

The Twitter Revolution Must Die - doron
http://blog.ulisesmejias.com/2011/01/30/the-twitter-revolution-must-die/

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crux
Who is calling this the Twitter revolution, besides people like Robert Scoble
and Michael Arrington? The tech bloggers of the world might be adept enough at
covering the constant soap opera of startup culture (and the relatively very
rare technological advances that it sometimes produces), but I think when one
of the most important countries in one of the most important regions in the
world is on the cusp of a total revolution, we their readers would do well to,
well, completely ignore anything they have to say about events of global
political importance. When the Howard Zinns of the world start describing the
nature of social technology in the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, I'll
listen. But one shouldn't imagine that somebody on BoingBoing—or even a deeply
entertaining futurist like Clay Shirky—is going to be a voice of any substance
in analyzing the events of the last couple weeks.

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sambeau
@JaredCohen has some pretty interesting things to say:

<http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/31726988934778880>

Every Egyptian I talked to on ground this week laughed when I told them some
think tech was not a vital tool for organizing #jan25

<http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/30662558541152257>

People on ground in #egypt adamant about critical role tech playing in
crowdsourcing logistics #jan25

<http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/31836874016296960>

Tech doesn't make activists, but creates space for unlikely leaders to emerge
and redefine civil society as smthg more inclusive/expansive

<http://twitter.com/#!/JaredCohen/status/30665407077556224>

One Egyptian says, "facebook used to set the date, twitter used to share
logistics, youtube to show the world, all to connect people" #jan25

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mryall
The title is hyperbole, but the author makes two good points:

1\. A revolution is created by people, not by technology. Calling the
uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia the "Twitter" or "Facebook" revolutions doesn't
reflect the reality on the ground.

2\. The more centralised and widely used a networking service like Twitter or
Facebook is, the easier it is for governments to control it or use it to track
down dissidents.

Very valid and interesting points.

~~~
sambeau
I think the article contains a little hyperbole, too.

Leica were not the only manufacturer of cameras while there is only one
Twitter.

Blogging, Facebook, YouTube (and no doubt good-old email) have played their
part in this but Twitter has a special place in getting information out and to
journalists.

There is no other technology that can spread grass roots information as widely
or as quickly - especially to important recipients outside of the country.
Important twitter messages travel amazing quickly and people seem to
inherently pass them in the direction of high-follower and well-connected
accounts.

The fact the Egyptian Government turned the internet off and banned Al-Jazeera
shows the weight that they placed on these media.

And, while there is a mix of internet technologies being used in these
revolutions, the term "internet Revolution" was already all used up.

