelpfromothersbyusingsocialmediaisnotlimited
bylocation.Notonlydidpeoplefrommanyothercountriestuneintotherevolution
inEgypt—manypeoplehelpedtheactivistsbysettingupproxies,hackinginto
governmentsites,andspreadingthewordaboutthecause.Additionally,the
increasedawarenessmayincitepoliticianstobemorevocalandopenwiththeir
reactiontotherevolutionorsituationtransmittedviasocialmedia.
• Socialmediauseforsocialchangeisdangerous.
Itisclearthatthepoliciesofmanysocialmediaplatformsmaynotbeinthebest
interestsofactivists,andthereisarealdangerofgovernmentsusingsocialmediato
spyon,misinform,orincriminateactivists.
Theauthorofthiscapstonehopesthatthispaperhasmadeitclearthatsocialmedia
isneitheraperfectmethodforsocialchangecommunicationnoratrendthatwill
quicklypass.
APPENDIXA
WorldmapvisualizedbyFacebookusers(Butler,2010).
Seehigh‐resolutionversionhere.
48
APPENDIXB
Mapindicatingthe“EgyptianInfluenceNetwork”showsTwitterusersinproximitytotheuserstheyinfluenceandthelanguagetheyuse(Boguta,2011).
(Seehigh‐resolutionversionhere.)
49
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