SocialMediaforSocialChange:

ACaseStudyofSocialMediaUseinthe2011EgyptianRevolution

ByCarolineS.Sheedy

ACapstoneProject
PresentedtotheFacultyoftheSchoolofCommunication
InPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirements
FortheDegreeofMastersofArtsinPublicCommunication

Supervisor:ProfessorLaurenFeldman
April28,2011

COPYRIGHT
CarolineS.Sheedy
2011

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IwouldliketothanktheCommunicationsandMarketingofficeofAmerican
Universityforgivingmetheopportunitytoworkmywaythroughgraduateschool.
IwouldalsoliketothanktheSchoolofCommunicationfaculty,especiallyprofessor
LaurenFeldman.
Finally,thankstomyfriendsandfamilyfortheirconstantsupport.

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ABSTRACT
Thedebateoverwhetherornottheemergenceofsocialmediahaschangedtheway
peoplecommunicateforsocialchangehasreceivedheightenedattentionsince
MalcolmGladwelldeclared,therevolutionwillnotbetweetedinhis2010New
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,butforsocialchangetooccurthere
mustbepeoplebehindthetools.
2. Socialmediacanincreaseworldawarenessofanissue.
3. Socialmediaallowspeopletohelpeachotherregardlessoflocation.
4. Socialmediauseforsocialchangecanbedangerous.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1
Limitations.................................................................................................................................................... 3
Structure ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Background..................................................................................................................5
SocialMedia ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Facebook ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Twitter ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
YouTube.......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Flickr................................................................................................................................................................ 7
SocialMediaCommunicaiton:ThreeStudies................................................................8
2008AttacksinMumbai ....................................................................................................... 8
2009IranRevolution ...........................................................................................................10
2010HaitiEarthquake ........................................................................................................13
LiteratureReview.......................................................................................................17
HowSocialMediaisusedforSocialChange .................................................................17
OnlineCommunication ..........................................................................................................................17
MotivatingPoliticalAction ..................................................................................................................19
TheInfluenceoftheMedia...................................................................................................................20
TheTheoryofTies....................................................................................................................................22
ExternalFactorsthatAffectSocialMediaUse..............................................................24
CulturalDifferencesinSocialMediaUse .......................................................................................24
LegitimacyofSocialMedia ..................................................................................................................25
TheDigitalDivide ....................................................................................................................................26
PolicyImplications ..................................................................................................................................27
CASEPROFILE.............................................................................................................32
2011EgyptianRevolution ..................................................................................................32
SocialMediaMomentum.....................................................................................................33
TunisianRoots...........................................................................................................................................33
StateofAffairsinEgypt.........................................................................................................................35
WeareAllKhaledSaid...........................................................................................................................36
AasmaMahfouz ........................................................................................................................................38
#Jan25...........................................................................................................................................................39
DuringProtests ......................................................................................................................39
DuringBlackout .....................................................................................................................41
CASEANALYSIS ..........................................................................................................43
GlobalTies...................................................................................................................................................43
CitizenJournalists ....................................................................................................................................44
Dangers.........................................................................................................................................................44
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................45

APPENDIXA ...............................................................................................................47
APPENDIXB ...............................................................................................................48
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................49

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INTRODUCTION
Lessthan24hoursafterInternetaccesswasshutdowninEgyptduringthe
massive2011protests,GoogleandTwitterlaunchedSpeak2Tweet,aservicethat
allowsEgyptianstousetheirmobilephonestorecordmessagesthatareinstantly
translatedintotweetswith#egypt.Inlessthan24hourstheSpeak2Tweetfeedhad
8,660followerswhoposted897tweetsroughlyonetweeteverytwominutes
(Kawamoto,2011).Clearly,communicationviaTwitterwasdeemedimportant
enoughforthesecompanies,bothwesternbased,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
theoftlaudedtransparentnaturecanbedangerous.Forexample,itmayallow
criminalstokeeptrackofpoliceactivity.Additionally,thoughawarenessofanissue

maybeincreased,itishardtosaywhatrolesocialmediaplaysinactuallyputting
peopletoaction.
Otherissuesinvolvedintheuseofsocialmediaforsocialchangeincludethe
abilityandauthority,orlackthereof,ofsocialmediacompaniestohandlecrisis
situations.Forexample,Twitterearnedpraiseaftertheydelayedsitemaintenance
(afterarequestfromtheU.S.StateDepartment)toavoidinterrupting
communicationinIranduringthe2009election,butFacebookhascomeunderfire
becauseoftheirrealnamepolicy,whichputsactivistsindangerofhavingtheir
accountdeletediftheyarefoundtobeusingafakename(evenifitisfortheir
safety).
Manybelievethatthesenewwaysofcommunicatingcanhelptocreatesocial
change.TwittercofounderBizStonewentsofarastosaythatsocialmedialowers
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,believethattheseachangeincommunicationhashadahugeeffectonthe
waypeoplecreatechange:Groupactiongiveshumansocietyitsparticular

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.

BecausethispaperwaswrittenbyanEnglishspeakingAmerican,itshould

benotedthatthispapermayhavealanguageandculturalbiasbecauseofthe
informationavailable.
Structure
Thispaperwillbeginbyprovidingsomebackgroundonsocialmedia.Itwill
examinethreecasesinwhichsocialmediauseaffectedcommunicationworldwide,
the2008attacksinMumbai,the2009Iranpresidentialelection,andthe2010
earthquakeinHaiti,andbrieflyexaminetheimplicationsofeachexample.Areview
ofliteraturewillfocusonthehowsocialmediacanbeusedforsocialchangeandthe
externalfactorsthataffectsocialmediause.AcaseprofileontherevolutionofEgypt
willbefollowedbyanalysisanddiscussionoftheuseofsocialmediaforsocial
change.

