i.am.sagar

It’s been fascinating to observe what has been going on in Tunisia, Egypt, and now Yemen with the unrest as a result of authoritarian regimes and peoples frustration with being left behind in the global context.  I read this fascinating article on GigaOm (link) called “Gladwell Still Missing the Point About Social Media and Activism” by Mathew Ingram and couldn’t help but think about both sides of the equation.  I’ve read all of Gladwell’s books and find him to be an author who doesn’t make off the cuff comments.  His writings tend to be well though out and present factual data to support his hypothesis.  That being said, he is not one to make predictions or evaluate situations as they are unfolding.  The unrest in Egypt, Tunisia, and now Yemen certainly were influenced by their close proximity and similarity in situations.  All evidence so far suggests that Social Media did in fact play a role in accelerating and organizing the protests.  More importantly, the government in Egypt quickly recognized this and quickly shut down the internet communication from the outside world.  That being said, Malcolms point that uprisings like this have happened for centuries is also valid.  Here in Boston itself, it was Paul Revere on horseback spreading the word about the English coming.  Just imagine if he was tweeting this from his smartphone though.  The word would spread infinitely faster, engage more debate, and allow people to organize and latch-on to a constant stream of information that would be virtually impossible to disconnect from.  I’m not suggesting that this all happened because of Social Media.  Obviously, the frustrations people have are not new and have been building up over time.  What technologies (particularly the connection to the outside world via Social Media) that give an immediate, interactive, and explosive channel to people who may not otherwise be part of a movement like this.  

What’s also very interesting to me is that the rest of the world is tuned in and following this story.  Even 10 or 15 years back, that may not have been the case.  People are connecting to each other at a personal level and exchanging information.  This time around the main-stream media is going along for the ride.  They are not reporting the story as it builds, they are reporting the news as it’s being passed around the twitters and facebooks.  It’s the photo streams from that region that we’re all watching in real-time that have the world tuned-in.  

The question that we should be asking is… what was the tipping point in Tunisia?  We know Egypt mostly ignited because of the events in Tunisia, and we know that the situation in Yemen is bubbling up, and it’s possible that other countries in that region are starting to organize similar protests.  What is this a start of?  How many simultaneous uprisings will we be observing in a week, a month, or a year from now?  What’s going on in China, Tibet, North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, and other areas where this can occur?  Whether the Egyptian government falls or not, the governments of these countries know they no longer operate in the same reality they were comfortable with just a few years back.  They are trying to react - like the Egyptian authorities using the Vodafone mobile network to broadcast pro-government SMS messages to the people.  

People like me have a number of keywords that we are observing in our twitter streams - and let me tell you - it is amazing the breath of information that’s coming through.  But I am just a mere observer.  I dont’ have relatives in those countries or any vested interest beyond concern the common man who has let out a scream because the pain was just not bearable anymore, and now it’s too late to stop screaming, and they must continue on.  

On a personal note, I hope the people of Egypt prevail, not just with ousting Mubarak, but establishing a government that represents their interests and those of the future generations.  The US is doing the right thing by letting the situation evolve and take it’s course.  We must watch from the side lines, hard as it is, otherwise the people of Egypt will not succeed.  This is Democratization in the digital age, and it’s available to the common man.  It’s not going to be a rough ride, but it’s too late to put the breaks on now!