The Powerful Social Media: Facebook Freed Egypt
It needed no riffle or Gureilla style warfare techniques to free Egypt. The power of social media was enough to devastate the 30 year old Autocratic rule.
Rajat Arora | Delhi | February 14, 2011
Mahatma Gandhi is known as the best Mass communicator of last century. Using his writing and his speeches he united India and called for independence from British state. In his lifetime Gandhi edited many newspapers and his daily prayers were broadcast on All India Radio. He ran all his movements through his articles. And no one can deny the major role that his newspapers and articles played in Indian Independence.
Almost sixty years later, when there was no Gandhi or not even a mass communicator like him another movement for freedom started in Middle East. The country which is famous on world map for its Pyramid and longest river in the world were struggling to get rid of the 30 year autocratic rule.
The movement started building at Tahrir square to get rid of the suppression. What started this agitation was just one Facebook update from a young woman. Three weeks ago, 26-year-old Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz posted a video online urging people to protest the “corrupt government” of Hosni Mubarak by rallying in Tahrir Square on January 25. Her moving call ultimately helped inspire Egypt's uprising. "I, a girl, am going down to Tahrir Square, and I will stand alone. And I'll hold up a banner. Perhaps people will show some honor,” Mahfouz said. "Don't think you can be safe anymore. None of us are. Come down with us and demand your rights, my rights, your family's rights. I am going down on January 25th and will say no to corruption, no to this regime."
It needed no riffle or Gureilla style warfare techniques to free Egypt. The power of social media was enough to devastate the 30 year old kingdom. What guns couldn't do in various countries a facebook update did it in Egypt. The country, which till last year was waiting for Hosni Mubarak's death for their freedom can hardly believe that in just 18 days they toppled their President.
No one, even Mark Zuckerberg or Biz Stone would have ever thought that their creation would have such an impact on the world. Certainly these social networking websites have evolved from just being dating website to being Agenda setting websites. In India also last year we saw that it took only one tweet from Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to destroy the political career of Desi tweeting star Shashi Tharoor.
Taking lessons from Egypt, many Middle Eastern countries have sparked their agitation for Democracy through Facebook and Twitter and even in Asia the dream for free Tibet will pass through the road of social media (Dalai lama is spreading his message across the world through tweets as well).