BACKGROUND
SocialMedia

SocialMediaareagroupofInternetbasedapplicationsthatbuildonthe

ideologicalandtechnologicalfoundationsofWeb2.0,whichallowsthecreationand
exchangeofusergeneratedcontent(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.
Facebook
FacebookisasocialnetworkservicelaunchedinFebruary2004.Asof
January2011ithasmorethan600millionactiveusers(NicholasCarison,2011).
AccordingtoMashable.com:
Facebookisasocialutilitythathelpspeoplecommunicatemoreefficiently
withtheirfriends,familyandcoworkers.Thecompanydevelops
technologiesthatfacilitatethesharingofinformationthroughthesocial
graph,thedigitalmappingofpeople'srealworldsocialconnections.Anyone
cansignupforFacebookandinteractwiththepeopletheyknowinatrusted
environment.Facebookisapartofmillionsofpeopleslivesandhalfofthe
usersreturndaily(retrieved2/26/2011).

Twitter
Twitterdescribesitselfasarealtimeinformationnetworkthatconnects
youtothelatestinformationaboutwhatyoufindinteresting.Amicroblogging
site,Twitterallowsuserstosendoutmessagesinshortspurtsofupto140
characterspertweet.Userscanfollowotherusersorcommunicatebysearching
forhashtags(e.g.#egypt),useridentifiedkeywordsthatcluereadersintowhat
othersthinkisimportant.TwitterisbasedinSanFrancisco,butit'susedbypeople
innearlyeverycountryintheworld,andisavailableinEnglish,French,German,
Italian,Japanese,andSpanish.AsofSeptember2010,thereare175million
registeredusersandanaverageof95milliontweetswritteneachday(retrieved
February25,2011).
Twitterisanextremelypersonalmethodofcommunication.Usersmust
chosewhomtheyfollow,andthuscreateauniqueexperiencethatisspecificto
them.
Likeemailorthetelephone,Twitterisanonprescriptivecommunication
platform.Eachuserexperiences"Twitter"differentlydependingonthetime
ofdayandfrequencyshechecksherfeed,theotherpeopleshefollows,and
theinterface(s)sheusestoaccessthenetwork.Becauseofthisflexibility,
normsemerge,mutate,collide,andfadeawayamongTwitteruserswitha
fluiditythatmaynotbeeasilyapprehendabletoanonuser...(Driscoll,
2010).

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

Flickrisaphotosharingsitethatallowsuserstosharephotoson

www.flickr.comorthroughembeddedappsonotherwebsites.Flickrallowsusersto
tagphotoswithkeywords,whichcreatescommunitiesaroundcommoninterestsor
events.

SOCIALMEDIACOMMUNICAITON:THREESTUDIES
Therearemanyrecentexamplesofhowsocialmediaischanging
communication,butthreecasesstandout:the2008attacksinMumbai,the2009
Iranrevolution,andthe2010Haitiearthquake.Thissectionwillproviderealworld
examplesofhowsocialmediaarebeingusedforcommunication.
2008AttacksinMumbai

TheattacksinMumbai,IndiaoccurredonNovember26,2008.Pakistani

gunmantargetingAmericanandBritishcitizensforuseashostageskilledatleast
101peopleandwounded200inthetouristareasintheIndianfinancialcenterof
Mumbai(Magnier&Sharma,2008).Twohotels,thecityslargesttrainstation,a
Jewishcenter,amovietheater,andahospitalwereattackedwithmachinegunsand
grenades(Sengupta,2008).

Immediatelyaftertheattacksbegan,firsthandaccountsbeganshowingupon

Twitter,Flickr,andothersocialmediasites.Peoplenearthesiteoftheattacks
sharedlocationswherebloodwasneededandgavereportsonthehealthoftheir
familyandfriendsandtheactivityofboththepoliceandtheterrorists(Leggio,
2008).
@mumbaiattack:Hospitalupdate.Shotsstillbeingfired.AlsoMetrocinemanext
door
@aeropolowoman:BloodneededatJJhospital
Figure1Sampletweetsduring2008Mumbaiattack(Shachtman,2008).

SocialmediauseduringtheMumbaiattackspromptedadebateoverthe

ethicsofcitizenjournalistsonsocialmedia.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
rumorsthataninfant'sbodyhadbeenfoundinatrashcan,thatsharksfromLake
Pontchartrainwereswimmingthroughthebusinessdistrict,thathundredsof
bodieshadbeenstackedintheSuperdomebasement,whichgainedcredencewith
eachretelling(Rosenblatt&Rainey,2005).InMumbai,thoughsomeofthe
informationsharedthroughsocialmediawasundoubtedlyhelpfulandlegitimate,
cynicspointedoutthatmuchofitwasrepetitiveorvalueless,orsimplyrepeatedthe
reportsfrommainstreammedia(Caulfield&Karmali,2008).

TheMumbaicaseshowsusthatwhilesocialmediauseinacrisissituation
maybehelpfultothoseonthegroundandthoseseekinginformationaboutthe
crisis,itisdangerousbecauseitcancauseorincreasethespreadofrumorsand
misinformation.
2009IranRevolution
The2009Iranianpresidentialelectionprotests,alsocalledtheGreen
RevolutionandthePersianAwakening,beganonJune13,2009.Protesters
disputedthevictoryofMahmoudAhmadinejadinsupportofMirHosseinMousavi,
contendingthatAhmadinejadhadwontheelectionfraudulently(Bower,Amanpour,
Desta,&Bozorgmehr,2009).
Tocountertheprotesters,theregimecensorednewspapers,blocked
websites,andjammedsatellitetransmissions.Thetelephonesystemusedfor
textingwastakendown(EDITORIAL:IransTwitterrevolution,2009)Atone
point,allInternetconnectionsweretakendownforaperiodof20hours
(Moscaritolo,2009).
Despitetheeffortsoftheregimetoquietprotesters,socialmediawasusedto
broadcasttheprotestsandviolencesurroundingthemtotheworld.Iranbyone
estimatehasmorebloggerspercapitathananyothercountryintheworld.Any
Iranianwithamobilephonecouldfilmtheprotestsandtheresponseofthesecurity
forces.Hourbyhour,theseclipsfoundtheirwayontoYouTubeandcountless
bloggingsites(Blair,2009).TheprotestswerequicklynicknamedTheTwitter
Revolutionbecauseoftheactivistsrelianceonthesocialnetworkfor

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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
insideandoutsideIranmadestridesincreatingworkaroundstotheblocks,
likesecureserverspaceoutsideofIranforuseinprotestorganizingmessage
boards(Vafa,2010).

