Social media has become very powerful nowadays and it has been used to serve more important purposes than sharing gossip with one another or the latest fashion trends. Believe it or not, social media is now being used to spread the word about revolutions, uprisings against governments and to express dislike about people in high places who do not do what they are supposed to do.
Twitter has been instrumental to the recent Tunisian revolution and the Egyptian uprising. Twitter has been very helpful in spreading the word to everyone that the Egyptian government has even went as far as shutting it down as well as various social network platforms for fear that it would promote wider civilian unrest.
Taking notice of social media
CNN, one of the world’s biggest news channels has taken notice of the power of social media and its value to journalists in pointing them in the right direction of stories which will make some of the biggest impacts. People are realizing just how powerful social media can be in sharing vital information with one another, information which can change and affect their future.
Despite the attempts of various government institutions in Egypt to block Twitter, Facebook and other social media, there was a Facebook page entirely devoted to the planned protests which had more than 80,000 followers. This means that 80,000 people were waiting for the latest news from that page. This is compared to just 20,000 followers from the previous day.
Aside from CNN, Al Jazeera, another news outfit is also taking notice of the power of social media and how it is instrumental in getting people to come together and standing up for a single cause. Without social media, it would be quite difficult for people to be aware of what is currently happening in their country.
Activism and Social media
Activists have spread their word online using social media. It helps them give detailed information to others who would like to join revolutions all over the world, including places where gatherings are going to take place, the time it is going to take place and what to bring, if there is any need to do so. It helps fuel anti-government organizations and this is what scares dictatorial governments.
The Egyptian protest is a very good demonstration of the power of social media. Egyptians used it to disseminate information and gather people for one cause. This is why everyone should look at it not only as a tool to connect with friends from ages ago or posting photos of your latest vacation to the Caribbean. It can also be used to topple governments. People saw history being made with the Egyptian revolution and it seems that social media will be here to stay.
This should warn governments to listen to their people or else people will be leaving messages in Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms to gather round and voice out their dissatisfaction with leaders. This should serve as a warning to world leaders everywhere.