InIran,thereisonlyoneInternetprovider,thegovernmentruncompany
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
(Distributeddenialofservice)attacksagainstIraniangovernmentwebsites,making
themunusableortakingthemdowncompletely(Moscaritolo,2009).
Thiscrisisalsomarkedanincreasedunderstandingoftheproblemssocial
mediastransparency(orfalsesenseoftransparency)canbring.Therewerea
numberofreportsthatTwitteraccounts,emailaddresses,andFacebookaccounts
werehackedbywhatappearstobetheIraniangovernment.[Itisbelieved]that
sincesomeofthose[hackedaccountswere]usedtospreadmisinformationabout
thelocationofrallies,itwasanorganizedorsemiorganizedeffortbytheIranian
governmenttospreadmisinformation(Moscaritolo,2009).
ThecrisisinIranhighlightedthevalueofTwitterbysharingthestrugglesof
theIranianprotesterswiththeworld,seeminglyattheverymomentwhenTwitters
valuewasbeingquestioned(Bray,2009).WhentheSovietUnionsuppressedthe
revoltsinHungaryin1956andPraguein1968,itdidsobehindaconvenientveilof
secrecy.Today'stechnologyensuresthatIran'sregimewillnotbesofortunate
(Blair,2009).Ahmadinejadremainsinpowerasofthiswriting,butthesuccessof
theGreenRevolutionmaynotdependsolelyondeposingAhmadinejad.Asone
bloggerwrote:
Iranisarguablyoneofthemostenigmaticandisolatedcountriesinthe
world.Yetforthepastyear,MILLIONSofnonIranianshavebeenmade
awareofthedemocraticaspirationsoftheIranianpeople.Isthisworthless?
After30+yearsofmischaracterizationandOrientalistrhetoricbeingthrown

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againstamonolithicIranianidentity,peoplefromallovertheearthlearned
thatIraniansareyoung,intelligent,powerful,techsavvy,andhatetheir
crookedgovernmentasmuchastherestoftheworlddoes(Vafa,2010).

Theuseofsocialmediaduringthe2009Iranrevolutionhighlightsboththe
benefitsanddangersofusingsocialmediaforcommunication.Socialmediacanbe
usedtoprovideinformationtopeopleontheground,butitcanalsobeusedto
spreadmisinformationorinformtheoppositionofprotesterslocationorpersonal
information.Perhapsmostimportantly,socialmediacanbeusedtospread
awarenessofanissueworldwide.

2010HaitiEarthquake

OnJanuary12,2010thePortauPrinceregionofHaitiwasstruckbya

magnitude7.0earthquake(U.S.GeologicalSurveyHomepage,nd).Haitiisoneof
thepoorestcountriesintheworld,andwasillequippedtohandletheaftermathof
thequakewhichaffected3millionpeople(RedCross:3MHaitiansAffectedby
Quake,2010).

CharityeffortsonFacebookandTwittergrewbyleapsandboundsthe

weekoftheearthquake(ValentinoDeVries,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,startedaBloggersDayofAction,anidea
thatstartedwithatweetandeventuallyunitedmanybloggersandraisedthousands
ofdollars.TheideawasthateachbloggerwouldcreateapostaboutHaitiandlinkto
asitewherereaderscoulddonatetothecause.Somebloggerstookthedayofaction
fartherbyauctioningartworktoraisemoneyforHaitiorvowingtodonatemoney
foreverycommentreceivedontheirblog.

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Figure2.Imageusedtodesignatethatablogwas
participatingintheBloggersDayofActionforHaiti.

TheDayofActionshowedjusthoweffectivesocialmediatoolscanbeinuniting
otherwiseunconnectedpeopleforacause.
Thismovementhighlightsthepowerofasingleactionaswellaspotential
directionsforthebloggingcommunitytoevolveintoleadersofchange,
echoingthesentimentsofanthropologistMargaretMead,Neverdoubtthata
smallgroupofthoughtful,committedcitizenscanchangetheworld.Indeed,
itistheonlythingthateverhas(Rubenstein,2010).
TheflipsidetothegooddoneusingsocialmediaisthatFacebook,Twitter,
andsitespromotingdonationswereplaguedwithscamssoonafterthequake
(ValentinoDeVries,2010).Thisbringstoattentionamajorproblemofsocial
mediajustasitallowseveryonetobeacitizenjournalistwithnochecksor
balances,italsorequireseveryonetobeabletodiscernwhatisnews,whatis
nonsense,andwhatisascam.

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SocialmediausefortheHaitiearthquakereliefillustratesthepowerofsocial
mediatoquicklyraisemoneyforacauseandconnectotherwiseunaffiliatedpeople,
butalsoexposesthedangerofscams.

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LITERATUREREVIEW
HowSocialMediaisusedforSocialChange
OnlineCommunication

Tounderstandhowsocialmediacanbeusedforsocialchange,itisimportant

tounderstandthewaysthatonecancommunicateonline.Thissectionwilldiscuss
thewaysthatuserscancommunicateandinteractwithgroupsofpeople.Agroup
canbeaformallyorganizednumberofpeopleorsimplypeoplewhoidentifywith
similarvaluesorwhohaveacommoninterestorexperience.Forexample,Flickr
userswhotagtheirphotoswiththesameeventtagcouldbeconsideredagroup.
Userscan:
Virtuallyjoinagroup
Getupdatesandmessagesaboutagroup
Read,post,orcommentonnewsandinformation
Receive/sendprivatemessageswithgroupleadersandmembers
Readandengageintransparentconversationsthatcanbeseenbyothers
Lurkinagroupreadinformationwithoutmakingoneselfknownasa
followerormemberofthegroup
Interactwithothersdespitesocialorlocationboundaries

Communicationonlineisdifferentfromtheonewaycommunicationof

television,radio,andnewspapersbecauseonlineuserscanrespondtomessagesin
realtime,notjustreceivethem.However,muchlikelearningofanewsstoryfrom
television,receiversofthatinformationarenotnecessarilyproneforaction.Even
thosewhovirtuallyjoinagroupmaytakenofurtheraction.Insteadofattending
meetings,workshopsandrallies,uncommittedindividualscanjoinaFacebook

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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%ofnonInternetusers.Socialmediausers
areevenmorelikelytobeactive:82%ofsocialnetworkusersand85%ofTwitter
usersaregroupparticipants(Rainie,Purcell,&Smith,2011,p.2).Additionally,if
usersfeelthattheycanactuallymakeadifference,theyaremorelikelytoengagein
agroup(Rainieetal.,2011,p.14).
Incrisissituations,liketheHaitiearthquakeorMumbaiattacks,therearemore
broadcastbasedinformationsharingactivities,wheretheuserispushing
informationouttomanyusersandnotdirectingittowardonespecificuser(Hughes
&Palen,2009).Thisisdifferentfromthewaysocialmediaisnormallyused,but

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thesekindsofcommunicationsindisastercontextscanserveimportanttactical,
communitybuilding,andemotionalfunctions(Palen&Liu,2007,p.728).Also,a
studybyHughesandPalen(2009)foundthatthosewhobeginusingsocialmedia
duringacrisisaremorelikelytobecomelongtermusersofsocialmedia.
Activistswhousesocialmediaforsocialchangecanusethemtoplaninreallife
andinvirtuallifemeetings,keepfollowersinformedabouteventsandnews,and
gainfollowers.Socialmediausecanincreaseusersselfefficacytojoinacause
because,inpart,theirpeersinvolvementandactionsaretransparent.Itcanalsobe
usefulbygivinganonthegroundviewtopeoplenotculturallyorphysicallyclose
totheusers.
MotivatingPoliticalAction

Regardlessofthekindsoftoolsusedfororganizationandcommunication,

socialchangerequiresalotofwork.Revolutionstakeorganizing,funding,andmass
appeal(Papic&Noonan,2011).Evenawellorganizedrevolutionmustgothrough
anactivistprocessofsocialtransformationwhichincludesinformation
acquisition,knowledgedevelopment,transferandsharing;ideationandthought
leadership;empathyandemotionalconnection;andthespreadofcredibleideas
thatinspirecognitivedissonance(Leggio,2008).
Animportantaspectofmotivatingsocialchangeisconvincingpeoplethat
theirparticipationwillmakeadifference,especiallyiftheirparticipationwill
requirethemtoexperiencepersonaldiscomfortordanger.Thisisnosmalltask.

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Inlargegroups,suchasthoseinvolvedinacollectivepoliticalprotest,the
contributiontotheactionofeachordinarymember(i.e.,onewhoisnota
leaderofthegroup)hasnodiscernibleimpactonthegroupsoverallsuccess;
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

20

massiveamountsofpeople,itisimpossibletotellthesocialandpsychological
impactthatthiscauses(p.11).
Accordingtothestudy,inventionsthatenlargetheradiusofmovementand
actionliketheautomobilehaveagreatereffectonsocietythaninventionsthat
provideavenuesforideasideaswhichcanbeavoidedbywithdrawal,deflectedby
resistance,andtransformedbyassimilationliketelevision,radio,orcomputers(p.
12).Thisisbecauseinventionsthatprovideavenuesforideascanlullpeopleintoa
falsesenseofcomplacencytheycanmistaketheirbeinginformedforbeing
engaged,andconsequentlydonothing.
Thisideamayeasilybeappliedtosocialmediaonecanseehowtheover
abundanceofinformationstreamingonaTwitterfeed,forexample,couldbringa
personnottowardsaction,butoverstimulationorafalsesenseofunderstanding.
Forexample,apersonmightlearnaboutthemassiveearthquakereliefeffortson
Twitter,butnotbecompelledtodonatebecauseofthefeelingthattheyarealready
involved.
Withsomuchinformationavailableinaninstant,itisdifficulttoknowwhat
topayattentiontointhefirstplace.KovasBoguta,acofounderofInfoharmoni,a
companythatanalyzesInternetdata,asks,HowdoesanInternetjunkie,news
organization,orpoliticaloperativemonitorrapidlyevolvingrealtimeevents,from
thecrucialdetailstothebiggerpicture?Moreimportantly,howcanadatastreambe
turnedintorealtimeaction,reachingthepeoplewhoneedit,whentheyneedit,and
inaformtheycaneasilydigest?(Boguta,2009).Inthisway,socialmediais
differentfromtelevision,newspapers,orradiobecauseaneditordoesnotfilterthe

21

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.
Whatmatteredmorewasanapplicantsdegreeofpersonalconnectiontothe
civilrightsmovement.Allthevolunteerswererequiredtoprovidealistof
personalcontactsthepeopletheywantedkeptapprisedoftheir
activitiesandparticipantswerefarmorelikelythandropoutstohaveclose
friends...Highriskactivism...isastrongtiephenomenon(Gladwell,
2010).
Ifstrongtiesareessentialforsocialchange,andsocialmediadonotcreate
strongties,perhapsitisimportanttonotethatpeoplemayhavefewerstrongties

22

thantheydidwhenGranovettercoinedthetermin1973.AstudybyMcPhersonet.
alin2004foundthatthenumberofpeoplewhosaythereisnoonewithwhomthey
discussimportantmattershastripled.Thestudyrecreatedthe1985GeneralSocial
Survey,whichcollecteddateontheconfidantsofAmericans.Accordingtothe
studysfindings,theubiquityofrecenttechnologysuchascomputersandmobile
phonesmayhaveaffectedpeoplesrelationshipsandties:
While[computer]technologiesallowanetworktospreadoutacross
geographicspaceandmightevenenhancecontactsoutsidethehome(e.g.,
arrangingameetingatarestaurantorbar),theyseem,however,tolowerthe
probabilityofhavingfacetofacevisitswithfamily,neighbors,orfriendsin
oneshome...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.

23

...byspreadingawarenessviaweakties,othersocialrolescanbedefined
andfilled,perhapsbysomeindividualslessstronglycommittedthecausebut
importantintermsoftheirpositionswithinthenetwork(hitthe'donate
here'button!)(Srinivansan,2010).
The$10onepersondonateddidntmakeabigdifferenceinthereliefeffort,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.Thisframeworkdefinesnationalculturesusingfive
dimensionsPowerDistance(PDI),Individualism(IDV),Masculinity(MAS),

24

UncertaintyAvoidance(UAI),andLongTermOrientation(LTO).Differentcultures
havedifferentlevelsofthesedimensions.Forexample:
Individualism(IDV)versusCollectivismdescribesthedegreetowhichindividuals
areintegratedintogroups.Inindividualistculturesthetiesbetweenindividuals
areloose:everyoneisexpectedtolookafterhim/herselfandhis/herimmediate
family.Incollectivistcultures,peoplefrombirthonwardsareintegratedinto
strong,cohesiveingroups,oftenextendedfamilieswhichcontinueprotecting
theminexchangeforunquestioningloyalty(Mishra,2008).
Becauseofdifferencesincultures,peoplemayusesocialmediatoolsdifferently.For
example,Facebooktreatsallfriendsasthesame,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).

25

Foralltheattentionsocialmediahasgottenfromthemedia,government
officialsmayhavebeenignoringit.AfterthecrisiseruptedinEgypttheCIAwas
accusedofnotgivingPresidentObamaenoughwarningtimetoprepareforthe
seriousnessofthecrisis.SeniorU.S.lawmakersusedaSenatehearingtoaccusethe
CIAofbeingslowtograsptheopensourcerevolution(GregMiller,2011).(Greg
Miller,2011).Thismarksanimportantpartofthedebateovertheusefulnessof
socialmediainacrisis.Socialmediaisatransparentformofcommunicationthatis
changingthewaypeoplereceiveandinteractwithnewsandinformation,butone
thatisonlynowbeingseenaslegitimate.
TheDigitalDivide
Oneofthebiggestconcernswhenanalyzingtheeffectofsocialmediauseon
socialchangeisthequestionofwhohasaccesstotheInternet.Thedigitaldivide
describesthepotentialforadividebetweenthoseconnectedtotheInternetand
thosenotconnected,sometimeswordedasthedividebetweentheinformation
have'sandhave'snot(J.Steyaert,2002).Anillustrationofthisproblemcanbeseen
ina2010mapoftheworldasshownbyFacebookusers(seeAppendixA).
Figure3showsInternetusersintheworlddistributedbyworldregions.We
canseethatAfricaaccountsforonly5.6%oftheworldsInternetusersandthe
MiddleEastonly3.2%.

26


Figure3Internetusersworldwide.(WorldInternetUsageStatisticsNewsandWorldPopulationStats,
2010)

IfthemajorityofapopulationdoesnothaveaccesstotheInternet,thesuccessof
socialmediauseforsocialchangeeffortswillclearlybelimited.
PolicyImplications
Socialmediausehasclearlysurpassedtheearlyadopterstage.Withsomany
users,itishardtosaywhohascontroloveralloftheinformationsharedusingsites
likeFacebook,Twitter,andYouTube.Muchhasbeenmadeofcitizenjournalists,
buttheycannotbeheldtotheethicalstandardsoftraditionaljournalists.Privacy
concernshavebeenapartofsocialmediaforyears,butassocialmediabecomes
moreintegratedintothewaypeoplecommunicate,complexissueshavearisen.The
rangeofproblemsisdiverse,rangingfromdebateoveraniPhoneappthatallows
userstoavoidDUIcheckpoints(CheckpointerforiPhone,iPodtouch,andiPadon
theiTunesAppStore,n.d.)togovernmentshackingintoactivistsprofiles
(Madrigal,2011).

27

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,butthenontransparentpoliciesthatsomeplatforms
haveontheissueofdeletingaccountsmakestheissuecomplicated.Forexample,
Facebookspolicyondeletingprofilesisunclear(anissueinitself),butitseemsthat
itiseasyforuserstogetotherusersaccountsremoved.Anyusercanreport
anotheruserformisconduct,andafteracertainnumberofreportstheoffending
accountistakendown.Thereisnocorrespondencewiththeremoveduser,justthe
optiontoemaildisabled@facebook.comtorequestthattheaccountbereinstated
(York,2010).OneexampleofabuseofFacebooksreportactioncanbeseenina
groupthatwascreatedonFacebook(inArabic)forthesolepurposeofreporting,
andthushavingremoved,FacebookprofilesofatheistArabs.Thegroup(nolonger

28

inexistence)wasentitledFacebookpesticideanditssolepurposewastoidentity
Atheists/Agnostic/antireligionintheArabworld.Onceidentified,thegroup
memberswouldthenattempttoreportsuchusersuntiltheiraccountswere
deactivated(York,2010)
Itiseasytoseehowthiscanaffectactivistsusingsocialmediaforsocial
change.IfanactivistisusingFacebooktoorganizeeventsandrelaymessages,it
maybeeasyfortheopposingsidetohavehisorheraccountdeactivated,thereby
cuttingoffthesourceofinformationandforcingthegrouptofindanotherwayto
communicate.
Facebooksrealnamepolicyhasalsocausedastir.Recently,popularChinese
bloggerandactivistMichaelAntisFacebookaccountwasdisabledbecausehewas
notusinghislegalname,ZhaoJing.AntihadbeenusingthenameMichaelAntifor
morethanadecadeinhisactivistwork,andhasbeenpublishedsolelyunderthat
name.Bylockinghimoutofhisaccount,Facebookhascuthimofffromanetwork
ofmorethan1,000academicandprofessionalcontactswhoknowhimasAnti
(Tran,2011).

Therealnamepolicyposesaseriousthreattoactivistsorganizinga

revolutionbecausethetransparentnatureofsocialmediaallowsthegovernmentto
seetheiractionsandtakeactionagainstthemiftheydeemnecessary.

Furthermore,thereseemstobelittledocumentationonwhycertainprofiles

aredeletedforrealnamepolicyviolationsandothersarenot.AquickFacebook
searchfortheuserSantaClauswillillustratethispoint.

29

TheoppositeofFacebooksrealnamepolicyisthelackofverificationfoundon
othersocialmediasites.Twitter,YouTube,andLinkedIndonothavestrictreal
namepolicies(LinkedInhasavaguerulethatonecannotCreateauserprofilefor
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

30

overtheirinformationwheneverwecansotheyhaveafairchancetofight
therequestiftheysochoose(Caulfield&Karmali,2008).

31

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
ruleof30yearpresidentHosniMubarak(CraigKanalley,2011).Theprimary
demandsfromprotestorganizersweretheendofHosniMubaraksregime,theend
ofemergencylaw,andacallforfreedom,justice,aresponsivenonmilitary
government,andmanagementofEgypt'sresources(AlexisMadrigal,2011).
Thefollowingdatesaresignificanttotherevolution:
January25,2011:Protestsbegan
January27,2011:AllInternetaccessinEgyptissuspended
January28,2011:PresidentHosniMubarakdeclaresanewgovernmentwillbe
formed.
January31,2011:AnewEgyptiangovernmentisswornin

32

February1,2011:MubaraksaysthathewontrunforreelectioninSeptember
February2,2011:InternetservicereturnsinEgypt
February10,2011:Mubarakisexpectedtostepdown,butrefuses
February11,2011:MubarakresignsandleavesCairo

SocialMediaMomentum
TunisianRoots

TheprotestsinEgyptwereinspiredbythesuccessfulrevolutionin
neighboringTunisia,
whichsawtheoverthrow
ofdictatorZineElAbidine
BenAli.Theprotests
beganaftera26yearold
fruitvendor,Mohamed
Bouazizi,sethimselfon

Figure4.AphotoshopedimageofFacebookfounderMark
Zuckerbergholdingupasignthatreads"SayebSala7,ya3ammer,"
thesloganofafreedomofexpressioncampaigninlate2010.

firetoprotestthe
injusticesoflifeunderBen

Ali.AFacebookpageinhishonormadehimanationalmartyrandledtomassive
protests(Yaffa,2011).Soon,Facebookplayedacontinuingmajorroleinthe
protests,asactivistsusedthesitetosharevideosandinformationwhenmanyother
siteswereblockedbytheTunisiangovernment.
Thevideosshotshakilywithcameraphonescreatedalinkbetweenwhat
washappeningonthestreetsinthepoorareasofthecountryandthe
broaderTunisianpopulation.Manyaregraphic.Inonevideosincetaken

33

down,apparentlyayoungmanislyingonagurneywithhisskullcracked
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
governmentsnotice,andonlineactivistsbegantohaveruninswithAmmar,the
nameTunisianshavegiventotheauthoritiesthatcensortheInternet.Thousandsof
passwordswerecapturedbythegovernmentusingthecountrysInternetService
Providerstologinformationanddeleteprofiles(Madrigal,2011).

Inthiscase,Facebooktookaction.TheyroutedallTunisianrequestsfor

Facebooktoanhttpsserver,whichencryptsinformationsothatitsnotsusceptible
tothekeyloggingstrategytheTunisiangovernmentwasusing.Theyalsoemployed
asystemthatrequireduserstoidentifytheirfriendsinphotosinordertologback
intotheiraccount(Madrigal,2011).

NeighboringEgyptwatchedtheYouTubevideos,readthetweets,joinedthe

Facebookgroups,andwatchedinaweasBenAliwasoverthrown.Theriveting

34

imagesbeamedintomillionsofEgyptianhomesoftheTunisianuprisingappearto
haveledtoashiftinthepublicconsciousness(Murphy,2011).ButEgyptismuch
largerthanTunisia,andmanydoubtedthatcitizenswouldbeunitedinthewaythey
wereinTunisia.
StateofAffairsinEgypt
EgyptisthelargestArabcountry(morepeopleliveinCairothaninallof
Tunisia).TheU.S.hastoleratedtheregimesantidemocraticexcessesinthe
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:Americaslieutenant,2010).
HosniMubarakhadbeenpresidentofEgyptsince1981,afterhis
predecessor,AnwarSadatwasassassinated.Whenhetookofficeheextendedthe
countrysEmergencyLaw,whichgivesthegovernmenttherighttoimprison
individualsforanyperiodoftime,andforvirtuallynoreason,thuskeepingthemin
prisonswithouttrialsforanyperiod(CraigKanalley,2011).

35

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,
aFacebookpagecalledWeareAllKhaledSaidandviralvideosbyayoungwoman,
AasmaMahfouz.
WeareAllKhaledSaid
KhaledSaidwasa28yearoldmanfromAlexandriawhowasbeatentodeathby
policeafterallegedlypostingavideoshowingpolicesharingdrugsfromadrugbust.
AFacebookpage,WeareallKhaledSaid,servedasamemorialandhad473,000
users(asofFebruary6,2011).ThebiggestdissidentFacebookpageinEgypt,the
pageunitedEgyptiansinrageaboutSaidsdeathwithpostsofcellphonephotosof
SaidsbatteredbodyinthemorgueandYouTubevideoscontrastingpicturesofa
healthySaidwiththemorgueimages(Preston,2011).

36

InDecember2010Facebookdisabledthegroupbecauseitsadministratorswere
usingpseudonyms.Thegroupwasreinstatedwhenanadministrator,WaelGhonim,
offeredhisrealname(Greeley,2011).Thepagequicklybecameaforceful
campaignagainstpolicebrutalityinEgypt,withaconstantstreamofphotos,videos,
andnews.Ghonimsinteractivestyle,combinedwiththepagescarefullycalibrated
postsemotional,apolitical,andbroadintheirappealquicklyturneditintoone
ofEgyptslargestactivistsites(Giglio,2011).
OnJan.14theTunisiandictatorfellandWeareAllKhaledSaidannounceda
revolutionofEgyptsown.Eachofthepages350,000plusfanswascordially
invitedtoaprotestonJan.25.Theycouldclickyes,no,ormaybetosignal
whethertheydliketoattend(Giglio,2011).
Asdiscussedabove,vowingtoattendaneventorjoiningagrouponlineisnot
necessarilyatrueindicatorofthenumberofpeoplewhowillattendorbecome
involved.Thesuccessoftheprotestwasyettobeseen,andGhonimandotherswere
unsureaboutthefollowthroughoftheirsocialmediafollowers.

Ghonim,theheadofMarketingforGoogleMiddleEastandNorthAfrica,has

littletimetodebatethemeritsofsocialmediaforsocialchange:
Thebottomlineis:Ihavenoidea...Whilesomecommentatorshypedthat
theInternetismakingarevolution,othersproclaimedthattherevolution
cantbetweeted...Idontknow,andIdontgiveast.Imdoingwhatit
takestomakemycountrybetter(Giglio,2011).

37

TwodaysaftertheJanuary25protestsGhonimwasarrestedandheldfor12
days,Uponhisrelease,hewashailedastheonlineheroofthemovement,atitlehe
refutedinatweet:Revolution2.0:Noonewasaherobecauseeveryonewasa
hero(Porter&Beinner,2011).
AasmaMahfouz
AasmaMahfouzisa26yearoldEgyptianwomanwhowasoneofthefoundersof
the2008April6YouthMovement(aFacebookgroupstartedinSpring2008to
supporttheworkersinanEgyptianindustrialtownwhowereplanningtostrikeon
April6).OnJanuary18thsheuploadedavideotoFacebookthatcalledforEgyptians
tojoinherinprotestatTahrirSquareonJanuary25th.Thevideowasuploadedto
YouTubeandwentviral.Themessageofthegirlwhowasunafraidtoshowherface
spreadacrossEgypt:
Immakingthisvideotogiveyouonesimplemessage:wewanttogodownto
TahrirSquareonJanuary25th.Ifwestillhavehonorandwanttolivein
dignityonthisland,wehavetogodownonJanuary25th.Wellgodownand
demandourrights,ourfundamentalhumanrights(Goodman,2011).
PartofthesuccessofMahfouzsvideowasthatshedidnothidebehindacomputer
screentosharehermessage.AsmaaMahfouzspeaksdirectlytothecameraand
identifiesherself.Theboldnessofthisact,speakingoutsoforcefullyasawoman,
inspiredmanyotherstostartpostingtheirimagesonline(Goodman,2011).

38

#Jan25
January25thwasapublicholidayinEgypt,NationalPoliceDay.Thecallstoaction
sparkedbyWeareAllKhaledSaidandAsmaaMahfouzwererepeatedinthe
hashtag#Jan25.Activistsusedthistomarkalltweetsrelatedtotheprotests.

Figure5.Exampleofcalltouse#Jan25onTwitter.

DuringProtests

Thereisoftenadisconnectbetweenwhathappensonlineandwhat

happenedattheprotests.ButthereisnodoubtthattheprotestsinTahrirSquare
wereveryreal.
Thiswasnomovienostudentsitineither.Some500diedintheclashes.
Thereweremanycasualtieswhenunarmedyoungmenrashlystormedthe
MinistryofInteriorbuildingandweremoweddown.Countlessmorewere
injuredwhenMubaraksupporterstriedtotakethesquare.Thosehurt
refusedtogotothehospitalforfearofbeingarrested(Porter&Beinner,
2011).
A22yearoldInternetactivistnamedAhmedAbdRaboarrangedforprotestersto
sleepundertankstopreventthemfrommoving.Shereportedterrifyingdetailsof
theprotestsalongwithupliftingmomentsofhope:

39

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%).
Theactivistsstrategyforthe#Jan25protest,plannedthroughonline
communication,wasformultiplefastmovingdemonstrationsintwentylocations
aroundthecity,designedtotrytomobilizethepeopleinpoorerareas(whocould
notaffordtheluxuryofcomputersandtheInternet)andavoidtheusualpolice
tacticofcordoningoffprotestersandpreventingthemfromrallying(Nunns&Idle,

40

2011,p.31).

Figure6.Tweetsduringtheprotests(Nunns&Idle,2011).

ThosewithInternetaccessreportedtotheworldinrealtime.Tweetsfrom

theprotestsrangedfromrallyingcriestorequestsforhelptojournalisticnote
taking.
DuringBlackout

TheInternetwasblockedinEgyptforfivedays.Manyseethisasaclear

indicatorthatactivistsuseofsocialmediatoolswasahugethreattothe
government.ThefactthatHosniMubaraksregimetookthestepofblockingthe
Internet,despitethemillionsofdollarslosttotheeconomy,isatestamenttothe
fearitprovokedamongtherulers(Nunns&Idle,2011,p.21).

TheInternetblockwastoolate.BythetimetheylostInternetaccessthe

protestshadalreadybeenplannedandtheactivistswerealreadytogether.Social
mediahadgonefromtoolsusedtoplanandorganizetorealtimereportingtools,

41

andEgypthadalreadygottentheattentionoftheworldbythetimeaccesswascut.
LiketherevolutioninIran,therestoftheworldwastunedinandwillingtohelp
activistsgetonlineorspreadnews.
[Theactivists]wenttogreatlengthstogetonlineduringthefivedayInternet
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.

42

CASEANALYSIS

GlobalTies
Fromthecasestudyabovewecanseesocialmediatoolsinaction,rather
thanintheabstract.TheideathatclickinglikeonaFacebookpageforacausewill
translateintoactionisabsurd,butwhenthatFacebookpageisatestamentto
problemspeoplefaceintheirdailylives,thereismuchhigherlikelihoodthatthey
willtakeaction.
Weaktieshavebeensaidtobehelpfulinsituationswhereitdoesntcost
someonemuchtimeorefforttohelp.Forexample,someonemightasktheirTwitter
followersiftheyknowanyonewhoishiringforparttimeworkandreceivemany
replies.Gladwellsaysthatthiskindofresponsewonthappenifasocialmediauser
asksforsomethingbig,liketimeormoney.Thismaybetrue,butwhatGladwell
doesntconsideristhatinarevolutionlikethatinEgypt,peopleareaskingtheir
weaktiesforhelpforaproblemthatisuniversal.Thoughtheactivistsmaynot
knowthepeopletheyrecruittoprotest,thepeopletheyarerecruitingarevery
similartothemandtheproblemstheydescribeareuniversal.
KovasBogutacreatedaninfographicthatvisualizestheEgyptianInfluence
NetworkonTwitter(seeAppendixB).Themapshowsindividualsnearthosethey
influence(thosewhoarelikelytoreadandsharetheirtweets)aswellasthe
languagetheyusetotweet(ArabicandEnglish).Thesizeofthenoderepresenting
eachindividualrepresentshowmanyotherstheyinfluence.WaelGhonimcanbe

seenasaninfluencerforboththeArabandWesternworlds,forexample.Boguta
notesthatmanyoftheprominentnodesontheinfographicwereatonepoint
arrested,buttheirdeepconnectivityhelpensuretheywerenot
"disappeared"(Boguta,2011).
CitizenJournalists

TheEgyptrevolutionraisesquestionsaboutwhethercitizenjournalismis

activismandwhetherparticipantscanbejournalists.Asdiscussedearlier,thefact
thatsocialmediausersdonothavetobevettedorheldtoethicalstandardsisbotha
problemandablessing.Perhapstherulesofsocialmediawillbecomecleareras
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 armys abuse of female detainees. The evidence against Nabi
was a compact disc of screen shots of his personal Facebook page and blog
(Bronner, 2011).

44

Itmaybeevenworseinothercountries.AccordingtoFacebooksChiefof
SecurityJoeSullivan,"WhenyoustepbackandthinkabouthowInternettrafficis
routedaroundtheworld,anastonishingamountissusceptibletogovernment
access(Madrigal,2011).
Conclusion

Fromthisbriefcasestudyafewconclusionsaboutthecurrentuseofsocial

mediaforsocialchangecanbemade.
Therearepeoplebehindthesocialmediatoolsthatareusedforsocial
change.

Acommontrendhasbeentogivecredit,atleastinname,tothetoolsusedforsocial

changeandnotthepeoplebehindthemIransTwitterRevolution,forexample.
Socialmediacanbeusedasatooltoraiseawareness,raisemoney,andjoinpeople
together,buttopersonifythesetoolsistounderestimatethetime,resources,and
risksthatactivistsandcitizenssacrifice.

Socialmediatoolscanraiseworldawarenessofanissue

InEgypt,wesawthatthoughnotallorevenmostofthecountryhadInternetaccess,

peoplewereunitedatthe#Jan25protest.Butperhapsthebiggesteffectthatthe
onlineaspectoftheprotestshadwastogivetherestoftheworldaviewfromthe
ground.ThiswasalsoapparentinthemoneyraisedfortheHaitiearthquakerelief
andintheworldawarenessofIransrevolution.

Socialmediatoolsallowuserstohelpeachother,regardlessoflocation

45


SocialmediauseduringtheMumbaiattackshelpedpeoplegethelptothoseinneed
andgetinformationtofamilymembers.InEgypt,protestersusedsocialmediato
shareinformationaboutdangersandhelpeachothergetsuppliesandmedical
attention.Buttheabilitytogethelpfromothersbyusingsocialmediaisnotlimited
bylocation.Notonlydidpeoplefrommanyothercountriestuneintotherevolution
inEgyptmanypeoplehelpedtheactivistsbysettingupproxies,hackinginto
governmentsites,andspreadingthewordaboutthecause.Additionally,the
increasedawarenessmayincitepoliticianstobemorevocalandopenwiththeir
reactiontotherevolutionorsituationtransmittedviasocialmedia.

Socialmediauseforsocialchangeisdangerous.

Itisclearthatthepoliciesofmanysocialmediaplatformsmaynotbeinthebest
interestsofactivists,andthereisarealdangerofgovernmentsusingsocialmediato
spyon,misinform,orincriminateactivists.

Theauthorofthiscapstonehopesthatthispaperhasmadeitclearthatsocialmedia
isneitheraperfectmethodforsocialchangecommunicationnoratrendthatwill
quicklypass.

46

APPENDIXA
WorldmapvisualizedbyFacebookusers(Butler,2010).
Seehighresolutionversionhere.


APPENDIXB
MapindicatingtheEgyptianInfluenceNetworkshowsTwitterusersinproximity
totheuserstheyinfluenceandthelanguagetheyuse(Boguta,2011).
(Seehighresolutionversionhere.)

48

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